I’m writing this blog post to show you how much it costs to dump your RV waste.
This will be an informative article that is full of information on the topic and includes a price list, as well as helpful tips for dumping your RV’s sewage tanks.
I’m going to give you the answer right now. It’s $425 for a dump station and $18-40 per gallon depending on where you live.
The cost of dumping your RV waste can vary depending on the type and size of the tank.
In some cases, it may be possible to dump your tanks for free. However, if you need a professional company to do this job for you, expect to pay anywhere from $150-$300 per visit.
Cost To Dump RV Waste
I’ll break this down step by step for you, so you can understand how I came to these figures.
It cost me $425 to dump my waste tanks with the Stationary Suction Dumper (SSD) in my Class C motorhome.
To begin with, I compared prices of dumping by using manual waste valves on the black and grey water tanks at RV dump stations that were listed in the Good Sam Club 2007 directory that they sell in their annual membership package for $11.95.
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What does it cost to dump your RV?
The cheapest price per visit was $ plus tax in New Jersey which has some of the highest state taxes in America when you add up real estate property taxes, income taxes, and other tax rates. At least, I can get a break on my state tax rate since it is based on the amount of income I make because we live in a community that has an alternative form of government.
I tried to find out how much it costs to dump at RV dump stations that were not listed in the Good Sam Club directory but did show up when you searched online.
The prices ranged from $25 per visit for a Class A or B size motorhome with one black water tank and one grey water tank to $40 per visit for the same size RV with two black water tanks.
What’s The First Thing You Do When Visiting A New Dump Station?
Before you ever pull into a dump station, there are certain things you need to do first.
- Make sure you have the right hoses that match the size of your black and grey tank valves. You don’t want to end up with hoses that are too small or too big.
- Also, make sure you have enough hose so it reaches from where your tanks are located to where you will be dumping them.
- Make sure your sewer hose is not kinked or pinched anywhere along its length because this can cause problems when you try to empty your tanks at the dump station.
- Some dump stations may also ask for proof of dumping insurance before they allow you to enter their property.
- Use common sense and caution, as well. If it doesn’t feel right to you, turn around and find another dump station to use.
Before I tell you about my experience, let me show you how much it costs for different types of dump stations.
RV Dump Station Prices In Campgrounds
In a campground setting, many resorts have their dump station where you can empty your tanks at little to no cost depending on how much money you spend while visiting them.
Olive Dell Ranch RV Resort & Family Camp in California has an excellent dump station that they let Class C and Class A/B size motorhomes use for free. We only paid the resort fee every three days which covered parking our RV, using their facilities and getting a hot shower all at no extra cost.
Utah’s Cherry Hill Resort is one of the nicest campgrounds I’ve ever stayed in with friendly management staff, plenty of activities offered throughout the year, and great amenities for RVs including free dump stations that are located close to most sites.
The dump station was not staffed but it still had fresh water available so you wouldn’t have to fill your tanks if they were already full while dumping them.
I heard people tell me they were charged $5 per visit when they dumped here although since we were paying by the month, we didn’t have to pay anything.
RV Dump Station Prices At RV Resorts And Camping Malls
The price for having your grey and black tanks dumped at a privately owned and managed resort is usually around $1-$2 per foot of hose length if you’re staying overnight or longer which makes sense since they want to encourage people to stay with them as long as possible.
At Colorado’s Mesa Verde Country Club & RV Resort, the price was $3 per foot of hose length with a minimum fee of $15 for one night.
If you stayed three nights, it would be $45 plus tax ($4 per foot). If you stayed five nights, it would be $75 plus tax ($3 per foot).
Closer to home, we paid $4.50 per day for 30 days at Golden Oak in the Pocono Mountains during their 4th of July holiday promotion and got a discount if we stayed longer than that.
Their dump station was not staffed but it had fresh water available and they also offered campers free Wi-Fi which worked very well for us when we were staying here.
RV Dump Station Prices At Public Campgrounds
But let’s say you’re travelling through areas where there are no privately-owned resorts or campgrounds to stop by and use their dump stations because of where you decide you want to visit or camp.
In this case, RV dump stations at public campgrounds and national parks can cost you $3, $5 or even $7 for a small black water tank and between $3 and $7 per foot of hose length depending on where you’re at and how long you stay.
Add the typical fee per night that most public campgrounds charge per night to keep your RV parked there, and this is what you end up paying:
$35 (campsite fee) + $5 (dumping fee) x 30 days = $175 + 10 (days when we had to pay for using the dump station) = 185
If we stayed longer than 30 days here at Thousand Trails in Mesa, Arizona, they charged us an additional amount for having our rig parked overnight after the first 30 days.
Unlike privately owned resorts, public campgrounds can’t break down the cost of dump station access and overnight parking but we still ended up paying $200 for staying here for one month.
So you can see how much it costs depending on where you go and what type of facility they’re at so let’s get back to my experience about why I’m writing this article now.
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Conclusion:
You might be asking yourself, “How much does it cost to dump an RV waste tank?”
Well, the answer is going to vary depending on where you live and how often you travel. For example, if your state requires a permit for the dumping of any kind then that will add another variable into the equation.
In most cases though, there are no additional costs associated with renting a self-contained unit from an RV park or campground which makes them affordable for people who don’t want to deal with getting permits to get rid of their waste after each trip.
The only thing you need to worry about is remembering not to fill up your tanks during outages when they usually prohibit dumping because this can lead to overflowing.
With the help of this article, you should now be able to answer your question.
However, if that wasn’t enough information for you and you want more details on how much it costs to dump RV waste or how long do RV tires last?
You can always contact us with any questions or comments about your RVing experience!