How to Find the Best RV Sewer Hose Kit (2024 Guide)

You’ve purchased your RV! Now what? First things first. Find the best RV sewer hose and sewer accessories on the market. This is one of the most important purchases and decisions you’ll make when it comes to a full-time RV life.

If there’s one thing that my wife was more concerned about than anything else as we planned to hit the road full-time in our brand new travel trailer, it was this:

POOP.

Yup, she was terrified. The thought of all of that RV black tank waste potentially spilling forth in a horrific brown accident kept her up at night.

Since she was scared, I was scared, too. I couldn’t allow a scenario to develop that would justify her fecal fears.

The first step? Education on the proper steps to follow and safety measures to implement in order to avoid a dookie disaster.

But education only goes so far. If you are dealing with a low quality, subpar RV sewer hose or sewer components, all the education in the world won’t help you out. I was determined to find the best RV Sewer Hose on the market along with all of the RV sewer accessories that would give us some peace of mind.

After more than a year and a half as a full-time RVer, I can say that I have first-hand knowledge about how to keep your family safe from a freaky fecal flow. It’s time I share that valuable knowledge with you.

In another post covering the water, sewer and electric accessories you will actually use, I discussed the most durable and reliable RV sewer hoses and other sewer accessories (based on our experiences on the road).

That post is a higher level review, aimed at helping both first time and long-time RVers access a full list of accessories for those core RV systems.

But here I really want to go more in-depth on the RV sewer hose and accessories themselves and let you know what you should be looking for and why you should be willing to spend a little extra money up front.

A bit more money spent now could save you, an RV owner, a lot of mess later, my friend. Believe me, you don’t want to deal with issues that might come from your gray water tanks or a black water tank mess. Gads. Skip the subpar RV sewer hose options. The right choices include quality and durability.

What to Look for in a Durable Sewer Hose Kit

When shopping for a new sewer hose, there are a few items to look for:

The Best Length for an RV Sewer Hose

Let me say one thing up front, I strongly recommend a minimum sewer hose length of 20-feet. The 10-foot hoses would not have done me a lot of good.

At all of the places we have visited, the 20-foot option worked in every scenario. It has been really close a couple of times, however. If you don’t feel comfortable cutting it really close in the sewer hose game, you may want to buy a 5′ or 10′ extension.

Few Brand Options in the Sewer Hose Game

If you have done any research to date, you probably quickly discovered there are precious few brands to choose from.

Top Brands

Leading the way with the most options by far is Camco, a brand synonymous with RVs. Thetford Titan and Valterra products are also in the mix. You can see by the sheer number of reviews for each brand that Camco is the market leader. I would agree with those reviews.

First-Hand Experience with RV Sewer Hoses

Which is the Best Sewer Hose Kit? Our Choice is Camco

Truthfully, I have only used one of these brands. And that brand is Camco. Camco’s RhinoFLEX line appears to be the most popular and most highly reviewed. The RhinoFLEX served us well during our full-time RV adventures.

The Camco RhinoFLEX 20ft RV sewer hose kit was the first RV sewer hose purchase I made. It was also the only one I had to buy. After many months of living in our travel trailer full-time, I think that says a lot for its durability and ease of use.

Camco RhinoFLEX is Durable

I can vouch first-hand that it’s constructed with heavy-duty material. The hose withstood quite a bit on our travels. It even held up through extreme temperatures when we decided winter RVing in Utah and Colorado was a good idea.

The Best Way to Store the Sewer Hose

Moreover, the RhinoFLEX doesn’t take up much space. It’s a 20 FT RV sewer hose, but it comes in two separate 10 FT sections. That makes it easier to store.

As far as storage options, what I personally did was store all of the sewer supplies in a plastic tote in the bed of our truck.

This was great because it’s both simple and it keeps the sewer accessories away from everything else. I also stored in the same container latex gloves, which I always use when attaching everything and dumping the wastewater tanks.

Best RV Sewer Hose Kit – 20′ Camco RhinoFLEX RV Sewer Hose

If you decide later that having a 30-foot RV sewer hose would be a better option, all you have to do is purchase a 10 foot sewer hose extension kit. Very simple fix.

Take a Peek as You Flush Black Water Tank

Of course nobody should really enjoy viewing the waste coming out of your RV holding tanks while at the dump station or RV park. That would just be weird because it is not pretty. It’s true, you may not want to see what comes out of the black water tank, but it’s best you take a peek.

Transparent Elbow Connector

However, seeing is believing. A tank flush should be done with each RV tank dump. And, when you do this task, using a clear elbow connector at the RV connection point is a good idea. That’s because when you clean out the black tank you need to be able to see when the water runs clear as it flows out of the tank.

This lets you know that the flush was both thorough and complete. If you still see waste and debris, continue flushing the tank.

Our Personal Choice for Rinsing Waste Tanks

We used the Rhino Blaster when rinsing the waste tanks. It’s great for keeping the dump valve clean. Simply connect the sewer rinse hose to the elbow and give the sewer system a strong blast of water through the RV sewer connection.

Comply with RV Park Rules and Regulations

With the explosion in the RV population around the US, it seems that many RV parks have opted for stricter rules to help avoid messy situations.

Parks Often Require an RV Sewer Hose Support

One common rule we came across was that laying sewer hose directly on the ground was prohibited. The hose has to be placed on a sewer hose support to keep it from touching the ground.

There are several options available in the market, especially if you shop online as we do. Again, I chose the Camco brand. Specially, the Camco Sidewinder Sewer Hose Support.

It was actually less expensive than many other options, but still has great reviews.

My Advice: Rinse That Sewer Hose

If you are new to RVing, one of the best pieces of advice I can offer is to do your best to thoroughly rinse the sewer hose each time you empty the tanks.

Give the Sewer Hose a Strong Fresh Water Rinse

It’s easy to think that the gray water (sink waste) will adequately flush the sewer hose if you empty the gray tanks after the black water tanks (which you should ALWAYS do). However, that’s not really good enough in my humble opinion.

Use a strong blast of clean water. The process is fairly quick and with an inexpensive accessory, it doesn’t break the bank.

Treat RV Black Water Holding Tank Right

Anyone who has spent much time RVing will tell you that odors can be the ultimate enemy. Well…I would say water is the ultimate enemy, but odors would be a very close second.

Holding Tank Treatments

Adding an RV Holding Tank Treatment to both your RV grey water holding tank and your RV black water holding tank is an absolute must. No question about it.

You have quite a few options and in general, the price points are comparable. That said, Happy Campers Organic RV Holding Tank Treatment was recommended to me by the RV repair tech who introduced us to our new travel trailer.

It is a bit more expensive, but if organic is important to you then it’s a great option. If you’re on a really tight budget, you might want to look into some of these other options for treating the RV sewer tank.

Septic Safe Toilet Paper

So yes, tank treatment is absolutely important. However, if you are using the wrong toilet paper, then you are asking for more trouble.

Be sure that you only use septic safe toilet paper that rapidly dissolves.

Personally, I think the toilet paper specifically labeled as RV toilet paper costs more with minimal advantage. Seems to me when the two letters “RV” are printed on anything, the price goes up! But I also don’t want to risk having to deal with the potential clogging issues.

Note that the Happy Campers label states that organic material breaks down ordinary household tissue. So if you use that brand of tank treatment maybe you want to skip this step.

Summary of Sewer Hose Recommendations

We covered a lot of ground here and I hope the information I provided and the advice I tossed at you prove helpful. Good preparation makes for worry-free and enjoyable RV times.

Here’s a quick summary so you can get the best RV Sewer Hose kit for your needs:

That’s it. When summarized, it seems fairly straight forward, doesn’t it? Well, that truly is the bottom line for all of this. Take the steps necessary to maintain the tanks and keep things simple to avoid making any excuses not to flush the tanks. These steps should help you avoid any major RV sewer troubles down the road.

If you have any additional suggestions, we would love to hear from you. Please provide your comments below!