Full hook up?

[silverbullet555]

We are off soon on a trip and the camping site we are using has full hookups. Power and water will be great.

It'll be 4 of us for 4 nights. 2 adults and 2 kids.

A couple questions around the sewer hook up piece. Do you find it more convenient to hook up to sewer when you get there so there are no issues of full tanks later? Both grey and black? Or do you wait and see if you need to.

If you do what do you do with the 90 deg end that goes into the hook up. We have a dump hose that sits in a "case" on the outside of the camper. But, to hook in to the sewer I envision a 90 degree fitting will be advantageous.

This all reminds me that I need to get a fitting for our grey water tank to make it easier to drain cleanly.

[Kayteg1]

toedtoes wrote:
...

Why do all that extra setup and takedown if it's not needed?

Where I like to camp - we need AC 24 hr a day.
When our lovely Honda 3000 can provide the power when we stop at rest areas, all dry campings have night generators restrictions.
Still with my senior pass, I am getting water and power camping in most beautiful places for $7 to 10.
Than when you go to prime areas, like TX shore, or Alaska, you have to pay to stay.

[toedtoes]

As others, I rarely go to full hookup places. The few times I have, I will always hook up the power, but nothing else. With doing more sightseeing trips at national parks, etc, I will often break up the first and last day's drive with an overnight stay at a full hookup RV park, then dry camp at the national park. I may do a full hookup night midtrip if I have multiple destinations so I can recharge batteries, etc.

I use the water out of my tank and will only fill if I am midtrip and know I will need more water than the tank can hold AND the water at the park is decent tasting.

I only dump if there is enough to dump by the time I am ready to leave.

Why do all that extra setup and takedown if it's not needed?

[pianotuna]

2oldman wrote:
Hook up sewer when you need it. I rarely even hook up water. I use my tank.

X2

[silverbullet555]

Some good insight for me. I normally don't go where there are hookups so it is a little foreign to me. Good things to consider like not leaving the tank open. I've learned from this thread. Appreciate it.

And, while I will use the campground bathrooms and showers, unless they are bad, the rest of the family may or may not. Just want to be prepared.

[RoyF]

I hook up the sewer only to dump, usually after about 5 days.

I notice that many campers hook up their sewer hoses upon arrival. I can't understand why anyone would do that.

On water: I like to use the unit's own water tank, topping it up as needed. That keeps the tank's water always fresh.

[Kayteg1]

For sewer hookup I prefer use of Sewer Solution.
Much less mess to clean up at the end.
I keep black water tank closed, till I have it full or ready to leave, then hook up water hose to SS and dump black tank.
I also have short hose hooked up to SS injector, with valve on the end, so when time comes, it makes for white gloves job.

[jimh406]

I connect when needed and dump. I like to be able to leave if I want with minimal effort, and we rarely stay at the same place more than a night or two. Also, we don’t usually have full hookups. When we are at a campground, we frequently use the campgrounds bathroom and shower.

[Lwiddis]

Filling and using your fresh water tank prevents a flood if a connection inside your RV breaks.

How are you monitoring the voltage at the RV park? Hughes sells a plug in voltage meter for about twenty bucks.

[wildtoad]

Not a truck camper, but your questions are universal. We go ahead and hook up to the sewer connection, and yes you should have a 90 degree connection that offers a tight fit. However we keep the dump valves closed and only open them when the tanks get close to full. Never leave the black tank valve open as it could lead to nasty situations. Some will leave the grey open, but that too can result in food stuff cling to the tank.

[Bedlam]

On long visits with full hookups, I make sure to start with the black tank empty and then close off the valve. I leave the gray open until the last night and then close it. This will be my rinse the next day after I dump my black tank before leaving.

Doing it this way allows for long showers without tank fill issues yet ensures the black fills up enough to flush out solid waste when opened. Although some will not hookup to sewer until ready to dump tanks, this hybrid setup works best for me. I do not suggest leaving the black open the entire time because you will not get enough liquid through the tank and solids will build up.

[d3500ram]

I rarely ever paid for a camping spot with any type of utilities. A few times there was E&W but never sewer.

That said, if I ever did have full hook-ups I might have used the water to fill the grey and black tanks on the first day and do a good flushing of any floaters. Then close the valves and use normally throughout the stay and then repeat before leaving the site.

Essentially, full hook-ups are akin to having a dump station at one's site without the hassle of an actual dump station so why not utilize it. It's paid for, why not take advantage of it.

[Old-Biscuit]

I hookup sewer hose WHEN I go to dump at the end of stay
No need for sewer hose laying outside....birds like to peck on them, CG maint. crew weed whacking etc

Only needs to be connected when dumping

Have a 90* with different thread sizes to connect to sewer line

[2oldman]

Hook up sewer when you need it. I rarely even hook up water. I use my tank.

[valhalla360]

For just a few days, we hook it up when we first dump.

Don't dump with less than 75% full tanks, so that the solids get pulled out.

Then if we will still be there, we will often leave it hooked up but shut the valves. The hose should be empty between dumps.

Yes, we have a 90degree end. The hose lives in a plastic tub.

[Joe_Glidewell]

My drain location is on the back, under the entry door. I only hook up the slinky and pull the drain valve when the tank is close to full capacity.