RV Modifications Part 4- External Sewer Hose Storage

 October 21, 2021

RV Modifications Part 4- External Sewer Hose Storage

The 2020 Winnebago View 24D has several external storage compartments below the coach and one storage compartment below the bathroom coat closet.  There are a pair of opposing compartments in the middle of the coach that actually connect across the top of the storage space with a 6" tall passage that can accommodate long items like beach umbrellas and folded fishing rods.  At the rear of the coach are two more compartments that are a bit smaller and slope upwards towards the rear bumper for ground clearance.  The driver side compartment houses the utilities for the coach which include the fresh water fill and drain controls, holding tank valves, external shower, Automatic power transfer switch and surge suppressor, rear jack controls, and connections for satellite dishes, cable TV and external solar panel.  On the passenger side the rearmost compartment is available for general storage.  

When RVing, there are things that tend to be wet- potable water hoses and filters, utility hoses for purposes other than handling potable water, and sewer hoses and connectors.  In general, it is best to keep your storage compartments as dry as possible to prevent mold and corrosion.  

The first owner of this RV had used the passenger side rear compartment to house the potable water hoses and external power cables, while using a general purpose tote to hold the coiled sewer hose in the main compartment under the coach on the driver's side.  This configuration is sub-optimal because it introduces not only moisture, but also undesirable odors and potential biological contaminants to the largest storage compartment in the RV which also communicates with it's passenger side sibling. Also, during camping, the slide out containing the dinette and bed slides out directly over this compartment, making access even more difficult- requiring crawling under the slide out to access.  

I was frankly surprised that this RV didn't have some sort of dedicated storage for the sewer hose that provided for ventilation and drainage.  Most travel trailers and many other RV's use a storage bumper for this solution.  In this case, the bumper on the View is simply a fiberglass fascia panel with reflectors and paint covering the end of the chassis frame.  I can only speculate this was to save on the over-all length of the RV so that it could be advertised as being under 26' in length.  But even the roof access ladder extends a few inches beyond the fiberglass "bumper".  

My solution was to manufacture a storage bumper.  RV sewer hose storage tubes can be purchased already made for about $50, but these frequently can't store couplers and accessories that aren't the same diameter as the sewer hose.  These also scream "I'm a Sewer Hose Holder!" when you see them.  So I purchased a square vinyl fence post and mounted it to the fiberglass "bumper" fascia just under the bottom of the roof access ladder with self tapping stainless screws and spacers.  I secured end caps with custom pins bent from aluminum rods and drilled to accommodate tiny padlocks to keep everything secure.  To top it off, I found an LED indicator strip that connects to the trailer towing 7 pin connector that repeats the tail light functions while also adding sequential turning signals for additional visibility. I attached that to the bottom of the storage bumper.

It is spacious enough to accommodate a standard expanding 15' hose with an attached 90˚ end adapter on the terminal end and clear flushing attachment on the RV end so I can monitor the appearance of the drainage and flush out the hose without getting splashed.  There is even enough room to store a 10' expanding extension sewer hose if a particular situation requires more than the usual 15' hose, and a cone adapter to fit most RV dump drain pipe sizes.  This places all of the sewer hose accessories exactly where they need to be for quick and efficient set up and clean up.  The clear flushing adapter I use has an end cap that can be attached to make it a completely closed system after it is detached from the RV, so there is no chance of getting sprayed with splash back while hosing out the hose before putting it up for storage back in the bumper.

Since many RV dump sites don't have garden hose fittings on the hoses used for cleaning up around the dump sites, I have fitted the external shower with a check valve (to prevent contamination of the RV's potable water supply) and hose fittings that I can use to flush both the black tank (via the built in black tank flusher) and the sewer hose (via the clear flushing adapter and cap) when the dump site does not have garden hose fitting compatible plumbing available.

To complete the optimization, I designated the rear passenger side storage compartment the "wet bay" for hoses, filters and other wet items. I drilled several drainage and ventilation holes in the lowest part of the compartment so that things can drain and dry out.  The electrical extension cables can now reside in the main storage compartment since they are dry and relatively clean items.