There comes a time in every RV’s life that it has to dump its holding tanks. For most of us, that moment comes regularly — after a week of boondocking or in an RV park with no sewer hookup.
And when that time comes, the place to go is the nearest dump station. Sometimes it’s inside the campground or RV park, but other times we need to drive a few miles (or a lot of miles!). Dump stations are less common these days along major highways due to abuse or because of government budget cuts.
Finding a dump station can be downright difficult. And sometimes when we finally do find one, the price of using it can be $10, $20 or more.
On busy days — Sundays are the worst in the travel season — the line of RVs waiting to dump can be long. A wait of 15 or 20 minutes is common, but some RVers report they have waited for an hour or more.
What about you? How long have you had to wait?
We leave early, first light, never much of a problem. The simplicity of the maceration system makes it fast and easy. No stinky slinky to drag around and deal with.
My longest wait was over 30 minutes at the public dump in Gunnison CO. There was just one guy there in a septic truck labeled “The Turd Herder”. He after dumping, cleaned every square inch of that truck inside and out.
Actually we never use dump stations. We only stay in campgrounds with full hookup sites, That way we complete our dump right at the site with no waiting.
We get out as early as possible, to avoid the rush.
Fortunately most RV folks are courteous and appreciate that others need to use the dump. But of course there is always one that will linger for reasons unknown even after stowing the stinky slinky.
enjoying the whole experience…ah, the great outdoors
Last day of a WIT rally 4 years ago. Had been there for 10 days (as had everyone else). Muni dump was backed up at 0900. Delay was expected but avoided the $40 fee at the rally. For me that’s a score.
The few times I’ve had to use a dump station I’ve never had to wait in line. Good planning or just lucky, hard to say.
Teacher here…. quantity is not “less than” quantity is “fewer than”
Once it took me about twenty minutes when it was pouring heavily. The guy in front of me at the dump station had a Mercedes Sprinter Class B camper. In the pouring rain he had to hold the switch in for the Macerator Waste Pump to empty his waste tanks.
If it’s really crowded in the campground and we’re leaving on a Sunday morning we’ll unplug and dump tanks on Saturday afternoon to avoid the line at the dump station. Being a B+, it’s easy to unplug and replug/relevel…about 10 minutes.
I’ve done the same thing several times
I have avoided the long line a time or two by using a vacant FHU site.
Dont know if it was proper etiquette, but no one complained.
My one and only time waiting in line at a dump station was many years ago when we had a 25′ travel trailer and was at our first outing at Quartzsite. There was a line about a 1/4 mile long and it took almost an hour for us to reach the dump site. Never again.
one small complaint here.. even tho I checked the box for “save my data for the next time I comment.”, I still have to re-enter my info almost every time I post a reply. Can you tell me why that is? Example…. I just checked the box in my post above and now to post a reply to that post, I have to check the same box again. Why even have that box to check???
The longest that we have waited so far is 25 or 30 minutes, but that was the only time it was more than a few minutes. We have a dump station at the RV barn, so if we lack a sewer connection wherever we stay, then we usually wait and dump at home.
I say 20 minutes or less or move on to Plan B. Actually though, waiting in line is Plan B and it very seldom happens. If we have a weekend stay we don’t leave until Monday or the day after a holiday. Failing that, if we are moving to a location that has a dump or there’s one on the way, we’ll wait and dump when we get there.
close to an hour due to the person directly in front of me at the dump did not care that the line was all the way to the back of the campground and continued doing several flushes until another fella and I approached him explaining our’s and everyone else’s displeasure. He didn’t care and kept flushing even though some people were blowing their horns at him.
this is the guy who will have road rage when someone inconveniences him.
Over an hour, or as long as it takes when the only dump is for miles. Fred Meyers in Soldotna, Alaska in July of any year.
We have seen that location. We were in an RV park around the corner from Fast Freddie and also in the store and remarked about the scene.
Waaaay too long..
Some people think they have to be so clean they could drink out of the tanks.
One person was carrying in 5 gallon pails to flush the tanks and hoses. I finally blew a fuse and told the couple to move on. There was a BiiiG line up waiting. I got an ovation and the culprits were mad at me. Too Bad.
When you pull out at 0800, there is rarely a wait at the dump. Two hours later and you can almost guarantee you’ll have a wait. I time things for “off” hours like dumping or fueling at truck stops to avoid waiting or tying up the facilities for longer periods. I usually only flush my tanks when I have full hook-ups
My A-Frame has no holding tanks. I have never gone anywhere near a dump station. I wouldn’t have it any other way! I use campground restrooms when available, or a Lugable Loo when boondocking, simple and easy.
Only once did I have to wait more than 5 minutes, it was at most 30 minutes. The only time I was disappointed was when I waited about 15 minutes, I couldn’t see the dump site because of the curve of the drive and when I got to it was overflowing. The people ahead of me just dumped on the ground, totally disgusting, why didn’t they find another place to dump.
Never had to wait AT the dump station, drove for hours trying to FIND a dump station
We deliberately plan ahead to avoid dump lines when at a state park with no onsite sewer hookup. We’ve seen the lines, though. Thanks to our AllStays app, we’ve had good success in finding dumps as needed. Taking on clean water is another story….
I think I had to wait about a half hour once, rarely is there any wait. However, that long wait was behind a guy who didn’t have a hose. He just got the rear valve on his trailer lined up on the dump fitting, propped open the cover, and let it fly. It took him quite a while to clean himself up, he didn’t worry too much about the surrounding area.
Sorry, Bill. I just noticed that our sometimes-overzealous spam filter put your comment into the Spam folder, for no apparent reason. Aargh.😒 Have a good afternoon/evening. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
The worst dump lines I’ve seen have been at multi-day outdoor music concerts.
We’ve always avoided the “poop parade” by extending our stay until crowd thins out.
Shout out to Country Fest in Cadott, WI. 3rd weekend every June! “Festering in Cadott!”
We only take our Motorhome to RV Parks with Full hookups, so before we leave, we dump it and go! Never will go boon-docking, or anywhere we couldn’t have those amenities!
Only once had a hour wait leaving a state park with a long line made even when one of the campers pulled up and hooked up his hose then him and the family went in the shower house and took there showers. Then when he came out decided to flush tanks. Meanwhile line was then backed up and around and into the roadway. Just self centered people.
Zero. Don’t use them
I have not used a dump station. I camp at FHU sites. No waiting.
If there are more than 3 rigs waiting, I get on my bike or just sit by the river-lake-beach until it’s just me.
I’m retired and in no hurry.
So many times I’ve run into some clown taking 30 minutes or more, no care at all about anyone else in the world.
Open door..insert black hose in hole…pull valve..open gray-grey valve count to 20?.Close valves, put hose away, close hatch and hit the trail.
How tough is that?