VALTERRA DUMP HOSE CARRIER MODIFICATION FOR THE AIRSTREAM INTERSTATE

Our 2007 Interstate came with a 26-inch Valterra EZ dump hose carrier that had been installed by Airstream.  Valterra makes these devices in sizes of 18", 26", 46", 64", and 94".  The problem was that the 26-incher was not big enough to hold an adequately-sized hose for the Interstate.

Here is the original carrier dismounted from the chassis but with Airstream's plate brackets still in place, with the cap off and a normal-sized "stinky slinky" pushed into it and compressed by my foot.  Way too short.  

Furthermore, with the Interstate being a Class B RV built on the T1N Sprinter, there wasn't sufficient room for the next standard size up, which was the 46" Valterra.  Therefore, we had to devise a way to either adapt a new material for this function, or modify the Valterra carrier as supplied.  

Here's a piece of veteran DIY advice:  Every time you have a project involving hardware, pack up your materials in a tote bag and take them with you to the big box hardware store.  It may look a little funny if you sit there on the floor as I do, fiddling with various pieces, but it is by far the most efficient method of converging upon exactly what you need.  Most people won't do this for fear of looking like the nerd I aspire to be.  They will instead go to the store, pick something, take it home, and return it if it does not suit.  A lot of good ideas will be missed that way.  Case in point.

I started chuckling like an eccentric fool when I realized our solution to this project challenge, a solution that would not have made itself apparent unless I had dragged my dump hose, carrier, and mounting plates with me to the Big Orange Retail Giant (BORG).  Do you see it? 

Valterra made their hose carriers a non-standard diameter, probably as a means of discouraging people from using cheap stock materials to affect modifications (they'd likely prefer you to buy the more expensive Valterra components instead).  I knew going into this project that the Valterra pipe was not compatible with standard 4-inch PVC sewer pipe.  But what I did not realize until I got into the BORG is that the *flared end* of a thin-walled PVC pipe was actually a pretty good fit to the ID (inner diameter) of the Valterra.  

See the flare?!  Ohhhh yeahhhhh...  easy solution found!

Once we realized that, it was a simple matter of buying a 10-foot length of this pipe (which incidentally is the same product from which I fashioned my clothing cubby storage system), and expanding on the original Valterra.  This approach represented a great economy of effort because it did not require that we buy all-new hardware, replace the OEM brackets, or drill new holes in the chassis.  

The 26-inch Valterra stopped at this bracket.  We cut a hole in it using a little air saw so that the extension could pass through it.  

There's something very Diego Rivera about this photo.  This shows an intermediate stage of production in which the PVC extension was added, and the new hole cut and rimmed in rubber tubing so that the knife edge of the bracket would not impinge on the PVC.  

Another view prior to finishing. 

Capping the distal end was easy - we used a floor drain for that.  We glued it in place with PVC cement. 

Along the way, we replaced the original Airstream hardware with stainless steel, as we always do when conducting repairs and upgrades.

This is what fits the original Airstream / Valterra bracket on the front end. 

I was dealing with challenging sun angles while writing this post, but here are two views of the final result.

View along the length.  The carrier pipe is now penetrating the metal plate at which the original had stopped.  

A close-up view of that penetration.  The carrier is now long enough (38") to contain the hose shown in the first pic of this blog post. 

Because the metal plate bracket positions the carrier tube several inches below the chassis, it easily clears the Sprinter's leaf spring.  Scratch another project off our formidable list!!

We may actually prove this wrong, because we are getting close to finishing everything we wish to do.