8 - The Sewer Connector Problem

Back in Post 6, I mentioned that the sewer outlet as installed on the coach was inoperable. The problem is that the outlet was mounted close to the under-belly and behind the lower skirt of the siding molding. There was literally no way to connect a sewer hose coupling to the outlet due to the interference from the skirt. I discovered this as I was trying to empty the tanks after our first trial camp outing. Obviously, a bit of a problem as seen in the picture.

My wife got on the phone to a Forest River representative, but figuring no easy nor quick solution was in the offing, I got in the toad car and drove 20 miles home to get my trusty saber saw, some masking tape, and some files and sandpaper. There was clear space behind the skirt, so I applied masking tape to the outside and traced a pattern of the outside of the hose coupling onto the tape. I then found a bowl in the kitchen that had a diameter slightly larger than the coupling and traced a nice arc in the right position. I caught my breath and then proceeded to carefully saw the semi-circle piece out. I filed and sanded the cut smooth and the result looked pretty much like it was made that way. I was able to empty the tanks.

Meanwhile, my wife had talked to an engineer from F.R. and he basically said he was at a loss to explain what happened. I followed up later with them and sent pictures showing the issue. I don't know if my unit was the only odd one like this, but I suspect the result was that the outlet was run and hung a bit lower to clear the skirt. Actually, I'm kind of glad it is where it is as there is more ground clearance.