How many do it this way when parked

[rickhise]

New to our new unit, Not new to camping. Decades of Houseboating, Many of the same issues. Question using from the holding tank vs city water hookup?
My logic was if the a water issue happens pipe connection fails,
the 12 volt pump off not a whole lot to go wrong.

Yes it takes Some mental effort,

Another thing IM Making myself get in the habit of doing is making sure all access panels are not only fasten shut but locked with a key when traveling.

[2BLAZERS]

We have the pressure regulator and a water filter all the time on when using water hookups.

Basically I'd say that the hose had too sharp of a bend coming off the pump, this is where the pin hole leak came from....hose should have been a couple inches longer at the factory.

[bigfootford]

2BLAZERS wrote:
We were camped this past weekend in Harris Beach State camp ground with full hook ups. Was hooked to the water provided and had left it on since we arrived the evening before. We were at the play ground and I ran back to the camper to get something....and saw water dripping under the front of my truck bed onto the ground and a good sized puddle. That ain't right!!

After looking in cabinets and the step to the cab over bed....

So I had a pin sized hole in the 150PSI pressued hose after the pump that feeds the water system. It was basically a little tiny streaming into the basement of the camper. That ain't good.

So turned of the park water and tried the pump, leak is the pressured side of the pump, it still leaked. So no water to use, not good.

We ended up running to ACE hardware store, bought 1 foot of 150PSI 1/2 tubing, a coupler, razor hose cutter tool, and two more small hose clamps. Cut about 8'' of the old pipe that had the pin sized hole and added the new 1 foot section. Been working great since. This is all under the step into the cab over bed. Tight space. You could not hear the water peeing since we were hooked to the provided water spigot.

If we had been using our tank and water pump we would have found this much earlier, likely that prior night shortly after hooking up.

And yes we usually turn water off and the water heater off if we are going somewhere for the day, but we were just down at the play ground.

I have the step open with a fan blowing down there, hoping it drys out in the hot weather we are having. This weekend will be opening up the corner of the underbelly to make sure the insulation is dried out. Thinking some of it will be wet still.

Ouch, at least you caught it... I have a pressure regulator for the hose to hook to external water source if needed. Only used it once in 15 years... At home here our water pressure regularly is over 90psi. Hilly area and we are in the low spot Ugggggg, even for the house I cringe... We do have a regulator for it.

Jim

[2BLAZERS]

We were camped this past weekend in Harris Beach State camp ground with full hook ups. Was hooked to the water provided and had left it on since we arrived the evening before. We were at the play ground and I ran back to the camper to get something....and saw water dripping under the front of my truck bed onto the ground and a good sized puddle. That ain't right!!

After looking in cabinets and the step to the cab over bed....

So I had a pin sized hole in the 150PSI pressued hose after the pump that feeds the water system. It was basically a little tiny streaming into the basement of the camper. That ain't good.

So turned of the park water and tried the pump, leak is the pressured side of the pump, it still leaked. So no water to use, not good.

We ended up running to ACE hardware store, bought 1 foot of 150PSI 1/2 tubing, a coupler, razor hose cutter tool, and two more small hose clamps. Cut about 8'' of the old pipe that had the pin sized hole and added the new 1 foot section. Been working great since. This is all under the step into the cab over bed. Tight space. You could not hear the water peeing since we were hooked to the provided water spigot.

If we had been using our tank and water pump we would have found this much earlier, likely that prior night shortly after hooking up.

And yes we usually turn water off and the water heater off if we are going somewhere for the day, but we were just down at the play ground.

I have the step open with a fan blowing down there, hoping it drys out in the hot weather we are having. This weekend will be opening up the corner of the underbelly to make sure the insulation is dried out. Thinking some of it will be wet still.

[bigfootford]

Bedlam wrote:
Even on hookups, we typically fill the fresh tank and pump from it. This prevents growth or stale water in our tank since we camp at least twice a month all year.

Ditto this... Always ready to go.. We have great tasting water here at home so I will usually wait to fill back up when we get home. If I need water along the way I taste the water... If bad I do not fill.

Jim

[Seon]

A fellow camper I met cut a 6" access hole on top of his water tank then installed this and fills it thru the hole and feeds the hose thru the front "crawl" window.
He said it also allows him to clean inside the tank.

It seems like a fast way of filling the tank and don't have to guess how near full the tank is.

[joeshmoe]

Not pointing a fingers, but I can't tell you many times we've pulled off, had to get in the camper and find that the pump is still on.

[Photomike]

Whenever I head out camping the water that I use is out of the tank. I have never hooked up to city water, I think if I used my shower I would definitely hook up to city water but as I never shower in the truck camper I have no need for extra water.

As for the water pump I only actually turn it on when I needed it, then I shut it right off. This saves me forgetting it when I'm on the road or when I leave the camper. Several times I have been traveling down the road and when I stop I hear a vibrating noise coming from the truck camper, I've gone in the back to find that the water pump was running but not being able to pressurize itself it would not shut off. So because of this I started making sure that the switch is off all the time.

[turtletalk]

This topic has been a reminder of actions that I used to take when leaving the TC but had just quit doing!! Thanks.This is one of the great values of this forum and why we check it regularly...kind of like looking for advice from the neighbors.We also enjoy the trip reports and marvel at the craftsmanship displayed in remodels and repairs. We know from years of our own projects what it takes to do most of those shared by fellow TCers.

[d3500ram]

coolmom42 wrote:
Always leave the water pump off when not in the camper for more than a few minutes. If there is a leak, you should notice it while you are there...

Boy and how one will notice a leak!!! I performed some plumbing modification upgrades to my NorthStar a few years back. When leak testing after the work was done I found out the hard way that one connection was not up to snuff. The time it took to turn on/ walk back to visualize/ RUN back to turn off the spigot was "only" about 6-8 seconds but it was not a drip type leak! I re-checked all of the remaining connections after seeing what one decent leak could do in a short time. It took a couple of bath towels to soak it up and wring out a few times.

Lessons learned: do anything to keep pressure off the lines when not needed; check the integrity of the camper plumbing connections at least once a year and pressure up before leaving on each and every outing (easier to make any last minute repairs whilst still at home.

coolmom42 wrote:
...And if you are hooked to city water---turn it off at the spigot when you leave.

Ditto on that.

[Reddog1]

I never connect to city water, not worth the drama for only a few days camping in one spot. If I need water while camping with hookups, I do the same as Bedlam, fill the tank and pump from the tank. My water tank is full even when parked at home for months at a time. Typically, before a trip, I will drain and refill the tank. I usually turn the water pump off if I am away from the TC for a couple of hours. Not always, but usually.

I always lock my compartment, it just seems logical to me. I do not and would not lock my propane. I prefer to allow easy access in case of emergency.

[eichacsj]

Same as others. We pump from the tank, fill it when low. Obviously shut it off when not there.

[Super_Dave]

We've had our camper for 8 years and never used a city water hook up. Water pump only on at point of use and same for HW heater.

[deltabravo]

I turn off the water pump when I leave my rig unattended.

If I am hooked up to city water, I turn off the water spigot.

I rarely lock the compartments if they have two latches (locking and non locking). I only have one compartment.

The battery compartment and fresh water fill always are locked because they only have one latch.

The propane compartment has no locks. I installed small padlocks on the propane bottles to deter theft.

[Bedlam]

Even on hookups, we typically fill the fresh tank and pump from it. This prevents growth or stale water in our tank since we camp at least twice a month all year.