Questions abou t new (to me) Northern Lite

[bkenobi]

I just picked up my first TC last week. I'm going to be taking my first trip next weekend and need to get a couple things figured out. The first is critical, the second is maintenance that will come into play down the road.

1) The NL TC is a 2007 10'2" RRQ (rear dinette, queen bed). It was kept in great condition by the original owner fortunately. But, the TC did not come with a sewer hose. There is a hole/door in the side of the camper that is 17" deep that I've been told is for storing the dump hose. I picked a relatively cheap one up from Walmart but found it does not fit either. It's both too large diameter (the hole is 3-3/4" diameter but the hose coupling is closer to 5"). Secondly, the hole is not deep enough to hold anything longer than 5' and can't hold the 90deg bend. I probably need to contact NL about this, but what the heck am I supposed to use in order to dump sewage without adding an aftermarket hose holder tube?

2) The Happijacks are functional and in good visual condition. However, there are some chips/cracks in the paint that some rust is coming through. What should I use to paint this? Since it's regularly going to get wet and has to take some abuse, I was leaning towards marine grade paint, but a recommendation for what others do would be nice. I'll probably look into contacting Happijack to see if they have a suggestion, too.

[Yeti_plus]

Well this post got me thinking for the last 2 weeks. I went out and measured my sewer hose tube and it came in at a whopping 13 3/4". The sewer hose just gets to the dump hole , but I usually have to hold it in the hole while my wife pulls the slide open.
The storage tube is under the fridge, so I pulled the drawers out to the bottom left of the fridge , looked inside and found the end of the tube, lots of extra length to put in a longer tube.
So today I went to hardware store, bought a 4" PVC cap and some glue, I already had a length of 4" pipe and coupling. Pulled the tube off the side of the camper, cleaned all the silicone seal off.
Measured the overall length , cut the existing tube, added coupling figured out what length to cut pipe. Dry fit the new longer piece, glued it all together. I ran a bead of Proflex around the back of the shell , pushed it in and screwed it into place. Ran a bead of Proflex around the housing and added a support at the very inside end.
I now have a 26 3/4" storage tube.
I think that should be able to store a 10 foot cheap sewer hose with a 90 on the end and the bayonet on the outer end. Still have to try the hose from the trailer.
PS Yes Bigfoot did use silicone seal around the access port. I found a new product at the hardware store that is designed to remove silicone caulk and it seems to have worked well. I think it took longer to clean the silicone off the camper and access port than it took to do the pipework.

[bcbigfoot]

bkenobi wrote:
Is rhino flex the clear winner in hose or does it really matter? I'm not going to be at KOA type places, so I think this will be dump stations only. I was thinking a single 10' hose with the TC connector on one end and a removable adapter/funnel end that connects to a compact 90 bend. Only thing the rhino has is that clear section by the TC in some kits.

The Rhino Flex is by far the best hose I have found, one of the main reasons is no hard fitting 90 degree elbow is require to empty into campground sewer pipes or dumps, the hose itself acts as the 90 degree, I have never require any sewer end fittings.

I have a Bigfoot camper but have the same 4" rear step bumper as the Northern lite, Bigfoot doesn't use the bumper as a hose storage so the ends are welded shut. I liked the idea of hose storage in the bumper/steps like the northern lite so I cut open the end of the 4" sq. tubing but found that there wasn't enough room for the quick connect sewer fitting, so I had to use a 1/4 inche die grinder and carbide tip to make the inside dia. of the square tubing large enough to allow the connection fitting to slide in. With a little more grinding (in a few spots) on a 45 degree fitting I was able to get it to go into the tube with the Rhinoflex hose.

I really like how the hose slides in the steps tube now, however seeing what bigfootgrey (nice Job) did with the fence post tubing makes me think this is the way to go, and is likely what I would do now, if I were to do it over.

[Gaetan]

Here are hopefully the images I wanted to share
Small porch to attache stairs
2 white tubes for drain hose and floor mat
Gaetan
Trying with my Ipad

[SidecarFlip]

Gaetan wrote:
I have photos that I would like to include in this post, but I d'ont know how?
Gaetan

If you go to the top of the forum page where the sticky's are, I believe it tells you how to post pictures.

[Gaetan]

I have photos that I would like to include in this post, but I d'ont know how?
Gaetan

[SidecarFlip]

chobe2 wrote:

SidecarFlip wrote:
What I did (because my TC fits entirely in the bed (no bumper / back step), I went to Lowes and bought 2 lengths of round white PVC pipe, 2 caps and 2 external threaded adapters and threaded caps with 6 flat stand off's. I put one under each side of the camper proud of the bed rail, I store my sewer hose in one and 'stuff' in the other. Works real well and eliminated the where to store the sewer hose' issue.

Do you have photos...would love to see your setup.

When I get it out (it's inside the garage still sleeping), I'll take a picture and post it. Still cold (spitting snow right now) up here...

[chobe2]

SidecarFlip wrote:
What I did (because my TC fits entirely in the bed (no bumper / back step), I went to Lowes and bought 2 lengths of round white PVC pipe, 2 caps and 2 external threaded adapters and threaded caps with 6 flat stand off's. I put one under each side of the camper proud of the bed rail, I store my sewer hose in one and 'stuff' in the other. Works real well and eliminated the where to store the sewer hose' issue.

Do you have photos...would love to see your setup.

[bigfootgrey]

bkenobi,
Too bad the fence post won't work for you. I'm sure you will find a system to store it. It's unfortunate that companies like NL & BF don't design proper storage for sewer hoses and accessories. I guess they count on their customers creativity!

Bob

[SidecarFlip]

What I did (because my TC fits entirely in the bed (no bumper / back step), I went to Lowes and bought 2 lengths of round white PVC pipe, 2 caps and 2 external threaded adapters and threaded caps with 6 flat stand off's. I put one under each side of the camper proud of the bed rail, I store my sewer hose in one and 'stuff' in the other. Works real well and eliminated the where to store the sewer hose' issue.

[bkenobi]

Awesome setup. Won't work for me unfortunately due to the way the bumper, step, and Jacks are installed. I'd post a pic, but I don't have an account to drop it at.

[Homeless_by_Cho]

JRJR wrote:
Where can one buy this type fence post? Looks like a good simple solution.

Menards (Where I got mine)

Home Depot

Lowes

Some ACE Hardware stores

LeRoy

[JRJR]

Where can one buy this type fence post? Looks like a good simple solution.

[billyray50]

Nice set up!

[bigfootgrey]

We had the same problem with storage until our friends showed us their solution:
6 in fence post with caps fastened to camper with 4 Velcro straps. Plastic gutter with end caps fits perfectly inside fence post to create a drawer( tray) for hose. We've been using this set up for about 3 years with no problems. Hope this helps

Bob & Cathy