Plumbing

[Oakland Mike]

Anyone ever used PVC for plumbing in a conversion? There is currently some in my trailer and I am not sure of how well it will hold up after time and all the vibration. Seems like some sort of hose would be better suited.

Mike

[EdMike]

I'd imagine the first problems would be small leeks around seals and joints. How about some small sections of hose to avoid bending and stressing the joints? Main issue would be where to put them to maximise the reduction in stress.

[Travis Q]

We used PVC in our conversion. It worked out okay, we usde insulated Adel clamps in numerous places to help keep the vibration to a minimum. If I had to do it again, I would proably use the Pex/Quest tubing and fittings, since it is much more flexible, and much easier to assemble (no gluing required, assembles with hand tools). I do think that using flexible hose would work well, too....one caution here is that some hose, such as the clear vinyl type hose (reinforced or otherwise) is not suitable for hot water or higher pressures that might be found in some RV's when hooked up to a city water line (take my word on this...I tried this as a temporary fix on a friend's house and it swelled up like a baloon and burst...quite a mess). But the Parker push-lock style hose would do real well, and would be fairly inexpensive.

Travis

[vapoppa]

my kingsley has pex/quest and i've had no p'bms at all. it's easy to work with, especially when making a modification; and we've got close to 29,000 and that's to alaska and back with no plumbing issues.--- mase

[KAYE RIVERCITY]

.....you all can get away with just good old Home Depot Hot water hose[5/8" white or blue stuff with the braid] and regular garden hose fittings or hose clamps....35 psi is what you usually run in your system anyway....much more pressure will not make a real differance as the openings are very small in most of the appliances >1/4" and with drains you can use clear vinal make a p-trap or a u-trap -that way you can see the clog and just squish it with your hand on the outside to free it up...pex/Quest is very hard to find on a Sunday or over a holiday weekend when things go pop/drip/squirt......think repairs and ease of maintenance-when building your own.....forget copper pipe except ball valves and use a hose barb and clamp to attach an in-line valve.....plastic valves are made by the Devil and have more problems than teenagers......geofkaye

[KAYE RIVERCITY]

.....BTW....always use an inline water regulator[cheap is good] set at the approperate PSI on you supply water side and a back flow preventer[cheap also]..... Just in case things go wrong somewhere -even along the line up from you! A fixed vent in your sewer connection[ a tee and a pipe leading up above the top of your rig] is also very helpful in case of a back draft in a windy area[fumes blowing out as you open the ground connection].....keeps the drains and toilet from bubbling if your factory installed venting system is clogged or installed incorrectly[use a donut at the ground pipe-lo-o-o-o-o-osley installed.....tank vents sometimes get a crust over the tank end in the black water tank and it keeps fumes from backdrafting into the coach....methane gas is nothing to fool with in any consentration.....IIRC I think the treshold is 3-5% by volume.....If you smell any odor -sewer or propane- open the windows and doors and ventulate the coach asap.......geofkaye