Im just setting up my SH Mercedes SWB Sprinter RV (Ive had her three days and cant wait to be out and about ). What is the best storage solution for my water and sullage hoses? It has a shower recess so thinking they could perhaps be carried there but theyd need to be in a bag of some sort to reduce the chance of smells I guess.
Thanks in advance.
-- Edited by Aussiefolk on Saturday 13th of June 2020 03:17:51 PM
Hi Suzanne, I just roll the water hose/s up and clip together with the hose fittings then wrap valcro around in two places to hold together and store in the back of the Collie. As for grey water hoses, I fitted a length of 100mm PVC pipe to the back of the van bumper bar and fixed in place with stainless steel ties. I then cut lengths of grey water hose that length and have a joiner for each section. One end of the PVC is closed off and the other has a screw cap with padlock. I just give hoses a rinse through before storing.
I use Hoselink fittings for the water hoses and that makes things easy.
Keep Safe on the roads and out there.
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I just use a cheap 4wd spare wheel cover - waterproof so it doesn't leak everywhere. Easier to roll the hoses in than a dedicated hose cover. Mine was $20 from RTM.
I use bags made for the purpose that can be purchased from caravan supply stores. I have put plugs in the end of the grey water hoses to avoid the smell. Water hose are equiped with hoselink fittings ( the best). Electrical cable is simply tied with an elastic cord as too long to wind into a purpose bag.
-- Edited by Geeco on Saturday 13th of June 2020 07:17:47 PM
Not my idea, but a goodie... I bought a length of 50 mm black poly pipe and fitted it through the punchouts in the chassis cross members The poly pipe is used as a carrier for the sullage hose. The poly pipe terminates at the front of the van on the A frame, and exits at the rear on the opposite side, near the rear stabiliser. I simply push the sullage hose into the poly pipe. The sullage hose is about 30 cm longer than the poly pipe carrier and it pokes out a bit at the end - like an exhaust pipe on the caravan. That way, I never have to roll up a messy sullage hose. I also have another length of sullage hose to reach when the main hose is not long enough, but that is rolled up and stored in the front boot of the van.
I have my water supply hose in 2 lengths - one about 8 m and the other 12 m long. The second hose has a 3/4 inch hose fitting on it and the smaller hose has a 1/2 inch fitting so between the two, I can fit all taps.
One of the first mods that I did to my van about 20 years ago, after putting up with coiled water hoses and smelly sullage pipes, was to fit carrying conduits under/through the suspension.
The main advantages are
. The elimination of those annoying coils as the hoses lie straight within their carrying conduits.
. Ease of storing as the 6 or 7 meter lengths are just slid into the conduits, not having to be wound into coils & placed into a bag or whatever.
. No smelly sullage or leaking water hoses in the van's storage areas.
. Ease of cleaning the outside of the pipes & hoses as they are just passed through a hand held cleaning rag as they are threaded into the carriers. This is an important advantage when camping in dirt/dusty western grassless areas.
. Nice straight lengths of hose & pipe .. no risk of tripping over those bloody coils.
I protect the water hoses by putting a brass joiner fitted with a rubber caps (chair leg protectors) at both ends of the hose lengths & wash out the sullage pipes before storing them.
My conduits are terminated in a modified 'Plumbdinger'. This is a device that plumbers sometimes use to align the bath outlet with the waste pipe installed in the house concrete slab. Makes it look nicer I think & the single hinged lid (I cut off the bottom of the plumbdinger and hinged it to form a lid) makes it easy to access the four individual pipes.
I have attached some pretty old photos of the set up ..
Edit .. I'm sure that with a bit of thought you could design a system to suit a camper, perhaps using short lengths of 100mm conduit with a screwed cap on one end and fitted across the vehicle. One for water & one for sullage maybe, holding as many short lengths of pipe as will fit.
Edit 2 .. BTW, I saw somewhere a caravan design that used two metal trays running the length of its underside to accommodate the van's plumbing and electrical. That idea could be modified if suitable for your vehicle to carry & protect the various hoses.
-- Edited by Cupie on Sunday 14th of June 2020 01:40:32 PM
-- Edited by Cupie on Sunday 14th of June 2020 01:46:34 PM
