Full Time - Sewer Issue

[LifeInsideJack]

We live "full time" in a pretty nifty park here in SoCal. What sets us apart from our neighbors is that we take off for a couple days here and there with our motorhome. Most folks here couldn't move their set up even if they wanted to.

Because we are considered "full time" we cannot use the accordion sewer hose. We must use the black PVC sewer pipe that is more permanent. Therein lies the trouble we are having. Each time we move the motorhome we have to come back and get it into the same EXACT spot in order for the sewer pipe to connect properly.

Here is problem #2 which is not something we can change: the park will not glue the sewer pipe sections together. So it's all pressure or cross your fingers it won't leak. But in our case we cannot "set it and forget it". Naturally each time we return we have to go through this motion of tapping and twisting the pipes together, setting the motorhome into the one spot it must be in and then securing the pipe to the motorhome ... all without removing the pressure on the pipes.

All of that to ask this ... does anyone know of an adjustable sewer pipe set up that can expand or not just a couple of inches that is not the thin wall accordion hose we already have? I CANNOT use that hose, don't even consider that as an option. I need something I can add to the existing pipe to give me some room for error in order to come and go without the precision currently required.

Oh, and as an added bonus it's already 2" uphill to the connection. So whatever I use must be inline as I'm already dealing with that nonsense.

Help!

[mr__ed]

Speaking for myself, I wouldn't stay at an RV park that had such restrictions, or I would let waste acummulate in the black tank and then use my flex hose to dump when necessary.

[LifeInsideJack]

The end result:

I found a rubber boot that clamps to the park's sewer connection and then to the long black pipe leading to the motorhome. This is some very random angle that isn't 45* or even 30* so it's clamp tight and not leaking. I glued all of the existing connections minus this one which is what the park wants.

I then used another clamp on the other end of the pipe. Cutting my accordion hose to 8" I put that into the one side of the clamped end and tightened this down to hold all but 2" of the accordion hose. This two inches takes away so much burden. Nothing here is 90* or even 45* as the layouts are all wonky. This allows enough flex for the coach to move (bounce), handles the strange angle to the sewer connection and makes the run to the sewer connection almost level, which is better than uphill as it was prior. This also eliminates the precision required when we park to make all these weird connections work.

By removing a couple sections of pipe I was able to move the motorhome back another 25" which puts our coach in the shade at about 2pm. This is fine as the sun is hitting our solar panels early and we get several hours of good production out of them. Goodness, we have 750w up there, we can't use all of that if we tried.

I recognize I tend to overcomplicate things. In the end however, I tend to find a simple enough solution to handle the problem with little to no significant expense.

[valhalla360]

westernrvparkowner wrote:
Cut the black pipe and use a rubber flex coupling to reconnect. That will add a bit of flexibility to the pipe. Also, make yourself a curb stop for your tires, it will make it easier to get back into the same location each time.

Yep, secure some curb stops to the ground and it's easy to get within an inch. The rubber couplings can pretty easily absorb that much variation.

[LifeInsideJack]

2oldman wrote:
Is there a chance you can 'move' more and just avoid hooking up altogether?

These are words I can get behind. Believe me I'd enjoy that a bunch. We're stationary now due to my girlfriend's work. However, that just changed as the company she was working for has failed and now we're working on a more mobile work situation.

She can contract out her skills and being in Alternative Energy she can work just about anywhere in the sun belt. We're both online students so we are not tied to any piece of concrete anymore.

As much as we thought it would be difficult to go from 1,000 square feet to this 27 foot motorhome we now know we can go smaller ... and we want to.

If there is a chance to move more .... we'll take it.

[LifeInsideJack]

pigman1 wrote:
Sounds like you might have a solution, but here's another. I'd go to my local Big Box store or a plumbing supplier and get 2 lengths of PVC that telescope inside each other. There are different sizes, and pipe thicknesses that should come close. Then get a FERNCO transition fitting that will go from one size to the second you've selected.
http://www.homedepot.com/b/Plumbing-Pipes-Fittings/Fernco/N-5yc1vZbqpfZ4hs
Dont cut the PVC, Just telescope them and tighten the larger clamp VERY TIGHT. Slide the inner pipe to the length you need and tighten to water tight. When you come back from an outing, loosen the smaller pipe clamp, adjust to the new length you need and tighten to water tight. Your telescoping pipes should account for any new RV misplacement.

Thank you. I'll look into this today.

[path1]

Using the rain gutter idea I can sleeve the accordion hose in a way that no one will pay much attention to it thus allowing the hose to expand or contract as needed when the coach has returned from the beach.

My RV sewer hose fits into the large size vinyl rain gutter that I got from Lowes. I think 4 inch. the 3 inch size not so good.

[Mmwtdh]

pigman1 wrote:
Sounds like you might have a solution, but here's another. I'd go to my local Big Box store or a plumbing supplier and get 2 lengths of PVC that telescope inside each other. There are different sizes, and pipe thicknesses that should come close. Then get a FERNCO transition fitting that will go from one size to the second you've selected.
http://www.homedepot.com/b/Plumbing-Pipes-Fittings/Fernco/N-5yc1vZbqpfZ4hs
Dont cut the PVC, Just telescope them and tighten the larger clamp VERY TIGHT. Slide the inner pipe to the length you need and tighten to water tight. When you come back from an outing, loosen the smaller pipe clamp, adjust to the new length you need and tighten to water tight. Your telescoping pipes should account for any new RV misplacement.

That's pretty smart thinking.

It may not be RV'ing, but I'll use that concept in the future...

[pigman1]

Sounds like you might have a solution, but here's another. I'd go to my local Big Box store or a plumbing supplier and get 2 lengths of PVC that telescope inside each other. There are different sizes, and pipe thicknesses that should come close. Then get a FERNCO transition fitting that will go from one size to the second you've selected.
http://www.homedepot.com/b/Plumbing-Pipes-Fittings/Fernco/N-5yc1vZbqpfZ4hs
Dont cut the PVC, Just telescope them and tighten the larger clamp VERY TIGHT. Slide the inner pipe to the length you need and tighten to water tight. When you come back from an outing, loosen the smaller pipe clamp, adjust to the new length you need and tighten to water tight. Your telescoping pipes should account for any new RV misplacement.

[midnightsadie]

put your four inch flex inside a 6inch solid piece of pipe ,and leave some flex out to hook up to the rv.

[LifeInsideJack]

These are very good ideas and I think I can implement a couple of them. This is why I like forums because I tend to get stuck in my thought and have trouble seeing my way out.

I'll use the rubber connectors between the pipe sections. This will seal the pipes and keep them together in a fashion where there is flexibility. Good idea.

Using the rain gutter idea I can sleeve the accordion hose in a way that no one will pay much attention to it thus allowing the hose to expand or contract as needed when the coach has returned from the beach.

I plan to remove a small section of the pipe. It is currently about 14' long. I'll take out a four foot section. This will help in two ways: 1) it will shorten the run and lessen the uphill grade to the sewer connection and 2) it will provide afternoon shade sooner as we will then be shaded behind our neighbor's park model home.

We don't stabilize our motorhome (we can bug out in minutes after a good idea) so I know this thing moves about and that isn't good for the current fragile pipe set up.

Thank you all for your input.


Montana

[path1]

For us... The Park rules said I had to have rigged material sewer hose (pipe). We spoke with management, asking them what I should do, we together worked out my problem (not their problem). Turns out the rule was put in place because certain times of the year birds would peck at the sewer hose. The RV style hose the birds could get thru after pecking at it for some time. If we left and the lot was vacant, I then understood why the park had such a rule. Working with park management the end result was to make sewer pipe "bird proof". I had a "plug" fitting that fit into the end of sewer hose, so hose was "air tight". My flexible (rv style) sewer pipe had have a rain gutter under it and elevated and then put rain gutter on top. I used "zip" ties to keep them in place. That pleased us and the park. As far as backing up next to the hose so connections are in same spot. I have a tire chock block that I don't move. When we come back made it much easier to back up in same exact spot.

Hope this helps.

[Aridon]

I'd use a regular rv hose but insert it into a black pvc pipe which appears to connect but is just a housing. Then you can get a couple of smaller pieces that over lap the other pipe, run the rv hose inside that and it should look like it is solid/permanate but give you the extra you need when you move.

[2oldman]

Is there a chance you can 'move' more and just avoid hooking up altogether?

[westernrvparkow]

Cut the black pipe and use a rubber flex coupling to reconnect. That will add a bit of flexibility to the pipe. Also, make yourself a curb stop for your tires, it will make it easier to get back into the same location each time.