Long term stay questions.

[Jeffrey99]

The wife and I went down one income, due to her injuring her back. So we weren't' gonna be able to afford to travel with the TT we bought last summer. So as a early Anniversary present my parents bought us a annual pass for a small local campground. It has electric, sewer and water hookups.

My question is when it comes to sewer and water hookups. The campgrounds we stayed at last year didn't have these.

For the Water: I have a regulator on the line coming in. Is this water safe to drink? Should I buy some type of filter for the end of the faucet? You do not need water pump with city water connection correct? Do I just turn on water heater when we need hot water?

For the Sewer: We just bought a sewer hose that will thread into the sewer line at the campground so that it's a sealed connection. Do we need to buy a sewer hose support? If you always hooked up to the sewer, do you leave drain at the hose open? Or let it fill up so far, and then dump it?Or like just dump it each weekend before we had back home?

Thanks in Advance,
Jeffrey

[HappyKayakers]

You don't need water pump on while hooked up to city water. You should put some water in FW tank for those times when water is shut off at CG due to repairs.

Leaving gray water tank valves open is personal preference. Black water tank valve should remain closed until toilet burps, then empty and rinse.

Sewer hose support is also personal preference. Since your RV will not be moving off the spot try to keep all your hoses and cords tidy and out of the way as much as possible. Makes it easier for the folks with the weed whackers.

[DutchmenSport]

For an RV filter, one like this will probably do OK. You may want to eventually beef-it-up but these are relatively inexpensive, can be used for one season, and tossed out if you don't like it. Click here.

Pressure regulator for your fresh water. If you are hooking up with a hose, it's always a good idea to use one. We had a hose explode on us once and the regulator was located at the campground spigot, not at the camper. The HOT summer heat caused it expand, weaken, and blow! Luckily, we were right there when it happened. Although you are on a seasonal site, when we have full hook-ups, we usually fill our fresh water tank and pump from there, just so we don't have the vulnerability of another hose breaking on us. You may want to store your hose away if you are not at the camper though for a few days, even if the water is shut off.

The water should be safe to drink, although it may be well water, or city water, or who knows. The water has to pass EPA regulations and board of health regulations as the campground has to follow those rules. Taste may be different than what your use to. That's where a filter is helpful. Even with that, many people bring bottled water. We don't .... if it hasn't killed me in 59 years, I think I'm OK. And even if it does kill me ... I've lived a good life! 😛


Even if you hook-up your sewer permanently, you do not want to leave the camper valve open. You want to keep it closed and dump when the tank is full. Your gray water can remain open, but never the black. Dump only when it's full. If you don't, liquids will drain off and solids will pile up, and up, and up, and then turn hard! Flush the tank often.


As long as your sewer hose is sloping down hill, you don't really need any kind of sewer hose support. You can make-shift your own by getting a couple blocks and laying a board on them and then the sewer hose on top of that. It may look a little red-neck, but it words and if you have scrap lumber laying around, why spend money? Add a bit of paint to the board and it will work just fine. The important thing is to keep the hose slopping down hill.

Hope this helps ... others will chime in too with their thoughts. Consider all responses and then figure out what will work best for you. Good luck! happy camping! I'm glad you can still enjoy your camper even in the midst of some unexpected health and financial issues!

[loulou57]

Sorry to hear about your wife's injury. I hope that she recovers quickly.

We leave our water heater on all the time. If we leave the CG for a while, we turn it off. We turn our water pump on as needed. When connected to the CG sewer, we wait until the tank is reasonably full to open the valve. We have heard of some sort sewer fly that you can get in your tank if it is left open all the time. You will likely manage the weekend without having to empty. It depends on how much waste goes in your tanks.

Since you are not travelling this year with the TT have you considered staying during the week also and travel to work from the trailer? You have a seasons pass and that way you get to enjoy your trailer more.