Valterra sewer hose carrier heads up

Marceline

If you have mounted a Valterra sewer hose carrier alongside your trailer frame do not trust the hinged “door” at the back end. Glue it shut or tape the heck out of it. Trust me on this. 🤬

BrianZ

Hinged door?  Ours has a round twist-off cap at both ends that attaches like the hood of a camera lens, using slots on the inside of the tube & outside of the caps.  It does seem rather loose fitting.  We've not had a problem with it coming off, just finding the right position to get it back on.  But then, we only used it for the first time yesterday on an actual camping trip.
It sounds like you have a story to tell, @Marceline?

ScottG

I've seen photos of "Valterra" carriers with hinged doors. They look identical to another brand I researched but passed on because many of the reviewers complained about breaking the flimsy hinge.

BrianZ

So, I presume the aforementioned carrier is not the one I recently installed, from Amazon, titled "Valterra A04-0153XBK Black 64" EZ Hose Carrier".

ScottG

Nope. I have the same carrier you describe. Here's a photo of the other style. I've also seen these under the brand names Super-Slider and Pheonix.

Neither design gives me much faith in the security of the caps. I think Marcelene's suggestion of additional security measures is a good one, particularly if your tube is mounted in such a way that the sewer hose could beat a hasty exit out the back door.

Now that I think of it, I saw an RV sewer hose on the side of the road enroute to my first camp of the season...

Marceline

ScottG said:

Nope. I have the same carrier you describe. Here's a photo of the other style. I've also seen these under the brand names Super-Slider and Pheonix.

Neither design gives me much faith in the security of the caps. I think Marcelene's suggestion of additional security measures is a good one, particularly if your tube is mounted in such a way that the sewer hose could beat a hasty exit out the back door.

Now that I think of it, I saw an RV sewer hose on the side of the road enroute to my first camp of the season...

You weren’t on I5, by any chance? 😏

ScottG

Nope. About as far from I-5 as possible while still being in 'Merica. If you flung your hose that far you DID have an incident!  :-)

ericnliz

Just the thought of a "flying" sewer hose is kinda creepy all in itself!

Marceline

ericnliz said:

Just the thought of a "flying" sewer hose is kinda creepy all in itself!

The funny part of the story:
i was in I5 south of Portland and 2 guys in a pickup passed me to the left waving frantically and pointing at the trailer. So I pulled off on the shoulder and examined the trailer. No smoking hubs. No doors or windows open. Hitch looked good. No signs of any problem at all. So I got back in the car and cursed them for pranking me. I didn’t realize what had happened until I went to dump the tank 2 days later. 

Verna

After reading this, I think I’ll keep my 10’ sewer hose extension with a connecting part to make it fit into an RV dump “ hole”.  Some things are a necessity, like a sewer hose......

Thanks for your story, as it gives another thing to check on my sewer tube as I hitch up to head out. 9 things to check now, not 8.....7 pin plug, chains, emergency brake cable, foot up, tub closed and latched, locking pin locked in hitch pin hole, hitch connected to ball, surge brake lever in correct position, sewer tube closed. (How many of you counted?!!)

ericnliz

@Verna, I lost count, I just make more than one "round" before I take off & touch, feel, eyeball everything I can think of that will either fly off, become disconnected, or take flight before I leave. Every time I stop, I do another "go around" just in case.

Verna

@ericnliz, the 9 count is just between the truck hitch and the front of theT@B.

I honestly do perform a “Circle of Safety” every time I move the T@B. I touch everything I’m looking for to make sure I’m really looking and not just going through the motions. Lights, tires, windows, doors, attachments, nothing left on the campsite, campsite clean, etc. 

ChrisandAlexis

@ericnliz , x2. Whenever we stop for gas, lunch, rest stop, whatever, I always do a walk-around the trailer. I have make myself actually concentrate on what I am looking at as I find myself sometimes just looking without focusing on what I am looking for.

Lil_Lucy

BrianZ said:

Hinged door?  Ours has a round twist-off cap at both ends that attaches like the hood of a camera lens, using slots on the inside of the tube & outside of the caps.  It does seem rather loose fitting.  We've not had a problem with it coming off, just finding the right position to get it back on.  But then, we only used it for the first time yesterday on an actual camping trip.
It sounds like you have a story to tell, @Marceline?

I used a paint pen to put a mark on the tube and a arrow on the cap. I just line the arrow up with the mark then turn it clockwise to lock in place.

Lil_Lucy

Sorry, couldn’t figure out how to add photo to previous post.

BrianZ

Thanks, @Lil_Lucy, I need to do that.

I did love having my hose so convenient at the dump station yesterday after doing the behind-the-tub storage tube mod.  When doing my final walk-around though, before leaving the dump station for the ride home, I found something rather startling..

The clip that locks the trailer hitch lever was missing!  I knew I had put it on before we left the campsite!  So I asked my wife if she had seen the clip - she opened the back of the van & asked, "you mean this?".  I could not believe it, but I realized she had always been the one to remove it when disconnecting at the campsite, so was on autopilot just trying to help, apparently, not realizing this is only to be removed after disconnecting, so we could connect the receiver lock while camping. 

I tried to stay calm by pausing to collect myself, while realizing what might have happened if I hadn't found it, then I explained how important it was to have that clip on while traveling.  Now I'm thinking I will replace it with a padlock that will stay on all the time except while in the process of connecting or disconnecting, but always to be put back on for theft security either at campsite or while traveling.

PS: My wife is no dummy - she scored a perfect 800 on her college SAT math test, then repeated it to try & get the same on verbal.  She likes checklists though, and I don't.  I guess we complement each other.

Ratkity

No harm, no foul. Glad you found out before something happened. I'll be just a campfire story for later!

dragonsdofly

@BrianZ, our process precisely. Pin inserted and locked this very moment while the trailer sits in our backyard, behind a 6' solid wood fence about 10/12 feet from our bedroom window. I  can see the trailer while sitting in my bed, still the pin is in place. Some of the best security procedures are the simplest and seemingly mundane, but oh, so necessary.