Best RV Portable Waste Dump Tanks for 2023: Reviewed

Having a portable waste tank to dump your black and grey water out of your RV can be a convenient way to stay at a campground longer. We looked at many models of RV waste tanks, and found that for this, you want a durable, leakproof model that won’t leave anything behind. The Camco Rhino 28 gallon waste tank makes our top pick as it has all of the features we look for in a tote tank as well as comes with all accessories. It also has a built in hanger to attach it to your RV ladder for easy storage.

Best Portable RV Waste Tank for 2020: Our Top Pick

Our top pick, the Camco Rhino 28 gallon waste tank comes with hard no flat wheels, the ability to be towed by a vehicle, all the accessories you need, as well as an integrated hook to attach to your ladder. It truly is the best of the best for a low price.

Runner Up RV Portable Dump Tank

Coming in a close second, the Barker 4 wheel 42 gallon holding tank makes our runner up pick not because it is not a good tote, but its size is a bit large for most travel trailer users. It can hold 42 gallons of waste which may be way more than some users would need. It does have 4 wheels that roll nicely as well as the ability to tow behind your vehicle slow short distances. This would be great if you have a larger 5th wheel or RV and need the extra capacity.

Budget Pick RV Dump Tote

Our runner up is the same as our top pick, but just in a smaller size. The Camco Rhino Heavy Duty 21 gallon tote tank shares all the features as our top pick such as tow ability, coming with all accessories, having no flat tires, as well as integrated ladder hook. This model is for the user that has a smaller tank on their travel trailer, or just needs to get some of the liquid out.

Why you should trust us?

We have the problem of small RV holding tanks and like to go camping off grid for long periods of time. We have found that this product fits our need of dumping our tanks without having to hitch up and move the RV every time. This allows us to dump a few days worth of grey water in order to continue to take showers as well as use the toilet.

Who needs a portable RV dump tank?

If you camp at a site that does not have on site utilities and you need to dump as you are staying a long period of time or have a large family, a portable RV waste tank is for you. This is even helpful if you have a long distance from your RV to your on site dump station. You may not want to run a 20-30′ dump hose as it may get in the way, or may be hard to drain.

How we picked the best dump tote tank?

The quality of construction on our top models is the reason we have picked these great RV dump tanks. We do not want to be toting around 25 gallons of black tank and have our tote tank break on us.

Both of these totes are very portable. They have wheels that allow good maneuverability, but also have the ability to hook on the hitch and be pulled very slowly if they are too heavy to haul.

The products we have selected weigh lesser as compared to the competition. Lesser is not always better if you have to sacrifice the quality and thickness of plastic, which you would not want to do.

Having superior quality and low point valves makes our picks the best. This will ensure you dump as much product out of your tote as possible without spillage.

Our top pick dump tote comes with an integrated mounting solution that allows us to hook it and carry it around on our ladder. This saves us the ability to have to put it in the trucked or figure out another way to tote it around.

Portable RV Waste Tank Reviews

Our Pick: The best Portable Dump Tote

Our top pick, the Camco Rhino 28 gallon tank is a 28 gallon portable waste tank with a 3′ Rhino Extreme hose included for dumping. In fact, this comes with all accessories including: the hose, 15 inches of a water hose rinse adapter, clear adapter with 4 in 1 elbow, 3 storage caps, 2 caps with lanyards for rinse connections, steel tow bar adapter, and TST orange drop ins.

The size of this unit is 14.5″tall by 24″ wide by 44″ long and includes an integrated ladder hook that you can strap your tote securely inplace won your ladder when not in use. The unit itself weighs about 32 pounds so it is easy to maneuver around. To make rolling easier, it includes large heavy duty no flat wheels with bearings to make movement an ease by hand, towing with a golf cart, or even your truck hitch.

The tote tank will not leak with integrated gate valves with storage caps, and it is easy to rinse out with the rinse adapter. The waste tank is made of HDPE molded UF stabilized material with a two year warranty.

Runner Up RV Dump Tank

Our runner up, the Barker 4 wheel 42 gallon waste tank costs a bit more, but also has a greater capacity. This unit is a tow on the ground model with its 4 wheels instead of only having two. The front wheel is on a swivel making towing and getting into tight spots a breeze. There is an integrated tow hook so you can tow this behind your truck or golf cart, at slow speeds of course.

This pick is great if you do not want to lift any weight from the waste tank and only roll it.

The wheels on this tote are pneumatic meaning they are filled with air, and also have bearings for easy rolling and grease fittings for maintenance. The tote is constructed of polyethylene, steel, and aluminum.

The tote is equipped with a 3″ dump valve eliminating having to tilt the tote for dumping. There are 2 bayonet caps, one 5′ sewer hose, 2 3″ adapters, hose clamps, filler hose, and a tank full indicator. This unit is also backed by a 2 year warranty.

The Barker waste tank is 47 pounds and measures 45x24x14. This unit will have to be stored in your storage or back of your pickup as there is no integrated mounting for the RV ladder.

Budget Pick RV Holding Tank

Our budget pick, the Camco Rhino Heavy Duty 21 gallon tote is not only a great deal, but it gets the job done in a small package and price.

This is the same model as our top pick, but just a bit smaller coming in at 21 gallons instead of 28. Size-wise, this tote is smaller at 41×20.5×13″ and weighing 34.5 pounds. This model of dump tote includes an integrated hook to mount on the RV ladder for easy transportation.

Just like our top model, this includes large heavy duty wheels with bearings for easy transportation, a removable steel tow adapter which will allow you to tow it behind your golf cart or truck (slowly).

The portable waste tote is made of high-quality HDPE that won’t leak or deteriorate in the sun and has a 2 year warranty.

There is a low point drain on the bottom of the tank to connect your included 3 foot Rhino Extreme sewer hose and bayonet fittings to ensure a full dump. There is a 15″ rinse hose, clear elbow with 4 in 1 adapter, clear double elbow, 3 storage caps, 2 caps with lanyards, steel tow adapter, and TST orange drop ins to keep the smells down.

This is truly a kit you can use out of the box with no problems.

Thetford Smart Tote

The Thetford SmartTote used to be a decent portable holding tank, however with its redesign to the SmartTote2, there are several design flaws that have left users with products that have failed.

These flaws include leaking from bad hoses, broken handles, crushed axle holders, and others.

Until a further time this product is redesigned, we cannot reccomend.

How to use a RV Portable Holding Tank?

You will use a portable RV dump tank exactly like you use your sewer connection except you have one extra step as you have to dump the dump tank to the sewer connection instead of directly dumping.

Here is a quick video of the process of using a portable RV waste tank:

What Size Portable RV Dump Tank do I need?

You should purchase a RV dump tote large enough to carry enough liquid for either your black or grey tank.

For example, if you have a 20 gallon black water tank, you would want at least a 20 gallon portable RV waste tank. If you have a 40 gallon black or gray tank you need to empty, you can either purchase a larger portable dump tote, or just take two trips.

The size and capacity will greatly determine which dump tote you will get.

Keep in mind, a full 20 gallon dump tote will weigh about 140 pounds, a 40 gallon will weigh about 280. Keep the weight to something you think you can handle.

The 28 gallon dump tank which is our top pick is a great overall size.