Camco sewer lugs out of spec? An easy fix but very odd

[profdant139]

I just got one of these little fixtures:


Click For Full-Size Image.

I was surprised that the lugs, those nubs that slip into the bayonet fitting, were out of spec -- just a fraction of a millimeter too fat. The lugs on all my other sewer hardware (Valterra and Rhino) fit just fine into the various bayonet items that I own. But the Camco didn't.

I took a calipers (caliper singular??) and measured the lugs -- sure enough, the Camcos were wider than all of the others.

Fortunately, the fix was easy -- I used a flat file to reduce the circumference of the four lugs. It took about a half hour of filing, and trying the fit, and filing some more. Eventually, it worked just fine.

But here are my questions (and you knew they were coming) -- aren't these items designed and manufactured to be interchangeable? Isn't anyone in China (where this was made) in charge of quality control? Don't they test these items out before they are mass-produced?

This is emphatically NOT a China rant -- whether we like it or not, they are the world's manufacturer for the foreseeable future. Instead, this is about the company's puzzling failure to act in its own self-interest -- isn't it cheaper to do it right the first time, rather than to wait for a wave of consumer complaints?? This is not rocket science.

[down_home]

Bought a home theater at Cosco Samsung.Worked that evening.Next day dead as door nail.Took it back no more in stock.
Went to Best Ripoff and bought a "Polk"not cheap. Neither one of them were.
Worked that evening next day dead as a door nail. Got testing and the power supply was bad.Went back to Best Buy with the dead power supply. Said no we would have to bring the whole affair back,80lb or so and they would order a new one. Did, got it Saturday to our door. The power supply is the same as the Samsung. I'm wondering how long this Chinese "Polk" will last. Supposed to be 600 watts. So far it won't shake the walls.

[wa8yxm]

For most trailer types this is not an issue but if you have a motor home with the connection inside a bay it may be hard to get a good grip on the connector.. In fact even with a trailer some may have issues.

Well after years of fighting it, and even getting the special camco tool (worthless by the way) The light came on (you know the new Green LED Idea light).

I grabbed an oil filter wrench (I had 2 of them) the slip joint pliers type.. Worked perfectly on the largest setting.

[4x4van]

agesilaus wrote:
I have had the opposite experience, the lugs are too loose. I imagine these are mainly made in Asia with poor QA. I haven't come up with an easy fix like a file those. I doubt I could buid it up with epoxy and then file it down to fit.

I had the same issue with a Camco clear adapter, at the bayonet end! I purchased a clear 45 degree fitting, and while my hose attached to the lugs OK (maybe because it was an old hose?), the other end (the bayonet end) leaked when screwed onto my RV's dump outlet. That tells me that the openings on the bayonet side were a tad too large (perhaps to match the oversized lugs on the other end?).

My previous black 45 fitting worked fine, as did a new clear Valterra 45 fitting that I purchased instead; but the Camco just wouldn't hold tight enough against the rubber gasket, and would drip, drip, drip...even tried a new gasket, but no change. I've avoided all Camco sewer products ever since; fittings, hoses, etc, and instead use Valterra exclusively. And yes, I did indeed return the Camco (eewwwwww!).

Agree that QC in many products is declining, but c'mon, Camco; a sewer fitting, while low tech, really does NEED to fit correctly.:(

[Class_A_DP_1]

rk911 wrote:

wow! unlucky? i've returned items bought online and in the store maybe 3-times in the last couple of years and an additional once or twice for an exchange.

May be true RK. It may be just me and the OP but i really doubt that. I do buy a lot of stuff so the chances of me encountering a larger percentage of junk is definitely there. Offshore manufacturing seems to be all about making it "look" like something you want, need, and/or will buy but when you get your hands on it you see a different picture many times... screwdrivers that strip with first use, hammers that chip metal shrapnel when used to hammer, and RV sewer drain connectors incompatible with the industry standard established many decades ago (without a hand file that is).

I still buy imported stuff of course, but its a real mess we have.

[rk911]

Class A DP 1 wrote:
This why it's very important to RETURN defective items. It has zero affect on the jack-leg overseas manufacturer cause the seller just fills our ladfills with the ****. Many of the shipping containers themselves are left here because it costs too much to return an empty container. Returns have only a little affect on the retailer (cause they bought a container load at pennies on the dollar for what we pay them at retail. But i do feel like a patriot when I return the junk to them.

We return soooo much stuff we must be on all the blacklists. Amazon 8-9 times last month, Ebay twice today, Walmart countless times. Home Depot, Lowes, Target, etc etc. If they sell chinese, we have returned it. If they wont take it back we call the credit card company. But I NEVER just keep it and take the loss.

wow! unlucky? i've returned items bought online and in the store maybe 3-times in the last couple of years and an additional once or twice for an exchange.

[jjrbus]

And then to top it off some products/companys keep changing names. There are portable mini split ac on the market. As soon as they get enough bad reviews they come out under a different name.

[Class_A_DP_1]

This why it's very important to RETURN defective items. It has zero affect on the jack-leg overseas manufacturer cause the seller just fills our ladfills with the ****. Many of the shipping containers themselves are left here because it costs too much to return an empty container. Returns have only a little affect on the retailer (cause they bought a container load at pennies on the dollar for what we pay them at retail. But i do feel like a patriot when I return the junk to them.

We return soooo much stuff we must be on all the blacklists. Amazon 8-9 times last month, Ebay twice today, Walmart countless times. Home Depot, Lowes, Target, etc etc. If they sell chinese, we have returned it. If they wont take it back we call the credit card company. But I NEVER just keep it and take the loss.

[joelc]

This is why it is important for the consumer to rate products we purchase. With a good or poor rating we will buy accordingly and companies will either succeed or fail due to poor quality.

[QCMan]

Seems like everyone forgot that quality control costs are overhead while helpless desk and customer service are deductions. Even if the costs for customer relations are higher due to no quality control they can be written off. That makes the consumer the real quality control. That leaves us to spend our money with the companies that make the least mistakes, not the best product. Sad.

[profdant139]

Those are very discouraging stories -- it sounds like quality control in every sector of the economy is in decline. That seems strange, since the advent of the Internet has supposedly "democratized" consumer opinions -- we leave bad reviews, and that should alert other customers (and the suppliers) that something is wrong.

The same thing is true for website design -- it so often happens that I have a technical question about a piece of RV equipment, I visit the manufacturer's site, and there is no good way to navigate the site to resolve the problem.

And the "chat" function is no substitute for good, useful, easy to access content -- chats are hit or miss, depending on the quality of the customer service representative.

The companies could save themselves so much time and money by providing the customers with a decent interface, filled with useful info. But that is the exception, not the rule.

Grumble. Frown.

[QCMan]

Not to say that all US or Canadian manufacturers make parts that are perfect, but they do tend to have a much better track record when it comes to dealing with defects. I find that the price penalty of buying from them also gives me peace of mind when buying their products. Unfortunately, there are lots of items that are not made in the States or Canada and lots of weeding must be done to find the best of the junk made in Asia. Some US sellers of Asian parts actually, at the least, go through an initial approval process when a new mold is made and some just take the factories word that it is good. The latter procedure was in place at a US company that I interviewed at where they made fuel filters for a major name filter company. To check the filters they capped one end and shoved a hose on the other end and the operator dunked it in a 5 gallon fish tank and blew into it. No bubbles and that batch of one hundred was declared good! Turned the job down and have never used a filter of any kind from that company.
Perfection is hard to achieve but pretty good isn't and many companies can't even achieve that.

[Lwiddis]

China manufactured or made in the USA, when you subcontract you inspect closely before use. The responsibility for the OP’s issue is CAMCO.

[jjrbus]

Problems are getting more and more common. One of my guru friends claims they, whoever they are. Are not upgrading, adjusting, replacing worn equipment, so it is out of spec.

I had a new fuel filter leak on my RV, close inspection showed that the internal threads of the filter were not deep enough so no matter how tight the fitting was the flare was not sealed! Driving down the street with gas dripping, not a good thing!!!

Put a new city water inlet, the plug/cover that pops in when not is use is too small and comes back out. Getting ridiculous. I could go on but do not feel like typing all day.

[Bumpyroad]

one of my trailer rims had the China QC failure. there is a "hubcap" covering the nuts designed with a tab to slip in a slot and directly opposite that a small bolt holding it in place. the problem, the slot was off one position and I had to just fasten the bolt to hold it on and the tab/flange just rested on the rim, not in the slot. I have to believe that there must have been hundreds of similarly cast rims out there that folks should have complained about.
bumpy