We rarely intend to use the outdoor shower in our new Lance model 1995 travel trailer. However, the hose takes up valuable storage space in the bathroom vanity. Thanks to smart people on the Lance Owners of America forum, I found a way to remove the hose and install a quick connect fitting. This has two benefits.
- The shower hose can be stored in a more out of the way location, and
- The outlet can be used for other purposes.
Here is the parts list I used:
- Garden Hose Quick Connect Fittings
- Brass Fitting – 3/4″ GHT male to 1/2″ NPT male
- 9″ Braided Stainless Steel Flexible Hose
- Brass 90 degree Street Elbow – 1/2″ NPT female to 1/2″ NPT male
- Brass Fitting – 3/4″ GHT Female to 1/2″ NPT male
- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D51VBF8
Assemble Interior Hose
The first step is to remove the existing shower hose. That should take a 15/16″ open end wrench and should come off fairly easily.
Assemble and Install Interior Hose
The next step is to assemble and install the interior hose. The parts (from left to right) are:
- Street Elbow
- 9″ Flexible Hose
- NPT to GHT adapter
- Male Quick-Connect Fitting
I used plumber’s tape to ensure a water-tight fit.
WARNING: Only assemble the three pieces on the right in your workshop.
Next, install the street elbow onto the water outlet of the faucet. Do this prior to installing the hose or it will be difficult to accomplish. I used plumber’s paste for this joint because I am not flexible enough to spend much time under the sink. You may not need anything as it is a brass to plastic connection.
Then, install the flexible hose onto the street elbow.
The result should look something like this on the inside. (Note that I turned the street elbow pointing mostly up to take some of the tension off of the flexible hose. FWIW, reducing the tension was the reason for adding a street elbow.)
The result looks like this on the outside.
Trade-offs
I had a long discussion with myself about whether to attach the male or female quick connect to the faucet. In the end, I decided to use the male end here because:
- It is much easier to operate the female side by sliding the disconnect ring towards the operator than away from the operator, and
- There is now less weight banging around in the faucet area.
Outdoor Shower Hose Assembly
The next step is to fit the existing shower hose with a quick connect adapter. The parts used (left to right) are:
- Female Garden Hose Quick Connect
- Female GHT to Male NPT Fitting
- The Original Shower Hose
Like before, these are simply assembled with plumber’s tape. The shower hose easily connects to the male quick connect.
Black Tank Flush Assembly
For various reasons, it is handy to flush the black tank without using a facility’s water hose. In my case, our storage facility has a dump, but has a policy against flushing black tanks. using this simple adapter, I can accomplish a bit of a flush using the onboard water.
The parts need for this assembly are:
- Garden Hose Quick Connect
- 3 Foot Flexible Garden Hose
The parts are simply screwed together (I used plumber’s tape.)
In use, it is simply a matter of attaching the hose to the black tank flush port and connecting it to the quick connect adapter. This has the added advantage of allowing the use of hot water for a flush. (Whether or not that is a good idea is left to the user.)
WARNING: When flushing the black tank, make sure you have the black tank drain open. Failure to do this could end up with a huge mess, or even rinsing the roof of your trailer with less than desirable rinse water!
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