TO DUMP OR NOT TO DUMP THAT IS THE QUESTION

[boxcarOkie]

Often when you sit down to talk with another bus owner, you discover that you have a great deal of things in common.  For instance, their 2.5 children of legal age, want to move home to live with them again.  They do not know why they bought a bus with some 3 million miles on it.  And their wife completely does not understand them at all.

The more you talk, the clearer it becomes. 

Other than the fact that you are driving something completely different, you quickly discover that you share the same problems. 

Such is the case here.

I am talking to this guy and he tells me that his Prevost has an electric dump valve and a switch on the dash and one at the holding tank. 

My Eagle has the very same thing.  Now his has a mascerator and mine does not, there we kind of part company on the dump circuit of life. 

As we talked I told him of a guy who I met who told me that "he had never used a dump station in 15 years of RV'ing in America."  Which most folks would find not only hard to believe, but at the same time, disgusting.

Then my new found friend told me this story, which I will now share with all of you:

"We had a coach that had a macerator switch inside the coach if we desired to use that to drain the holding tank. It could be used while we drive. We did not ever use it in that fashion, because I personally don't think it is right to do that.

But he had a coach built to match our features. He decided at one point to use that feature to drian his holding tank to use his macerator. When you are in motion your coach creates a large negative pressure area behind it, which is why you probably have as much road dust and crap stuck to the back when you stop driving. 

What he did was use his macerator to empty his full holding tank.  (Please insert an appropriate Oooooooo or deep-throated groan or Yuck here)

What he did not realize until he stopped driving for the day that whatever came from the macerator got pulled into the low pressure area behind the coach and it literally ended up painting his new Grand Cherokee with whatever came out the macerator discharge pipe.

And it got every where.

In the door seams, in the air intake vents for the AC system, on the engine, and it created a dried coating over the entire Jeep.

Washing it off reconstituted the dried ****.  And no amount of washing got it out of the air intake for the AC or heating system. He did not drain his holding tanks while in motion after that.

BTW, he is not alone is doing dumb stunts as the Dave Matthews bend bus driver realized when he dumped his tanks on a bridge over the river in Chicago hitting tourists on a boat going under the bridge awhile back."

Kind of gives totally new meaning to the expression "My tow-car is a piece of ****." 

Oh, hahahahaha ... I think I just hurt myself.

Anyway, often, in the cool part of the day (or after reading some of the comments here), I think of that story and how nice it would be, how it would be so cool to park on some of my BCM detractors driveways'.

Just for maybe ten minutes max, yeah, that would work.

Watch those Right-Handers.

BCO

Now there is one for the magazine Dave.  You could entitle it "When The Poo-Poo Hit The Whirly Dirley."

[CrabbyMilton]

You know you run the risk of giving some not so nice people out there ideas.
Years ago, a now deceased friend of mine told me that he was on a train. He went to use the bathroom so when he went to flush the toilet, the bottom of the toilet opened and the crap was just flushed out onto the tracks while the train was moving along at full speed. I don't know what time period he was talking about but don't even thing about it now.

[Lin]

I guess that you could refer to that story as a case of pooetic justice!

[Rick 74 MC-8]

When my daughters were young and we traveled not in the bus but an old motorhome. I told them that the toilet just dumped on the road. They used to get such a kick out of Flushing and running to the back window to see if they could get the car behind us. It was hard to keep water in the fridge at times. They were always very hydrated on our trips. They finally saw me dumping the holding tank that game was over.


Rick

[bobofthenorth]

The very first bus conversion I ever saw was owned by the local GM dealer when I was a kid.  I got to ride home from Cub Scout camp in the bus one summer.  I was a Cub Scout so what - 10? at the time.  Once we got on the road Cliff's wife kept asking "Is it time yet?"  Finally he nodded "yes" and she went aft to pull the plug on the holding tank.  That was a long time ago and they for sure weren't pulling anything behind them.  We may even have been on gravel at the time although I think that particular highway was paved by then.

As a good friend of mine is fond of saying "the solution to pollution is dilution".

[Dave5Cs]

When the train is in the station,
We encourage constipation,
When the train is moving why aren't youuuuu!...

[Iceni John]

You know you run the risk of giving some not so nice people out there ideas.
Years ago, a now deceased friend of mine told me that he was on a train. He went to use the bathroom so when he went to flush the toilet, the bottom of the toilet opened and the crap was just flushed out onto the tracks while the train was moving along at full speed. I don't know what time period he was talking about but don't even thing about it now.

That's not uncommon still in some countries.   Some years ago, when I was a young'un wanting to see the world, I took the train from Munchen in Germany to Istanbul, enroute to points further east, but unfortunately I was booked in a Bulgarian couchette car.   Nothing much wrong with that, except it had Asian-style squat loos instead of the western-style porcelain throne-with-a-hole.   One could look at the rail ties and ballast whizzing by underneath while one communed with nature, all well and good until the train entered a tunnel somewhere near Nis in southern Yugoslavia and the increased air pressure caused what usually goes down to come back up, and what's more with considerable force.   Being Asian-style there was no loo paper, but I was very glad to have my own supply of it at that moment.   Once I reached the Indian subcontinent I realized that Bulgarian trains were positively luxurious compared to the norm there  -  in comparison, Amtrak seems very dull!

John

[B_K]

My uncle told me that one of the first Eagles his charter company owned had a little handle or lever inside the cover of the toilet in the bus that flushed it.
He also told me once that he took a bunch of drunks from GoodYear to the spring race @ Talladega, AL and on the way there they had filled the toilet.
So he stopped at a rest area and dumped it (at a dump station), well while dumping one (or more) of the guys was being helpful and helped him dump it.
So a little while after that someone came to the front of the bus and reported the toilet was full AGAIN.
This time Mr. Helpful told my uncle "keep driving I got this!"
So when the guy managed to work his way thru all the partying drunks to the rest room he yelled to the front of the bus "Is the coast clear?"
To which my uncle yelled "Yes" He said after that every so often he'd hear an echo (being repeated) of "is it clear" start at the back work it's way to the front and he'd check the mirrors and yell "All clear" when it was and it's echo all the way to the rear and all the sudden there would be a cloud of mist behind the bus for a split second.
He said they did it all the rest of the way there and on the way home too!

He said they actually got pissed off the next year when took them because he'd gotten a newer bus, and this one had a different style toilet in it and they  couldn't "Let 'r rip" when it was full!

[bevans6]

Still the practice in Canada's passenger railway...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/vias-dirty-secret-has-workers-steaming/article1037344/

Brian

[bigred]

I rode trains quite a bit when I was younger (I am almost 75 ,so train travel was quite common when I was young) never giving a thought as to what happened to the sewage.A few years ago ,I went on a railway excursion sponsored by the local Railway Society .I found it curious that members from the group came through the cars and told everyone to refrain from using the rest room until the train was in motion.I found out when I went to the rest room later on .I flushed the John and thought I got a glimpse of daylite in the bottom of the commode so I flushed again and saw the cross ties rushing past.This stuff was dropping strait down to the RR tracks.I realized at that moment why there was so much tissue on and around the RR tracks we played on when I was younger .People used to talk about what a great job working for the railway was.I kind of wonder if the guy's that had to work on the under carriage of these cars felt the same way!!! 

[Oonrahnjay]

     Regarding using dump stations, one of the things I plan to do in the near future is to put in a "cutout" sewer connection near my garage so I can empty my tanks.  That will give me control of connections to the dump, a cleaning water faucet with a no-backfeed valve (that I know works), a dedicated dump hose and cleaning hose, etc.   I'm sure that I'll still be using dump stations during travel, but I'd like to be able to dump and clean tanks where I know I have secure and reliable connections and equipment. 

[Lin]

The only issue with dumping at home through a cleanout is for people like us that are on septic systems.  I question whether residential size systems could handle the infusion without effecting the leach lines.  If you are on a municipal system, you're okay though.

[boxcarOkie]

The only issue with dumping at home through a cleanout is for people like us that are on septic systems.  I question whether residential size systems could handle the infusion without effecting the leach lines.  If you are on a municipal system, you're okay though.

God point, mine holds 2,400 gallons.  That is a lot of groceries, no?

Here is something else:  "Why do most entertainer coaches dump on the curbside when almost all of America does it on the other side?"

Close proximity to a street drain for their poo? 

After reading all of these I have this "On The Road Again"..."On The Road Again"..."On The Road Again"..."On The Road Again"..."On The Road Again" and Willie on my mind.

Must be that Polar Vortex thing.

BCO

[luvrbus]

The only issue with dumping at home through a cleanout is for people like us that are on septic systems.  I question whether residential size systems could handle the infusion without effecting the leach lines.  If you are on a municipal system, you're okay though.

I have dumping at home for 15 years with a septic tank no ill effect yet,and people who visit us needing to dump use it also

[Boomer]

Good, I'll visit you this winter Clifford.  My friend that owns the golf course there says I can park there but no dump there.