Advice needed on RV necessities...

I always use a two or four valve splitter when attaching to water. That way, if filling a tank up, someone else can attach their hose or fill up their stuff without detaching mine, or getting annoyed at waiting. I do have a couple water thief units, but have yet to actually bother using them. Plus, some of the newer faucets that I've seen that are designed to keep hoses from being attached tend to have a spigot that is rectangular or square in shape, making a water thief impossible to attach.

I like the SPOT messenger. That plus insurance, so if GEOS gets notified, someone else pays the rescue fees; not me. Those heli flights can get expensive (they charge by the foot), so having insurance will prevent a major financial dent in the wallet later on.

Dogbone cables are important as well. I carry a 50A to 30A, 20A to 30A, 30A round to 30A, and an extension cord or two. You will find a CG has spotty 30A power... which is solved by plugging into the 50A receptacle and using an adapter.

A multimeter goes without saying. Without it, you are just guessing on battery power.

Sewer hoses, I personally have had good luck with the Valterra Dominator, but Rhino hoses are good quality as well. I like a 90 degree fitting on the end so I can screw the hose into a drain pipe (as with most RV sites), or weight it with a rock and have it dump in. Just sticking end of the poop hose into the drain is asking for spills and backsplashes. I keep the hose in a plastic tub, rather than in the bumper.

One thing I find useful (YMMV, of course) are clear plastic tubs with lids that latch on. My hitch stinger, friction bars, clips and friction bar tool go into one, my macerator pump goes in another, sewage hose in a third, fresh water hoses in a fourth, room temperature water bottles in a fifth, etc.

I also use ZipLoc bags for all bottles, and place all bottles in plastic tubs. That way, if a shampoo bottle leaks, the mess is limited.

I have a lockbox hidden away on the vehicle, but accessible from the outside. If someone searches the underside of my vehicle... then manages to break the lockbox, that probably is more work than just prying the door open with a screwdriver.

This was posted earlier elsewhere. Here it is again
I have read all of the inputs to your question. All are good suggestions. We just finished a trip 97 days on the road from Virginia to the Arctic Circle and back home. One of our safety items we carry at all times is “SPOT” Satellite GPS Messenger. We send out a Spot message each night to family & friends (Limited to 10 email accounts) giving them our exact location latitude & longitude and a short message letting them know we are all right. If they do not here from us in 2 or 3 days they know we are in trouble or something has happened. The device can also send out a help signal, need assistance, or an SOS. For life-threatening or other critical situations, it alerts the GEOS International Emergency Rescue Coordination Center (IERCC). GEOS notifies the appropriate emergency responder based on your location and personal information- which may include police, highway patrol, the Coast Guard and others. Locations show up on Google Maps, pin pointing your exact location. We send out the spot message every night even if we are in the same location for more than one night. It gives us peace of mind and keeps our loved ones apprized of our location. I highly recommend this device for safety reasons… Dave & Holly Fox “The Tardis Time Travelers”

Desert Captain wrote:

Tvov wrote:
My understanding about the non-threaded water spigots is to prevent people from hooking up a hose to the spigot for their entire stay. What's the difference between using a hose temporarily to fill a water tank, or filling a 5 gallon bucket multiple times to bring to your camper to fill the campers water tank? I have never been to campground that forbids filling a campers water tank, just restrictions on staying hooked up to water. I have also never been west of the East Coast, so probably there are campgrounds with that restriction.

That dog won't hunt. The purpose of non threaded spigot is to prevent people from filling the large tanks in their RV due to limited availability. I have never seen a non threaded spigot in a campsite but even if there are what prevents these special folks from using the water thief to connect a hose directly to their rig? The unthreaded spigots are usually found scattered around the CG, typically one for every 10 or more sites. Not many folks are going to lug 5 gallon jugs 5, 10 times or more to top up their water tank.

:C

Never heard of what you're talking about, but I'm kind of a newbie, only been camping for 10 years. And I use my water thief routinely in US Forestry campgrounds in Calif and ALL state parks, even in Utah. Must be enforced in some areas though. Rare IMO.

Desert Captain wrote:
There is a reason it is called the "Water Thief". Campgrounds that have a limited supply of water deliberately install non threaded spigots to prevent RV's from filling their tanks and potentially leaving none for others. The CG rules usually clearly state that hoses are NOT to be attached to the water spigots.

Yes, the water thief allows you to circumvent the rules, heck those pesky rules are for everybody else, right? I asked a USFS CG host about folks using the water thief and he said that those that are caught are simply asked to leave and not return. I just don't see how poor planning on your part justifies scamming the system. :R

As always.... Opinions and YMMV.

:C

Never saw any restrictions on taking water in state parks. Maybe true in some parks, but not true in Calif State Parks. Rangers routinely go by when I'm filling my fresh water tank. You can fill jugs or make it easy and use a water thief, they don't care; the result is the same.

We have bought nearly everything for our FW at either Walmart or Camping World. A lot if the stuff I buy from Camping World, I order online as we are 2 hrs either direction from the nearest Camping World store to home. I have not been disappointed with anything I have purchased from either place. I am a review nut though and check out the reviews either in this forum or online prior to purchase of anything I am not sure about. For instance, a lot of folks on here strongly suggested JT Strongarms. Coming from a much shorter TT to a much longer FW, we were feeling a lot of trailer movement if one was in the bedroom and he other in the living area. Felt like we were on the ocean in a small boat sometimes. I decided upon reading the suggestions to make the investment...VERY GOOD CHOICE that I highly recommend! It stopped nearly all movement. We also like the Rotochocks (purchased directly from manufacturer) that we learned about on here. I am not the kind of person to recommend anything that I do not believe in 100%.

calamus wrote:
I got a small air compressor at TSC for filling bike tires tube floaties and winterizing the camper and a couple of patch kits and an automotive plug kits also has come in handy several times. Buy hose and air chuck and a blow gun I made an adapter to hook to the city water connection for blowing out the lines.

Don't forget what it can be used for more than anything else, getting fires going.

Read ALL of the "Handy Hints Gadgets Products & Gizmos" thread in General Issues (that should keep you out of trouble for a while!).

www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/17436377.cfm

Nothing prevents people from using a "water thief" from connecting an unthreaded spigot to their camper, unless it is in the rules of that particular campground. I just have always thought the water thief was just a convenient way to fill a camper's fresh water tank, then you take the hose off the faucet.

We've been to many campgrounds that don't have faucets at each campsite. When talking to owners/managers, they have told us to pull up to a faucet, attach a hose (if possible), fill your water tank then disconnect and move to your campsite. If the camper can't get near the faucet, they have told me it is just fine to use 5 gallon containers to bring water to my camper (which we have done a few times, it is not that hard).

As I pointed out, I am just going by my experience where I have camped. I have not camped outside of the east coast. I have not camped where there have been water restrictions regarding camper fresh water tanks.

Tvov wrote:
My understanding about the non-threaded water spigots is to prevent people from hooking up a hose to the spigot for their entire stay. What's the difference between using a hose temporarily to fill a water tank, or filling a 5 gallon bucket multiple times to bring to your camper to fill the campers water tank? I have never been to campground that forbids filling a campers water tank, just restrictions on staying hooked up to water. I have also never been west of the East Coast, so probably there are campgrounds with that restriction.

That dog won't hunt. The purpose of non threaded spigot is to prevent people from filling the large tanks in their RV due to limited availability. I have never seen a non threaded spigot in a campsite but even if there are what prevents these special folks from using the water thief to connect a hose directly to their rig? The unthreaded spigots are usually found scattered around the CG, typically one for every 10 or more sites. Not many folks are going to lug 5 gallon jugs 5, 10 times or more to top up their water tank.

:C

My understanding about the non-threaded water spigots is to prevent people from hooking up a hose to the spigot for their entire stay. What's the difference between using a hose temporarily to fill a water tank, or filling a 5 gallon bucket multiple times to bring to your camper to fill the campers water tank? I have never been to campground that forbids filling a campers water tank, just restrictions on staying hooked up to water. I have also never been west of the East Coast, so probably there are campgrounds with that restriction.