First time RV advice

[JohnC]

As mentioned in another thread we just bought our first travel trailer. I suspect mostly it’ll be used at state parks and private camp grounds with hook up. The trailer was bought used but had only been used once so it didn’t come with everything you necessarily need. So my question is what do you need to get started?

It has a speed wrench type deal for lowering the stabilizers. I know people get cordless drills to make it faster but I’m not sure it’s necessary. Only took me about 7-10 seconds to lower each one.

It’s got a brand new hose for black water tank emptying. Have mercy on my ignorance but I am completely new to this. Do you use the same setup for grey water tank emptying? Any advice on dealing with that aspect would be greatly appreciated. I think our plan to start with would be stay at nicer camp grounds with nicer bathrooms and use the commode in the trailer for late night wiz breaks primarily.

What about a flat tire? I need to see if the lug nut wrench in the tow vehicle (Honda Pilot) fits the trailer’s lug nut. Do you carry a dedicated jack just for the trailer? Car has a scissor jack but I’d assume like most scissor jacks it relies on a pinch weld to safely lift the car so probably not useable for the trailer.

Wheel chucks and boards to level the trailer. Chucks of 2x4 good enough? I assume the trailer stabilizers are not meant to actually level the trailer.

Trailer came with a cord for hooking up to 30 amp power I think. I assume there are also adapters in case all you have is 50 amp hook up?

Need a white hose for water hook up and I hear a pressure regulator is not a bad idea.

We’ll probably use a Coleman type camping stove to do most of the cooking outdoors.

Probably buy an electric space heater to use for heat not only to save propane but I hear the heaters in campers can be noisy.

I’m sure I’m missing a lot of things. Other than dishes, blankets etc, anyone have other trailer related recommendations?

Thanks

 

[kmakar]

Use the same hose for both gray and black water. How I do it is dump black water, then gray water to flush the hose. That requires you to remember to close the gray water valve a while before you leave so you can collect enough gray water to flush the hose out.

For us we never used the facilities at a campground. Most (if not all) are not cleaned that regularly, and since I'm a clean freak, I wanted my own bathroom knowing it's always clean and sanitary. Those public bathrooms are a "use at your own discretion".

Buy a separate scissor jack to jack the trailer axles. Anything else will be heavier, and you're trying to keep the weight down as you tow.

Wheel chocks are a must as well as leveling blocks. They sell lightweight plastic leveling blocks and chocks. A 2 x 4 may not be big enough to chock the wheels. Also chock forward and back on both sides. The stabilizers are to stop the bounce and sway when you're inside.

Yes, they make dog bone adapters, buy one for 50 amp to 30 amp and 30 amp to 20 amp. Have both. we'd been to a number of parks where the electrical hookups had issues and had to fiddle with them.

We have a Camco drinking water hose that's blue and super heavy duty and also have a regulator, but I've never used a regulator. There are so many people using water at a campground you'll seldom ever need to drop the pressure.

Make sure the stove inside the camper is serviceable. Bear in mind it will rain, get nasty winds at times, and you'll want to cook inside when it gets nasty (and it will get nasty).

Usually the furnace in a camper aren't too noisy, but they eat a shitload of propane. Get yourself a Mr. Heater portable propane heater. On low setting they can run for 5 to 10 hours on a little 1 lb tank (or you an buy an adapter for a 20lb tank).

Do maintenance on the trailer regularly. Check and grease the bearings, check that the seals are clean and good, flush the water systems out and blow them out when you winterize them.

Consider upgrading your water heater to an on demand version. Much more efficient and unlimited hot water. A 6 or 10 gallon RV water heater just isn't enough water with a family.

 

[Chevelle_Nut]

As mentioned in another thread we just bought our first travel trailer. I suspect mostly it’ll be used at state parks and private camp grounds with hook up. The trailer was bought used but had only been used once so it didn’t come with everything you necessarily need. So my question is what do you need to get started?

It has a speed wrench type deal for lowering the stabilizers. I know people get cordless drills to make it faster but I’m not sure it’s necessary. Only took me about 7-10 seconds to lower each one.

I have been camping for 10 years now and we have taken many long trips. You are asking great questions. All of them are "subjective" because everyone does things differently. Advice I can give is ask a fellow camper if you don't know, we have all had to learn. Practice backing up. I have a long camper and people think I will never get it into a site, I have had challenges but have never been skunked and can get it into a site quickly. You don't want to be the afternoon campsite entertainment. Once you get a system you will be able to set up quickly. Also, do not let people distract you when hooking, unhooking and setting up, you will miss something that could be important, like a chock!

Cordless drill makes it easier but it is not necessary. Get the rig level, side to side when parking in a site, chock, unhook and get front to back level using tongue jack before deploying jacks, then open the slides.

It’s got a brand new hose for black water tank emptying. Have mercy on my ignorance but I am completely new to this. Do you use the same setup for grey water tank emptying? Any advice on dealing with that aspect would be greatly appreciated. I think our plan to start with would be stay at nicer camp grounds with nicer bathrooms and use the commode in the trailer for late night wiz breaks primarily.

Some campers have separate discharges for grey and black, some use one discharge. I have 2 grey tanks and both are on the same discharge but I must empty my main grey tank before my galley tank. I always do black first and using a different hose than my fresh water hose, I hook to my black water flush inlet. I fill the black tank as much as I can, open the valve and let it dump. The black flush will get stuck crap and paper loose when dumping. Full hookup sites are great for dumping because you can take your time. Once the black is running clear, I open the grey valves. Leave a few gallons of water in the black tank while traveling to try and loosen stuck material. When done put all of your stuff away in a separate bin in the stowage. The 4" hollow rear bumper holds the hoses.
Things to carry: at least 3 tank drain hoses. You need then for length and sometimes the hoses crack. I use a clear fitting between the dump valve and hose, it may seem nasty but I can see when the tank is running clear to get a good dump. A connector for the hose to meet the dump station. A non drinking water hose, 20' to 30'. Optional: a sewer hose bridge so get a down flow at full hookup sites. A donut for the sewer connection, handy to have when needed. Gloves, controversial here, I do not use them but I do use hand sanitizer after dumping.

What about a flat tire? I need to see if the lug nut wrench in the tow vehicle (Honda Pilot) fits the trailer’s lug nut. Do you carry a dedicated jack just for the trailer? Car has a scissor jack but I’d assume like most scissor jacks it relies on a pinch weld to safely lift the car so probably not useable for the trailer.

Tires. Check the ages of your tires, 5 years is max. What type are they? If they are China Bombs invest in a set of Goodyear Endurance. Old tires blow and will destroy the side of your camper. Keep the tires aired up properly, I use max pressure and have not had an issue. Get a TPMS system for your camper. You need to monitor what is going on back there. I carry a bottle jack and a T- lug wrench. You can also but a tire changing "ramp" where you back the good tire onto it and it lifts the flat tire up. If you blow a tire, replace both on that side, the one tire could be weakened from carrying the load of the camper. On long trips I carry 2 spares just because.

Wheel chucks and boards to level the trailer. Chucks of 2x4 good enough? I assume the trailer stabilizers are not meant to actually level the trailer.

I use load leveling "Legos". Boards are heavy BUT have their place. The leveling blocks help with the side to side. and if needed use a ramp made from the blocks. I carry 3 packs of the blocks. After the wheels I put 4-5 blocks under the tongue jack and unhook, and level front to back. Use the remaining blocks on the jacks. Wood blocks can help in an extremely unlevel site. Be careful with sites like that, you would not believe what I have seen people do. All sites require chooks, get the black solid chocks, the plastic yellow ones can be crushed. The stabilizer are just that, to keep the camper from rocking, they are not designed to be jacks and lift.

Trailer came with a cord for hooking up to 30 amp power I think. I assume there are also adapters in case all you have is 50 amp hook up?

Most sites will have a 20/30 and a lot have 50 amp. I have a 50 amp camper and have a "dog bone" adapter to run on a 30 amp and even down to a 20 if needed. I have yet to run into a 50/20 site with no 30. I dogbone down all the time to a 30, in fact my home connection is a 30, not a 50. I carry my 30 amp cord with me just in case the power pedestal is to far for my 50 AMP cord. I have had to use both cords where the pedestal was at the front of the site and my RVs connector is on the back of the rig.

Need a white hose for water hook up and I hear a pressure regulator is not a bad idea.

I have a pressure regulator with a gauge and I use a inline water filter on a white hose. I carry 2 hoses and have needed them. One of the hoses actually is super flexible and does not kink or tangle.

We’ll probably use a Coleman type camping stove to do most of the cooking outdoors.

Blackstone 17"

Probably buy an electric space heater to use for heat not only to save propane but I hear the heaters in campers can be noisy.

Propane furnaces get the chill out but I do not run mine unless it is below freezing. Space heaters work great, we have one of those that looks like a big wooden box on wheels that does a perfect job.

I’m sure I’m missing a lot of things. Other than dishes, blankets etc, anyone have other trailer related recommendations?

All items are preferential. TOOLS! Carry a bunch, something will break and you will need them. If you camp without full hookup look at a tote tank, that way you do not have to move the camper to dump if your tanks get full. I can go for a week on the black tank, 2-3 days on a grey tank.
You will buy stuff and then realize you do not need a lot of the stuff. As you gain experience you will start to pre-think about where you are going and what you need.

Thanks

 

[77cruiser]

If your waste line doesn't have a valve at the end it's a good idea to add one. My black water drain would always leak a bit & when you take the cap off it would always come gushing out. Too by adding the valve you can close it & back fill the black tank from the gray water if you only have one drain. I drain the black then close the valve at the end & open the gray water drain & it goes to the black tank to help flush it.
Don't leave the black tank drain open if you happen to be at a full hookup site, you'll build a turd pyramid that will be hard to get rid of.

 

[Chevelle_Nut]

If your waste line doesn't have a valve at the end it's a good idea to add one. My black water drain would always leak a bit & when you take the cap off it would always come gushing out. Too by adding the valve you can close it & back fill the black tank from the gray water if you only have one drain. I drain the black then close the valve at the end & open the gray water drain & it goes to the black tank to help flush it.
Don't leave the black tank drain open if you happen to be at a full hookup site, you'll build a turd pyramid that will be hard to get rid of.

And you can get bugs crawling up the hose. I don't hook up the sewer until I have to, that is what tanks are for.

 

[kmakar]

Seal any open holes in the floors inside cabinets around any piping any penetrations with spray foam. Mice can get into the smallest openings. We've had mice in our campers and it sucks.

 

[JohnC]

I’ve got to do more research on it but the camper has a Thetford recirculating toilet. I think it’s basically a self contained toilet with an approx 6 gallon holding tank.
I knew nothing about it. I think you have to use chemicals for the smell and my goal would be to minimize putting much “solids” in it.

What Is A Recirculating Toilet? | Tanks On Demand

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As far as emptying, I think there’s a valve on the inside of the camper and a valve at the drainage point outside.

 

[JohnC]

Don't leave the black tank drain open if you happen to be at a full hookup site, you'll build a turd pyramid that will be hard to get rid of.

I would very much like to avoid this. Lol.

The tank totes… are those just for grey water? Where do you empty them?
I assume a full hookup means in part that you have a drain for your waste at each site instead of a single dump station?

If you have a tank tote, let’s say it’s full of grey water. Do you wheel it to the dump station or can you just empty it in the restroom? Sorry if these are silly questions. I don’t want to break any unwritten rules of the RV sites.

If you have a little grey water do people ever drain it in the bushes at the camp site or is that a big no no?

Chevelle Nut, you mentioned keeping a few gallons of water in the black water tank to loosen things up. If you are heading home after a few days camping, where do you drain those few gallons in the tank? Find a dump station near your home?

Again, sorry if these are stupid questions.

 

[kmakar]

Grey water can be let out on open ground, but if you're on a full hookup site, you can dump onsite. Grey water is just sink and shower water and those who "rough it" just let the water run on the ground.

 

[Chevelle_Nut]

Grey water can be let out on open ground, but if you're on a full hookup site, you can dump onsite. Grey water is just sink and shower water and those who "rough it" just let the water run on the ground.

It is illegal in most camp grounds to release grey water onto the ground.

 

[Chevelle_Nut]

I would very much like to avoid this. Lol.

The tank totes… are those just for grey water? Where do you empty them?
I assume a full hookup means in part that you have a drain for your waste at each site instead of a single dump station?

If you have a tank tote, let’s say it’s full of grey water. Do you wheel it to the dump station or can you just empty it in the restroom? Sorry if these are silly questions. I don’t want to break any unwritten rules of the RV sites.

If you have a little grey water do people ever drain it in the bushes at the camp site or is that a big no no?

Chevelle Nut, you mentioned keeping a few gallons of water in the black water tank to loosen things up. If you are heading home after a few days camping, where do you drain those few gallons in the tank? Find a dump station near your home?

Again, sorry if these are stupid questions.

Personally I only use a tote tank for grey, it is also designed for black water.

Full hookup refers to a site with water, electric and sewer. In Idaho as with most Northern states you will have electric only sites and potable water at another location. When we were in SD and NE we had to fill our tank with potable water almost 5 miles from the campground at a central site.

I have dumped grey on the ground once, it was our first RV trip and we did not realize how fast the grey filled with showers, we bought the tote tank right after that trip.

I leave a few gallons of water in the black tank just to allow the remaining waste to not harden. OK, gross time.. IF I want to empty that few gallons I use a 5 gallon bucket, empty it into it and carry it inside to a toilet. Not all of RVing is glamorous. At home grey water gets dumped into my gravel driveway.

If you find a sewer or septic cleanout at home that you can reach with your hoses, you have a dump station.

We camped at Bear Lake, ID State Park, really nice place and the Raspberry Shakes nearby are awesome!

 

[Chevelle_Nut]

Seal any open holes in the floors inside cabinets around any piping any penetrations with spray foam. Mice can get into the smallest openings. We've had mice in our campers and it sucks.

Yup. Had our first experience this year with one. Little rascal got in and ate a path in a cabinet to get to a few pieces of dog food. We caught it before we left on a trip to NY. In MD we were sitting in the camper and our pig dog saw something move and then we saw it. We ripped the drivers side of the camper apart and found a nest behind the drawer under the stove. We then moved a couch, took panels off, removed more drawers and eventually caught all 3 babies and tossed them into the woods. The dog caught one of them. We then vacuumed and cleaned everything thoroughly and put it back together.
Another reason to carry tools!

 

[kmakar]

It is illegal in most camp grounds to release grey water onto the ground.

I guess times have changed, but we never had a problem when we camped dumping grey water right on the ground.

 

[Shovelrick]

Seal any open holes in the floors inside cabinets around any piping any penetrations with spray foam. Mice can get into the smallest openings. We've had mice in our campers and it sucks.

Put some Steel Wool in the opening first then spray foam, rodents wont chew through the steel wool they don't like it in their teeth, I think

 

[Chevelle_Nut]

I guess times have changed, but we never had a problem when we camped dumping grey water right on the ground.

Can I Dump my Gray Water on the Ground? - Boondocker's Bible

The only place where you can dump your gray water on the ground is on BLM lands, but state laws may still prevent you from doing so.

www.boondockersbible.com