Plumbing Mods

Quick Connects for Hoses

After many scraped knuckles from trying to screw the water hose onto the camper inlet in a tight space, we gave up and opted for the same kind of "quick connects" we use on our garden hoses. We tried several different models before we found ones that fit inside the water access door, and had to remove the handy-dandy grippers on the connectors, but the results were well worth it. We used Teflon plumbing tape for leak-proof joints. Both ends of our water and utility hoses, as well as the spigot "Y", were then easy and quick to connect.

New Faucet and Sink Drain

The factory-supplied faucet was awful. It was either full-on or off and splashed like crazy. I replaced it with a Shurflo folding faucet. I knew nothing about plumbing when I started the project, but the more I learned, the easier it became. The final plan was a lot simpler than my first conception.). 

First, I corrected the sink drain. I loosened the sink, which was fastened with 4 wing nuts under the counter. Before I could lift it out, I had to remove the gray corrugated drain line. It was just shoved on the sink-drain barb and sealed with LOTS of caulk! After I dug the caulk loose, I worked the hose off the sink barb and pulled the whole line out by removing the barbed drain connector in the floor (from the outside). Because the old line was not clamped at the floor end either, there was actually a bit of dampness where water had seeped out. I pulled the old corrugated line off the barb and replaced it with an extra-long piece of smooth vinyl hose. The floor hole was not big enough to get a clamp through, so I just pushed the new hose on the connector and shoved the whole business back up through the floor (from the outside), then re-screwed and caulked the outside connector. From the inside, I was able to slip a hose clamp over the new drain hose and work it down to the floor. With a very long screwdriver, I could just reach between the wheel well and fridge cabinet to tighten the clamp around the barb. It was a very awkward place to reach, but the resulting drain was finally watertight.

After disconnecting the hoses and removing the old faucet, I drilled two 1" holes in the countertop for the new faucet tailpieces. I needed a plate that would cover the old hole - a blank stainless-steel electric faceplate was just the right size and made a nice base for the faucet. I masked the front of the plate with tape and screwed upside down to a scrap of 2x4. I marked the location of my new holds, used a punch to dimple the centers, and drilled the first hole with a 1" hole bit. It cut just around the fastening screw, which I then removed and replaced with a roofing nail - the nail head caught the edge of the first hole to keep the faceplate secure while I drilled the second hole. I used a rat tail file to smooth the edges, and with dots of superglue, I set 1" O-rings on top as gaskets. I rolled "snake" of plumbers putty to make a watertight seal under the edge of the plate. Once the faucet and plate were in place, I found that the plastic tailpiece nuts provided with the faucet didn't leave enough exposed threads to attach the water lines. Electric conduit nuts were perfect substitutions and fastened the faucet firmly to the countertop.

For the cold-water side of the faucet, I bought a 12" flexible plastic faucet supply. I cut off the compression fitting and used a brass barb-to-barb connector with hose clamps to join it to the (shortened) original camper city-water hose. For the hot-water side of the faucet, I connected a 3-way bypass valve. I could switch the valve to draw water from the water heater when we were connected to utilities, or from the storage tank when we had no hookups. One leg of the bypass valve was a barb for the hose from the storage tank. The other leg had a compression fitting for a braided stainless-steel faucet supply. The other end of that supply was connected to a new water heater (see Water Heater post).

The valve in the photos is a "Flair-It" water heaver bypass valve, which I got from an RV dealer. It makes tight connections, but has to be used with PVC or PEX pipe, and compatible fittings were hard to find. If I were doing it again, I think I would use a brass water-heater bypass valve - they're less expensive and more readily available online or from an RV store.

Before I reset the sink, I turned on the water and checked each connection for leaks. After an hour under water pressure, everything was still watertight. I made more plumber's putty snakes to put under the rim of the sink before I tightened it down. I also added a hose clamp to the sink end of the new drain line. Everything worked beautifully, and the new faucet was great!

Gray Water Jug

As old tent campers, we thought we could just let our gray water run to the ground. But we found that most campgrounds require it to be collected. The standard wheeled blue containers were big and expensive, and we didn't generate that much waste water. A 5-gallon diesel jug from Walmart just fit under the camper and was light enough to carry away fro the campsite to empty.

Buckets

We found that square buckets are a better fit for the camper than round ones. We used our utility hose to fill a large square wash bucket with cooking, dishwashing and rinsing water for use at the picnic table. Our dishes fit in a rectangular bucket I found at Camping World. Small paint buckets from Lowe's, even though they're round, were small enough to fit in the sink under the stock faucet. And with the new Shurflo faucet, I could fill even a 3-gallon bucket in the sink!