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Sunland P Trap for Shower Source? Bypass considerations?


tofuricer

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The P trap below the shower on my 1986 Sunland Express looks original, but has cracked.  I ordered LaSalle Bristol (652011P) P-Trap Assembly which has an offset on the U-trap portion of 3.5 inches (Center to center of inlet to outlet).  The old trap has an offset of about 4 inches (center to center).  I'm having trouble finding that dimension listed for anything listed online.  I'd rather not put stress on the shower pan or the grey water tank, so I'm looking for a replacement which either has the correct offset or some other creative solution.  Has anyone replaced theirs and found a source?

Another thought is that the grey water and black water go into the same tank on my camper.  I don't love this, so I'm also open to ideas that would allow me to shower and not fill the black water tank.  I know others have mentioned outside showers, and that may be the best solution.   I only boondock, so my thought is that a bypass of the grey water coming from the shower and dropping directly to ground is the same as an outdoor shower except the benefits of privacy and no mud on the feet.  If I were to add a bypass of the black water tank by adding a valve coming from the shower drain, I'd still need a trap after the bypass to prevent my current issue of black water tank gas creeping into the bathroom.  Are there other environmental considerations?  Has anyone done something like this?  

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hey there, since you mentioned an outside shower may be an option for you. check out etrailer.com. they sell a complete outside shower package for about $30.00. it includes the shower wand, faucet, and enclosure to mount in the side or back of your rig.  the enclosure is lockable and has two keys. i got free shipping with amazon prime. hope this helps, joe from dover.

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Hey Joe, thanks for the heads up.  I am currently shopping for a rear bike rack and etrailer has an assortment.  When I pull the trigger on the bike rack, I'll throw one of those shower boxes into the order.  Might be nice for washing muddy bikes as well.

For the trap situation, I bought a flexible trap from home depot that is similar to a bendy straw.  

d412099a-30ba-41fd-a4b4-402c8962b256_1000.thumb.jpg.06522eea4400931e4b53523677c4c08f.jpg

This worked, but I don't love it since it's not a thick walled black tubular pipe -- but at least the sewer gas issue is solved for now.  I'll post back if this quick/cheapo solution fails me.

I'm still curious if anyone has bypassed to dump shower grey water on the ground or if that's frowned upon at a backwoods camp site?  I hate trying to find a dump, so this would make those trips less frequent.  I'm new to RVing and want to know all of the considerations. I would rather get scolded on a forum for thinking of such a thing beforehand!

 

 

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Dumping grey water on the ground will get you kicked out of most National and State parks. If your only in the back woods why try to bypass it. Just leave the drain open. That way you can use it correctly if you need to stay at a regular park or an RV park. Or if your visiting friends and in their driveway. Might be nice to not dump your dirty water there. Also I can't imagine dumping the black tank without some grey water to at least partially clear the hose before I rinse it out with a hose. Less yuck to deal with

Linda S

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1 hour ago, linda s said:

Dumping grey water on the ground will get you kicked out of most National and State parks. If your only in the back woods why try to bypass it. Just leave the drain open. That way you can use it correctly if you need to stay at a regular park or an RV park. Or if your visiting friends and in their driveway. Might be nice to not dump your dirty water there. Also I can't imagine dumping the black tank without some grey water to at least partially clear the hose before I rinse it out with a hose. Less yuck to deal with

Linda S

It seems like intentions weren't understood.  I would never dump from a black water tank, given environmental/health concerns.  Since I only have a single tank (capturing black and grey water) I was thinking of adding a and drain valve before the tank so that I could open it and drop shower water to the ground.  Official campgrounds aren't my favorite.  I try to find DLM land or sites in National Forests since there is way more privacy.  

Starting back at square one: Is it non-factory that my Sunland Express doesn't have both a black and a grey water tank?  Given the suggestion of using grey water to rinse the black water tank, it sounds like most of you all have both tanks?

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My 86 Sunland has two tanks, one for Black and one for Gray water. BUT the shower goes directly into the black water tank. I did not know this until about two months ago when I was washing the black water tank and water came up the shower drain. I crawled under there and took a look . Boy What a surprise.:(

  If you put a drain valve in your line, it might be safe to carry one of those blue transport tanks ( that has wheels on it for pulling to the dump)  and drain it into one of those to dispose of later instead of dumping it on the ground.  Don't know....just an idea.

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Homer, thanks so much for chiming in!  I have a rear dining model, so not sure if there were differences between our models (it looks like you have a different layout).  According to WME in this thread, some older models didn't have two separate tanks.  Is 1986 old?  ;-)

Elsewhere, there are some cheap modifications/fixes, but still not sure if the current tank is original.  Maybe these pics will help determine.

1986 21RD sun-land express waste tank

This is the only outlet of the tank that I see.

 

name plate

According to this nameplate it looks like it is 14"x43"x11" or about 30 gallons.  Was Best Plastics ever an OEM supplier?

 

tank hanging don

I'm mindful about driver's-side curbs with how low it hangs.  Other than the height, it seems to fit very nicely.

 

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Not a great view, but this is where the shower drain is piped into the tank with the cheapo trap that replaced the leaking one.  There certainly is room for a bypass, and valve, but reaching it requires me to get over my claustrophobia and willingness to get dirty after a shower, which kinda defeats the purpose.

Homer, do you have a picture or details (size, location) on your tanks? 

Edited by tofuricer
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My original RV had a 40 gal black tank for the bath shower and toilet. There was a separate 7 gallon gray tank for the sinks. It was a pia as there were 2 dump fittings you had to use.

I thought that a PO had redone the tanks when most places had outlawed gopher holing your gray water.

If you have room for a small tank for sink gray water maybe you can do the same.

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My dining area is on driver side in the middle. The sink, range. and bathroom are in the rear. On the back of owner's manual is BLACK WATER tank- 10 gal.

Gray water tank  is 9 gal. Fresh water tank is 13 gal. The black water tank is directly under the commode. The shower is connected to the Black water tank. ; the Gray water tank has a pipe down to the drain valve.  I put wire (Hardware cloth) where rats (mice) were getting into the coach, I put great stuff where pipes entered the coach. I found a very large hole between the commode and the tank where the pipe came down into the tank, thus the welded wire (hardware cloth).

#4490=Gray water tank with drain into drain valve.
#4492= shower "P" trap into black water tank. Donut looking thing is Great Stuff.
#4493= another shot of Gray water tank an black water tank is top right
#4494= Gray tank slider valve going into the "Y" main drain coming from BLK tank.
#44995= Hardware cloth closing in over the Black water tank (keeps critters out).
#44998= showing main drain valve cap and outside of the Black water tank.
#4499= another shot of the Gray water tank, spare tire.DSC04499.JPG.b6999d5103592dafe017474336c33bc5.JPG

Hope this will help you decide something on yours. OH ! I didn't get any measurements !

These pictures did not stay as I added them and I don't know why the 4499 is up here??????

DSC04498.JPG

DSC04497.JPG

DSC04492.JPG

DSC04493.JPG

DSC04494.JPG

DSC04490.JPG

Edited by Homer
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Homer, this is super helpful!  I didn't realize I may have excess holding tank capacity beyond stock.  Nice bonus when camping or going down hills, but probably worth not having full uphill ;-)

Since my tanks are in front of the rear axle, It doesn't look like a tank in the middle would work in front of the axle with the drive shaft/exhaust in that area.  Do have more room back by the spare near where your middle tank is.  May add a little more capacity back there one day.

Now off topic: I see the wheel hanging down from your bumper.  Is that because you sometime rub when going up a steep driveway from a flat road?  I have a bike rack on mine and have some paranoia about rubbing.

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best plastic was the major supplier of waste and fresh water tanks for RV factories in Elkhart.as for the wheel sun land express put wheels on the frame to keep from bottoming out the waste tanks .mine came with wheels on each side of the frame rails behind the waste tanks. the wheel on his sun land  is not a factory wheel . somebody put a caster type wheel on his. Sun land wheels look like wheelie wheels on each side of the frame

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