black water drain too low

[whitegs]

First time out in my new FC28. I connected the sewer hose to the dump receptacle which was slightly uphill from my trailer. So I went and got one of those accordion type sewer hose supports and I find the support is higher than the drain. Does anyone use one of these support systems with an AS?

Richard

[AWCHIEF]

One came with my trailer. Only used it a couple of times when the ground pipe was too high. Seems to work as advertised.

[Mrjkq]

I have one but rarely used unless it's an extended stay.

[CRH]

I don't use mine

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by whitegs

So I went and got one of those accordion type sewer hose supports and I find the support is higher than the drain. Does anyone use one of these support systems with an AS?

It should be possible to remove the segments that are too tall, and just use the shorter segments.

I don't use one personally since my Airstream Interstate has a macerator pump instead of a slinky. But I have seen them in use, and being a (former) engineer I can't help but try to think of a fix.

[Gsmblue]

If I understand your question correctly... In this situation I just bend the taller supports out the way and rest the hose on the first stance that is the correct height..

[Wayne&Sam]

Or really stretch it out so it's very long and low

[billiards]

not a real answer to problem...however we just found that our winter campsite in Tucson requires support OFF THE GROUND they claim it is city law..

[AWCHIEF]

Originally Posted by billiards

not a real answer to problem...however we just found that our winter campsite in Tucson requires support OFF THE GROUND they claim it is city law..

I have heard of that requirement in some locals, have yet to experience it.
This is similar to what I have,

[Foiled Again]

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

I have heard of that requirement in some locals, have yet to experience it.
This is similar to what I have,

Good picture. Makes me think of the Winter Olympics and the bobsled run.

There ARE a lot of campgrounds where the sewer inlet is 3 feet from the trailer and only one inch down, and if you use a slinky you can't compress it enough to make it a straight shot to the drain. I also note that newer campgrounds seem to have raised the sewer outlets... Probably some health regulation? One of the worst I've seen is Jackson Center's Terraport. When I back up my mid-bath 25 FB the outlet on the trailer is actually LOWER than the inlet in the ground - and it's about 22 feet away. I use the Sewer Solution so I can get the tanks pretty well emptied even so, but I've seen more than one other camper doing the "lift the boa constrictor" technique to milk their slinkies.

Dunno what I'll do with my SS if I run into a campground where it has to be off the ground. I suppose I'll just leave it in the bucket until the gray tank needs to be emptied, then use it and put it away. Or maybe I'll just wrap all the excess around the bucket securing it with duct tape, and use the bucket as a central support. "Oh the pooh goes round and round, whoa-whoa and it comes out here..."

[Johnco]

I go cheap old-school, I carry a couple of short lengths of plastic rain gutter in the bumper. Hose fits perfectly and the height can be adjusted with rocks, twigs, firewood, anything handy.

[graysailor]

Sewer Solution will solve the problem as it will force sewage slightly uphill.

[Mrjkq]

A few years back I purchased a Sani-Con Tank Buddy. Its a portable macerator pump that fits with a bayonet lock on the RV outlet. To operate, it needs 12v power so I attach the alligator clips on the macerator to my portable battery jump box and it easily pumps up hill through the included 20ft one inch hose. The Tank Buddy comes in a small tool box for convience & keep it in the bed of my truck along with the battery jump box. Since I've had my AS I haven't used it but keep it with me for situations like up hill pumping.

[baldwin6601]

We rarely use ours and when we do, it's just the shorter portion of the set up. The RV park in Sedona requires them. We've been in RV parks in Tucson twice and I honestly don't remember if we used it our not

[WestieHouse]

I have not used the Sewer Solution but have encountered quite a few sewer drains that are too high to allow unassisted drainage of black and gray water. This demo ls informative:

[JCWDCW]

I believe the sewer pipes are raised up to prevent surface ground water from flooding the sewage system, but I was in two parks this past November that had both a high pipe connection and a flush at the surface pipe connection....go figure.
I use pieces of eaves-trough and "sticks and stones" but I will seriously be looking for a deal on the expandable hose support, since too many RV parks don't have "sticks and stones" anymore.
JCW

[WestieHouse]

If the top of the sewage drain opening is higher than the bottom of your tank release valve then the various support systems discussed here serve no useful purpose without somehow siphoning or manually raising the stinky slinky. Gravity causes the waste water to remain in the slinky between the trailer and sewer drain opening.

The Valterra Sewer Solution might solve the problem by using water pressure. At least it is a more manageable sized hose to manually lift to promote drainage and the flushing with clean water is much easier using the built in valves in the Sewer Solution.

Has anyone had actual experience with this product?

[remphoto]

Originally Posted by WestieHouse

If the top of the sewage drain opening is higher than the bottom of your tank release valve then the various support systems discussed here serve no useful purpose without somehow siphoning or manually raising the stinky slinky. Gravity causes the waste water to remain in the slinky between the trailer and sewer drain opening.

The Valterra Sewer Solution might solve the problem by using water pressure. At least it is a more manageable sized hose to manually lift to promote drainage and the flushing with clean water is much easier using the built in valves in the Sewer Solution.

Has anyone had actual experience with this product?

Lots of discussion on this site regarding the SS. We use it and it works well. It is much slower than the slinky but on a site with full hookups it is perfect. Our 16' Bambi sits especially low and we found ourselves SOL (no pun intended) in more than one campground before we discovered the SS. The only way a slinky can be used in these situations is to put both sets of wheels up on boards or legos but that makes getting in and out of the trailer more difficult.

[A W Warn]

I've been in a few situations when the parking spot sloped upward from front to rear. When I leveled the trailer the sewer outlet was really close to the ground, leaving little slope from the outlet to the sewer. The accordion type hose support will not work in this situation. I went to HD and bought a 10' section of plastic rain gutter. I cut that into two pieces that fit into the rear storage. These two pieces will stack one inside the other, with the sewer hose fitting inside these. I also carry a couple pieces of 2 x wood block to use for creating a slope. Since I started using the gutters I have not found a situation that I cannot set up the sewer drain and get some slope. I use the accordion support most of the time.

[PKI]

No, have not used the slinky type support system that came in our adventure pack when we picked up the trailer. Yes, we have had several sewer connection points higher than the Black/Grey water sewer hose connection port. End up milking the dump flow. Have to take care that the hose does not disconnect while you are draining. The black tank empties well with the flush in operation. The grey tank does not have this capability and is a bit more difficult to drain. However, shutting the gate valve to prevent backflow does the trick. We also tend to use the dump stations at the gate as we leave to reduce the cost of the site. It also helps that those drains are often lower than the connections plumbed to individual sites. Pat