Nobody gets into RVing because they’re excited about waste management. But after a few trips—especially a few trips where you’ve wrestled a standard 3-inch sewer hose across a muddy campsite, or spent twenty minutes trying to get the angle right at a dump station while a line of impatient RVers forms behind you—you start to appreciate why some people invest in a better system. A macerator pump doesn’t make waste disposal glamorous, but it makes it dramatically faster, cleaner, and less likely to end in the kind of story you tell at the campfire (against your better judgment).
I’ve been selling macerator systems for over two decades, and the technology has come a long way from the early units that were slow, unreliable, and prone to clogging. Today’s macerator pumps grind waste into a fine slurry and push it through a standard garden hose—no more heavy, rigid 3-inch sewer hose dragging on the ground and collecting who-knows-what. The smaller hose is easier to handle, easier to store, easier to clean, and reaches further than a conventional setup.
This roundup covers the best macerator and waste management systems we carry at the RV Upgrade Store, from portable kits you can use at the dump station to permanently mounted systems that handle everything at the push of a button.
Best for: RV owners who want a complete, ready-to-use portable macerator setup
The Flojet Portable Waste Pump Kit is the product I hand to customers who walk into the conversation saying, “I hate dealing with my sewer hose.” It’s a complete, self-contained macerator system that comes with everything you need to dump your tanks through a garden hose instead of dragging a heavy 3-inch sewer line across the campsite.
Here’s how it works: the pump connects to your RV’s waste outlet, grinds the contents of your holding tanks into a fine slurry, and pushes the processed waste through a standard garden hose to the dump station inlet. The garden hose is lighter, more flexible, and dramatically easier to handle than a conventional sewer hose. It also reaches further—up to 150 feet with the right hose, compared to the 15–20 feet you get with a standard sewer connection. That extra reach is a game-changer at campgrounds where the dump station isn’t right next to your site.
The “portable” part of the equation means you store the entire kit in a compartment when it’s not in use and bring it out only at dump time. There’s no permanent modification to your RV, no drilling, no plumbing changes. If you sell the rig or decide you don’t want it anymore, there’s nothing to undo. For RV owners who want to try the macerator experience before committing to a permanent installation, this is the perfect starting point.
The pump itself is powered by 12-volt DC, so you connect it directly to your RV’s battery system. It handles both black and grey water tanks, and the macerating blades are designed to process toilet paper and typical waste without clogging. Flojet has been making these pumps for a long time, and the reliability is well-established—I’ve had very few warranty issues with this product over the years.
Pro Tip: Always dump your black tank first, then follow with grey water. The soapy grey water helps flush residual waste through the hose and pump, leaving the system cleaner for storage. Never run the pump dry—always have liquid flowing through it to prevent damage to the macerating blades.
Buy the Flojet Portable Waste Pump Kit
Best for: A unique, self-contained system that combines macerator and hose management in one package
The Valterra Sewer Solution takes a different approach to the macerator concept, and it’s one that a lot of RV owners find incredibly appealing. Instead of a separate pump, hoses, and adapters that you have to assemble each time, the Sewer Solution is an all-in-one unit that integrates the macerator pump with the discharge hose in a single, compact system. Everything connects, everything stores together, and the entire setup and teardown process is measured in minutes, not quarter-hours.
The system connects directly to your RV’s standard 3-inch bayonet fitting and uses your RV’s freshwater system to provide the flushing action. Open your waste valve, turn on the water, and the Sewer Solution handles the rest—grinding waste, mixing it with flush water, and pushing the processed slurry through the integrated discharge hose to the dump station.
What I particularly like about this system is how clean the process is compared to traditional dumping. Because everything is enclosed and the waste is being macerated and flushed simultaneously, there’s very little opportunity for spills, splashes, or the kinds of messy accidents that make dump station visits everyone’s least favorite chore. The integrated hose means fewer connection points, which means fewer potential leak spots.
The Sewer Solution is also one of the more compact macerator systems available, which matters when storage space is at a premium. The entire unit stows in a compartment alongside your other waste management supplies without taking up the space that a separate pump, hose, and adapter kit would require. For RV owners who value simplicity and minimal setup time, this is the most streamlined macerator option available.
Pro Tip: Make sure your RV’s freshwater system has adequate pressure before using the Sewer Solution. The system relies on water pressure to assist the macerating and flushing process. If you’re on a campground water hookup, pressure is usually fine. If you’re running on your onboard pump, make sure your freshwater tank has enough reserve to complete the dump.
Buy the Valterra Sewer Solution
Best for: Building a custom macerator setup or replacing the pump in an existing system
Sometimes you don’t need a complete kit—you need the pump itself. Maybe you’re building a custom waste management system for a unique RV layout, or maybe the pump in your existing macerator setup has finally given up after years of faithful service. The Flojet RV Macerator Waste Pump is the standalone workhorse that powers many of the most popular macerator systems on the market.
This is a self-priming pump, which is an important distinction. Self-priming means the pump can pull waste from your holding tank without needing gravity to feed it—the pump does the work of drawing liquid up and into the macerating chamber. That matters because many RV holding tanks sit low in the chassis, and the dump outlet isn’t always positioned for a natural gravity flow to the pump. A self-priming design eliminates that concern.
The macerating action grinds solid waste and toilet paper into a smooth slurry that flows easily through a garden hose. The pump handles both black and grey water and delivers enough pressure to push processed waste through a standard garden hose over significant distances. For permanent installations, this pump mounts directly to the RV’s frame or underbelly near the waste outlet, connected with standard plumbing fittings.
I keep these in stock primarily as replacement pumps for customers whose existing macerator systems need a new heart. But they’re also the foundation for DIY macerator installations—handy RV owners who want to design their own plumbing layout and just need a reliable pump to make it work. If you’re mechanically inclined and comfortable with basic plumbing, building your own macerator system around this pump is entirely feasible.
Pro Tip: When installing a standalone macerator pump, mount it as close to the waste outlet as possible to minimize the length of the intake line. Shorter intake runs mean less work for the pump and faster, more reliable priming. Secure all connections with stainless steel hose clamps—this is not a place to cut corners on fittings.
Buy the Flojet Macerator Pump
Best for: Premium portable macerator with an emphasis on clean handling and easy storage
The Clean Dump portable system takes everything good about the Flojet portable pump kit and wraps it in a package designed for maximum cleanliness and convenience. The name says it all—this system is engineered to make the dump station experience as sanitary as possible, with sealed connections, minimal exposed waste contact points, and a design philosophy that treats “clean” as a feature, not an afterthought.
The system uses the proven Flojet macerator pump at its core, so you’re getting the same reliable grinding and pumping performance. What Clean Dump adds is a thoughtfully designed connection system that reduces the chances of spills during hookup and disconnection—which, if you’ve ever fumbled a sewer connection and ended up with waste on your hands or shoes, you know is worth paying for.
The portable design means full flexibility—use it at the campground dump station, at your home cleanout, or anywhere you have access to a sewer connection. When you’re done, the system stores compactly in a compartment without taking up excessive space. The entire process from hookup to dump to rinse to storage is designed to be fast, clean, and uncomplicated.
I recommend this system for RV owners who have been using a standard sewer hose and want the convenience of a macerator without making permanent changes to their rig. It’s also popular with customers who split their time between campground hookups (where a standard sewer connection works fine) and boondocking or sites where the dump station requires a longer reach.
Pro Tip: After each use, run a tank rinser or clean water through the system for at least 60 seconds to flush residual waste from the pump and hose. This prevents buildup, reduces odor, and extends the life of the macerating blades significantly.
Buy the Clean Dump Portable System
Best for: Set-it-and-forget-it permanent installation for full-timers and frequent travelers
For RV owners who are done with portable solutions and want the ultimate in waste management convenience, the Actech Clean Dump Permanent system is the top of the line. This is a permanently mounted macerator system that installs on your RV’s frame and connects directly to your waste plumbing. Once installed, you never handle a sewer hose again—you connect a garden hose to the dump station, flip a switch, and the system handles everything.
The permanent installation makes this system ideal for full-timers and frequent travelers who dump their tanks regularly. Instead of going through the setup and teardown ritual of a portable system every time, you just connect your garden hose, open the waste valve, and hit the switch. The Flojet pump macerates and pushes the waste through the hose, you rinse the system with clean water, disconnect, and you’re done. The entire process takes a few minutes instead of the 15–20 minutes a conventional dump typically requires.
The installation does require basic plumbing skills and some time under the RV with wrenches and fittings. The pump mounts near the waste outlet, and the discharge plumbing terminates in a standard garden hose connection that’s accessible from outside the rig. 12-volt wiring runs to a switch inside the RV (or an exterior switch near the utility bay). If you’re comfortable with basic RV plumbing and electrical, the installation is manageable in an afternoon. If not, any RV service shop can handle it.
The long-term value proposition is strong. The time saved per dump multiplied by the number of dumps per year adds up quickly. Full-timers who dump weekly save roughly ten hours per year just in dump station time—not counting the reduced hassle, reduced mess, and reduced wear on your knees and back from crawling around with heavy sewer hoses. Once you go permanent macerator, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it years ago.
Pro Tip: Install a dedicated shutoff valve between your waste tank outlet and the macerator pump. This gives you the ability to isolate the pump for maintenance or replacement without having to work around an open waste line. It’s a $10 valve that saves enormous headaches down the road.
Buy the Clean Dump Permanent System
A macerator system isn’t for everyone, and I want to be straightforward about that. If you’re a weekend warrior who camps at full-hookup sites with a sewer connection right at your site, a standard sewer hose works perfectly fine. You connect it once when you arrive, disconnect when you leave, and there’s no pump, no electricity, and no moving parts to worry about.
Where macerators earn their keep is in situations where conventional dumping is inconvenient, difficult, or messy. Dump stations that are far from your site. Campgrounds where the sewer inlet is uphill from your waste outlet. Sites where a 3-inch sewer hose can’t reach. Home dumping into a residential cleanout. Boondocking locations where you need to transport waste to a dump station. In all of these scenarios, a macerator’s ability to push processed waste through a lightweight garden hose over long distances is a genuine game-changer.
Full-timers and extended travelers are the demographic that benefits most from a permanent macerator installation. When you’re dumping tanks every few days, the time and hassle savings compound quickly. Part-time RVers are better served by a portable system they can use when the situation calls for it and store when it doesn’t.
Waste management isn’t the most exciting topic in the RV world, but it’s one of the most impactful upgrades you can make in terms of daily convenience. A macerator pump eliminates the heaviest, messiest, most unpleasant task in the RV routine and replaces it with a push-button process that takes minutes instead of a quarter-hour.
Every system in this roundup uses the proven Flojet pump platform, which has earned its reputation through years of reliable service in thousands of RVs. Whether you start with a portable kit to test the waters (so to speak) or go straight to a permanent installation, you’re investing in a product category that pays for itself in convenience, cleanliness, and time saved at the dump station.
If you’re not sure which system is right for your RV and your camping style, give us a call. We’ve helped countless RV owners choose the right waste management setup, and we’re happy to walk you through the options.
I’m Bill Rowell, the founder of RVupgrades.com. In 2002, I launched the business to help fellow RV enthusiasts find unique and hard-to-find products. Over the years, it’s grown to offer more than 15,000 items, with a warehouse in Eastlake, Ohio. Having owned and repaired nearly every type of RV, I bring over two decades of hands-on experience to the table. For me, this isn’t just a business – it’s a passion and a way of life that I love sharing with the RV community.
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