Replacement Water Inlet Plug

[RVhiker]

The fresh water inlet and maybe black tank washer inlet come with rubber plugs (to plug the inlet when not in use) that get soft, gummy, and just nasty after a year or so. Eventually the factory plugs fail completely. I've looked for a ready replacement, but I was not satisfied with commercial replacements, so made my own.

It's basically a plastic Camco water blowout plug. I drilled out the small plastic screen in the neck of the plug with a 3/16" drill. I used a length of bicycle derailleur cable for the lanyard. The attachments on the ends of the lanyard are simple electrical terminals, crimped around the cable with a bit of soldering for extra strength; also I used a pair of needle nosed pliers to make a small "U" on the cable where it's inserted into the terminal to provide extra "grab". A 1 1/2 inch long 10-24 stainless steel screw is the attachment to the plug. There's one nut at the top with space for the terminal between it and the screw head, then two more nuts - tightened against each other - on the other end of the screw on the inside of the blow out plug. I made my lanyards 6 inches long, but obviously could be made any needed length. The terminal on the other end of the lanyard can be fastened with any convenient screw.

Bicycle cable is kind of stiff, but it does not rust readily. I was careful to get any frayed ends covered by the terminals - the wires are quite small and can puncture skin very easily.

[lx22f/c]

Looks good. Thanks for sharing.

[mcfarmall]

I found a nice plug at a local place that sells all kinds of trailer parts that has a ureathane tether that snaps over a barb on the plug then the other end goes under the head of a local screw. I think I paid $1 for the whole rig!

[Seann45]

I had the same problem and found the blow out plug was cheaper to buy than the cover.. Only difference I did not feel the need to "rope" it to the trailer..