Vancouver > Jasper > Banff > Calgary
Hello friends! So excited to be taking my first RV trip this summer! Renting from canadream and cannot wait!! My question goes out to anyone that might have insight on a specific leg of my trip: Vanco...
Forum Discussion
There are generally two holding tanks on the RV: one for "black water" and one for "grey water" (or "gray water" if you prefer that spelling). Black water is what goes down the toilet; sometimes the bathroom sink is also plumbed into the black water tank for various reasons. The gray water tank holds what goes down the other drains. There is, of course, also a fresh water tank.
You can dump the tanks either at your site, if you have a sewer hookup, or at a dump station (often called a sani-dump in Canada). In either case, this is basically a sewer pipe at ground level that you stick a hose from the sewer dump into and pull valves to let the sewage flow into the sewer. You can look up the details on their web sites, but I would guess that the park campgrounds would probably have a dump station to use.
Often there's a water hose for cleaning out the dump hose at the dump station, and a separate spigot nearby for filling the fresh water tank with potable water. Using the cleaning hose to fill the fresh water tank is not a brilliant idea, even if the water comes from the same source, as the hose is likely to be at least somewhat contaminated.
How long you can go between dumps depends mostly on your water usage--showering and dishwashing in particular. If you use campground showers (assuming they're available) and conserve water generally, you might be able to go all week without dumping...but it would probably be tricky. If you all take long showers in the motorhome, you may need to dump (and refill) more than once a day. Navy showers are recommended: turn on water, get wet, turn off water, lather up, turn on water, rinse off, done.
Electricity should not be much of a problem if you're a little bit conservative with its use (turning off lights when not needed, avoiding using an inverter for long periods or with things that need a lot of power, etc.) The motorhome will charge the battery from the vehicle alternator when you drive, and it will also be charged if you are plugged in at a camp site.
I'm sure the rental agency will go over all the details with you, and probably provide some literature as well.
You can dump the tanks either at your site, if you have a sewer hookup, or at a dump station (often called a sani-dump in Canada). In either case, this is basically a sewer pipe at ground level that you stick a hose from the sewer dump into and pull valves to let the sewage flow into the sewer. You can look up the details on their web sites, but I would guess that the park campgrounds would probably have a dump station to use.
Often there's a water hose for cleaning out the dump hose at the dump station, and a separate spigot nearby for filling the fresh water tank with potable water. Using the cleaning hose to fill the fresh water tank is not a brilliant idea, even if the water comes from the same source, as the hose is likely to be at least somewhat contaminated.
How long you can go between dumps depends mostly on your water usage--showering and dishwashing in particular. If you use campground showers (assuming they're available) and conserve water generally, you might be able to go all week without dumping...but it would probably be tricky. If you all take long showers in the motorhome, you may need to dump (and refill) more than once a day. Navy showers are recommended: turn on water, get wet, turn off water, lather up, turn on water, rinse off, done.
Electricity should not be much of a problem if you're a little bit conservative with its use (turning off lights when not needed, avoiding using an inverter for long periods or with things that need a lot of power, etc.) The motorhome will charge the battery from the vehicle alternator when you drive, and it will also be charged if you are plugged in at a camp site.
I'm sure the rental agency will go over all the details with you, and probably provide some literature as well.
