Any Modifications To Sewer Connection?

[Chixter]

I've tried the 'search' function, can't seem to get an answer.  One thing negative I saw when looking at an LE2 today was the sewer connection nestled into that tight bumper space.  I am interested in using the Wastemaster system :   https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Plumbing/Lippert-Components/LC359724.html.  But even using a Rhino or similar seems a bit tight in there, forget about installing a cam-lock type connector.  No way to run this out to a more accessible location?  I've read many owners keep the hose connected once it's on.  Stan & Linda use a maceration system. This location also prevents a valve from being installed on the end of the pipe...a safeguard if you will.  IDK I think all of the engineering into this TT and the termination of the waste drain seems rather lame.  Anyone do some field changes here?

[Mike and Carol]

We keep the hose attached all the time.  After I drain the black tank I do two rinses and then drain the gray.  Then, I cap the end of the hose (actually, the clear section added to the end of the hose), put it back into the bumper and away we go.  Mike

[Try2Relax]

Same here, put a clear 45° elbow and attached 1 section of Rhino, then I compress and store another section and I took one of those angled bridge supports divided it in half and both halves got in there too.

 

There is enough room to work the Rhino connector so I would think there should be enough to get that camlock fitting on and clamped (I wouldn't undo it) and store it in there. If you noticed the ends of the opening are widened to allow the larger fittings to be pushed in and then they won't just slide out anywhere.

 

They make the whole thing themselves, so if you want to engineer the bottom plate to be open in that area they would probably work with you on it.

[SeaDawg]

We use a macerator system. They are, imo, prone to failure. Paul rebuilt the first failed pump. Actually, the parts guy said something like, " really? No one does that....Yuck."

Second time, bought a new pump. This is over the course of six or seven years. We are very careful about keeping enough liquid in the tank, no foreign objects, etc . Just seems to us that the RV macerator pumps are kind of puny and finicky, imo. Maybe, chintzy?

 

Some friends went the macerator route and returned to the stinky slinky... Reliable, and no mechanical breakdowns.

 

When this one breaks, we may do the same. At the new house, the Ollie has its own designed dump station. We don't have to run a long hose anymore.

Sherry

 

[KarenLukens]

I would stay away from the waste-master not only because I'm cheap, but because I really doubt that you could get the head to fit in the bumper even with Grinding and bending down the bottom plate. The waste is designed perfectly for the Rhino. And the Rhino comes complete with its own cap. It works fine just the way that it was designed, so don't try to over think it. You will want 30'. I have thought about wastemasters hose ramps but I've had my Camco slinky for years and it's been through a lot ... :)

[Hikegsm]

It works fine just the way that it was designed, so don’t try to over think it. You will want 30′. I have thought about wastemasters hose ramps but I’ve had my Camco slinky for years and it’s been through a lot … ????

 

I am glad Chixter brought this topic up.  We have been thinking about the hose connections and what system to buy too. Do you use the hard plastic rhino that you compress like an accordion? Try2relax, do you use the 45 degree elbow inside the compartment? 30 feet is more than we usually carry, surprised that all fits. I guess you need that much because of where the sewer connection is.

[KarenLukens]

Yup, having the length fully adjustable makes the dip off of the bumper hold its shape. With the Valterra hose being loose, it has a tendency to fall off of the slinky, so the Rhinoflex makes the difference. We end up staying at friends houses a lot and having 30' gets us free hook ups a lot. Our sewer outlet at home is almost 30' and the extra 15' of hose fits inside the bumper with lots of room to spare. I actually have about 50' in ours, just not all Rhinoflex yet...

[trumpetguy]

Before we sold our Ollie I considered cutting a hole in the bottom of the storage compartment and running a permanent 90 degree elbow through the bottom with a bayonet fitting for the slinky.  this was following a black tank "event" in a commercial Campground where the hose disconnected from the factory fitting.  What a mess.  Thankfully it was 6:00 AM and I was able to get it hosed off before anyone was awake.

 

it may not be visually appealing but the conventional sewer connection on the side of most trailers is much more practical, and easier to use.

[Try2Relax]

 

The top photo is everything in place, the second photo is everything that I store in there, plus the hose end caps you can't see, there's still some room too. If you look you'll see the elbow. That the hose connected and that 90° elbow stay connected, this way I have more flexibility if the valve leaked beforehand.

 

I think the always attached hose is 15 feet and the other is their 10 foot extension, so 25 feet total.

 

You can also see the end flares which allow all the connectors to move in and out of the storage area.

 

Edit - don't know what happened to the first photo when I clicked submit, oh well.

[Chixter]

Before we sold our Ollie I considered cutting a hole in the bottom of the storage compartment and running a permanent 90 degree elbow through the bottom with a bayonet fitting for the slinky. this was following a black tank “event” in a commercial Campground where the hose disconnected from the factory fitting. What a mess. Thankfully it was 6:00 AM and I was able to get it hosed off before anyone was awake. it may not be visually appealing but the conventional sewer connection on the side of most trailers is much more practical, and easier to use.

 

That is what I am thinking.  When the time comes I can speak to the cognizant peeps at Oliver, but I also have the equipment to modify if needed.  I was thinking a 90 off the pipe angled down about 30degrees.  A gate valve then the camlock.  I would need to measure but I believe such a termination can be made that will leave it 3-4" below and about 4" inboard of the port side bumper.  The strip of plate cut out could be trimmed to make a wall and welded in place.  The reduction in total bumper storage would be less than 6" in the width.  I plan to keep sewer related stuff in a fiberglass gasketed box up at the tongue.  The bumper storage would be for water hoses, filters, pressure regulators, etc.  Thats the concept anyway.

[rideandfly]

Removed the flexible hose yesterday and ordered a new one, waiting on it to arrive. Will do some cleaning, too.

 

Here's a closer look without flex hose in the bumper storage area:

 

 

 

 

 

[Chixter]

Thanks for the dimensions R&F!

[Hikegsm]

Try2relax, thank you for posting the pictures.  With Reeds endorsement and the pictures, that sold us. We bought the rhinoflex system today????.

 

Yvonne

[Chixter]

This is what I am thinking, cutting the bottom plate only at the RED line.  BLUE line would be the new 'wall' created, leaving the sewer connection unencumbered.  The GREEN line is the center line of the sewer connection with a 90 degree bend down below the lower plate.

 

 

[Try2Relax]

So are you going to cut all the way across the plate or just cut a portion out?

 

When you do the fabulous, huge, beautiful, greatest wall ever, oh wait that's a different wall.. keep in mind that the guts of the Oliver were designed so that they could be slid out the back if necessary. Maybe you want your ... wall to be hinged or at least removable, just in case.

[Chixter]

Actually it is reducing the size of the bumper storage by about 7" in width by removing that much of the bottom plate, but it leaves the sewer connection unobstructed and easy to utilize something like the Wastemaster system.  My intent is to mount a fiberglass Dock box up near the tongue.  This will be where all sewer and waste tank equipment will be stored.  The now slightly reduced bumper storage will be used for fresh water hoses, regulators, filters, etc.  Keep the diametrically opposed components as far away from each other as possible.

[KarenLukens]

Keep the diametrically opposed components as far away from each other as possible.

Yet the sewer connection will still be there in the back. Why not put the water hoses up front and keep everything together?

[Chixter]

Yet the sewer connection will still be there in the back.

 

Yes but the compartment will be isolated from the connection, not contain it.  This mod isn't as much for storage it is to get the connection out in the open.  I'm sure many owners have never had any problems with leaks at the connection, but I have heard from a few that did.  Plus I'm sold on the Wastemaster system and with it's unique configuration of cam locks and caps it is much better where it is easy to get to.  I just don't personally like something like a sewer connection being in a tight, confined location.  And I prefer a cam lock coupling rather than industry standard bayonet couplings.

[ScubaRx]

Just a thought. Considering that with the exit of the sewer pipe up under the trailer would you be able to reach it easily from the side or would you have to reach up under the trailer or, horrors, actually have to get down under the trailer?

[Chixter]

No when completed the connection would be in line with the port side hinge of the bumper assembly, about 6" forward of the hinge.  Easily reachable from the side.  (I think easier to reach than the factory setup)

[KarenLukens]

The top photo is everything in place, the second photo is everything that I store in there, plus the hose end caps you can’t see, there’s still some room too. If you look you’ll see the elbow. That the hose connected and that 90° elbow stay connected, this way I have more flexibility if the valve leaked beforehand. I think the always attached hose is 15 feet and the other is their 10 foot extension, so 25 feet total. You can also see the end flares which allow all the connectors to move in and out of the storage area. Edit – don’t know what happened to the first photo when I clicked submit, oh well.

 

After seeing Randy's pic above showing the slinky that he fits inside, I started looking at mine. I ended up separating my slinky into 3rds and stacking it folded out across the bottom. Then the sewer hose fits inside just fine on top of the slinky. I'll post all my mods on my blog page because I did some bending, cutting, and Grinding also to get a level flow coming out of the box. It was trying to flow uphill at first.

 

[Try2Relax]

Looking at Reed's picture, having mine seperated in half would not work with his storage, it needs every bit of space to squeeze in and with that rear propane connection, on the right, it wouldn't be able to slide in.

 

That's a nice self protection wrench you have there.

[John E Davies]

No when completed the connection would be in line with the port side hinge of the bumper assembly, about 6″ forward of the hinge. Easily reachable from the side. (I think easier to reach than the factory setup)

It will be rather  vulnerable to road damge there, unlike the factory design.

 

I really dislike having a totally enclosed waste connection, for many reasons, but I do GREATLY appreciate that it is not exposed to getting bashed, as in most other RVs.

 

You would be wise to consider adding long mud flaps, and a stout protective housing or guard around the sewer outlet, and keep it tucked as close to the centerline as possible...

 

Please post pics when this project is completed.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[Chixter]

It will be rather  vulnerable to road damge there, unlike the factory design.

 

Another idea is to hinge about 8" of the bottom plate held in place at the left side with butterfly latches.  Protected when traveling, when camped, undo the latches and the hinged bottom plate swings down....unfettered and unobstructed sewer connection.  There is a way to free this up for better access than the factory design IMHO.

[KarenLukens]

Looking at Reed’s picture, having mine seperated in half would not work with his storage, it needs every bit of space to squeeze in and with that rear propane connection, on the right, it wouldn’t be able to slide in. That’s a nice self protection wrench you have there.

After modifying the diamond plate, I can fit my hand around the hose to pull it out now. I may bend it down a bit more later, but for now I'm happy with the way it's working. I can live with 6% left in the tank when level. Have you guys tested the speed of the drain flow by opening the bathroom shower vent? Ours seems to shoot right out with it open and gurgle when it's closed.

 

Here's the link to the pics, etc...

 

http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/reed-karens-blog/#post-53462

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hmmm just takes you to the blog... It starts at 53462 a couple up from the bottom. The link is right but it doesn't take you to the right post #... It shows my mod, so far. I ran out of daylight and buttoned it up but leveling out the hose and rounding the lip on the diamond plate was easy enough with a 12" Crescent and the grinder.