Hookups... left or right side?

[Audiomaker]

Hi all,

I must admit that I've never been to an RV park or used a dump station.

As I'm doing a conversion, some things I will have to install around the inherent design of the rig.  Other things I will have a choice, or possibly be able to reroute.

So tell me about the optimum placement of dump outlets, electric panels, tv...etc.

If you had your way, where would they be installed and why?   Are most parks and roadside hookups similar?    Should I be planning to reach service towards the front of the rig...the middle?

My black tank will need to go in the rear center (which is strangely appropriate...lol).

Advice before I start cutting holes?

Thanks
Sean

[TomC]

Sewer dumps are typically on the left side in front of the rear tires. Having the water fill and electrical hook up there will be convenient since most RV parks are setup with power pole, water and sewer together.

On my bus, I also have a gray water drain to the street on the right side so I can discretely drain the gray water into a street drain a park over. Good luck, TomC

[lvmci]

Hi Sean, this is some pretty basic stuff, you need to read up on some of the books written about this part of conversions, Id check an RV sales lot and a RV park, there are a small amout of parks that have dual sided dump/fresh water/electric/tv/phone/, all have it on the drivers side, some very few have it only on passenger side, I havent run across one in many years, lvmci...

[Audiomaker]

Sewer dumps are typically on the left side in front of the rear tires. Having the water fill and electrical hook up there will be convenient since most RV parks are setup with power pole, water and sewer together.

On my bus, I also have a gray water drain to the street on the right side so I can discretely drain the gray water into a street drain a park over. Good luck, TomC

Ok great!

What about propane fill?  My tank has to go on the right (passenger).  Would a remote fill on the left be worth the extra effort and expense?

p.s.  I know this is basic stuff.   I'm specifically trying to get the bus owners suggestions since we're about the same length. "well some parks have the pole and dump towards the front of the space, so it's a stretch" kind thing.   A lot a net vid's and pages on these subjects are from class B and C RV's, and it's hard to gauge never having been to one.  Even if I went to a few, I wouldn't know if there were a standard...etc.

All your help is very much appreciated!

[Busn-Gramps]

Hi Audio, almost all hookups are so that when you back in to the spot your hookups are near the left rear. MOST sewer hookups are a bit forward from the electric and water on the same side. Welcome to the madness.          Paul

[sparkplug188]

NEC section 551 is very specific about the pedestal location at an RV park and supply cord length.  The cord entrance location is not specified. The best location is on the drivers side near the rear 1/3rd of the RV.

551.77 Recreational Vehicle Site Supply Equipment.

(A) Location. Where provided on back-in sites, the recreational
vehicle site electrical supply equipment shall be located
on the left (road) side of the parked vehicle, on a line
that is 1.5 m to 2.1 m (5 ft to 7 ft) from the left edge
(driver's side of the parked RV) of the stand and shall be
located at any point on this line from the rear of the stand to
4.5 m (15 ft) forward of the rear of the stand.
For pull-through sites, the electrical supply equipment
shall be permitted to be located at any point along the line that
is 1.5 m to 2.1 m (5 ft to 7 ft) from the left edge (driver's side
of the parked RV) from 4.9 m (16 ft) forward of the rear of the
stand to the center point between the two roads that gives
access to and egress from the pull-through sites.
The left edge (driver's side of the parked RV) of the
stand shall be marked.

551.46 Means for Connecting to Power Supply.

(B) Cord. The cord exposed usable length shall be measured
from the point of entrance to the recreational vehicle or the
face of the flanged surface inlet (motor-base attachment plug)
to the face of the attachment plug at the supply end.
The cord exposed usable length, measured to the point of
entry on the vehicle exterior, shall be a minimum of 7.5 m
(25 ft) where the point of entrance is at the side of the vehicle
or shall be a minimum 9.0 m (30 ft) where the point of entrance
is at the rear of the vehicle.
Where the cord entrance into the vehicle is more than
900 mm (3 ft) above the ground, the minimum cord lengths
above shall be increased by the vertical distance of the cord
entrance heights above 900 mm (3 ft).

Section 551 is worth reading as there few nuances unique to RV wiring.  I will be the first to admit, reading code makes my eyes glaze over after a while  

[Seangie]

Sean -

Put your sewer, water and electrical hookup on the left (drivers) side in front of the rear wheel.  Make sure your electrical isn't below your fresh water, think about leaky hoses and where the water drips will go.  Have the sewer connection so the hose connects to the outside of the bus (sewer pipe should go through the floor or wall ...think leaks here and it will leak at some point).

Its easier to have all your connections in one bay/area so that when you hook up you don't need to open all 3 bays on the bus.  Unfortunately when I did my hookups I put the fresh water level in the 2nd bay off the fresh tank, the on/off valve for the city water in the 3rd bay with the water pump and filters and main plumbing and all my connections and manifold in the 4th bay so currently I need to open 3 bays to fill fresh water...its kind of a pain.  Working on a fix for that.

Take the advice of looking at alot of pro rigs and rvs before you start.  We got a lot of great ideas from them.  And you'll see that alot of the stuff is replicated from RV to RV for good reason.

-Sean

Fulltiming somewhere in the USA
1984 Eagle 10S
www.herdofturtles.org

[lostagain]

Propane: I would have portable cylinders rather than a fixed tank, so you can take them to get refilled with your towed, rather than having to break camp to move the bus to go to a propane station.

JC

[Dave5Cs]

Agree with JC on Propane. I just pulled our 23 gallon tank out and put in 3 20 lb cylinders on slides. I saved a ton of space and will be able to pull one tank out and fill/exchange if needed with out moving the bus to go get it.

Drain for Black tank would be nice coming out the bottom as long as it is a removable fitting so as not to break it off when traveling.

Electric is also nice to have on the outside of the coach with a metal cover that screws on. This way after hooking up you can close and lock all bays and it keeps out the rodents also.

Dave5Cs

[gumpy]

Many of us had the same question when we started. Like you, I had never owned a camper or been to an RV park when I bought my bus.
I didn't have a clue about much of this stuff, either, but the people on this board were very helpful. I did a lot of reading, too.
Your questions have pretty much been covered in the previous responses, but here's my opinion. Keep in mind, it's my opinion. You have
to decide what works best for you and your needs:

Sewer:  Typically on the left, just in front of the rear wheels. I installed my dump through the bay floor, just inside the door, so I never have
an opportunity to leak sewage into the bay. Consider a second dump valve on the right side. Think about the problem
you would face should the single dump valve on the left fail with a full tank. I put one on each side. I admit that I've only used the one on the right
side once, and it was for convenience, not necessity, but I'm glad it's there should the need arise. They're not very expensive.

Electrical:  Left side, above the rear wheels is a great location but requires some routing inside the coach. Use a Marinco shore power inlet for a
clean and very convenient solution. Many put a hole in the bottom of their bay and run the line up through that. Works well for them. Some even
just leave the bay door cracked. Works for them, wouldn't for me. Install 50 amp service. Doesn't mean you have to have 50 amp service available,
but it's great when you have it and can make use of it. Build a 50 amp and a 30 amp shore cable such that they can be connected together to reach
distant connections. Email me and I'll go into more detail if you like.  

Fresh water: Left side, next to the electrical above the rear wheels, but not too close. Again, use a hose connection inlet mounted in the side of the bus
for a clean, convenient connection.  Also, as with electrical, can be run up through a hole in the bay floor, or simply through the door. Depends on your
style and needs. Two hoses, designated for fresh water only. One is standard hose, one is flat and rolls up on a spool. Very convenient when needed.
Keep a separate hose for washing the dump line that is NEVER used for fresh water.

Propane: Use 2 portable tanks, up to 40 lbs each. This is by far the most convenient method for refilling. More and more, it's becoming harder to find
someplace you can get your bus in close enough, or even someone who can or will fill permanently mounted tanks. With portables, you can remove
one while continuing to use the other, take it to the propane dealer in the toad and get it filled. If you use 20 lb tanks, you can exchange them at
the local convenience store, big box store, many gas stations, etc, though you will pay a lot more because they no longer fill them to 20 lbs but charge
you for the full amount. The size of tanks you need depends on how you use it. If you heat and cook with it, bigger are necessary. If you only cook
occasionally with it, as we do, then the two 40 pounders are overkill. Ours last years on a single fill.

One thing I forgot in my design was a location to store the dump hoses and fittings. You need some place that will drain away under the coach. PVC pipe
can work well. Put it on an angle with a cap and drain at one end that goes down and out.

There's more on my setup for all this on my website:  bus.gumpydog.com

[BRUISER]

Here is how mine is setup..

Water fill is on passenger side ( came that way when I bought bus ) but wish it was on drivers side. when at camp grounds I have to run hose under bus to get to the water hook up.. SO keep it on drivers side

Propane.. I use 20lb tanks. I have 3 on board so I can take them out and fill them with ease if needed.. I never have to worry about where to get propane.. I have one nozzle that can swing around to all 3 tanks when they are bolted down under bus, so if i et low I just unscrew and attach to the next tank.. then when convenient for me I fill up the empty tank.

waste drains.. gray and black water are  both on drivers side which is a good thing because that is how most camp grounds have it setup when leaving or when you are at a full hook up site.
another suggestion is to get the BIGGEST gray tank you can fit under there.. when you boondock that is the one thing that will fill up faster then the black will.. I have 65 gallon gray and 65 gallon black and i wish i had 100 gray or more..

electrical.. mine is set up to be on the drive side but I modified it so I can actually pull the wire and use it on passenger side also.. I also have a 30 foot extension so I can go almost 80 feet on a 30 amp cord

[digesterman]

Gumpy have you ever noticed that having your water and power on the right side is just the opposite of most if not all rv sites. Do you just run the cord and hose under the bus to the hookups? Just curious.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[lvmci]

Hi Sean, in trailer parks the propane guy used to come by every two weeks or so when I would stay in So. Cal to work in the 1970s. Trailer parks were never as well spaced as RV parks and campers who had their propane tanks on the driver side would have to be there to pull their rig out, and disconnect everything, to get filled up, most of those people ended up, putting tanks in front so that they could get filled up more easily, after a while didnt see many with tanks on left, by the way installed tanks didnt have expiration dates at one time. Removable propane tanks are a good idea, then you can put them in the most convient place for space saving.The best sewer line installs, I think, now have rodent and pest box surrounds, its the easiest thing for them to gain acces to your coach. I dont like sewer drains hanging down outside like a trailer,  to easy to damage on the road and parking, and I got mine snapped off by a blown tire that rolled under my bus and I have a bay access hole cover, look at the new class C utility compartments, the vacuum formed plastic bays are purchasable at after market shops and are well designed. Lvmci...

[Iceni John]

I am having almost all my inlets on both sides.   Water is that way now, and electrical and cable TV/internet inlets will also be duplicated.   Each water tank also has its own gravity fill, and because the tanks are interconnected I can fill either or both from either side.   It saves having to possibly drag hoses and cables under the bus.   Like Tom C, I also have a surreptitious gray water drain just ahead of the passenger-side rear wheels, and a hose can be connected to it.   I put a water inlet near the three dump valves so I can run city water (through check valves obviously) into the top of the poo tank to help break up any Mounds Of Doom that may be growing near its outlet.

On the same subject, I have air outlets on both sides and back by the engine, and I'll also have 12VDC and 120VAC outlets at those three locations.   I can also connect shop air at two places, useful for emergencies or if being towed.

For propane I have two 20-lb cylinders on a pull-out tray, connected through an automatic change-over regulator to the main propane distribution manifold, with a third cylinder as a back-up.   It's prudent to follow NFPA 1192 for everything related to LPG.

I suggest spending the extra time now to put in as many inlets and outlets for everything as you think you'll ever need, instead of try to retrofit more later.

John

[Cary and Don]

One of the upgrades we did on our Eagle was a 50amp shore power reel.  That is my favorite thing we have done.  No more dragging that big cable and trying to make it fit someplace in the bay.  Just push a button and the cable is sucked up out of the way behind one of the mini splits.  We ran it out through a trap door in the wheel well.

The 4107 we had had three dump valves, grey, black, master.  That way, if the black or grey leaks for some reason, you can still close the dump.  Nice to have if it decided to leak after dumping someplace.

Don and Cary