Author: David

Using a sewer tote tank and macerator pump to dump waste tanks from the back of our truck again

I previously posted about using a sewer tote and macerator pump to empty our waste tanks. Here’s another example of doing this, with a variation to cope with parking in front of our coach.

I dumped when our gray and black waste tanks reached 50%; we could have been conservative and made it the week with that space, but it was nice not to need to do so:

50% gray and black tanks

The wet bay, with the power for the macerator hooked up, along with the sewer pipe:

Wet bay

The macerator pump, hooked up to a sewer hose and a garden hose dedicated to this purpose:

Macerator pump

When parked in front of the coach, it’s a bit longer to get from the wet bay to the truck:

Hoses

The hose into the tote in the back of the (pollen-y) truck:

Hose into tote

Filling the tote:

Filling tote

8% gray and 13% black after the first dump; I fully emptied them the day before we departed, which took another two dumps (with the liquids added after the first dump):

8% gray and 13% black after first dump

Dumping from the truck at the dump station:

Dumping at dump station

The tote in the back of the truck while dumping:

Tote in the back of the truck while dumping

It’s nice to have this option when we don’t have a sewer hookup.

Emporia / I-95 KOA

We stayed at Emporia / I-95 KOA in Emporia, Virginia. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A convenient stop on the way north. This is described as a KOA Holiday, but is more of a Journey. This is a reasonable place to stop (if you don’t mind the train horns at all hours), but I wouldn’t call it a holiday destination.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2025-03-30
  • Check out: 2025-04-01
  • 2 nights

Weather:

  • Partly cloudy, some rain
  • High temp 79°F, lows 49-64°F
  • Some wind, gusts to 25 MPH

Noise:

  • Little road noise
  • Nearby train horn noise, about every half hour, day and night
  • Some neighbor noise

Site:

  • #126, pull-through, gravel
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t since only two nights
  • Somewhat level site; high on passenger side and front; used hydraulic leveling
  • Gravel driveway about 80 feet long by 13 feet wide
  • 11 feet to neighbor on passenger side
  • 22 feet to neighbor on driver side
  • Just grass between sites
  • Picnic table
  • Fire pit
  • No trees
  • Somewhat clean site
  • Elevation 120 feet, front facing NE

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, conveniently located
  • 50 PSI water, conveniently located
  • Unthreaded sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 226-244 Mbps down, 6 Mbps up, 14-21 ms ping
  • AT&T: 90-146 Mbps down, 11 Mbps up, 62 ms ping
  • Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 85 ms ping (our SIM has 5 Mbps max)
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpsters and bins
  • Closed seasonal pool

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Good for a quick stop

It’s my understanding that a KOA Holiday is supposed to be the destination and reason for going there. Why this is listed as a Holiday is beyond me. It was perfectly fine for a short stay, but the train noise all day and night would preclude me from wanting to stay any longer than necessary. Our nightly rate was because I used $50 in KOA reward points for a two-night stay. Otherwise, this would have been far too expensive for what it was. We camped at Emporia / I-95 KOA in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Utilities; rather high sewer, with no thread, so I used the water bag weight:

Utilities

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Seasonally closed pool:

Closed pool

Not too bad a stop for a day or two, other than the train horn noise; if we come this way again, we might look for another option.

Travel from Wake Forest, North Carolina to Emporia, Virginia

We drove our coach 111 miles, about two hours of driving, from Wake Forest, North Carolina to Emporia, Virginia.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading north:

Map

An interactive map:

Leaving the campground; a nice view:

Leaving campground

Falls Lake:

Falls Lake

Route 1 North:

Route 1 North

I-85 North:

I-85 North

Welcome to Virginia:

Welcome to Virginia

Welcome center:

Welcome center

Rest area lunch stop:

Rest area lunch stop

Route 58 East:

Route 58 East

Brodnax water tower:

Brodnax water tower

Fun with zoom:

Fun with zoom

I-95 North:

I-95 North

Exit to KOA:

Exit to KOA

Arriving at KOA:

Arriving at KOA

Guided to our site:

Guided to our site

Holly Point Campground – Falls Lake SRA

We stayed at Holly Point Campground – Falls Lake SRA in Wake Forest, North Carolina. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A very nice lakeside campground, but the spring tree pollen was horrendous.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2025-03-23
  • Check out: 2025-03-30
  • 7 nights

Weather:

  • Partly sunny, a little rain
  • High temps 62-77°F, lows 37-55°F
  • Little wind, gusts to 23 MPH, but sheltered by trees

Noise:

  • No road noise
  • No train horn noise
  • Little neighbor noise
  • Regular plane noise (on the flightpath of Raleigh-Durham International Airport, 10 miles away)

Site:

  • #69 (loop 2), back-in, gravel
  • Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
  • Mostly level site; slightly high on front driver side; used hydraulic leveling
  • Gravel driveway about 60 feet long by 10 feet wide
  • About 30 feet to neighbor on passenger side
  • About 50 feet to road on driver side
  • Trees between sites
  • Picnic table
  • Fire pit
  • Lantern hook
  • Tall trees
  • Mostly clean site (one bit of trash)
  • Elevation 290 feet, front facing North

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, conveniently located
  • 70 PSI water, conveniently located
  • No sewer; we used our tote and the dump station

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 30-35 Mbps down, 7 Mbps up, 30-100 ms ping
  • AT&T: 49-60 Mbps down, 0.25-0.75 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
  • Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up, 100 ms ping (our SIM has 5 Mbps max)
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

  • Lake
  • Dump station

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Beautiful park, but beware the pollen in spring

It turns out that camping in the middle of a hardwood forest during the week the trees come alive in the spring is a fantastic way to find out if you have terrible allergies. The pollen in this part of NC is no joke. Besides the trees trying to kill me, this was a beautiful campground. Our site was plenty long enough for our 40-foot motorhome and tow vehicle. However, some sites looked like they would have been too sloped to work, so be sure to check the details of the specific site you’re booking. Site 69 had a great view of the water through the trees and was close to the small beach/picnic area. We camped at Holly Point Campground – Falls Lake SRA in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Falls lake state recreation area map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

View of the lake out our window; fortunately the intervening site was empty most of the week, and only used as a day-use site on the weekend (which I have mixed feelings about, taking a site from an overnight camper):

View of the lake out our window

View of sunrise over the lake from our site:

View of sunrise over the lake from our site

A peek of our site from the swimming beach, and a goose:

A peek of our site from the swimming beach, and a goose

Geese on the beach:

Geese on the beach

Boat on the lake:

Boat on the lake

Swimming beach:

Swimming beach

Swimming beach

Swimming beach

Swimming beach

Geese

We used the dump station via the tote in the back of the truck three times:

We used the dump station three times

Dumpsters at the dump station:

Dumpsters at the dump station

On the flight path, 10 miles from Raleigh-Durham International Airport:

On the flight path, 10 miles from Raleigh-Durham International Airport

Bathrooms:

Bathrooms

Lakefront:

Lakefront

Boat on the lake:

Boat on the lake

This trailer was backing itself into the site, not hooked up to the car:

This trailer was backing itself into the site, not hooked up to the car

Tent sites:

Tent sites

Tent sites

Tent sites

Other sites:

Other sites

Many not very level:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

A very nice campground, other than the pollen. We’d be happy to be back, in the same site, at a different time of year.

Travel from Charleston, South Carolina to Wake Forest, North Carolina

We drove our coach 301 miles, about five hours of driving, from Charleston, South Carolina to Wake Forest, North Carolina.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading north:

Route map

An interactive map:

Preparing to leave our site:

Preparing to leave our site

Nice looking but mildly concerning trees overhanging the road:

Nice looking but mildly concerning trees overhanging the road

Approaching Charleston:

Approaching Charleston

Roadworks:

Roadworks

Exit to I-95 North:

Exit to I-95 North

Rest area, unusual in that truck parking is through the car parking:

Rest area, unusual in that truck parking is through the car parking

Paladin looking at Lake Marion bridge:

Paladin looking at Lake Marion bridge

Petro fuel stop:

Petro fuel stop

$206.27 for 57 gallons of diesel before discount:

$206.27 for 57 gallons of diesel before discount

Iron Skillet lunch:

Iron Skillet lunch

Back to our coach:

Back to our coach

Hello fellow Tiffin Allegro Bus:

Hello fellow Tiffin Allegro Bus

South of the Border:

South of the Border

Welcome to North Carolina:

Welcome to North Carolina

Sleepy Paladin:

Sleepy Paladin

Rest area:

Rest area

An interesting building:

An interesting building

Arriving at Holly Point Campground in Falls Lake State Recreation Area:

Arriving at Holly Point Campground in Falls Lake State Recreation Area

Entrance station:

Entrance station

Arriving at our site:

Arriving at our site

Loose mudguard above rear wheels

I noticed that a mudguard panel above the driver-side rear wheels was loose, falling down onto the tire. Not ideal. It looked like it was only held up by one bolt, buried in foam insulation, which had come loose. So I reattached it. I also got some more bolts to better attach it, though I haven’t bothered to do that yet, since that one bolt seems sufficient. But I’ll keep an eye on it.

Mudguard above rear wheel

Bolt

Bolt