RV Grey&black

[Naughty weasel]

Hello dear burners !
This is Naughty Weasel from Prague, Czech republic, who had to wait for almost 6 years to come to this amazing event!
Could you please help me with a logistic question? Could I dump grey & black water during the event (small RV) ? If yes who should I contact ?
Thank you in advance.
NW

[Bless]

Let me Google that for you:

http://burningman.org/event/preparation ... iving/rvs/

http://burningman.org/event/preparation ... ray-water/

[dragonpilot]

Good info, that ^^^^

One of the problems with flagging down an RV pump truck is that you'll spend a lot of your time waiting for one to go by. At some point you'll run to the bathroom or go refill your water bottle and that's when the truck goes driving by...so there needs to be at least two of you alternating duty.

As the writeup says, conserve your use of water as much as possible. Instead of long showers, do sponge baths...you're going to get dusty again the minute you go outside...save the water. Put the RV toilet off limits except for midnight #1s. Do #2s at your own peril. In 100 degree heat, trust me, nothing will protect you from the stench of human waste emanating from the toilet and the toilet's venting system.

[Naughty weasel]

THANK YOU !!!!!!

@dragonpilot - valuable lesson ! Read everything on the web first before post the question Will do.

@Bless - good to read your comments. Can't wait for the heat !!!!

NW

[Bless]

Yeah, what dragon said. Definitely do not poop in your RV.

[Molotov]

Just make up one of these signs and post it on the road by your camp......

[mystikmike]

Tank capacities will vary by RV. For example, mine has two identically sized tanks - both black and grey water tanks are each 37 gallons.

Let's assume you use 1/2 gallon to flush if you poop, less if you're just peeing. That's maybe one gallon per person per day. Look at the capacity of your RV's black water tank and do the math. For my wife and I, we can easily go ten days without needing to dump the black water tank, but we're both very mindful of how we use water. For most people, there is no way that you are going to fill up the black water tank before you fill up the grey.

Also, do not trust the full/ empty gauge for the black water tank - they are notorious for getting clogged with poop/ bits of toilet paper. Even after trying the usual tricks (dump a bag of ice in an empty black water tank and drive for a while), mine still shows strange/ inconsistent readings. Best method is visual inspection (look into the yawning pit of the toilet, which is usually directly above the black water tank.)

For grey water, you have other disposal options besides the pump truck: simple evap pond or a more elaborate evap-o-tron if somebody in your camp is handy.

TL/DR: black water tank capacity is less of a concern than grey water tanks.

[Ratty]

I see plenty of people IN the United Site Services office requesting service. I don't know if that helps you. Do you have to be there or can you just pay and put out a sign? You can easily find out after you get there and before you desperately need them.

[gaminwench]

Scheduling at the office really is a crapshoot . Many's the time I've watched camp mates waaaaait for their scheduled pump, which never arrived.

You DO have to be present when they pump.
The pumper hose is 30' long; park your RV next to a fire lane/street so they can access your outlet.

If you must get a pump out, plan to be hanging in the shade by the road for an extended (many hours) period of time to flag them down, bribe (whisky) and $ (last I heard 60+) in hand.

Or, best practice, don't fill the black/grey tanks; utilize those resources only when absolutely necessary.

[Captain Goddammit]

Or, best practice, don't fill the black/grey tanks; utilize those resources only when absolutely necessary.

That's the truth. Burning Man is NOT the kind of place to show up needing or expecting to purchase services. If you need that, you haven't clearly understood the situation.

[smilemore]

Yeah, what dragon said. Definitely do not poop in your RV.

My wife and I had no problems last year and both of us did all of our pooping in the RV toilet ... in fact number 2 was the number 1 reason that we decided on going with an RV ... the joy of pooping in our own toilet!

Cheers

[Captain Goddammit]

There are chemicals that go in the tanks that take care of the fragrance.
If your RV smells like New Jersey it's because you're not setting it up right.
You should be able to shit up a storm.

[pink]

^^^ some are better than others. But yeah, I've read so much about "never poop in your RV" and I have (handy having a toilet when it rained) and thought maybe my sense of smell is really bad because I don't notice it. I try to use the potties as much as possible, but never manage a trip without pooping at least once.

[Molotov]

FYI-

After you leave Black Rock City and make your way back to Fernley, there is a rest area on I-80 westbound around mile marker 43 that has a free RV black and grey dump with rinse hose, and another separate water hydrant with hose for potable water. I use it as a last place to dump and fill before going on playa, and it's my first stop back in civilization. And did I say it's free? (Of course the State can close it any time if people abuse and trash the place) I DO NOT dump my trash there-the barrels could be easily overwhelmed by burners.

If you want to pay-there are RV dumps along the highway to Fernley and at the Flying J truck stop in town. You can get your propane topped off at the Flying J, too.

[pink]

I use this afterburn, unless it is just too nasty. Which has only happened once! Sometimes I've had to ask random people to help me lower & then raise my bike rack so I can get to my hoses & flush out the black water tank though.