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RV camping can be immensely comfortable and even quite glamorous at times. However, it is still a form of camping, and with that comes a ton of things that might be more frustrating to deal with. Even if you are living in a. rig full time, these aspects of RV travel remain.
Everyone knows the feeling of having to deal with your waste tanks after a few days. Whether by driving your rig to a sewer station in a campground or using the station included with your campsite’s hookups, it can be tedious.
Not to mention very smelly. It is a necessity in RV travel though, your waste tanks have to be emptied eventually. But what if your rig is at home or is staying near a residential area, how do you dump your tanks then?
Is it possible to hook up an RV to a house sewer?
While absolutely possible, whether or not you can hook up your RV to a house sewer depends on your location. Some areas legally allow you to connect your waste tanks to a local sewer line while others don’t. Be sure to always check your local laws and regulations before proceeding.
Let’s further explore both the steps you can take to connect your RV to a house sewer and the potential legal stipulations surrounding it.
The legality of RV Dumping
For towns. cities and counties, RV dumping falls under waste management. As such there are often legal stipulations surrounding it to regulate its spread. Your freshwater tank can be dumped virtually anywhere, but the content of your waste tank can be a public health hazard if managed incorrectly. After all, RV sewage flowing through the streets or polluting local habitats is a disaster for everyone. In essentially any place you go to, simply dumping your tanks in a public location is illegal. Doing so can subject you to massive fines and possibly other consequences. However, when it comes to hooking up to a house sewer, the rules vary.
You may wonder why there are any legal stipulations surrounding a house sewer as isn’t is part of the property you own or rent? Well, not quite. Yes, the local sewer serves your house, but it is not exclusive to it. Your house does not have its separate personal sewer, rather it connects to the one that serves the community. Entire blocks and districts all connect to the same sewer. As such, it is regulated by the local government to ensure cohesiveness and avoid malpractice.
With this in mind, before proceeding with finding ways to hook your RV up to the sewer, you need to check in with your local rules and regulations. In some locations, you are barred from connecting your rig to the sewer line at all. In others, you simply need to ask permission first so that the local government is aware. Lastly, in some places, you are free to do it whenever you’d like with no extra steps.
Now let’s take a look at how you can actually hook your RV up to a house sewer.
How to Hook Your RV Up To A House Sewer
If you have checked in with your local laws and either gotten permission or don’t need it, then you can get started. Residental areas typically have something called a clean-out. As the sewer line travels from a house and toward a city or town’s main sewer line, the clean-out offers access to this space. This is perfect for your RV to connect to for dumping. Using a clean-out is a must, dumping your waste tanks over an open sewer grate is not the way to go and is a violation of regulations in many places. A clean-out offers a secure and generally less messy way to go about it.
Finding The Clean Out
The first step is finding the clean-out. Most often, they are located on the end corners of blocks. Other times, you may need to do some digging. Using a shovel, poke around at the ground near the foundations of your house. To not get it confused with water pipes or other supply lines, the sewer line is far larger than any other. All pipes underneath or near your house are situated right below ground level. This means you won’t have to do much digging, rather just prod the ground with your shovel until you hit the sewer line, not too hard though of course. The clean-out will have an easily-distinguishable cap that you can twist off so your RV can access it.
Connecting Your RV To The Clean Out
The next step is super familiar to anyone who has ever had to empty their tanks while camping. Simply grab your RV’s sewer hose and connect it to the opening provided by the clean-out. Be sure that your hose is long enough to reach as you may not be able to park your rig as close to the clean-out as you would a sewer hook-up in a campground.
Once you’ve done this, simply release the tank valves and watch as your tanks empty into the main sewer line. The process of hooking your RV up to a house sewer is a very easy one. However, a few things change if your house uses a septic tank rather than a traditional clean-out.
Dumping In A Septic Tank
If your house’s sewer line dumps into a septic tank you need to be aware of your RV’s waste tank’s capacity and adjust accordingly. This is because when emptying your tanks, especially when full, they can quickly unload a massive amount of water. While emptying your tanks once will not be enough to overload a septic tank, it is possible that over time accumulation can cause problems. Simply be sure to pump out your septic tank a little more often if you are regularly dumping your RV’s tanks into it.
Closing Thoughts
Hooking up your RV to a house sewer is a fairly easy process. The most important step to be aware of is remembering to check in with your local rules and regulations beforehand. The last thing you’d want is to face a fine related to RV dumping. Luckily, once you’ve got that covered its smooth sailing from there on out for when you’d like to use your house sewer to empty your tanks.