Can I Connect My RV To My House Sewer?

House

Camping in your RV can be pretty interesting and enjoyable. However, just like other forms of camping, it can also be quite challenging. These challenges are not faced by RV campers alone, you might also experience them even if you’re living in your van full time. 

One of these issues is the frequent task of dealing with your holding tank by having to drive your van all over to the dumping station to get rid of the accumulated waste. When this task is not frequently done, it results in an unpleasant smell that will terrorize the whole van and it’s something you wouldn’t like. 

However, if your van is parked at home, or close to a residential location, you might be wondering if it’s possible to connect your van to the home sewer saving you the stress of waste disposal all the time. 

Can I Connect My Rv To My House Sewer?

Yes, it is possible for you to connect your van to the house sewer. However, this will be determined by your location. there are regions where connecting your waste tank to a sewer is illegal, while it is allowed in some areas. 

Before you proceed with the process of connecting your van to the sewer, it is important to check out the law and regulations in your location to be certain if it will be allowed.

Why Is RV Dumping Illegal?

Due to the classification of the disposal of waste under waste management in most countries and states, there are legal specifications put in place to regulate its disposal. While you can easily dispose of the content in your van’s fresh water tank, this cannot be done with the waste tank as its content is harmful to the public if it’s not properly disposed of. 

While improper dumping of your tank waste is illegal everywhere and can attract heavy fines. However, there are different rules when it comes to connecting your van to a house sewer. 

Before you proceed with the process of connecting your RV to the sewer, it is vital to check your local rule as this is not allowed, in some regions, you will need to ask for permission in some regions to notify the authorities while you don’t need to report to anybody in some region as it is totally legal. 

How Do I Connect My Rv To A House Sewer?

After checking out the local laws and getting cleared to perform the connection, then you can proceed with the process. The first thing you will have to do is to locate the clean-out, the junction that linked sewer lines from houses to the primary sewer line. 

The clean-out is essential in connecting your van to the sewer and disposing of your waste. Attempting to dispose of your waste through an open sewer grate is improper and not allowed in most places. By using the clean-out, you can get rid of your tank waste properly without causing a mess. 

– Locating The Clean Out

Without the clean-out, you will be unable to connect your van to the sewer, clean-out can most times be seen at blocks’ last corners, and sometimes you will have to dig the ground close to your house foundation with the shovel. 

You will have to differentiate the clean-out from other lines that might be present such as water pipes. You will be able to identify the clean-out as it will be larger than all other lines that might be present. 

You will not have to do a deep digging before you will be able to locate the clean-out. Once you see the clean-out, you will notice a cap on it that can be twisted to connect your RV to the clean-out. 

– Connecting Your RV To The Clean Out

Connecting your van to the clean-out is an easy process, all you have to do is to pick up your van’s sewer hose and linked it with the clean-out opening making sure it is properly fitted. It is also important that your van sewer hose is long as it might be difficult to get your rig so close to the clean-out. 

Once the hose has been properly fitted, lose the tank valves and the accumulated waste in the tank will move into the main sewer line.  It is a very easy process once you can locate the clean out however, if your house makes use of a septic tank instead of the regular clean-out, the process will change. 

– Dumping In A Septic Tank

If your house doesn’t make use of the clean-out and its sewer line goes into a septic tank, you might have to evaluate your tank capacity and make some adjustments.  Emptying a full tank will instantly unload a large volume of water. While this cannot cause an instant overload in your septic tank, frequent dumps will result in an accumulation of this water which can cause issues later.

If you will be frequently dumping your van’s waste in the septic tank, you have to make sure you pump out your septic tank more frequently as well. 

What Size Of RV Tank Do I Need For My RV?

The size of your RV tanks will be determined by the size of the van itself. An RV should be able to take a minimum of fifteen gallons of black water and thirty gallons of grey water. However, big RVs can take up to fifty gallons each for both the black water tank and the grey water tank. 

Related Posts:


Conclusion

By following this article, you will understand that connecting your RV to your house sewer is not a difficult task, however, it is vital to know the status of your local law before proceeding as it is illegal in some regions.

Once this aspect has been cleared, you can go on with the process which has been explained in the article. 

Spread the love

Written by Jane Miller

I'm Nomadic Jane, a digital nomad and travel blogger. Since 2009, I've been traveling the world and exploring cultures through my travel blog.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *