Sewer Hook-Ups

[mmcphee]

We just bought our first trailer and we are trying to figure out what we need (diamters, lengths, connectors etc.) for the sewer. We have reserved a preferred site. Do we need anything special for the electric hook-up?

Thanks!

Mary Ellen

 

[LONE-STAR]

A lot has to do with where the connections are at on your trailer and witch site you get. On our first trailer we never had a problem with just the basic elec. cord that comes with the trailer. Plus a 20' water hose, 20' sewer hose, and a 25' cable for the TV. That all worked perfect on our old trailer witch was 27' long and all the hook up were at the rear of the trailer. Now our new trailer is another story. Its a 36' long toy hauler with all the connections more towards the front and nothing was long enough. Part of the reason nothing was long enough also was they put us in the 1900 loop this last trip and they moved all the hook ups to the rear of the site. Before we had always stayed in the 200 loop and the hook ups were more centrally located. So if your trailer is not to long you should be fine with the basics because you can put the trailer where it needs to be. But if your trailer is very long you are just stuck with where it fits in the site. Then you might want to bring some longer stuff. Hope this helps and congrats on the new trailer.

 

[MALE*RN*777]

Just an fyi on your first trailer and I wish someone would have explained it in more detail to me but I just wanted to pass on. You might or might not have already been told but you will want to by some deodorizing drop ins or liquid pour in for you black water tank. Also although you will have hookup, you will want to leave your black tank closed until full or close to full in order to get a good dumping of the solids including the toilet paper. Depending on how much you use your toilet you may want to do this mid way through your stay and then close it so that when you are about to dump for the final time you will again have a good flow. We currently buy Scotts RV toilet paper. Also be sure to put some more deodorizer in before leaving with a little water (a gallon or two). Also those sensors to tell you how much is in the tank aren't very accurate because if you have something solid resting on one it may show it fuller than it is. Sounds sick but I use a flash light to look down in the tank. As for the grey water, you can leave that open to the sewer and close a day or two before you leave so that when you dump you dump the black first then the grey to clean out the tubing. Like I said you might already know this but I thought it might help if you didn't. We had a pop-up with only grey water hook up before our trailer and just didn't seem to get that information. A nice guy next to us at a campground told me about this after he saw my valves being open. You meet some great people camping. HAVE FUN...We'll be there in Oct 09.

 

[mmcphee]

Thank you both. We are completely new to camping with a trailer and will take all the tips we can get!

 

[tim5055]

The best "tip" I ever got was to use the camper near home first. It is a lot easier to learn how to do things with out the stress of a long trip, and when you discover you don't have something it's easy to run home and get it.

 

[SunshineCamper]

1. DUMP A FULL TANK
When you are camping and your RV is connected to a sewer/septic intake, leave the drain valves closed until the tank is full and ready to dump. Dumping a full tank provides a sufficient quantity of water to flush solids from the tank. Leaving the drain valves open allows the water to drain off without flushing out solid waste. That solid waste will collect in the tank(s) and cause problems over time.

2. DUMP TANKS IN ORDER FROM DIRTIEST TO CLEANEST
In other words, dump the black (commode) water tank first, then dump the galley tank, then dump the shower and bathroom sink tank. This way you will be flushing out the dirtiest water with progressively cleaner water.

3. USE WATER SOFTENER
This stuff is amazing and it works. Buy a couple of boxes of powdered water softener at the grocery store. You’ll find it located with or near the laundry detergent products. I prefer Calgon Water Softener because it dissolves quickly in water. Cheaper water softeners work just as well but dissolve more slowly. Dissolve two (2) cups of the water softener in a gallon of hot water. Then, pour the solution down the drain into the empty tank. Use two cups of softener for each wastewater tank in your RV. The tank’s drain valve should be closed otherwise the softened water will just drain out. Then use the tank(s) normally until it is full and drain it normally. Add a cup of laundry detergent to the black (commode) water tank at the same time. This will help clean the tank.The gray water tanks should already contain soap through normal use.

The water softener makes the solid waste let go from the sides of the tanks. If you’ve ever taken a shower in softened water you know that after rinsing the soap from your body your skin will feel slick. That’s because all the soap rinses away with soft water. Softened water also prevents soap scum from sticking in the tub. Get the connection? With softened water gunk washes away instead of sticking. The same thing applies to your RV’s wastewater tanks.

I use one of those clear plastic elbow connectors to attach my sewer drain line to the wastewater outlet on my RV. It allows me to see how well things are progressing during a wastewater dump. Before I began using water softener regularly the black water tank’s water was brown, the galley tank’s water was brownish, and the bathroom tank’s water was white. The first time I added water softener to the tanks the water coming from the black water tank was actually black (not brown) and the kitchen tank’s water was also black (not brownish). The bathroom tank’s water remained white. That told me that the water softener had actually done what I had intended for it to do and made solid waste, which had been stuck to the interior of the tanks, let go and drain away. I added water softener to all the wastewater tanks for the next few dumps to be certain all the solid waste possible had been cleaned away. The wastewater only appeared black on the initial treatment. I now add water softener to each tank once after every few dumps to maintain the system.

Occasionally, I pour a gallon of liquid bleach into each tank to sanitize and disinfect them. I no longer use the blue toilet chemical because it isn’t necessary. I have no odors coming from my black water tank. Generic brand liquid bleach is cheap and very effective.

http://www.geocities.com/ndjollymon/Outbacktankspg.html?1113254796803

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

Great advice......

I added a tornado flusher to our black tank on both of our travel trailers. Our Fleetwood drained pretty well but out Outback doesnt drain quite as well and if I didnt use the flusher I would end up with a couple of gallons of gunk in my black tank. Now I just drain it and hook the hose up to the trailer and flush it for 5 min or so, I also use a clear elbow so I can tell when it is clean. We usually put a good squirt of dish soap down the toilet after the draining and before the flushing.

 

[retired and happy]

Be sure you have a good quality white hose for potable water and do not use it for anything else. White hoses are especially designed to maintain the purity of the water going through them, whereas other colored hoses can release chemicals into the water you might not want to drink and can affect the taste of the water. Also using another color hose for other water purposes helps you remember to keep the white drinking water hose sanitary. When the white hose is in storage, keep the ends connected to each other to avoid contamination or small visitors.

While the white hose will keep incoming water from acquiring bad tastes within the hose, it will not clean water that already has contaminates. You may want to consider a filter for your incoming water. Many types are available depending on what you want to spend and what you want to filter. Also a pressure regulator for your incoming water to protect your TT pipes from excessive supply pressure.

You'll also want an adapter for the end of your sewer hose to adapt to different size pipes in the ground. Some adapters are tapered, some are threaded with various thread sizes. Either one will usually work. We also use a weighted strap that lies across the sewer connection at the ground to help insure a sudden flow of sewage does not dislodge the hose from the ground pipe.

All of our utilities connect at the middle of our motorhome. So far the loops we have been in have had the water faucet at the front of the site, the power and cable connections at the rear, and the sewer near the middle. We have occasionally had to use an additional short white hose to extend the water connection and extra power and cable extensions to reach those connectors. At some campgrounds, other than FW, we have needed longer sewer hoses.

Maybe more than you wanted to hear, but having the right service connections can get your camping experiences off to a better start. Enjoy, and Post often with questions, advice, or travel information.

 

[Pirate-Jeff]

I use one of these to hook up to the sewer system at most campgrounds it fits several size drains

you will also need some sort of sewer hose support because we all know that **** runs down hill. I use a sidewinder

You will need a drinking water safe hose I carry a 10' and a 25' hose.

You should have a water pressure regulator installed between the campgrounds faucet and your water hose. Some campground have more water pressure than you camper can handle

and pick up 25' or 50' roll of 75 ohm coaxial cable or RG6 cable for the cable tv hook up

You can find all of this at most Wal-marts and any Camping store. Disney even has this stuff at the meadows trading post but way overpriced

 

[John VN]

Just to add a couple of things we've learned from our 35 years of RVing....

1) The use of disposable gloves comes in handy if there is a leak.

2) I would suggest leaving the gray water valve closed also to help keep creepy crawlies or flies out of your tank.

3) Always open your gray water valve first for a couple of seconds to check for connection leaks or hose leaks or PLUGGED sewer drain! This can prevent an unexpected mess in which case you would be very happy that you had the disposable gloves on.

4) After dumping black tank and before dumping gray tank, it helps to fill black tank 1/2 to 3/4 full and dump again. Removes any lingering stuff.

5) The use of regular Scott TP is fine. No need for any brand of expensive RV-TP.

6) WM has the new CAMCO Revolution sewer hose kit that has everything needed for a dumping hose.

 

[P.I. Squirrel]

you will also need some sort of sewer hose support because we all know that **** runs down hill. I use a sidewinder

We've used a section of gutter and a couple of bricks to do the same. The gutter supports the hose to prevent it from snaking as the waste runs through it. Sidewinders are popular, and we would get one but we sold our TT.

You should have a water pressure regulator installed between the campgrounds faucet and your water hose. Some campground have more water pressure than you camper can handle

With a new RV, always check every water connection every so often, even with a regulator. Ours (a Salem 27BHSS) developed a leak within a day of ownership, from a kinked reinforced hose. We just replaced that section with a stainless steel flexible supply line from the hardware store.

Just to add a couple of things we've learned from our 35 years of RVing....

1) The use of disposable gloves comes in handy if there is a leak.

2) I would suggest leaving the gray water valve closed also to help keep creepy crawlies or flies out of your tank.

3) Always open your gray water valve first for a couple of seconds to check for connection leaks or hose leaks or PLUGGED sewer drain! This can prevent an unexpected mess in which case you would be very happy that you had the disposable gloves on.

4) After dumping black tank and before dumping gray tank, it helps to fill black tank 1/2 to 3/4 full and dump again. Removes any lingering stuff.

5) The use of regular Scott TP is fine. No need for any brand of expensive RV-TP.

6) WM has the new CAMCO Revolution sewer hose kit that has everything needed for a dumping hose.

Since our shower hose would reach, we flushed our black water tank with hot water from the shower before travel.

One last thing is to not leave your windows or ventilation screen open in the bathroom if you are having your toilet flush valve open for longer than a couple seconds, the odors from the black water tank will enter through the open valve.

 

[LarryJ]

snip, snip, .... When the white hose is in storage, keep the ends connected to each other to avoid contamination or small visitors.

That's fine for just a few days, but for longer I would recommend letting it air dry and not leaving stagnant water in the hose with it closed up and the ends attached for month's at a time if you plan to drink or use it for anything other than washing or the bathroom facilities.

Larry

 

[dtum]

1. DUMP A FULL TANK
When you are camping and your RV is connected to a sewer/septic intake, leave the drain valves closed until the tank is full and ready to dump. Dumping a full tank provides a sufficient quantity of water to flush solids from the tank. Leaving the drain valves open allows the water to drain off without flushing out solid waste. That solid waste will collect in the tank(s) and cause problems over time.

2. DUMP TANKS IN ORDER FROM DIRTIEST TO CLEANEST
In other words, dump the black (commode) water tank first, then dump the galley tank, then dump the shower and bathroom sink tank. This way you will be flushing out the dirtiest water with progressively cleaner water.

3. USE WATER SOFTENER
This stuff is amazing and it works. Buy a couple of boxes of powdered water softener at the grocery store. You’ll find it located with or near the laundry detergent products. I prefer Calgon Water Softener because it dissolves quickly in water. Cheaper water softeners work just as well but dissolve more slowly. Dissolve two (2) cups of the water softener in a gallon of hot water. Then, pour the solution down the drain into the empty tank. Use two cups of softener for each wastewater tank in your RV. The tank’s drain valve should be closed otherwise the softened water will just drain out. Then use the tank(s) normally until it is full and drain it normally. Add a cup of laundry detergent to the black (commode) water tank at the same time. This will help clean the tank.The gray water tanks should already contain soap through normal use.

The water softener makes the solid waste let go from the sides of the tanks. If you’ve ever taken a shower in softened water you know that after rinsing the soap from your body your skin will feel slick. That’s because all the soap rinses away with soft water. Softened water also prevents soap scum from sticking in the tub. Get the connection? With softened water gunk washes away instead of sticking. The same thing applies to your RV’s wastewater tanks.

I use one of those clear plastic elbow connectors to attach my sewer drain line to the wastewater outlet on my RV. It allows me to see how well things are progressing during a wastewater dump. Before I began using water softener regularly the black water tank’s water was brown, the galley tank’s water was brownish, and the bathroom tank’s water was white. The first time I added water softener to the tanks the water coming from the black water tank was actually black (not brown) and the kitchen tank’s water was also black (not brownish). The bathroom tank’s water remained white. That told me that the water softener had actually done what I had intended for it to do and made solid waste, which had been stuck to the interior of the tanks, let go and drain away. I added water softener to all the wastewater tanks for the next few dumps to be certain all the solid waste possible had been cleaned away. The wastewater only appeared black on the initial treatment. I now add water softener to each tank once after every few dumps to maintain the system.

Occasionally, I pour a gallon of liquid bleach into each tank to sanitize and disinfect them. I no longer use the blue toilet chemical because it isn’t necessary. I have no odors coming from my black water tank. Generic brand liquid bleach is cheap and very effective.

http://www.geocities.com/ndjollymon/Outbacktankspg.html?1113254796803

We use the calgon also. Have never been able to find the powdered kind though so use liquid calgon. Also use the laundry detergent. It's a very good practice to get into after you dump your tanks and are ready to move on. The motion of the calgon and laundry detergent mixing around in there while towing does a great "scrubbing" job to the inside of the tanks.

After staying at several campground where the cleanout was uphill (not a fun job moving the slinky hose up and down to try and clean things out) we bought a Sewer Solutions this year. It has a 1" hose and can drain uphill. What sold us on it was that it doesn't require a battery to work. Hooks up the same as the old system, but has a hose connected to the side of it. It uses the water pressure like a pressure washer to break down waste and flush it away. It was great and I only wish we had known about it sooner. It's self cleaning so there is no mess when we are done using it. We got ours at CW plus an extra 10' hose for camping. At home we use 1" PVC pipe to connect our 5r to our home sewer so we can clean the tanks at home.

We also found that you should have two of everything. Told our friends this when they recently bought their new 5r and they didn't heed the message. Ended up not being able to connect their sewer because they were too far away. It's better to be prepared and have extra than to need it and not have it around. Even an extra cable for TV (we actually stayed at a place with one central Cable hookup and we needed 50' of cable to reach it!)

Good luck and have a great time learning everything.

 

[jaysbabe]

Thanks for all the info. Hubby and I bought our first RV in Jun. We have used it a couple of times but believe me we learn something new each time.

I have forwarded this link to him as it has some really good ideas.

Thanks again for sharing. THis is what I love about the DIS board.