The Test of the Blue Boy

I first want to show the lovely spot that we are parked at in a vacant lot owned by and in front of our hosts.

The property is well treed for wind breaking and shade.  Open prairie is the offering at the campground, and highway traffic noise aplenty. (shots pending).  Seems this time I started with digression, but ever forward....

 

Today I got my first opportunity to test out the blue boy.  For those unfamiliar with the term, it is a generic term for a device that is used for hauling sewer when you are at a site without individual connections for waste disposal.

Mine is a 15 gallon 2 wheeled towable model.  The idea is that you simply connect the sewer hose to the portable tank, then seal it and haul it to the nearest dumping station.

  

As we recently discovered that we could drain the grey water without it going through the black water, and since our hosts have us parked next to a parched garden, we simply let the grey run into the garden.  I have 2 20' new sewer hoses connected together to reach the garden.

To start the process, I shut the grey water valve off, switch the hose to the 10' sewer hose (to keep any "black water" contents from getting into the garden watering)  and connected to the blue boy (the large black cap near the wheels on the left in the picture). The blue boys was lying flat on the ground with the  openings facing up.  I then opened the valve of the black tank and the air vent on the blue boy (the small black cap on the right side in the picture). This allows the air in the blue boy to be vented out as the refuse pours in.

I then closed the black valve, and rinsed the RV's sewer connector by running water into the grey tank and opening the valve into the blue boy.  I reclosed the grey long enough to reconnect the longer hose into the garden. 

Next, I disconnected the short hose from the blue boy and recapped the main outlet and the vent, slung the sewer hose around the hitch of the blue boy and then moved it to the moped for the next phase - transportation!!

 It is rather interesting how quickly the flies detect a honey wagon!! :-) but I digress...

I then bungeed the trailer hitch (the metal part on the right of the picture) to the bike rack of the moped, and drove it at 10 km/h or less  the 6 blocks to the campground's central dumping station.  The moped moves faster, but the cheap plastic wheels of the blue boy can't take higher speeds.  The friction of higher speed could prematurely damage the mobility of the blue boy.

I then connected a short sewer hose onto the blue boy while it was lying flat, and also opened the vent.  Once connected to the sewer receptacle of the dump station, I stood the blue boy upright.  

It emptied quite quickly, after which  I rinsed the blue boy.  First, by pouring water in the vent hole, and shaking it a bit.  When it seemed to be empty, I drained the sewer hose and disconnected it.  I poured more water in the big opening to ensure it was well rinsed.  One more rinse of the sewer hose made it free of the last refuse.  Finally, I reconnected the bungee to the blue boy and the moped rack, and headed for home.  

This is a much easier process then moving the whole unit (including drawing in the slides and re-leveling after returning to the site) just for a 5 minute dump, especially when the site is a back in with a jack knife push into the site.  

I am well pleased with this handy device.  Ours was priced at $175 or so, but was thrown in as compensation for the loss of a long weekend camp option due to the dealership's mishandling of a repair back when we first got the rig.  There is also a 25 gallon version with 4 wheels, but I felt it would be too big for easy transport.

It has been living in our basement, but we have been advised that as its usage becomes more obvious, it may not be as welcome in the basement as when it is new.  A lot of people strap it to the roof ladders between the rig and the ladder.

Anyway, with this addition to my experiences, I bid you

Adieu