Are you always stopping, on your way home, to empty your RV holding tank? With a little bit of work and very little material, you can have your own RV dump, in your own yard, where you don’t have to pay to use someone else’s facilities.
Tools
The tools, necessary for the installation of an RV dump, are common household tools. Most households have a pick and shovel, a handsaw and a small level.
Location
Locate the sewer line that runs from your house to your septic tank. Dig a four foot-diameter hole, down to the sewer line. The line should not be more than two-feet down if the ground is somewhat level around the tank. Find a convenient location for the RV dump connection. The shoulder of a driveway, within thirty feet of the sewer and in a straight line, is recommended.
Dig a trench from the sewer line to the dump connection site. The trench should have a gradual, downhill slope from the connection to the sewer pipe, to create a gravity flow. A gravity-flow sewer system should not have any ninety-degree turns that will cause solids to build up. If a ninety-degree turn is needed, use two forty-five degree elbows placed at least one-foot apart.
Materials
A straight-line connection only requires enough ABS three-inch, black sewer pipe to reach from the sewer line to the dump connection, plus five feet. A “Y” coupler, 3 forty-five degree elbows, a dump connection cap and a can of clear glue will get the job done.
Assembly
Using a small handsaw, cut a section out of the sewer pipe to accommodate the “Y” connection. The cutout section should be one-inch shorter than the length of the “Y”.
The “Y” has a one-inch slip-connection on each end. Without using glue, slip one end of the “Y” onto the sewer pipe so that the arm points toward the dump connection. Apply glue to the other end of the “Y” and carefully slide it onto the sewer pipe, one-half-inch in the other direction. Cut a one-foot length of ABS pipe and attach it to the arm of the “Y”, using glue. Glue a forty-five degree elbow to the one-foot pipe so it points toward the dump connection.
Connect the ABS pipe to the elbow. The other end of the ABS pipe should be one-foot short of the dump connection. Glue a forty-five degree elbow to the ABS pipe so it points up. Glue a one-foot piece of ABS pipe to the elbow. Glue another elbow to the one-foot pipe so it points straight up. Glue an ABS pipe onto the elbow so it protrudes one-foot above the ground level. Without using glue, place a cap onto the protruding pipe. There are some variations to the connections on different models of RVs. Sometimes an adapter is necessary to connect the dump hose to the dump.
To be sure of a downhill flow from the dump connection to the sewer pipe, use a level. There should be at least a one-inch drop for every eight feet. Shade the pipe with loose dirt to hold it in place and then backfill the ditch. The riser pipe at the dump connection can be cut off to a desired height but should be a minimum of four-inches above ground.
Your RV dump station is now ready to use.
Sources: Personal experience
