I determined that the main cause for my flex hose break was the factory used too short of a length. When the slide was out, the hose was stressed too much at the bottom near where it fastened to the solid plastic drain fitting. It crimped horizontally which effectively blocked drainage, and liquid leaked out cracks at the corners of the crimp.
I replaced the flex pipe with the same stuff, but measured carefully and used a piece a couple inches longer so when the slide is closed the hose's bend comes almost right up against the removable wood panel under the stove, beside the pullout pantry. Now when the slide is open, the extra inches result in less tendency of the pipe to fold in front of that lower connection, and more likelihood of flex instead.
I flirted with a 45 and a 30 degree upward elbow at the bottom, but despite making sense, in actuality neither engineered out because of the extra effective length they added to the fixed portion; the tube still would have tended to fold up when the slide opened or down when it closed. The longer hose, albeit compromised by the limited space, was the best option. I too considered radiator hose, but thought this stuff should work as designed if it was simply long enough to not over stress it's working parameters as the factory install had done.
But I'm kinda gettin' away here from Tom's original question about whether his short wall supports the fridge or is removable.
-Joel
Sorry, the attach system wants to turn my pix 90 degrees - doesn't handle portrait orientation I guess...