Picking up 5'er tomorrow...what will I need to buy?

[Highway308]

I am picking up our first camper tomorrow. It is a Forest River Salem Hemisphere 356qbq. What do I need to make sure is included? What do I need to buy before our first trip and where should I buy these items?

[ventrman]

It is not necessary to buy RV Toilet Paper as previously suggested. You are looking for Toilet Paper that will easily break down so as not to clog the Sewer. The cheapest Dollar Store Brand will be fine. You can use any Brand you want if you put it in a Trashcan. Toilet Paper will clog the Sewer if it does not go in the Commode. Different strokes for different Folks.

[korbe]

Sometimes your list from here will include items that you will not need, or want. Sometimes it's best to go camping and find out.

[Golden_HVAC]

I guess you will not overfill the 92 gallon gray water tank very soon.

Dry Hitch Weight 1,790 lbs. (812 kg)
Unloaded Vehicle Weight 10,960 lbs. (4,971 kg)
GVWR TBA (TBA)
Cargo Carrying Capacity 2,541 lbs. (1,153 kg)
Exterior Length 42' 3" (12.9 m)
Exterior Height 13' 2" (4.0 m)
Exterior Width 96" (2.4 m)
Fresh Water Capacity 44 gal. (167 L)
Gray Water Capacity 92 gal. (348 L)
Black Water Capacity 60 gal. (227 L)
Awning Size 21 ft



It only has a 44 gallon fresh water tank, so no chance of that happening on a boondocking trip!

Fred.

[bpounds]

Highway308 wrote:
...and where should I buy these items?

Walmart has most of the basics. Cheapest place. And good to remember when on the road.

[bpounds]

If you are buying from a dealer, they usually throw in a startup kit of basic hoses and stuff. So take a look at that before you buy anything. It may not be the best, but it will get you started and then add/replace as needed.

I've got a pressure regulator and never use the darn thing. I guess where we go, too high water pressure just isn't an issue. Your mileage may vary.

[rmcspeterson]

Congratulations! Hope you enjoy it. When we got our last year, there were several things that we got right away:

1.50 amp surge protector to protect the electrical system. You never know what you will encounter at a park.

2. Water flow pressure regulator for the water intake hose.

3. A water hose. These are white not like a regular garden hose.

4. Hose to empty the gray and black tanks. We got a clear connector between the hose and the connection on the 5th wheel. That way we can see when the black tank is empty of debris.(Not fun, but part of the 5th wheel experience.

5. Chocks for the wheels. We didn't want ours to roll away while camping.

6. A 50amp to 30 amp adapter for those campgrounds that don't offer 50amp service.

7. RV toilet paper. The stuff at home should not go into the RV toilet.

8. RV black tank chemicals.

9. Clip board and pen: to write down all of the things that need to be fixed during the warranty period. We have a Cougar by Keystone and found that quality control wasn't their best feature. After having a few things fixed early in, we have not had any problems since.

I hope this helps.

[Golden_HVAC]

Hi,

It would have helped to separate the sewer hose from the regulator.

THe water regulator drops the campground pressure to a safe 50 PSI. Some campgrounds, especially if lower elevation than the nearby town, can have 100 PSI or more, and that can burst the fresh water hose!

There is no sewer hose pressure regulator.

I have a 25' drinking water safe fresh water hose, and normally that is fine. Sometimes I might require a 50' hose - say to fill my motorhome parked in the street in front of a friend's home. Once I bought about 300' of hose to use at a campground, where they did not have water at each site. A nice neighbor was able to drain us with his blue tote tank, it was the only time I ever used the blue tote tank, normally I just move to the campground dump station if I needed to dump.

By the way, you do seem really new at trailers, so don't ever believe the black water tank level, it can sometimes read "Full" just after you empty it. Normally it will take 2 weeks to fill the black water tank. Before dumping the black water, make sure that this tank is at least 1/2 full, by filling the tank with fresh water. This makes sure that all the solids come out with a rush of water leaving the tank.

The grey water is usually pretty accurate, and if over 3/4 full, you might get some water into the shower (it happened to me a couple of times) if you use to much water to wash the dishes - should the tank overfill.

IF you really want to conserve water - sometimes we would do dishes in a dishpan, and then dump that on the grass, or dump it into the toilet.

For the first trip, I suggest a full hookup campground near the home. You can always return home if you forgot something important, such as a can opener.

I went to a garage sale, and picked up things like can opener, and a few pans - I did not want to bring that stuff from the house for each trip. Toaster, blender, and such.

Also I stock things like cinnamon, vanilla, and other things in the RV. While you can not store A-1 sauce in the refrigerator, you can store many things out there.

French toast is not the same without some vanilla and cinnamon.

Fred.

[drillking]

After just glancing at Don's list I thought it said "sewer hose pressure regulator"! I was going to go find one of those!

[WyoTraveler]

A PU truck?:B

[newman_fulltime]

water pressure regulator iswhat don was saying

[Highway308]

donn0128 wrote:
Water hose sewer hose pressure regulator. The rest will come as you find a need.

Excuse my ignorance, but pressure regulator for what? Propane tanks ?

[donn0128]

Water hose sewer hose pressure regulator. The rest will come as you find a need.