Just Starting

[Gmasmitty50]

Please give us some pointers as to what hoses, etc we need to take. We are starting out in a couple weeks from Indiana to AZ. When should we de-winterize? how do we do it? ha
WE have a 03 winnebago adventurer. Thanks!

[4x4van]

-Hose for potable water; I bought a 50' hose; cut it into two; a 15' and a 35' (added the additional ends). The 15' is usually long enough for most campgrounds, but if not I can use the 35 or even both for 50'.

-Non potable hose (for sewer hose rinsing); a cheapo 15' hose is fine, and won't be mistaken for your good hose(s). Mine is one of those cheap fold-flat type.

-Sewer hose: A 10' hose is usually long enough, but I also carry an additional 10' with fittings that I can add; very seldom need it though. Funny, I've used the cheap hoses for 27 years now with no issues and no struggles. The Rhino fittings won't fit in my hose storage compartment, so...to each his own.

Toilet paper: no need to spend $$ on RV toilet paper; just about any single-ply TP will work fine.

Surge Protector: 27 years and I've never used one, nor have I needed it. Lucky? Possibly, but I really don't think it's as common of a problem as some make it out to be.

[Fixed_Sight_Tra]

cdevidal wrote:
So jplante4, my second question: What if the source is non-potable, does that contaminate a potable hose?

Yes. But it can be cleaned out with a little bleach water.

A lot of the stuff listed depends on where you intend to camp. In our experience the nicest campgrounds don't have hookups so all the stuff listed above can be replaced with a solar panel and controller. Of course if you want to use the AC or microwave you need hookups or a gen, but we very rarely use our AC and the microwave is storage for the coffee stuff. We don't even take the generator anymore.

[SlowBro]

So jplante4, my second question: What if the source is non-potable, does that contaminate a potable hose?

[SlowBro]

I would suppose your extended warranty doesn't cover towing or campsite deals.

[Gmasmitty50]

OK..so I am wondering if we have the Extended warranty with our used unit (Cornerstone RV) should we also consider joining Good Sam Club or AAA or towing and camping deals/

[jplante4]

cdevidal wrote:
So what hose gets used at the dump station, could the potable hose be used with an backflow prevention device? And if so, what if the source is non-potable, does that contaminate a potable hose?

Basically, you want to keep your pot. water hose away from the sewer hose. You don't want the black water to come in contact with the hose you use to put water in the rig. Bacteria will be ingested into the water system and grow in the warm stagnant periods when not being used.

Some people have a separate hose for rinsing the sewer hose, some people just don't let the potable water hose make contact.

Most dump stations have a hose you can use.

[SlowBro]

So what hose gets used at the dump station, could the potable hose be used with an backflow prevention device? And if so, what if the source is non-potable, does that contaminate a potable hose?

[jplante4]

DeanRIowa wrote:
What are these items?
- "Y" connector for fresh water hook-ups
- Roof vent covers

thanks,
Dean

A Y connector ( less than a buck at HoD) lets you connect 2 hoses to the CG spigot. Used by those campers that wear rubber gloves when dumping the tanks, it allows you to hook up a special, separate hose to rinse the stinky slinky so that your potable water hose doesn't get within 100 feet of the sewer hose.

Roof vent covers go over the roof vents to allow you to leave the roof vent open when it rains or even driving down the road.

[DeanRIowa]

What are these items?
- "Y" connector for fresh water hook-ups
- Roof vent covers

thanks,
Dean

[cbshoestring]

Jbrowland wrote:
20. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT. Bring a who gives a******what happens, happy ass, adventurous attitude and nothing will ever go "wrong." Leave that grump farter at home. It's time to have some darn fun!!!

I love this part. Oh the stories of how everything was thought of, down to the toothpicks, only to find out they forgot the can opener. Keep pen and paper handy, when you find out you forgot it, write it down.

[SlowBro]

Thanks... as you said, you didn't have a problem with KOAs.

I'm just starting out and wondering if perhaps that's something to look into some day if I decide to take off on a road trip with unknown destinations. With known destinations I can choose the highest-rated CGs (according to GoodSam) so I'd expect the power hookups would be decent enough?

We don't have a lot of expensive equipment, just a couple of old laptops (worth about $200 each) and the converter (worth about $200), the A/C (about $800?) plus the whatnot. So $200 to protect ~$1300 worth of stuff. Seems a bit high for an insurance premium if it's a rare problem.

Thoughts, anyone? How frequent a problem is this?

[jplante4]

In our gasser, I made it a point to test the voltage right after plugging in. We stay mostly at KOAs and I wasn't expecting a problem. The voltage did vary, but never more than 125 or less that 109.

One of the projects on the new rig is to install an AC volt meter right above the door near the genny controls. The autoformer is on the list, especially since I'll be installing LED flat screens this spring.

As I said, people who go out and spend $200-$600 for a power conditioner or surge protector have probably have to spend a lot more fixing things that got fried. I yield to their experience. Heck, frying one converter would pay for the autoformer.

[SlowBro]

I'm on 30A, and comparing the price of a standard surge protector ($70) to the PT30C 30 ($270) is a sticker shock.

How commonly is this an issue? If it's very common it's worth the extra $200. But if I'm staying only at highly-rated campgrounds I don't know if the extra cost would be justified?

[DrewE]

rockhillmanor wrote:

jplante4 wrote:

Gmasmitty50 wrote:
thanks all for your advice! Working on our list! On one list I saw it said to take an "EMS PT 50C" what is it? what for?

Thanks! Still cold and snowy!

If you have to ask, you probably don't need it 😄

It's a surge protector for shore power.

They are expensive.

I imagine the people who have one had a power blast in their coach that fried a bunch of more expensive stuff. I have to admit it hasn't happened to me yet. A pre-emptive strike? You decide.

There are other types of surge protectors that are very affordable.
http://www.campingworld.com/category/surge-protectors/98

The cost of repairing the average coach that takes a serious hit is around $3,000.

For around 100 bucks for a surge protector is a small chunk of change for insurance to prevent what can be a real expensive repair.

The $100ish units provide only quite limited protection. They don't protect from miswired outlets or bad neutral connections that put 240V where there should be 120V, nor do they provide any protection against brownouts or similar undervoltage problems. These two are probably the most frequent situations where bad shore power causes damage to RV systems.

Most will give you an indication of an outlet with swapped or open connections, and have some MOVs to provide a degree of protection against high voltage transients, but that's it.