Drain hose racks, a good thing?

Some places require them. We have a sturdy aluminum expanding support.
Most of the time it is too tall to use from our coach.
The plastic things are very aggravating with a bad back. The sewer hose gets heavy when emptying and flushing. four inch pipe full of water etc. If they still make the aluminum ones, I want a shorter or less tall one.
If just over nighting, I may not connect but usually do so it won't take as long to prep to leave in the am. Always travel with emptied gray and black tanks.
In places like La, Tx I won't connect because until I dump because of ants.

OhhWell wrote:

This post should be stickied

According to the pros the gentleman in the link above had to use, you should be leaving the grey valve open constantly or solid buildup will be a problem. Unlike the black tank, there is stuff that goes into the grey tank that needs to keep going and not sit on the bottom and solidify into a solid mess.

According to me however, do whatever has been working for you.

I actually think that the "pro" in the quotes above is contradictiong himself. I think it is the leaving of the grey valve open that created the layer of stuff in the tank. If the grey was allowed to fill and then be dumped, the material would have been flushed out before it formed the layer. But, either way will work for most people.

Also, each person should determine the plumbing system of their coach. In many coaches, the kitchen sink empies into the grey tank. In my coach, the kitchen sink empies into the black tank so the grease, food particles, etc. mentioned in the link above goes into the black tank where it belons. This system also adds more water to the black tank and less to the grey tank. It is a more balanced system than many coaches experience. I also periodically add an enzyme to both tanks (valves closed) when sitting for a while.

Neither of my tanks have a flush system and I have never had any problems. I keep my dishes and the kitchen clean, but the inside of the black tank is on its own. It looks good using a flashlight to look down into it when empty.

DougE wrote:
X2 - You should be using the holding tank and just dumping periodically otherwise solids build up will be a problem. Your system is also vented. So, venting is not a concern.

Some of us like to leave the grey valve open and have been doing it for years. A trap bend in the hose costs nothing and the In-Laws can't forget to open it when they are using the coach.

This post should be stickied

According to the pros the gentleman in the link above had to use, you should be leaving the grey valve open constantly or solid buildup will be a problem. Unlike the black tank, there is stuff that goes into the grey tank that needs to keep going and not sit on the bottom and solidify into a solid mess.

According to me however, do whatever has been working for you.

I used to have a PLASTIC sewer hose support. Silly thing kept cracking at the plastic hinges. Stole an idea to use a plastic rain gutter supported by those crappy Linx Levelers. They don't work too well for my RV (I broke a couple) but they work great for other things. The plastic rain gutter I bought was 10 ft long so I had a friend cut it in half for me (cost me a pan of brownies) and I stacked one half in side the other. The inner/outer sections slide apart and I put a little screw (total of 4) in a pre-drilled hole and just lay the hose in the gutter at a pretty good angle. I have noticed they make a plastic screen that just pops into the gutter to keep leaves and debris out of the gutter. I'm thinking of getting that as the gutter collects fallen leaves, etc in the spring and fall. (note: I also spray my sewer hose and gutter to keep bugs from using it as a major highway into my RV). I strap the gutter to the back of a hitchhaul along with a few other things when I travel. More than once, I have left the sewer hose in the gutter, capped up the ends and just wrapped a couple lightweight ball bungies around it to hold it all together, then strapped it to the hitchhaul. Sometimes I get a tad lazy. At my age, I feel I have earned the luxury of being lazy once in a while.

I have been in many parks where it was against the rules to have a hose laying on the ground. I have also been in many that do not allow you to hard pipe to the sewer inlet.

X2 - You should be using the holding tank and just dumping periodically otherwise solids build up will be a problem. Your system is also vented. So, venting is not a concern.

bob b wrote:
It seems to me that blocking the drain hose so that it is in a perfectly straight line may not be a good idea. I'm sure that it may drain more efficiently, but, you are loosing the natural trap formed by laying the hose on the ground as it needs to go back up at the fitting on the end of the hose. What am I missing here? Bob

Well, yes and no.. First in some areas (Clark County, NV for example) you are required by law to support the hose in such a manner. So you do not have a choice.

Second: You have closed valves at the RV end of the hose, air tight seals all the way, so what's to trap? There is no path for anything to escape the sewer into the motor home or beyond. Open the dump valves only when dumping.

Old-Biscuit wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Some places require sewer hose supports so hose is NOT laying on ground.

In 7 yrs. of FT travel have been in several CGs that required it....one reason I even have a sewer hose support.

If I hadn't experienced it I wouldn't have mentioned it.

Even been where donut was required to seal connection.......just an un-threaded open end pipe Another reason why I even have a donut.

Normally my multi-threaded sewer connection works.

We've also been in several campgrounds where a hose support is required so that the hose doesn't lay on the ground. These were resorts where we were staying for several months. For stays of a few days, we don't bother to hook up a hose until getting ready to leave as that's when we dump the tanks anyway.

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Some places require sewer hose supports so hose is NOT laying on ground.

In 7 yrs. of FT travel have been in several CGs that required it....one reason I even have a sewer hose support.

If I hadn't experienced it I wouldn't have mentioned it.

Even been where donut was required to seal connection.......just an un-threaded open end pipe Another reason why I even have a donut.

Normally my multi-threaded sewer connection works.

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Some places require sewer hose supports so hose is NOT laying on ground.

Sewer hose support provides a graduated slope so stuff flows downhill

Course NOT all places/sites need or are set up where sewer hose support can be used.

I carry one and use when appropriate.

IF you really want to have a 'trap' in sewer hose....just spread sewer hose support and let section of hose drop down.
I don't cause a never leave dump valve open (Grey and definitely not Black).
Seen too many sewer flies inside CG sewer connection and don't want them setting up house in my holding tanks.

You do what he described and make a bend in between supports. Often, I find that over time one is created naturally for me... Many times, you can form a trap at the very end of the hose as the receptacle is usually high enough above the ground.

I create a trap as it costs me absolutely nothing and keeps the flies out of my grey tank which I always leave open.

I use them to keep the hose from squiggling around and wearing holes in it.