...In my opinion without the drain hose the drip pan is useless.
I have to agree - no need for the drain pan if you can't move any water away from it. I also question the effectiveness of any pan installation in an RV altogether. I say this after looking at the factory installation of the pan and the drain line in a couple of installations.
In one installation in one of my coaches, the drain line was bent in a 90 degree fashion as it was routed out from the connector in side of the drain pan. It pretty much pinched the vinyl line, rendering it pretty ineffective.
In my current installation, the removable side of the 4 sided drain pan was mounted to the rear. In my mind, this is a miss. It is removable so the washer can be slid into place. Then butyl tape or some other sealing material is applied before the removable section is screwed into place. In my mind, this should be in the FRONT. Mine being in the back and me being unaware, I moved my washer around just a little bit to gain access to one side and in doing so, I breached the removable side without knowing it. Sort of out of sight, out of mind I guess.
This all said, I do believe a proper installation can be effective, just that those I have seen to date may only be somewhat effective.
ntoport, my ideal installation would be this:
1. Install a fitting in the floor of the pan, connect a drain line to it and drill a corresponding hole in the closet floor to move the line through
2. Make sure the removable side is on the front
3. Screw the pan top the floor and use butyl tape where the screws penetrate the floor - maybe even RTV on the screw threads and over the head
4. Route the line out either the gooseneck area near the back of the pinbox or straight down through the overhang material with some sort of screened end
Jim