Sewer Hookups - The Basics
Ah the RV Camping life, and oddly the only time it's appropriate, and sometimes helpful - to discuss sewage and waste. I'll start you off with a perfect example of what NOT to do, and then offer some seasoned advice on what I've found to be particularly helpful in avoiding...unsavoury accidents.
What you actually need
- RV Sewer Hose Kit
or - RV Sewer Hoses with proper bayonet fittings on both ends
- Gloves
- Black Tank Treatment
Sewer Hose Kits are absolutely fantastic, prevent frustration, and at this point and level of experience, I'm not even going to debate this. You absolutely need a quality Sewer Hose kit with pre-attached bayonet fittings, and a 4-in-1 adapter for the sewer port at your campground. While we offer many various Sewer Hose Kits, I recommend the Camco Revolution set, as I've personally used it for the last five years with no problems at all. This set (and others like it) offer two ten foot bayonet hoses, and the adapter that will fit pretty well any possible sewer hookup that exists.
Your RV likely came with a basic stinky slinky, perhaps a bayonet fitting at one end and just hose on the other. At first glance this might seem fine, but I've encountered sewer backups in campgrounds due to the end without a fitting dropping to the bottom of a sewer hookup, blocking everyone upstream. It's not pretty to gaze over a sewage pond on your site.
Sanitary Gloves because seriously, no joke, this S#%! is gross and you really don't want to get a waste-born disease or illness.
Tank Treatments are our main line of defense against odor and blockages. Surely we've all heard that using more water helps, but only with the right treatment for your needs. I've had the best luck with enzyme based treatments as they seem to do the best job in breaking down waste and preventing frustrating and time wasting struggles when it comes time to empty my tanks before heading home.
Upgrades to Consider
- Additional Sewer Hoses
- Black Tank Flushers
- Holding Tank Rinser
- Wye Fitting (If you have two separate termination points)
- Hose Supports
Additional Sewer Hoses allow you to reach further placed sewer hookups, and nothing is more frustrating than being short by a meter or two. In my case I also have a second grey tank, and required additional sewer hoses to connect that tank to my sewer hookup along with my main grey and black tanks.
Black Tank Flushers are fantastic products that help you keep your tanks well rinsed and clean. Not everyone has an equipped black tank flush, and some of us who do, have it on the opposite side of the RV, which isn't ideal for dump stations. I carry two specific items for peace of mind and to ensure I can rinse things properly at the dump side. I personally use and really like the Dual Flush which connects between my sewer hose and my RV's sewer dump port. I simply connect the rinse water line to the Dual Flush, and then I can jet water into my tanks from the sewer hose connection. This allows me to pressure through clogs, and ensure that (once empty) my tank and hoses have been internally rinsed with water.
Holding Tank Rinser sticks are the emergency unclogging go-to I've used for years. This type of rinser comes in many different designs, but are generally intended to be connected to a purposely selected garden hose (NOT YOUR DRINKING WATER HOSE), and placed into the toilet drain down into the black tank where you turn on the stick's valve and move/turn it around until you've succeeded in breaking up any stubborn clogs. If you've never heard the term "poop pyramid", then let me educate you on the subject (we're talking sewage after all!). Generally caused by not pre-filling your black tank with some base water after dumping (5 gallons at least, every time with a treatment!), a poop pyramid is created when waste drops on top of previous waste, slowly building up until it reaches the bottom of the toilet drain. Your tank might only be 1/4 full, but now the toilet can't drain. These Holding Tank Rinser sticks will make short work of this kind of clog, and get you back up and running so that you can add more water to prevent it from recurring. These sticks are also fantastic for removing debris from your tank sensors. I will generally keep the black tank dump valve open when I use a Holding Tank Rinser stick, as I'm adding water and don't want any overfilling of my tank. Generally these types of rinsers will be used at your campsite and not the dumping station to remove stubborn clogs and
Wye fittings are fantastic for people like me with additional tanks, as I'm able to connect all of my tank connections together with a Wye fitting so that I can drain any tank at any time without moving hoses around.
Sewer Hose Supports are an often divisive item, with people like me who swear by them, and others who simply have never used one. These supports allow uneven sites, or sites with a raised sewer hookup to efficiently keep hoses elevated and sloping down from your RV to the sewer hookup. I keep a couple 15' Sewer Hose Supports (on sale right now!) as part of my main kit to ensure my hoses are freely draining and not containing standing water or sewage. Having hoses that drain on their own also helps at cleanup time, as you're not picking up each hose and awkwardly walking it to the sewer connection to drain out any remaining contents. I will go with making sanitation easier and more efficient each and every time.
Pro Tips From Experience
- Always save your grey water to drain after your black tank, as this will rinse black tank material out of your hoses. Before you drain your black tank, go ahead and fill your grey tanks as much as possible to aid in rinsing.
- You have proper hoses with bayonet fittings? Great! When you pack up, connect each hose to itself so that you've sealed in any remaining liquid and odor!
- Stay organized by placing your closed loop hoses into a tote, and ONLY store sewer related items in this tote.
- Never, and I really mean NEVER hold your sewer hose in front of you in order to rinse it out with a hose. I see this all the time at dump stations, and I also see the fine sewage mist hitting the person in the face. Gross.
- Bayonet fittings are incredible and ensure you always have a good sealed connection between hoses and fittings, and nobody likes leaking sewage.
That's it, and I hope it better helped you understand what you actually need, what to consider, and some bonus helpful advice from us at the RV Supply Canada team!