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Old 07-22-2011, 07:48 PM   #1
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Fresh and Black tank sizes (how big do I need to go)

Hey guys,

Im in the process of looking for tanks for the bus. I am going to be using this bus for a tailgate and party bus so being on camp grounds or some type of hookups is not going to happen very often so it will need to be self sustaining for the most part. I will be adding a shower down the road but I really dont see it being used super often.

My question is what is a reasonable size tank to out in for fresh water. I am not going to have a gray tank so it will be fresh and black. I know the black needs to be 2x or so bigger than the fresh is my idea.

I just dont know how much people use. What I see in the stick and staple units I dont think is going to be close to what I want. For some reason I have 40 gallon fresh and 80 gallon black?

Help me out here or am I thinking too small?

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Old 07-22-2011, 08:32 PM   #2
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Re: Fresh and Black tank sizes (how big do I need to go)

Under normal conditions you only need waste tanks that are about 10% to 15% bigger than your fresh. You need to decide how many days you want to go between dumps. Under normal condition (typical boondocking water conservation) 40 gal fresh/40 gal waste would last about 5 to 7 days. Do a search in the internet (google) and search for "Boondocking RV water tank size" and you will turn up several pages.

At a minimum, figure for 1 gallon of water per day per person for drinking and other purposes. This is what lots of emergency preparedness site recommend. And of course what goes in, must come out.
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Old 07-22-2011, 08:41 PM   #3
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Re: Fresh and Black tank sizes (how big do I need to go)

Good info.... Not having owned a RV or bus before I have no idea.

I dont expect this to be bus to be used more than 3-4 days max at a trip?

So with those numbers I will plan on 40 fresh and 50 to 55 waste? That will help in the lay out and try and not burn a huge amount of space in the under carriage?

Any thoughts on mounting location? Tanks on opposite sides? Side by Side? I have all the welding items to mount this very well so the fabbing is not an issue.


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Old 07-23-2011, 09:38 AM   #4
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Re: Fresh and Black tank sizes (how big do I need to go)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Iceni John
... Remember that the poo tank's location determines the loo's location inside, and that most dump stations are set up for left-side dumping.
RV/Marine toilets basically need a straight down "drop" so keep that in mind when locating the toilet/tanks. You should be running with empty waste tanks most of the time... Unless you are dumping at your home.

Use Sanidumps maps to find dump stations near your location. Most dump stations have potable water (sanitize hose bibb with bleach solution before using and use your own drinking water hose to fill your tanks) so you should be traveling for too many miles with a full fresh tank either.
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Old 08-04-2011, 11:02 AM   #5
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Re: Fresh and Black tank sizes (how big do I need to go)

Quote:
Originally Posted by pipingkid
I'm a total newbie here, but I would point out that the conversion ratio posted earlier (10-15% more black water than fresh) might be a bit off if you are using it as a 'party' bus....
That's 10-15% more TOTAL WASTE TANKAGE than fresh. And it is really for RVing not a party bus. and that is NORMAL conditions The reason you go with slightly more waste than fresh is to ensure you run out of fresh water than waste holding. When you run out of fresh, you head on over to the dump station and refill your fresh water and dump your waste tanks while you are there. You do not want to over flow your waste tanks. You need more grey water holding that Black because you generate much more grey waste water than you generate Black waste. I would suggest that you put on appropriate waste tanks up front, no matter what you are planning on using the bus for. It's easier to do the tanks now rather than later and who knows, you may decide to use the bus for things other than partying when you grow up.


BTW, Urine or PEE goes in the BLACK tank not the GREY. Black tank holds the toilet stuff. Grey tank holds sink water and shower water. Depending on where you party at, you may have to drain your ice melt water into a holding tank. Some town/cities consider it waste water to drain the water from an ice cooler on the ground. That is a major violation of health department regulations. Bad enough that if I was caught doing that, I could lose my food vendors license in some places.
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Old 08-04-2011, 12:17 PM   #6
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Re: Fresh and Black tank sizes (how big do I need to go)

I have a bad issue of over building somethings so I am trying to get input from those are are actually doing... done.. or would do it differently?

What you said about a smaller fresh than black makes sense so when it time to take on more and dump at the same time.

I am not sure I will be dumping anything like gray water. Since we will be sitting in and around the area I dont see it happening.

The bus is mostly for tailgating at my almater for homecoming and odd events that may pop up. Maybe a group of people gathering and us all going to one location to be responsible with a sober driver? I dont ever see it being anything more than a weekend warrior mobile? It truely is a play toy.

lornaschinske not sure what state you live in but I suspect they wear knee high boots? Thats insane for fine someone or take away their license for letting ice water drip on the ground? What do they do when it rains? its the same water ( the ice water is probably cleaner) that comes from the sky and hits the same ground?
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Old 08-04-2011, 03:54 PM   #7
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Re: Fresh and Black tank sizes (how big do I need to go)

Quote:
Originally Posted by bapos
... lornaschinske not sure what state you live in but I suspect they wear knee high boots? Thats insane for fine someone or take away their license for letting ice water drip on the ground? What do they do when it rains? its the same water ( the ice water is probably cleaner) that comes from the sky and hits the same ground?
We are street food vendors. That is what we do for a living. So far we have vended in NC, GA, TX & NM. While I am a tad paranoid about failing an inspection, we haven't yet. Just passed on Tuesday... perfect score! We even got perfect scores in TX! But if we fail that means no work and no $$ coming in. I have become very familiar with health department regulations. If I open the plug on our drink cooler and drain it on the street or into a storm sewer, I can lose my vending license in most any state. It is considered waste water once it leaves the cooler. We cannot serve the ice that the sodas have been sitting in either as the ice is considered "contaminated". Try explaining that to a customer on a hot day who wants ice in a cup for their soda. Yes, the ice is clean (we buy ice made from reverse-osmosis water) but it's not clean enough to serve to a customer. We can lose our license if we serve it.

This is what we do and what we work out of (a home built food cart) on the street. We are based in a private campground (dump waste water into the sewer, refill fresh water) .
What we sell...


What we started out with (built from mostly scrap)


After TX (tough regulations), what we ended up with...


Interior...
Cold table


Hot table


We have 4 sinks in a 5X6 trailer. A triple "bowl" sink for washing (wash, rinse, sanitize) and a dedicated hand wash sink.








Our BBQ is the best in town, or so our customers say. We have a few that are addicted to it. And one who passes thru town once a month. He always stops to buy our BBQ....
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Old 08-04-2011, 04:12 PM   #8
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Re: Fresh and Black tank sizes (how big do I need to go)

I live in TX and I have been to several places that vend and never seen or heard of anything in Texas.

I hate to hear those kinds of things. Common sense is not so common?
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Old 08-04-2011, 04:26 PM   #9
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Re: Fresh and Black tank sizes (how big do I need to go)

Quote:
Originally Posted by bapos
I live in TX and I have been to several places that vend and never seen or heard of anything in Texas.

I hate to hear those kinds of things. Common sense is not so common?

Go to Corpus Christi!
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Old 08-04-2011, 04:29 PM   #10
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Re: Fresh and Black tank sizes (how big do I need to go)

Sounds like you need to be in DFW and not Corpus
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Old 08-04-2011, 05:01 PM   #11
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Re: Fresh and Black tank sizes (how big do I need to go)

Dallas! I don't think so. If you think they have lax rules then you have been eating off illegal food trucks....

Dallas City Mobile Vendor Requirements (PDF) Read and learn! We would be the last one on the list... a Mobile Food Preparation Vehicle (page 13). I an a Certified Food Manager thanks to TX. My certification is good for several years. While I don't need one in NM, I will renew my certification (online) since NM does not require it. We had a heck of a time finding insurance for food vendors ($550/yr). We most likely won't be vending in TX again. Only in Dallas would we need a commissary. No place else in TX. It's why Corpus made us set up like we are. There are no commissaries in Corpus Christi.
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Old 08-05-2011, 11:20 AM   #12
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Re: Fresh and Black tank sizes (how big do I need to go)

Just to throw my 2 cents in....

I am running:
124 gallon fresh (2 tanks)
102 gallon gray (2 tanks)
42 gallon black (single tank)
20 gallon rain water non potable tank
50 gallon fresh water shuttle tank that will be used with our truck.
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