In Part I we told about the repair of our leveler motor, slide lock mechanism and an upgrade for our rooftop satellite system. This part is about our first major DIY project, actually, it wasn’t exactly “do it yourself” since I had major assistance from my friend Ralph.

Since I have no place to do work on the motorhome, I had asked Ralph if I could bring it up to his house for this project since he has a large lot in back of the house where he parks his motorhome. He agreed and we arranged for a time in mid-December.

The project: a place to store the sewer hose. Many RV’s provide a place specifically designed to store the sewer hose, someplace that is convenient and with a means for the hose to drain after it has been used and rinsed out. Our motorhome has no such place so we used a large plastic storage bin for the sewer hose which took up valuable space in the basement storage.

I had researched what solutions were available to purchase and what other RV owners had devised on their own. I had a general idea of what I wanted to end up with but did not have a complete vision on how to attach it. Ralph provided this portion of the vision and design that I had not been able to conceive.

I wanted something that was lightweight and hung underneath the frame near the rear of the motorhome so that it would be convenient to the drain outlets for the waste tanks. It would be accessible from either side of the motorhome since my sewer hose is in two sections so that it can be extended if need be, the two sections total about 6 feet in length. Being able to access it from either side means that it can remain in two sections and I can access the extension from the other end when it is needed. It would also have holes for ventilation and drainage.

We started with a 5” X 5” PVC fence post which is large enough for the sewer hose as well as the elbow that fits into the sewer drain. Then add two fence post caps that can be used to close the ends. First we cut the fence post to the length needed, long enough for the sewer hoses and elbow, leaving the ends recessed about half a foot back from the side edge of the motorhome. Next we cut lengths of inch wide metal strips to encircle the post which would also be used to hang the fence post from the motorhome frame. Next we attached a small length of chain to each end cap, the other end attached to the post. This would allow the end cap to hang out of the way when it is removed to allow access to the inside. Finally, we drilled holes in the bottom of the post for drainage and holes for a small pin to hold the end cap in place.

Mounting the finished assembly to the underside of the motorhome was the final challenge. We found appropriate places to attach the two ends of each of the metal strip hangers to the frame, put in the mounting hardware and tightened everything.

The result is better than I could have imagined. Only an RV owner can understand my excitement at having a good solution for sewer hose storage. It’s lightweight and out of the way yet easy to access. I quite literally could not have done this without Ralph’s help. He not only provided the place to do the work as well as the tools and the mounting hardware, but he provided critical design elements, inspiration, expertise and labor. Thank you, Ralph.