Made it.

[J Mac]

I didn't know that! I wonder why the smaller tanks were used in the first place. I heard that the smaller trailers used smaller tanks at first.

 

[DeadEyeDan]

I called the Escape and according to Reece (if I wrote it down correctly):

Black=12
Grey=26
Fresh=20

 

[Donna D.]

"Once upon a time" trailer manufacturers matched fresh water storage to discharge storage. Then they found out, some people NEVER filled the gray tank because they never took showers inside the trailer, nor did dishes inside the trailer. BUT boy did they fill up (over flowed) the black water tank because "they" drank cheap beer.

There's never a perfect solution. It's UP to the owner of any given trailer to monitor their tank usage. THAT's why there are commercial blue totes, home-made blue totes and full hookups... it's all about leaching off the tank that's full.

Remember, a US gallon of water weighs 8.35 lb (about 3.79 kg). Travel with empty tanks (save fuel) and pay attention to your discharge tanks and you are GOLDEN.

 

[MMarvin]

Dan,

Our 2011 5.0 has the 26-gallon grey tank. I had Larry at Little House Customs install another 13-gallon tank "in parallel" for a total of 39 gallons. For dry camping, that made a huge improvement for us.

I believe Larry verified the same mod is possible on the 19. Of course, he's in Texas so it doesn't help you. You might want to call him to discuss it. He might be able to talk you through it long-distance.

Marv

 

[DeadEyeDan]

We like to dry camp and I am most concerned with the small black tank.

We carry drinking water seperately. We can take PTA showers. A sneaky pete will let you dribble off some grey water in a pinch.

Chris and I have made 4 plus days in the Castita with 16 gallons of black water storage. We went for 3 plus days in the Escape and the tank was getting full.

Reace said it was not practical to upsize it considering the difficulty so perhaps a small "towable" poo tank? I hate to buy one of those.

Maybe a call to Larry is a good idea.

 

[Jim Bennett]

We can take PTA showers.

Haven't heard that term in ages. Not quite sure you quite qualify for it either. (unless your avatar is deceiving) ;D

We do the sponge bath thing all the time. Hair washing is no issue for me either. ')

 

[DeadEyeDan]

Haven't heard that term in ages. Not quite sure you quite qualify for it either. (unless your avatar is deceiving) ;D

We do the sponge bath thing all the time. Hair washing is no issue for me either. ')

We learned that term from Donna Dee at Bandon, and it applies more to my wife I suppose..unless you change it up a bit, but you get the idea. LOL.

 

[cpaharley2008]

Here I thought PTA showers meant that school's were now requiring one to take quick showers before attending teacher conferences??

 

[Donna D.]

....so perhaps a small "towable" poo tank? I hate to buy one of those.

How about making one... it's not towable, but it cost me less than $20 to make one. (AND, I made it towable.. by hand... when I bought an old suitcase dolly at Goodwill for a buck!)

Check the PDF at the bottom of my post. Some of the numbers given may be different now, but this will give you an idea.

 

[DeadEyeDan]

How about making one... it's not towable, but it cost me less than $20 to make one. (AND, I made it towable.. by hand... when I bought an old suitcase dolly at Goodwill for a buck!)

Check the PDF at the bottom of my post. Some of the numbers given may be different now, but this will give you an idea.

How do you get the flow to stop when the 16 gallons in the Casita tank hit the 7 gallon capacity of the blue tote?

Sounds like it could get ugly.

 

[Bruce Wray]

You keep a VERY careful eye on the ick level as seen through the opened upper flush hose attachment hole, and your other hand on the gate valve. You'll only be slow to close it once.

Bruce

 

[Donna D.]

How do you get the flow to stop when the 16 gallons in the Casita tank hit the 7 gallon capacity of the blue tote?

Sounds like it could get ugly.

I stand there and watch the blue tote fill. When it gets close to 3/4 full, I shut the gate. I've used this many times in the past five years of so of ownership. Works as it's supposed to. Since I'm a single traveler, I've even gone home with (reasonably) full tanks after camping and just dump everything down the home hopper. I'd rather do that (sometimes) than wait in line at a campground dump station when the line is looooong.

 

[Devil Dog-ESC]

On our last trip out last week I found that the black water drain valve has a leak. When I removed the cap a big splash of very bad water came out. After a good triple flush I put my hand up the pipe to where the valve is and discovered that the rubber seal has dislodged from the flange. So it is in need of replacement. I found this video on YOUTube that explains the how-to. Oh joy.
RV Waste Valve Repair & Maintenance by RV Education 101® - YouTube

 

[float5]

We have also had a splash of water when removing the dump cap. We assumed something was broken or cracked. We had a big can to catch the splash for maybe two days and then it was all back to normal. We were miffed but believe that it had something to do with a previous sewer dump spot that was higher than our dump valve. We have come across that problem several times. It also may cause a bad odor inside the Escape temporarily. It is probably just not completely dumping.

Yours is obviously a worse problem. At least you have determined the cause.

 

[Devil Dog-ESC]

Ya , we were dry camping for a few days and the tank was 3/4 full . It was at a sani dump the leak was apparent. I wasn't prepared for the splash and of course there was someone waiting and watching. It's a fix that can't be put off. On the 17' the black and gray tanks have a "Y" connection so both valve assemblys have to come off together. Not a 5 min. job.

 

[DeadEyeDan]

Sold the Casita yesterday. We are back to being a one trailer family.

 

[Donna D.]

Sold the Casita yesterday. We are back to being a one trailer family.

Congratulations Dan and Chris... now let the fun and new memories begin!