Here’s an easy tip for draining the fresh water tank: Add a hose end!
As full-time RVers staying in different RV parks across the country, we have wondered where to dump fresh water when it is not so fresh and the system needs sanitizing.
Where to drain all that water?
The RV park does not want us to drain 90 gallons (or even 20 gallons!) of water at the campsite. Although I will admit that I have resorted to stealth-opening the fresh water drain in the middle of a torrential downpour before we figured out this system…
Add a hose end
A couple of years ago, we added a hose end to the drainpipe to attach a hose to the drain and move the water off to a well-deserving tree or to the sewer. It worked okay, although after we installed it we realized that pipe threads are definitely different than hose threads and it was tough to get the hose on.
Too low
When a technician was replacing our water drain valve, he mentioned that the drain pipe was now too long with our extension and was in danger of hitting something in the road. That could rip out the whole drain pipe and put a hole in the fresh water tank. Not good… very not good.
Easy fix
Did we want him to fix it? YES! He cut the drain pipe down a bit and added an elbow with a garden hose end. A real hose end at an angle—easy to attach a garden hose.
Easy drain
Now we can easily attach a hose (our flush hose—not the white drinking water hose) and drain the water off to a better place or put the end of the flush hose in the sewer pipe outlet. Hint: If you’re using the sewer pipe method, rinse and sanitize the hose well. It is not just fresh water that goes down the sewer pipe…
##RVDT2124
Great idea! Thank you, Nanci!
I use a garden hose quick coupling on the drain, too old to spend much time on my knees to spend time crossthreading
We have a 17′ TT, and added a length of piping from the tank drain to the edge of the trailer. It is supported by zip ties, and we can drop it to drain the 20 gallon fresh tank. The drain is too far under the trailer for me to reach, so we took the drain extension idea from a popup forum.
We usually just drain it at home, where it’s no problem to let the water drain into our yard. If we want to drain it more quickly, we can use a drill pump.
Our fresh water dump valve is a knife type valve with the typical “T” handle but it sits over the rear axle on our travel trailer. At home I rigged up some PVC pipe(s) with rubber connectors and hose clamps to run the water into our house rain gutter runoff. PITA but it keeps us from soaking the backyard. On the road? I stop somewhere, pull the handle, jump back out of the way, and drive off, letting it empty as we go. At some point I stop and close the valve.
Great idea. Thanks Nanci!!
Good tip! The fresh water tank on our mostly stationary RV is at the rear and we have a deck storage box nearby for outdoor stuff. I used Flexseal spray at all the bottom joints of the box mostly because we flood that area when we drain the tank
Some how I think I’ll keep my black tank clean out hose far away from my fresh water tank.
that’s cute, but in our Class C, the fresh tank is a little drain valve on the side of the RV. your solution doesn’t apply. I wish it did.
Our 1/2″ diameter fresh water drain pipe hangs down maybe two inches. I cut off the male end of an old garden hose the same diameter, slipped this onto the drain pipe and secured it with a hose clamp. I then added one of those small flip valves that screw onto the end of a garden hose. Everything hangs below the trailer maybe three inches and is now easy to drain the tank and I can attach a garden hose if needed.