How Do I Dump Our RVs Holding Tanks Without Making A Mess?

by Bill
(Florida)

Hi, I hope you can help us.

We just bought a new (new to us) fifth wheel trailer 3 weeks ago. The day we bought it, the guy that was selling it to us, walked me through all of the stuff I should know, like, how to hook up to electricity, water, etc.

He also talked us through how to dump the holding tanks. We could not actually dump the tanks because we were at his house and there was no sewer to hook up too. I did take notes on everything he told us to do.

This past weekend me, my wife and our two boys took our trailer on our first camping trip. It was only for the weekend so we went to a campground that was 70 miles from us.

Everything went well until we were preparing to leave. My wife reminded me that we needed to dump the tanks. So I went to my notes and hooked up the sewer hose to the trailer and put the other end into sewer hole at our campsite. I was sure that I hooked everything up right (at least I thought I did).

I pulled both of the levers in the sewer compartment. When I pulled the levers I heard a big gushing sound as the sewer hose disconnected from the RV. I was standing right in front of it when the hose came off.


Needless to say, I got soaked by the stuff that was coming out of the trailer. I tried to grab the valves and turn them off, but I slipped and fell down in all the muck.

My wife and kids heard all of the commotion and came out of the trailer to see what happened. Instead of helping me, they just stood there staring at me. Then one of my sons started laughing at me, then my wife and other son joined in. I said something to them that I can't write here.

I finally got the valves closed and some other campers that had seen what happened to me came over to help me clean up the mess I had made. They also sprayed me with water to clean me up the best they could. My wife and kids refused to help.

My family would not let me in the trailer until I took a shower and changed at the campground restrooms. I have taken three showers since this happened and I still cannot get the smell off.

I can tell you that I am not a happy camper right now, I don't want to go through this again. Can you tell me what I did wrong?

Sorry for the length of this, but I hope other people can learn from whatever mistakes I made. That is why I only put my first name here, I am too embarrassed to give my full name.

ANSWER
Greetings Bill,

First let me thank your for submitting your question on our Free Ask An RV Question Page.

Also, let me assure you that you are not the first person to have this happen to them. I know that does not make what happened to you any better, but at least you know that you are not alone.

RVing can be a lot of fun, but dumping the holding tanks is not one of the fun RVing activities. Dumping the tanks properly will not make this chore more fun, but it will make it more sanitary.

RV Expert Mark Polk from RV Education 101 has written a great article about how to properly dump the holding tanks. The article is called RV Tips For Holding Tanks. This should help you the next time you dump the tanks.

I hope this experience has not turned you off from enjoying the RV Lifestyle. Here is my personal suggestion for the future. I don't know how old your boys are, but if you think they are old enough, you might want to also train them how to dump the tanks and make it their responsibility during your next camping trip. I would also suggest that you let your wife give it a shot :-)

Now I have a question for our visitors, have any of you had a similar experience while dumping the holding tanks? Are you brave enough to share it with us? Do you have some tips that you would like to share with other RVers on the proper holding tank dumping procedures? If so, just click on the comment link below and share your stories and knowledge with other RVers.

Happy RVing

RVing Al

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