Best Of
Hepvo trap for the 400 shower (not for the faint-of-heart)
Do you sometimes get evil smells emanating from your shower drain? Particularly after driving down some bumpy roads? It's because the water in the u-trap under your shower pan gets shaken out and then allows grey water fumes to enter your bathroom. Our standard fix was to pour a cup of water down the drain to re-fill the u-trap. But what's the fun in that?
This mod solves that problem and also will stop the grey water tank backing up into your shower pan: Remove the u-trap and replace it with a Hepvo trap.
Warning: This is far and away the most awkward mod I've made to the trailer. Access is awful and you can barely see what you're doing.
Anyway this is what it looks like to start with:

Removing the rubber U-trap is easy - just unscrew the fitting from the shower drain and loosen the hose clamp that clamps the utrap to the 90 degree bend. Water in the U-trap will spill all over.
Next, you need to cut through the (vertical) riser about 3/8" above the floor level. I cut the horizontal pipe first because the 90 degree bend got in the way of my saw. Clean up the cut pipe to remove any burrs.

Now you have to assemble the Hepvo trap and associated ABS fittings. Sorry that I don't have pictures of this bit, but I was a little flustered at the time. What you need is (in order from the shower to the riser):
- The right-angle connector that comes with the Hepvo trap
- The Hepvo trap itself
- A 5" length of 1.5" white PVC tube (I cut mine from one of these)
- An 2" ABS compression fitting
- A 2" ABS street Ell

and

There are 2 styles of Hepvo trap on the market. They only differ in the size of pipe that enters the trap. Since we're not using those bits, you can use either size.
Edit your Discussion Title to add "SOLD" and an Administrator can remove your post when sold
Edit your Discussion Title to add "SOLD" and an Administrator can remove your post when sold.
Re: Cracked axle bearing cup?
Rather than cracks, these look more like “minor” score marks or perhaps corrosion where there was a bit of moisture on the bearing and the trailer wasn’t moved for a while, resulting in the marks on the cup. I’ve seen worse corrosion and pitting, especially on boat trailer bearings. I don’t think the cup is cracked, and I don’t recall ever seeing a cracked cup on bearings that I’ve serviced or replaced.
That being said, I’m not the one pulling the trailer! Only you can decide if you are comfortable with the current bearings. It’s not a hugely difficult job to replace everything, but it’s certainly not a minor job either.
Re: Tab400 Alde convectors removal and upgrade
ColinsTab400 said:Has anyone removed all the convectors in a 400? I am interested since there is a way to avoid the corrosion issue, but it requires removal of all the convectors to "paint" the connection ends. Thanks
What is your vintage of 400?
Evidently some years had easier access to the convectors than others. Accessing the front convector on my 2020 TAB was next to impossible as the cover's front and top were bonded together, so there was almost no access.
Access to the converter under the bathroom floor is impossible unless you have the Hepvo drain which can be removed to gain access. I had already done this modification.
Re: Replacing the 3 way fridge in a 2021 TAB400
Thank you for that info. I've got a request into NuCamp to give me a price for installing the new refrigerator that they are using in the 2024 TAB400.
Re: Dry camping with Alde system
Thank you @pthomas745. I've passed along your information but unfortunately he and his family are attending an event that will keep them away from the camper all day. I'll have to wait to learn whether the battery is being solar charged sufficiently today and subsequently the Alde will be back on line. One thing he has going for him is that he has a Rivian that he can plug into and use as "shore power" to get the battery topped up if needed this evening.
Re: Outlet Dilema
Thank you MuttonChops! It turned out the GFCI outlet in the kitchen DID have a bad connection on its load side. The wired was fried. Replacing that GFCI fixed the outside outlet. At least, they both work when shore power is on, but not when using just the battery. Not sure if that is how it is supposed to work but we usually always have shore power. If we boondock, we still have two outlets that work on battery.
Re: Post up some shots of your T@B set-up at the camp site! #3
Love that camper!
Re: Post up some shots of your T@B set-up at the camp site! #3
It's not always camping/boondocking...
Set up at the Grassroots Music Fest, Trumansburg NY.

Set up at the Grassroots Music Fest, Trumansburg NY.







