Sewer Hose Carrier Mounting Method

dragonsdofly

@DougH, well, it'd be a moment to remember!

BrianZ

Just a followup..
It's been two years now, and everything is still solidly in place, working fine, no chafing on the gas hose, & no big ball of flames in the rearview mirror 😉(though we do keep the gas turned off at the tank while traveling).

ScottG

Same here! 

ReenieG

@ScottG @BrianZ I would like to do a mod like yours, but I have questions. First off, I have a regular 320S with a boondock platform, which is why I think this would be the only way to mount the Valterra tube, vs the frame side mount. How difficult is it to remove the plastic tub? What was the finished sizing of those little standoffs you used, BrianZ? I noticed you said something about changing them to allow more room? Is there a parts list to complete this? I see a few small incidental parts in this discussion but would like to have everything on hand, esp if I have to recruit someone to help me get this done. TIA!

AnOldUR

Anyone who's seen some of my mods knows that I don't shy away from a challenge, but putting the sewer tube in the back seems so much easier. I guessing you guys still have the spare tire mounted there? I love the end result of this method. Looks great and it's a more convenient location.

ScottG

@ReenieG, if you have a Boondock platform you may be able to just attach the tube directly the back side of the platform rails. IIRC several owners have done this and it eliminates the need for the standoffs. There are several other threads on this topic so you should be able to find some photos if you search around here.

You would still need to make the cutouts in the tub. The tub is not difficult to remove as it is simply secured to the frame with four small bolts. 

While I agree this mod is a bit more difficult than mounting the tube in the back, the location is absolutely ideal from a functional perspective. I slide the hose straight out and only have to move it a few inches to attach it to the dump valve. Putting it back it equally easy. Very little moving or handling of the hose is involved in either case.

EDIT: Here is one discussion I found with some good pictures of the tube attached as I have described.  

Bayliss

@ReenieG, here's my installation on a 2019 320 S Boondock:

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/108692?fbclid=IwAR0XkGbBianPKfhrcNUTSWhyJNBRuc4ERGdzzLqnuVPEkkX31xRgWHBCAH8#Comment_108692

ReenieG

AnOldUR said:

Anyone who's seen some of my mods knows that I don't shy away from a challenge, but putting the sewer tube in the back seems so much easier. I guessing you guys still have the spare tire mounted there? I love the end result of this method. Looks great and it's a more convenient location.

@AnOldUR do you have pics of this? I'm not sure there's a good place to attach a hose to a regular 320S without the Yakima rack but I'm open to seeing it. My spare tire has been moved to my front hitch frame.

ReenieG

@Bayliss I believe I've seen yours however, until @ScottG mentioned it, I hadn't noticed yours is attached to the platform. I have a plastic box so I'm thinking if this is the route I take, my mod would be a cross between BrianZ's mount, your mount and ScottG's mount. Thank you all.

ReenieG

@ScottG, I have a cross between several of these different setups. I have the plastic tub which I believe may only have 2 bolts holding it in place from what I can see along with the BD platform. Maybe I'm missing a bolt? I'm thinking maybe when the BD platform was installed the second bolt was removed since it's a bit offset from the hole. My propane tank was removed so here's a pic. I may have 2 bolts under the battery box, but I didn't move it to look. The tub removal seems to be the most difficult part of this, imo, so I appreciate the encouragement on that part. Thanks for pointing out that I wouldn't need the standoffs. That eliminates a step for sure.

AnOldUR

ReenieG said:

AnOldUR do you have pics of this?

If I had it to do over I'd probably offset it to one side or use a longer tube to make access to the end cap easier.

ReenieG

@AnOldUR thanks, do you have a side angle pic by chance? How's this mounted?

ReenieG

@ScottG @BrianZ I'm still wrestling with where to cut (and not to cut) my plastic tub. Do you have any pics of your project? It seems the issue I'm having is when I measured where I would cut on the outside of the tub to line up with the back of my BD platform to anchor the valterra tube to, well, the problem is on the plastic tub, INSIDE I'd hit the back of the metal frame for the battery box and lpg tank so that's not going to work. I think I can still anchor to the BD platform, somehow, but I'll probably need a different mod than I see anywhere here. Any additional pics or measurements you can share will help.

I'd especially like to know the height of your cutout from the base of your tub which is sort of a semi or incomplete circle.

@BogieMeister do you have any links to the vinyl floor you added and pics to show you connected it?

So here are my pics on the dilemma of where exactly to cut, or not to cut... <sigh>

Pic 1 - this would be where I'd want to cut to be cinched up with the hose to the BD platform.

Pic 2 - shows where the inside of that cut would be. It's too far forward and the valterra tube couldn't go through the back of the metal frame of the tub.

Pic 3 - shows where I would need to cut to clear the inside of the metal frame. Also, this is where I believe @ScottG and @BrianZ cut their plastic tub, or approximately where.

Pic 4 - this is the inside which I believe would be the "right" area whereby I'd clear the metal frame in the tub and allow the tube to rest on the frame, although the problem is these moving the cuts to pics 3 & 4 means the tube will now be closer to the trailer and about 2 1/2 to 3" away from the platform I want to zip tie it to.

BrianZ

@ReenieG, have you seen the first page of this topic where I posted lots of pics of my project, including cutting of the tub.  See here..
https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/93704/#Comment_93704
Not sure if I gave the exact diameter, but the radius may have been a half inch larger than the tube itself.
Looks like it should work for you to secure it to the vertical metal tubes of your platform, but I can't tell from your photos where the rear side of those tubes are aligned with respect to the metal L-shaped rear cross brace of the tub frame that sits on the trailer frame.  If both are aligned with each other, then it should work, but it sounds like this may not be the case.  Good effort with all the pics, but hard for me to fully understand your situation without actually seeing it.  I'm going to read again in the morning & see if I can get a better understanding of your situation.

P.S.:
This pic of mine shows best how my cut aligns relative to that L-shaped frame..
https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/93752/#Comment_93752
Seems to me, whichever obstruction (the platform tube or the L-frame piece) is farthest to the rear, that will be the limiting factor for where you can position the tube, which will also decide where you can cut the hole.  I believe the anterior of my hose tube, which is taller, may actually extend a bit forward of the shorter L-frame.  If the platform is too far forward for attaching the tube, then zip-tie it to the trailer frame like we did.  You don't want to put it too far forward where it might interfere with contents inside the tub.

ReenieG

@BrianZ yes, I've studied everything I could find on this forum about sewer hose carriers until my head hurt! Your pics are great.

What I'm explaining with my pics in my last post is pics 1&2 would be ideally where I'd cut to be butt up against the BD platform with the zip ties but that can't happen because of the metal frame inside the plastic tub.

So, pics 3&4 show where I believe would be my next close up cut. I wish I had your exact measurements on where that cut was made since I'm afraid if I cut too tight it will be more difficult to cut again to make the hole a little larger.

That's why I was asking for the dimensions with hopefully some point of reference although I understand many people have their T@Bs in storage so that may not be possible.

If you're asking where the vertical bars are in alignment with the valterra tube connectors, that's moot since I have the extendable one & can adjust it to fit. I'm more concerned about the gap I'll have between the BD platform & the tube once I cut the tub.

At some point I may just have to "go for it."

ScottG

@ReenieG I think the problem you are running into is that you are dealing with the unusual combination of the Boondock rack with the standard plastic tub.

Where exactly you make the cut is going to depend on where exactly the mounted tube is located. Mounting on the back of the rack is going to position the tube a bit differently than mounting it on "feet" pressed up against the faux diamond plate on the front of the camper. Even when using "feet" method (as @BrianZ and I did) the exact height of the feet will influence the exact position of the cut. 

As you have discovered, the plastic tub is another confounding variable because the internal metal frame components can get in the way of where the tube needs to be positioned. If you look back at my posts earlier in this discussion, you will see that my 2015 tub was a bit different than BrianZ's, and as such I had to make some additional modifications to get everything to fit securely.  

In short, every application is a little different, so unfortunately each needs to be carefully and individually fitted. That was the most challenging part of the project for me. Even if I could tell you exactly where I measured made my cuts, they probably wouldn't be quite right for you...  

ReenieG

Well, lo and behold, I finally got my sewer hose carrier completed!

I also moved my spare tire from the side of the frame to the center.

As you can see, the carrier is up next to the trailer. This is the only way it would mount with the plastic tub and the metal frame inside of it. I also made some little standoffs mainly to complete the look. I got some 24" zip ties at Harbor Freight and fastened the carrier to the metal frame, but the carrier can't really go anywhere.

Hey, it works! Thanks everyone, for your assistance on this. On to the next mod!

BrianZ

Looks great, @ReenieG!  Glad you finally got it all sorted out.  I don't think you could have done any better, so all your careful planning paid off, it looks like.

ReenieG

Thanks @BrianZ! I'm happy with it.

ReenieG

Now for the last mod to this sewer hose carrier mod... the elbow that doesn't fit in the carrier. Since the whole purpose of this mod for me, was to avoid carrying another bin in the TV wasting space, so when a few people suggested carrying a smaller bin with the elbow, that was a big NO for me.

I used two 1" thumb screws drilled into the worthless "hose carrier" in my plastic tub, secured with wing nuts. It kinda looks like the bolt and wing nut for the lpg ring but works a little differently. I simply screwed the thumb screws down to where they hold the elbow in place with pressure. I think that will work out just fine. If not, well then, I'll be purchasing a new elbow if it bounces out, lol.

If the thumb screws wouldn't have worked after I drilled the holes, I though I might/could use a mini bungee cord over the top of the elbow to hold it in place but it seems the screws will work fine.

ScottG

Clever mod, @ReenieG.

However, I was able to make mine fit entirely in the tube if I left the elbow connected to the hose and just removed the "donut" from the bottom of the elbow. Once separated, the donut just slides into the tube in front of the hose with the elbow still attached. Of course, YMMV depending on specific components. Your hose looks a little different (though not necessarily bigger) than mine.

(And I actually used that little OEM hose carrier for several years with a cheap 10' hose that came with the camper!)