Grey water tank

[HollowHaven92]

So this might be a dumb question, but is it absolutely necessary to have a grey water tank?
I'd like to put a small basin in my shuttle bus for a shower but I don't have the space/clearance to mount a tank
I know dumping grey water is legal.. But am I going to run into issues just running a drain line?

[rffffffff]

You’re gonna get a variety of answers here but in short it completely depends on where you are. Boondocking out west in the middle of nowhere when no one is around it’ll work just fine, albeit illegal. I’m on my own land and run the drain to my septic system just fine without issue, even when freezing, but if you’re going to be anywhere where people live or work or play other than yourself then you’re going to run into a problem at some point.

[peteg59]

Unless it is used on your land, draining of gray water is illegal almost everywhere. Not even sure if its legal on your own land, but at least nobody will complain about it.

Some feel it's not a crime unless you get caught, others simply make space for a tank. Especially if you have a shower onboard.

Good luck...

[Phatman]

I believe in some states you can drain gray water if it is shower water or bathroom sink water. You can never drain kitchen sink water because of food waste. And then again I could be totally off my ROCKER !!

[HollowHaven92]

Thanks for the replies!
It's definitely legal around my area, as long as you're not near a water source, and it definitely has to be shower water

[BeNimble]

It is not absolutely neccessary...to take a shower. People have outside showers and they obviously don't drain into a tank. I was thinking of making a hybid inside-out one in the doorway that would not have a tank. We use biodegradable soap when camping.

[s2mikon]

Let me see if I got this. I drive 500 miles at 10 mpg after spending 30,000+ on a skoolie conversion to camp in a spot where you just washed your a** and let it run out on the ground because you are too damn lazy to plumb a tank to contain your own waste? This is why campgrounds don’t want skoolies. Don’t ruin it for the rest of us.

[Tejon7]

Simple rule of thumb: Never dump anything, anywhere, ever. Please.

Also I'm really tired of blanket statements about dumping being legal or otherwise acceptable somewhere "out west". In my experience, everywhere within 10 miles of a paved road "out west" has some evidence of people dumping their sh** for others to deal with, be it literal sh**, or broken glass, or a refrigerator, or whatever. Please don't be part of the problem.

I know the OP is only suggesting dumping shower water. I know there are "biodegradable" soaps available. In my mind, none of that matters. Biodegradable soap doesn't biodegrade very fast if it's baked into the desert soil. If you plan on using public land, please don't plan on dumping anything at all. Speaking as the person who may set up camp after you, please put in a gray tank and dispose of waste water responsibly.

[turf]

install a tank

dumping waste water on the ground is illegal, gross and stupid.

especially since most every travel stop on the hwy has some facility for receiving your liquid waste and disposing of it appropriately.

get the ap "sani-dump" to help you locate dump facilities. you are probably less than 5 miles from one right now.

please, make it a black tank and dispose of your **** too.

most any vehicle visibly leaking waste will be ejected from a paid, managed park.

don't re-invent the wheel

if you can't do a tank, then pass on plumbing.

[HollowHaven92]

Wow, I knew it was a dumb question, but I didn't expect colorful insults

Now seriously, I'm not lazy or stupid
I'm a single person with absolutely zero building/plumbing experience
Someone explain to me what is different with an 'outdoor shower'?

[Rwnielsen]

Originally Posted by HollowHaven92

Wow, I knew it was a dumb question, but I didn't expect colorful insults

Now seriously, I'm not lazy or stupid
I'm a single person with absolutely zero building/plumbing experience
Someone explain to me what is different with an 'outdoor shower'?

I always thought of outdoor showers as just a water rinse, you know, to get the sand and salt water off. Not necessarily a 'shave, shower, shampoo' scenario.

[HollowHaven92]

Originally Posted by Rwnielsen

I always thought of outdoor showers as just a water rinse, you know, to get the sand and salt water off. Not necessarily a 'shave, shower, shampoo' scenario.

I'm not actually looking for a full shower situation, just something to rinse
I live on private property, and I DO have access to a full shower if needed
I don't have any help with this bus, it's just me, and maybe it's not the best but I'm really looking for a simple setup

[ol trunt]

One thing leads to another-----


.

[HollowHaven92]

Originally Posted by ol trunt

One thing leads to another-----


.

This I like lmao
I grew in a tent, then a pop-up
My daddy drug in junk alllll the time

[Truthseeker4449]

Originally Posted by HollowHaven92

I'm not actually looking for a full shower situation, just something to rinse
I live on private property, and I DO have access to a full shower if needed
I don't have any help with this bus, it's just me, and maybe it's not the best but I'm really looking for a simple setup

Just a thought that occurred to me, if you went for no tank and drained the water on the ground and you're living in the same spot, I hope you're not parked on packed dirt as I would expect it to get pretty muddy underneath the bus over time. The bus would prevent the soil from drying out by blocking the sun.

Since it sounds like you're living permanently in one location as opposed to traveling everywhere. Perhaps it would be more worthwhile to have a removeable drain into a portable waste tank for disposal away from the bus.

Of course don't forget the opinion of the landlord either.

[HollowHaven92]

Originally Posted by Truthseeker4449

Just a thought that occurred to me, if you went for no tank and drained the water on the ground and you're living in the same spot, I hope you're not parked on packed dirt as I would expect it to get pretty muddy underneath the bus over time. The bus would prevent the soil from drying out by blocking the sun.

Since it sounds like you're living permanently in one location as opposed to traveling everywhere. Perhaps it would be more worthwhile to have a removeable drain into a portable waste tank for disposal away from the bus.

Of course don't forget the opinion of the landlord either.

Luckily I'm the landlord I suppose lol
No, I'm on a concrete pad surrounded by gravel
I was really hoping for suggestions, is there a way to mount a tank inside?
I won't be making any trips for at least a year

[Tejon7]

If used as you describe, then your situation may be the one exception to my rule of thumb above. Plain rinse water isn't going to hurt anything, and since you're on private land the mud puddle under your bus will be only yours to enjoy I still wouldn't recommend this as a permanent set-up, though, since your vehicle is mobile and you'll inevitably drive it somewhere and want to rinse off.

Please understand that this is a public forum. These discussions will stick around forever and are easily searchable. In my opinion, questions like yours need to be answered with a unanimous and unequivocal "no". Anything else will give some Yayhoo down the road the justification they need to dump their waste wherever they want. We need to discourage dumping whenever we can, or else boondocking areas will continue smelling like urine and worse.

Edit: saw the post where you have a concrete pad. No mud puddle I guess!

[HollowHaven92]

Originally Posted by Tejon7

If used as you describe, then your situation may be the one exception to my rule of thumb above. Plain rinse water isn't going to hurt anything, and since you're on private land the mud puddle under your bus will be only yours to enjoy I still wouldn't recommend this as a permanent set-up, though, since your vehicle is mobile and you'll inevitably drive it somewhere and want to rinse off.

Please understand that this is a public forum. These discussions will stick around forever and are easily searchable. In my opinion, questions like yours need to be answered with a unanimous and unequivocal "no". Anything else will give some Yayhoo down the road the justification they need to dump their waste wherever they want. We need to discourage dumping whenever we can, or else boondocking areas will continue smelling like urine and worse.

Edit: saw the post where you have a concrete pad. No mud puddle I guess!

I have a composting toilet so I'm definitely not popping a squat
If someone had the time to explain to me about where to put/plumb a tank with little to no ground clearance I'd be ecstatic
I haven't found anyone with my particular bus, so I'm a little lost atm

[Truthseeker4449]

Originally Posted by HollowHaven92

Luckily I'm the landlord I suppose lol
No, I'm on a concrete pad surrounded by gravel
I was really hoping for suggestions, is there a way to mount a tank inside?
I won't be making any trips for at least a year

Ah yes, being your own landlord certainly makes those negotiations much easier lol.

Yes it should be quite possible if you can spare the space in your build. Try looking up recirculating showers. I like long showers, so I'm leaning towards building one of these myself with a 5 gallon tank above floor level that I'll dump into my grey tank when I'm done. I don't believe it will take much modification to adapt such a system for what you want.

Also look up builds involving low floor transit buses, they don't have the space to have tanks under the body but have tons of headroom instead.

[HollowHaven92]

Originally Posted by Truthseeker4449

Ah yes, being your own landlord certainly makes those negotiations much easier lol.

Yes it should be quite possible if you can spare the space in your build. Try looking up recirculating showers. I like long showers, so I'm leaning towards building one of these myself with a 5 gallon tank above floor level that I'll dump into my grey tank when I'm done. I don't believe it will take much modification to adapt such a system for what you want.

Also look up builds involving low floor transit buses, they don't have the space to have tanks under the body but have tons of headroom instead.

Thank you! I appreciate it
I'll definitely do some research on that