Solution to unhandy and costly dump stations!

[PUG]

I think most of us at one time or the other have cussed about having to find a dump station (rapidly disappearing) and are upset about the increasing fees. When we return from a trip we either have to not use the facilities while traveling or find a dump station before parking our rigs at home.

I have talked to several people including my brother that have a sewer cleanout or have added a cleanout close to their parking spot at home. All houses should at least have a sewer cleanout somewhere to aid in unplugging sewer lines. I finally found mine which is about 65 feet from my RV spot and uphill about three feet. Mine was under a wooden step in the car parking garage that leads into the backdoor of the house.

Gravity flow would have been nice but no such luck in my situation. My brother with his fancy dancy motor home has gravity plus a neat little electric pump that macerates the goodies and pumps it out. My sailboat has an electric macerator pump that pumps sewage out through a deck fitting and into a sewer cart. I thought at first I would just make myself a pump setup but the connection to the RV and associated fittings were going to be difficult.

I did considerable research on the web and found that Camping World had three systems so I decided to go there and look at all three. I also found on the web that people like both of the electric pump systems quite well.

They sell a water driven system but with my length of 65 feet and uphill pumping of three feet I discounted this pump. The Flowjet system and the Sanicon system are electric macerator pumps that connect directly to your RV sewage dump and then pump it to a your dump station. After comparing these two I felt the Flojet had a stronger connector and was less money. The Sanicon had a nice little hose hookup and discharge but I still like the Flojet better for my application. Both systems use exactly the same motor so that was kind of reassuring.

I had looked on the Web for the best price and found that PPL motorhoes was about 50$ less than camping world including the shipping. Camping World would not deal so I purchased mine from PPL motorhomes.
I received the unit from PPL and hooked it up. I did not like the weight of the motor hanging from the RV sewage connector so I just made up a short sewage dump hose and connected that to the RV and then to the Flojet. The Sanicon Tank Buddy has this short pipe in its system.

I purchased a 75 ft commercial grade 3/4 inch garden hose to pump from the RV to the house sewer. I was going to go one inch clear hose but the same would have cost me $120$ vs. 45$ for the 3/4 inch garden hose. I put a set of electric battery clamps on the wiring and ran a fresh water hose out to the RV to backflush the system when done. The Flojet has a orifice built in to backflush. If your wiring is to short to reach to your battery you could just put a longer piece of sewage hose connecting the RV to the pump to extend it closer to the battery.

I put the garden hose in my house clean out and put it down in about 4 ft so it would not shoot out. I turned on the pump , opened the RV trl valve and let er rip. That little bugger chewed up those presto logs, pumped them clear over to the house and worked like a charm. When done I turned the fresh water hose on and backflushed it all. I am very happy with the way the system works and recommend it. I paid $200 from PPL and $45 for the hose. Here is PPL's web site.
http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-toilet-tanks-plumbing-sanitation-1.htm#Macerator

System - Waste Dump - Flojet

Happy pumping and dumping.....Pug

 

[JohnDar]

Or you could just find a campground near your home that has a dump station and take it there. Some private parks will let you use the dump station for a nominal fee ($10). Go mid-week and you'll not run into crowds. I used to do that with our TT to flush it out thoroughly before storing for the winter.

Or take the rig to a full hook-up park for the night and flush to your heart's content. Then winterize while you're there. Still cheaper than a Flojet system. Especially for those of us who can't get our rigs anywhere near our house.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

I've been thinking of something like this for our situation. Not only for when we come home from a trip where there was no dump station but also when having friends or family stay over in the RV. It would give them the privacy of their own facilities.
Our home sewer clean out is in the house though so we would have to come up with a plan "B".

One question though. Does the FloJet chew up and pump away the sewer trout fast enough to still allow for a good fast flow out of the black tank?

Thanks for the report...

 

[TandT]

FYI
I looked into getting a 2nd sewer fitting at my house in O.C. for my RV dump station. The plumber gave me a good tip. He said in many cities if you call it a dump or drain placement, they want a permit pulled, fees, etc.
What he does is just add a "cleanout" for "maintenance reasons". This approach doesn't require a permit, in most cases. (Even though it is the same result.)

 

[PUG]

it does pretty good but not as fast as the three inch hose but not a lot less though.

 

[rustyshakelford]

That sounds like a great idea. All the places I have called around our house want $20+ to just dump! Imtgat seems outrageous to me. We have a septic and I guess I need to start digging around for our cleanout too!

Thanks for the tip

Brett

 

[olcoon]

This is odd, as just last night I was bored & looking through websites I'd saved in my favorites that I'd saved for looking at later. I came across a website that had a lot of interesting things in it, & one of them was about macerator pumps. One thing they said is to make sure the hose you get is 3/4", and to make sure the inside of the male & female connections are also 3/4", as sometimes they put 5/8" connections on them. Here is a link to the website. I agree that it may be helpful. Also, another thing, recently we got home from CO, and while driving across KS, we noticed when we stopped at rest areas they had dump stations that are apparently free. Also, Cabela's in KC,KS used to have a free dump station, along with other stuff for people shopping there while passing through. They sold the property that it was on for the new soccer stadium that was just built. We were planning on stopping there to dump, but had to go to "plan B". Lucky for me that I'm a retired county employee, and there is a county campground near our house, so we just went there dumped, & cleaned out the tank.

 

[jmgratz]

I have had the Flo-Jet Macerator pump for several years now and use it at home when we need to flush the tanks at home. Sometimes you just have to use the RV facilities like when Hurricanes kill the electric, water and sewer. The you can flush the tanks to the septic tank which is about 60 feet from the RV. The Flo-Jet does a great job.

 

[jnbhobe]

Does the FloJet chew up and pump away the sewer trout fast enough to still allow for a good fast flow out of the black tank?


Ray; I have the best of both worlds, a 4in cleanout at the curb and the Flo-Jet pump. I can tell you that you can't put water in the tank as fast as it is being pumped out. It really does a good job and I am pumping thru a 75 ft. 3/4in hose.

 

[jmgratz]

The Flo-Jet will only let the debris flow out as fast as the size hose you attach to it. It uses a garden hose for the debris to flow through so you can see it only will flow as fast as the hose size allows. The inside of the Flo-Jet resembles a disposal.

 

[Jcullipher]

I have a flo-jet screw-on macerator that works great, I use it occasionally to dump at my house, 70' away to a clean out thru 5/8 hose. Another reason that I went this route was to, when needed at a campground, be able to pump from my trailer to a tote tank sitting in the back of my truck and then haul to the dump station, some of the campgrounds we frequent have a fair distance to pull that tote tank on those little wheels to said dump station. Easy to haul and just drop the hose into the dump station hole, no pulling 5 mph or loading a heavy tank into the truck.

 

[Jcullipher]

I also ran a permanent wire from the battery to near the dump outlet, using a two-prong boat trailer type 12v plug to simplify the electrical connection.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

it does pretty good but not as fast as the three inch hose but not a lot less though.

Ray; I have the best of both worlds, a 4in cleanout at the curb and the Flo-Jet pump. I can tell you that you can't put water in the tank as fast as it is being pumped out. It really does a good job and I am pumping thru a 75 ft. 3/4in hose.

Thanks guys, that's good to hear. I have to add a FloJet to my list of things I just have to have.

 

[hoefler]

Any one interested in getting one, I have seen them on Ebay for as low as $160

 

[JohnDar]

A Flojet macerator is on my "maybe" list, even though we camp primarily on a full hookup seasonal site. Since we'll probably be back on the South campgrounds again at the next Goshen rally, it'll come in handy. Massaging a 35 foot snake uphill to an elevated sewer pipe was a unique experience. And RhinoFlex couplings leak.

 

[Geodude]

I've been using a Flo-Jet macerating pump for 5-6 years. I run about 75' of hose up our driveway, from the road, which is about a 4' rise. It works well. Just be sure nobody puts anything down the toilet they didn't eat first, as well as toilet paper. Otherwise the impeller will be toast. You can get a replacement impeller online for about $20.

I power our Poop Cannon from the trailer's Bargman connector.

 

[Urban350]

I have also had mine for over 5 years and just this year I had to rebuilt it, the rubber pump vanes (for lack of a better description) were worn out. I use a 3/4 hose at about 30', and when using the black tank flush it will more than keep up.

 

[porthole]

A Flojet macerator is on my "maybe" list, even though we camp primarily on a full hookup seasonal site. Since we'll probably be back on the South campgrounds again at the next Goshen rally, it'll come in handy.

Been using one for about 4-5 years now. Ran an ABS pipe through the rim joist and connected into the sewer.
Now I have pumpout available at home anytime.
I use 1" hose that I got at the Hershey show several years ago. The Flojet will pump fairly quick. Granted, not a fast as a 3" dump valve will, but faster then not having anyway to dump!

Massaging a 35 foot snake uphill to an elevated sewer pipe was a unique experience.

H'mmm just don't know what to say

And RhinoFlex couplings leak.

Yes they do..............

 

[Delaine and Lindy]

We have never used a Dump station but one time, and that was enough. We never boondocks or wall dock, and will dump prior to leaving the RV park. And since we all have holding tanks when move West and only staying one night in the RV parks we will dump every other day. Works for us, and we do have a full hook up RV site at home base..... Happy Trails.....