Look, let’s just get to the bottom of things. While you’re enjoying the wilderness, nature calls. It can be helpful to have an RV toilet to provide some privacy but every few days you’ll have to dump the tank. Do you have to empty the RV holding tank too often for it to be convenient? 

How often do you have to empty your RV toilet? 

You typically have to empty your RV toilet every three to five days based on your body count and level of bathroom activities. Otherwise, you could struggle with waste buildup that leads to clogs, odors, and malfunctioning sensors. 

When your holding tank fills with urine and solid waste odors will fill the tank due to the high volume of waste. Using more water can help you avoid unpleasant smells, but as waste builds up the odor will escape regardless of liquid levels. 

Using enough water is important for the survival and effectiveness of bacteria that eliminate unwanted smells by pushing the bad bacteria out. 

To use enough water to keep the good bacteria healthy, then you’ll need to dump your tank when it’s between two-thirds to three-quarters full. 

But you can’t drop your dumps just anywhere. Open dumping or draining your camper tank on the ground can harm the environment, plus it’s illegal, especially in national forests and parks. Grey water counts as illegal waste as well. 

Plan your proper waste disposal location or find a designated dumping site before your trip. Look up the closest camper dumping site online. 

Many designated dumping areas are located at travel centers, truck stops, RV parks, campgrounds, national parks (rarely), and at home (your sewer cleanout). 

Sometimes campgrounds will allow you to empty your RV toilet even if you aren’t staying there for a small fee. But sometimes they are only accessible through a campsite and are only available for guests. 

You might be able to empty your motorhome holding tanks at home if your home sewer cleanout is accessible enough to hook your discharge hose to the home sewer cleanout, so you can dump as you would at a station. 

Don’t let clogs or foule odors ruin your trips, but remember that people have to empty their systems, so you’ll have to frequently empty your RV toilet and holding tank systems as well.