An RV Owner Just Dumped Their Waste Tank Into A Gas Station’s Diesel Supply, And Somehow It’s Not Even The First Time

The ugliest part about RV ownership is not water leaks or wood rot, it’s taking a dump. Regardless if you use a cassette or a tank, it has to be emptied into a hole at a dump station at some point, and it’s a process that can make even the hardest people gag. Apparently, there’s a way to make dumping your fecal matter even worse. One RV owner in Colorado just dumped their RV’s waste tank, not into a dump station, but into a gas station’s diesel fuel supply.

This story comes to us from Wyoming’s Cowboy State Daily newspaper. The newspaper reports that, on the Monday of Memorial Day this week, a motorhome rolled up to a Maverik fuel station in Montrose, Colorado. The RV owner then hooked up their waste tank to a dump station and let the coach relieve itself, presumably of the dozens of gallons of waste that motorhomes can hold. There was only one problem, as the “dump station” was actually the fuel station’s inlet for its diesel tank.

It’s a story that sounds too stupid to be true. Why was an RV dumping its tanks at a gas station? How did the RV owner get the wrong hole? Yet, according to Cowboy State Daily, the station confirmed that the mishap did actually happen. I think I also see how the motorhome owner made the mistake. The image below is of the subject fuel station and the area of the station where the incident occurred, but not the offending motorhome:

The Worst Part About RVing

A lot of Autopian readers aren’t RV owners, so I’ll just start with the rather disgusting process of dumping RV tanks. When I perform a tank release, I roll up to a dump station, then don some gloves and a mask. Then, I yank out the waste hose, assemble it onto the end of the tank valve, and put the other end into the dump station.

The dump stations I’ve used tend to be holes in the ground surrounded by concrete. These send your waste right into the sanitary system so you can wash your hands of the bile, literally. Some of the fancy ones I’ve been to have sprayers to clean your hoses out or to connect to your tanks to flush those out.

I’ve also seen dump sites with large rocks or bricks at them to hold the end of your waste hose in the dump station hole. Trust me, you don’t want the hose to come out of the hole while you’re dumping. I had that happen to me in 2024, and it wasn’t far off from that funny scene from the film RV.

Anyway, I dump the black tank first, and when that runs dry, I then unleash the gray tank. The wastes in the gray tank tend to be old shower water and old sink water. Not stuff you’d want to drink, but not as terrible as what came out of the black tank. I use the gray tank dump to help clean the dump hose out before I attack it with a garden hose.

Dump stations can usually be found at improved campgrounds, RV dealers, RV storage facilities, and truck stops. However, some gas stations with dedicated truck and RV pumps also have them. This is the case with the Maverik in Montrose, Colorado. Even better, Maverik advertises free water and dump stations for RVs.

Some gas stations place their dump stations at the edge of their parking lots. At Maverik in Montrose, the freshwater hose is located between Pumps 11 and 12, while the dump station is at Pump 30. The dump station is right there in that concrete pit ahead of the pump in the photo below:

In theory, all the RV owner had to do was pull up and dump. They did that, but somehow, they dumped into the fuel station’s underground storage tank for diesel.

When I was studying this Maverik station, I noticed that, on one side of Pump 30, there is the RV dump station. On the other side of Pump 30 are the covers for the station’s underground storage tanks (UST). Apparently, the RV owner popped off one of these covers, removed the cap covering the tank, and unloaded their waste tank. Here’s what a UST looks like with its covers taken off:

Here’s what a UST looks like with its cap taken off. In this image, the spill bucket appears to be full:

As you can see, they aren’t really similar to an RV dump station. You sort of have to deliberately remove the cover and then the cap, somehow get zero clues that this isn’t a dump station, and then commit to dumping waste into it. Apparently, the caps can be locked on to prevent shenanigans with the fuel station’s supply (one of the images above shows a locked UST), but from what I’ve been able to find, it’s also common for the caps to be totally unlocked. That’s likely what happened here.

When the RV owner dumped their tanks into this hole, they sent dozens of gallons of waste into the station’s diesel holding tank. Upon learning of the mistake, the station shut down its diesel pumps. According to chatter on the Montrose Message Board on Facebook, the station might have just gotten a fresh load of diesel just that day, which only adds insult to injury. Here’s what the other side of the gas station looks like:

Fuel stations use separate tanks for major fuel grades like regular and premium, as well as for different fuels like diesel. These tanks could hold anywhere between 10,000 gallons and 20,000 gallons each. A few dozen gallons of waste from an RV is practically a rounding error. However, tank contamination is taken seriously, and the gas station will have to pump the diesel out of its UST and have the tank cleaned before it can be put into use again. Usually, these pump-out events are the result of water contamination or a mishap where the wrong fuel gets put into the wrong tank during delivery.

I have one major question: who pays for the screw-up? In the event of a misdelivery of fuel (where the wrong fuel gets put into the wrong UST), insurance companies tend to get involved. My wife and attorney, Sheryl, says it’s possible that the station or its carrier could go after the RV owner, but that would be after the tank is cleaned and refilled. I reached out to Maverik for a statement. Also, I know you’re curious, so here’s what a UST can look like:

It’s Not Even The First Time

Amazingly, this isn’t even the first time a mishap like this has happened. Back in 2020, CBC News reported that an RV driver rolled up to a fuel station in Canada’s Grand Falls-Windsor, then proceeded to dump their black tank into the station’s Regular gasoline supply. That station was forced to shut down its pumps for regular gasoline and serve only premium.

Honestly, that fact blows my mind. At least two completely different people saw the covers on the ground at a fuel station, and their minds went straight to thinking it was a dump station. I can only imagine how many times this has happened and wasn’t reported in a local newspaper.

If anything, let this story be a reminder to pay attention to your surroundings. In flight training, I learned the “three ‘D’s of safety.” Basically, I need to look out for things that are dumb, dangerous, or different. Ideally, you need to avoid dumb situations entirely, limit dangers as much as possible, and don’t become complacent during an unfamiliar situation.

In this case, the RV owner should have paid attention to the clues that they weren’t opening up a dump station. They should have confirmed the exact location of the dump station. It was just a few feet from where they actually dumped their tanks. Worst case, there’s no harm in just asking someone at the station for help.

At any rate, I must say that I didn’t have “RV owner dumps fecal matter into gas station’s diesel supply” on my bingo sheet for this year. It’s somehow equal parts hilarious and terrifying, and I hope the RV owner learned a lesson. I also hope that the gas station turned off the pumps before anyone managed to get some bile diesel into their tanks.

Top graphic image: DepositPhotos.com