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Old 03-11-2017, 03:57 AM   #29
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So you would let them install the "rough plumbing" and then just use it? Was your clean that you had in your homes like the one pictured above (with the pavers around it)?

I guess I am just not sure what makes a "clean out" any different than just a 4" pipe sticking out of the ground with a screw cap on the end?
A "cleanout" is where a plumber would go to insert his snakes and any other gear to clear plugged pipes. They are on the outbound side of the plumbing system. Perfect for a dump station for an RV.
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Old 03-11-2017, 04:46 AM   #30
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The above post is the most likely reason they are requiring a BFP on the sewer tap. The BFP prevents your toilets from overflowing in your house if the main sewer line plugs up down hill from your house and you have others above you on the sewer line.

The elevation of your home, the elevation of the proposed RV dump, the elevation of your neighbors are factors in requiring a BFP.

As you are in California, local ordinances may be at play.

Ask your builder about both ends of the pipe they "rough in". One end has a cap or plug, where is the other end? It may be that the proposed drain line needs to be connected directly to the municipal sewer pipe, not your house plumbing. If so then $5,000 is understandable due to "tap fees" .

Your city/county permit office should be able to explain the requirement for the BFP to you.

If you choose to not do it by the book and the main sewer line clogs below you, you may be the first to know.

Ask your builder where the main drain will exit the foundation. There should be a clean out at this point. If you can not gravity drain from the RV to this clean out then a portable masareator as Twinboat suggested would allow you to pump to this clean out. Your builder may be able to add a clean out somewhere that would work better for a nominal fee.
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Old 03-11-2017, 05:25 AM   #31
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Rather than use the clean out, I use our vent. The sewer vent where we have our summer home is simply a pipe sticking out of the lawn to allow air in so everything can flow to the street. Some people hide the pipe with some kind of lawn decoration. The pad we park the MH on is to far from it to use a standard RV dump "stinky slinky" so I also have a portable macerator. It connects to the RV waste pipe and 12V then chops and pumps though a garden hose. I need two 50' hoses to get to it but it works great. No more having to search out a dump station on the last leg of the trip home.

If your local sewer system works this way, you will see the pipe sticking out somewhere on the lawn. BTW We have a friend that works for the water (sewer) department that tells me that is a no-no but no one really cares about it. Just be stealthy about it.
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Old 03-11-2017, 05:34 AM   #32
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I'm guessing here that you talked to a confused lady.
Option 1: a rough opening, just like at RV park, you take plug out, put your sewer hose in, dump, pack sewer hose back up in RV, replace cap and you are done until next time.
Option 2: for another $5000 it will be set up with a back flow valve which will allow the RV sewer line to be connected and used continuously without the danger of sewage back flow into the RV.
I think you want option #1.
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Old 03-11-2017, 05:58 AM   #33
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I also use a existing sewer clean out located at the end of the house. It's just a 4" pipe with screw on cap that is teed into the sewer line near where it exits the house. I have a macerator pump and 150' of garden hose to reach from the motorhome. Works great and required no modifications to the house.

A plumber used the sewer clean out once with a ling large snake to clear a problem. It's got a clear shot all the way to the city sewer connection at the street.

You probably already have a clean out somewhere designed into the plumbing system. If so no need for any additional cost.
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Old 03-11-2017, 06:37 AM   #34
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Maybe rough plumbed means sewer pipe for RV is installed under the house before the concrete is poured for the foundation/slab. Available for connection to sewer at a later date.
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Old 03-11-2017, 08:30 AM   #35
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Hey everyone,

I have a question that I am having a hard time finding the answer to. I figured what better way to get an answer than from those that own MH's?

I am building a new house and they have an option that is called "Rough Plumbing" and it is for dumping the RV tanks. However, the lady called me back and said that I couldn't actually use it to dump the sewage in to because it is just rough plumbing, not full (whatever that means). She mentioned something about a back flow preventer and so forth that would need to be installed and she said in order to make it where I can dump in it, it would be another $5k (versus rough plumbing which is $1600). It has completely confused me. She said the rough plumbing comes with a screw cap on the end... isn't that what a dump station has? lol

Does anyone have experience with putting a dump station at your home and what the requirements are? I am also in California, if that makes a difference.

Mods... if this is in the wrong section, please feel free to move it.

Thanks!

Marc
I have a dump station and I built in California 2 years ago, just north of Sacramento. All I did was have the plumber stub up a C/O next to my RV garage. There are no restrictions on how many clean outs you can have, and as long as it is sloped correctly it runs right in to the sewer. I wouldn't say you are using it for a dump. Regards
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Old 03-11-2017, 09:15 AM   #36
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Originally Posted by triplewide View Post
The above post is the most likely reason they are requiring a BFP on the sewer tap. The BFP prevents your toilets from overflowing in your house if the main sewer line plugs up down hill from your house and you have others above you on the sewer line.

The elevation of your home, the elevation of the proposed RV dump, the elevation of your neighbors are factors in requiring a BFP.

As you are in California, local ordinances may be at play.

Ask your builder about both ends of the pipe they "rough in". One end has a cap or plug, where is the other end? It may be that the proposed drain line needs to be connected directly to the municipal sewer pipe, not your house plumbing. If so then $5,000 is understandable due to "tap fees" .

Your city/county permit office should be able to explain the requirement for the BFP to you.

If you choose to not do it by the book and the main sewer line clogs below you, you may be the first to know.

Ask your builder where the main drain will exit the foundation. There should be a clean out at this point. If you can not gravity drain from the RV to this clean out then a portable masareator as Twinboat suggested would allow you to pump to this clean out. Your builder may be able to add a clean out somewhere that would work better for a nominal fee.
Thanks for the response, very informative!

We live in Central Cali and it is very flat. The whole neighboorhood and area around it is very flat so I can't imagine it has to do with any kind of slope or being at the bottom of a slope that would make them require the BFP.

It could be though, like you said, that the RV dump line is require to hook directly to the main sewer line and for $1600, they will run the piping from where the RV dump is to the main sewer line...but NOT actually hook it up. And then the extra $5000 is in order to hook it into the main sewer line by the county. I will need to find that out... this is all greek to me so I am learning as I go.

I do wonder why they couldnt just hook the RV dump directly into the house plumbing just outside the home...then it would all feed into the main sewer line. I would assume the main how sewer line has a BFP where it connects to the main sewer line on the street?
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Old 03-11-2017, 09:31 AM   #37
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I'm guessing here that you talked to a confused lady.
Option 1: a rough opening, just like at RV park, you take plug out, put your sewer hose in, dump, pack sewer hose back up in RV, replace cap and you are done until next time.
Option 2: for another $5000 it will be set up with a back flow valve which will allow the RV sewer line to be connected and used continuously without the danger of sewage back flow into the RV.
I think you want option #1.
I see what you mean. Maybe she is thinking (and telling the builder) that I need it to be hooked up all the time, which is not the case... I just want to be able to dump occasionally.

I am asking them where the RV dump pipe leads and is it even hooked into the home sewer line. We will see what she says.
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Old 03-11-2017, 09:32 AM   #38
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Maybe rough plumbed means sewer pipe for RV is installed under the house before the concrete is poured for the foundation/slab. Available for connection to sewer at a later date.
How would you hook it into the sewer line later if it's buried under concrete?
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Old 03-11-2017, 10:16 AM   #39
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So you would let them install the "rough plumbing" and then just use it? Was your clean that you had in your homes like the one pictured above (with the pavers around it)?

I guess I am just not sure what makes a "clean out" any different than just a 4" pipe sticking out of the ground with a screw cap on the end?
In a heartbeat I'd let them install the rough in and then use it. In our present home, for reasons beyond my control, the builder installed the "dump" on the outside of our RV garage wall. It's not a big deal for us to come home from a trip and simply cruise alongside our RV garage and simply dump. But, there's times when we come home and I just back the big girl in without dumping first, for various reasons.

Well, then I have to either fire the beast up and take it out to dump on the outside or, just wait 'till later. NOT GOOD. So, I recently installed what's called an "Access Door" in the side wall of the RV garage, about an inch or so off the floor. Now, I come home, back the big girl in and, when it comes time to dump, simply attach my dump hose to the appropriate port in the coach and, run it right through my access door and into the outside dump port, DONE!
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Old 03-11-2017, 10:40 AM   #40
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If I had to guess, permit fees are playing a part of the price. I am speculating here, but the city permits might treat the RV hook up as another bathroom and apply those to a properly installed setup.
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Old 03-11-2017, 11:00 AM   #41
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Sure sounds like a clean out to me. I have been useing the clean outs at friends and relatives homes all arround this country with no problems. A clean out I use in Utah is about a hundred feet from where I park, use a little 12volt sewage pump to reach it. Have full hookups at home that I put in when remodeling​. Love my RV pad. Clean outs don't have traps, just straight shot to or down sewer line, Do know things are different in CA from rest of the world.
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Old 03-11-2017, 11:08 AM   #42
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I made a couple of calls to my nephew who lives in mid CA and he tells me the line they want 5 grand for is likely a dedicated line and not a simple add on. The dedicated line would require two separate hookups to the county / city sewer lines hence the high price.

His was a guess but a semi educated guess. He added a dump for his own use in the back of the drive where he parks his TT.
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