Beginner’s Guide to RV Holding Tanks & Camper Treatments

If you love adventure, then RVing is a job you will love. While this job can be trusted to take the boredom out of your life, it is not exactly rosy. There are aspects of RVing that are not exactly interesting. Even though they are not glamorous, they are an important part of RVing.

There is a lot that is associated with RVing. It does not matter how long you have been in the system, there are certain things you will need to know if you must get the best out of RVing.

What is an RV Septic Tank Like?

The appearance and the workings of an RV septic tank are some of the details you should always have on your fingertip. While this is not always the case, averagely RV tanks have three compartments. Let’s find out what these compartments are.  How to treat them can be found on this page.

Fresh Water Tank: The fresh water tank on a recreational vehicle is a part of that vehicle that contains clean and freshwater. This is basically the water that gets released when you turn your tap on.

Grey Water Tank: Contained in the grey water tank are water that is released when you wash and shower. From the name of this tank, you can tell that the water it contains cannot be described as clean. Also, the grey water tank is considered an essential part of the RV tank, not every RV tank has this compartment. If your RV tank is a little old, this compartment might be missing.

Black Water Tank: The black water tank that comes with recreational vehicles is the tank where all forms of unwanted wastes are stored. It contains waste from the toilet, as well as wastes from the shower and kitchen if the RV does not have a grey water tank.

Handling the waste from the black water tank of a Recreational Vehicle is one of the most challenging aspects of owning an RV holding tank. Also, if the RV holding tank is not properly maintained, things might become messy.

How Frequently Should an RV Holding Tank be emptied?

There are no hard and fast rules to how frequently you should empty your RV holding tank. The frequency at which you empty your RV holding tank is hugely dependent on the number of people you have to travel with. For those traveling with a slightly huge number of people, there is a tendency that you will need to ensure your RV holding tank is emptied on a daily basis. On the other hand, if you are traveling with a partner, then, you might need to empty your RV holding tank on a weekly basis.

While there are no exact rules as regards how frequently to empty your RV holding tank, there are, however, tips that can come in very handy when you need a guide. One of these tips is emptying your tank when it is only two-thirds full. If your tank does not get two-third full, you should not empty it. Sticking to this tip makes the process very smooth.

While you should always empty your RV holding tank when it is about two-thirds full, this might not be very easy to tell. So, if you are worried about finding out when your recreational vehicle tank is two-third full, you do not need to be worried. There are recreational vehicles that feature systems that make it possible for you to tell how full your RV holding tank is.

Although the sensor which recreational vehicle tanks feature that help them detect how full a tank is can come in handy for people that are not used to making use of RV holding tanks, you should always bear in mind that they only work for a certain period of time. As your RV holding tank gets old, they tend to stop working properly. Furthermore, there are times new RV holding tanks have sensors that do not give accurate readings. This occurs when a waste of paper is stuck to the sensor.

How to Empty an RV Holding Tank

When looking to empty an RV Holding Tank, some materials you will need are gloves and a sewer hose. These materials will help in keeping your hands protected.

Once you get the materials you need to protect your hands with, the next thing you will need to do is be sure of the valve to the tank you are looking to empty.

Once you are ready to empty your RV tank, the first thing you should do is connect your sewer hose to the valve of the compartment of your RV that you are looking to empty. After doing this, connect the hose’s other end to the sewer. Once this is done, you have to be certain that the hose is tight at the two ends.

The first tank you should begin emptying is the black tank. The waste from this tank should only be emptied into the exact dump stations. Once you locate a designated dump station, you simply need to allow the tank drain by pulling the valve. As soon as no liquids come out of the hose, you will need to close the valve completely. Doing this will help things go in smoothly.

Once you are done emptying the black tank, the next tank to be emptied is the grey tank. Doing this will free the sewer hose of whatever solids get stuck.

How to Maintain an RV Holding Tank

Maintaining an RV holding tank is perhaps the most challenging part of owning one. If you do not maintain your RV tank properly, you will end up getting into a mess that might not be so easy for you to get out of.

While there are lots of things that can be done to ensure that your recreational vehicle tank is well maintained, if you flush regularly and you take sanitizing your tank seriously, you will not have any major challenges with your tank. This way, your tank will last for a long time and in good condition too.