Sewer hose — how long is long enough?

[WhereStream]

Shopping for a new sewer hose, and don't know how long to get.

I see one that is 15 feet, a Rhinoflex. Man, that's a lot of hose.

So far, we've needed only short hoses, but ... we've not been camping at all that many places.

What's the recommendation on length?

[CRH]

In carry two 10 ft hoses, a section of 3 ft hose, and couplings too hook them together as needed.

[AWCHIEF]

I carry a 20 and a 10. I have had to use them both several times.

[eubank]

I'd also suggest at least a 20 foot hose.

There is a lot of variation in parks as to location of the sewer. (And there's a LOT of variation in the placement of sewer outlets across RVs.) When you least want it, you'll wind up in a site that just plain won't work with your hose.


Lynn

[HiJoeSilver]

I've been full time for 18mos, with all the places I've stayed, my 15' has worked, though once it was stretched to the limit. This was in a 18' trailer. So if you're longer I'd go with 20' if you can store it easily.

[DryFly]

With your 16' Sport you can probably get by with a 15' hose. The actual trailer is after all, less than 14'. You may at some point be a bit further away than 15' to the hookup, but so what, just move the trailer a few feet. You should be able to camp for a good 3 days before needing to empty the tanks. YMMV

[4riveteers]

We have 3 10's with couplings. Two are stored in the hose storage tube. The other I connect end to end and store in back bumper.

Having multiple segments gives us options. Where is the sewer in relation to our outlet? Sometimes we prefer to not back up all the way into a site so that can distance us further from the sewer.

I also use a 90* bayonet hose adapter that I attach to sewer outlet first then attach the sewer hose. I just think the hose adapter provides more support to the outlet than just the flimsy hose attachment. I do the same with the city water inlet. I attach a brass 90* elbow then attach the water hose to the elbow. I think it puts less stress on these connections. Just a thought.

[Lily&Me]

I have the RhinoFlex 15', collapsible hose, and it is almost always way more hose than I need as I rarely stay hooked up to sewer at a campsite.

I occasionally dump at a full hookup site, almost always at a dump station.

If you are traveling a lot and plan to be hooked up to sewer all the time, be aware that older campgrounds tend to have more inconveniently placed sewer connections...you might occasionally need two hoses, or need to use the dump station rather than the connection at your site.

That the Rhino is collapsible is a huge plus, but the bulkier connector to the tanks makes it too large to store in the area on my Interstate designed for that.

I think you could get by with the 15' collapsible, occasionally having to use a dump station.

Maggie

[ROBERT CROSS]

20' was always workable,'til we needed 5 more the reach the home dump connection we installed.

Bob

[Bill M.]

15. Feet is good for me. Dump station if it will not reach.

[tjdonahoe]

You only need enough hose to reach

[BCC1]

Originally Posted by tjdonahoe

You only need enough hose to reach

Words to live by.

[Bob662]

Often a short one works best, so I carry a 15' and a 10' hose, plus a way to couple them together. This should cover just about any eventuality.

[WhereStream]

We tend to stay in state parks, and none so far has had full hookups ... always a dump station, where 15 feet of hose is a lot to manage.

I see some Amazon reviewers mention that the Rhinoflex hose "clicks" to whatever size you need.

What does that mean?

Hose I use now doesn't click, just stretches.

[Bill M.]

The Rhino flex compresses to about 6 feet or maybe less. When it is stretched there is a noticeable snap at each fold as it extends. I do not hook to the sewer to leave it even if where there are full hookups. I will hookup and dump the day we leave if sewer at the site. A 15' Rhino is not too long at a dump station. I carry mine in a carrier under the trailer. Makes it easy to pull out and put back in. I do not use the swivel 90 degree that comes with the Rhino. They come apart sometimes. I use a solid 90 with the Rhino bayonet fittings. You may find a better hose than the Rhino. I used to use the heavy duty Blue OX system for instance. But you can fine a whole lot worse system than the Rhino also. It has worked well for the last 2 years. If you are going to carry the Rhino under the trailer you need a slightly oversized carrier from the one that generally comes on the trailers so that might eliminate it for you.

[pteck]

The sewer hose and the need to dump is far from my favorite things. I could not tolerate storing the sewer hose and fittings in the bumper, cross contaminating everything there. So I had to come up with a workable solution for me.

I personally like the Prest-o-fit hose. High quality, easy to position, with nice friction fit couplers. Kit comes with 2x 10ft sections to adapt to any situation. https://www.amazon.com/Prest-O-Fit-1...lue+sewer+hose

Key to my sanity and managing of the sewer hose has been the addition of another tube storage unit underneath, with a mod to accommodate the sewer elbow - http://www.airforums.com/forums/f444...ml#post2000532

[m.hony]

(2) 10' sections should cover every possible scenario.

[heitkergm]

I use the 15 ft rhino as well, and store it collapsed in the bumper bin. The built in connectors make it just too long for the under-trailer hose storage.

That length has worked perfectly for for me everywhere.

However, it might not be enough for some trailers, especially at the Terra port at the Airstream factory shop.

The sewer connection is several feet BEHIND the trailer. My Bambi has the sewer connection at the back, and my 15foot Rhino barely made it. If you had a mid-trailer drain, I would think 25-30 feet would be enough.

[demijac]

We like the versatility of having two ten foot sections. We can do short or long as parking sites dictate. We use Valterra because it's diameter fits perfectly in the storage tube under the trailer.

In 3 1/2 years of almost full-timing, we've only had to borrow an extra hose one time. It was a known problem at the RV park where we were staying and for that reason, they had lots of 'loaner hoses' to go around.

[moosetags]

10' of sewer usually does it. We use 20' somewhat frequently. We carry 40' of sewer hose, and have used on several occasions. We have gotten front-in moho sites a couple of times. As we had to back in, we needed all the sewer hose that we had. We also needed a lot of fresh water hose to reach the spigot. These are the times that we also needed our 30' 30 amp extension cord.

We have over 1,800 nights of camping in the Airstream. We try to be prepared for any campsite setup.

Brian