Things learned on our maiden voyage!

[MillMitch]

Originally Posted by Mrs.Shockley

Thanks. We've got two trips coming up, one weekend and one week long. This weekend we aren't staying in it, but are pulling it to a friend's house so we can thoroughly flush and sanitize the water system. We need room to work. We'll have electric only the next two trips. A little worried about those 30 gallon gray and blank tanks on the 5 day trip, but we'll see.

Our worry about that sewer house was it was so tight I'd hate to get it stuck. That would suck big time. The fence post idea I've seen. Might do that.

Most of our camping is electric only in state parks. I carry a 5 gal bucket to transfer gray water into the toilet. It takes us a week+ to fill the black tank, but we fill the gray in 2-3 days. Dumping the gray into the toilet gets us through 5 days.

[Mrs.Shockley]

Originally Posted by MillMitch

Most of our camping is electric only in state parks. I carry a 5 gal bucket to transfer gray water into the toilet. It takes us a week+ to fill the black tank, but we fill the gray in 2-3 days. Dumping the gray into the toilet gets us through 5 days.

We only have 30 gallon gray and black tanks. I'm worried about 5 days. I hate to do it already, but I think we might be buying one of those portable tanks to dump into.

[Larry0071]

Originally Posted by Mrs.Shockley

We only have 30 gallon gray and black tanks. I'm worried about 5 days. I hate to do it already, but I think we might be buying one of those portable tanks to dump into.

We ran 5 days with 5 people last week and never filled the black tank. The grey tank is your issue, you will need to drain that if you are showering.... and if you are showering your 50 gallons of fresh water is not going to last long. We seem to be able to get 5-6 USMC style showers from our tank with minimal additional hand or dish washing.

If you have a 2 basin sink, fill a few inches of hot soapy water in one, and a few inches of hot clean in the other. Wash in the one, dip/rinse in the other. No running rinse water over the dishes. This will save you gallons.

If you can shower every other day and do a hot wash cloth dry-bath the mid day, you may be fine.

Toilets do not use much water, and you do want to hold your solids in the black tank until you get the 2/3 full light. This will soften and help remove the solids and allow the paper to shred apart. You would do an awful lot of toilet activities to fill a 30-35 gallon black tank in 4 days. Like... someone would need to be sick.

[Mrs.Shockley]

Originally Posted by MillMitch

Most of our camping is electric only in state parks. I carry a 5 gal bucket to transfer gray water into the toilet. It takes us a week+ to fill the black tank, but we fill the gray in 2-3 days. Dumping the gray into the toilet gets us through 5 days.

Originally Posted by Larry0071

We ran 5 days with 5 people last week and never filled the black tank. The grey tank is your issue, you will need to drain that if you are showering.... and if you are showering your 50 gallons of fresh water is not going to last long. We seem to be able to get 5-6 USMC style showers from our tank with minimal additional hand or dish washing.

If you have a 2 basin sink, fill a few inches of hot soapy water in one, and a few inches of hot clean in the other. Wash in the one, dip/rinse in the other. No running rinse water over the dishes. This will save you gallons.

If you can shower every other day and do a hot wash cloth dry-bath the mid day, you may be fine.

Toilets do not use much water, and you do want to hold your solids in the black tank until you get the 2/3 full light. This will soften and help remove the solids and allow the paper to shred apart. You would do an awful lot of toilet activities to fill a 30-35 gallon black tank in 4 days. Like... someone would need to be sick.

Thanks!

We have a 43 gallon fresh, 30 gallon black and 30 gallon grey. I'm not worried about the 43 gallon fresh for our 5 days because we have 75 feet of fresh water hose and we're only about 50 or 60 feet from a water spigot. It's across a road, or we'd just bring a splitter and hook up.

There's a shower house and we may or may not take a shower in the TT. Probably will a few times, just because we never have! We bought used and have to make sure it all works before our 90 day dealer warranty runs out. We do know how to take a navy shower. We've done enough primitive camping to get by pretty well with little water usage.

I've always been told to start with about 5 gallons of water in the black tank, which leaves you only 25 gallons, which may seem like a lot...but us old folks have to tinkle in the middle of the night and my husband does have IBS, so depending on how that acts up, we may or may not use the bathroom a lot. All that is why we are considering a portable dump wagon thing. Our black pipes are awfully close to the ground though. I'm having trouble finding one at a decent price short enough.

Our trip is actually from Sunday to Friday - leaving on Friday, so five nights. We'll be out and about quite a bit, but with this view...I may just stay put and relax.

[Mrs.Shockley]

Oh I almost forgot a BIG QUESTION!!!

Do you leave a water pump on all the time, or flip the switch every time you want to use the bathroom or do dishes, etc.?

[Bama Rambler]

It's a personal preference.
We leave the water pump on unless we're going to be away from the RV for a while. Some people turn it on and off with each use. Either way works.

[Larry0071]

5 days and 2 people, unless his IBS knocks him for a loop... your fine.


My method for toilet use is like this: Leave about 2" of water over the valve after a flush. If the next person is going to evacuate only fluids, do not add more water. Do your thing, flush just until you see the water make the full 360° and step off of the lever fast so that you catch that 2"-ish of water over the valve.


If the next person is going to evacuate solids, have that person add water to about a half bowl (to help prevent or minimize "streaking"...), and do a similar flush. If streaking occurs, and it does at times.... Use toilet paper to... um... dislodge the streaking. Toss that paper in and do a second 360° flush, and no more.


You should be using a quart or so of water for a fluid expulsion, and maybe a half gallon to a gallon tops on a solids release. This leaves you a LOT of flushes before that black tank is filling up.


I personally leave the water pump powered on as long as someone is at the camp site. But if I were leaving the unit I would kill the wall switch that powers the pump and just flip it back on once we returned.


I bet you will come back and say to us that the black tank is not the issue.... the grey will be!


I would prefer to have a 100 gallon fresh tank, 70 gallon grey and 30 gallon black. That would be an ultimate setup in my opinion!

[DouglasReid]

Originally Posted by Mrs.Shockley

We'll be out and about quite a bit, but with this view...I may just stay put and relax.

What a gorgeous setting, and shaded to boot.

Mind sharing the campground info for those of us who may someday visit?

Thanks

[Mrs.Shockley]

Originally Posted by DouglasReid

What a gorgeous setting, and shaded to boot.

Mind sharing the campground info for those of us who may someday visit?

Thanks

Sure! https://www.campendium.com/energy-lake

We're in site C4. I saw the reviews and the photos and said, "This is it!" It's even near friends who've moved away so we can go to dinner with them and it's just far enough away for us to feel like we've really gone somewhere.


And look at this sunset! If it's half this pretty, I'm going to be a happy camper.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by maia285

The best advice anyone gave me before heading out was to check in on a Thursday or at least before most of the weekend warriors arrive Friday after work. I learned on the maiden voyage just how true that was. Not being masters of backing in the travel trailer just yet, we nearly filed for divorce after the first time, haha. I can't imagine going through that with a big audience. Now we like to get in early and open a drink and watch other couples nearly divorce.

Allways attempt to back to drivers side. Yo do not need any help to do this. Just get out and look at the blind side. Nothing is gonna jump in there while your backing up. 50 years of backing up boat trailers solo.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by Mrs.Shockley

Oh I almost forgot a BIG QUESTION!!!

Do you leave a water pump on all the time, or flip the switch every time you want to use the bathroom or do dishes, etc.?

Leave it on. it has a pressure switch. Just like a well pump switch.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Mrs.Shockley

We only have 30 gallon gray and black tanks. I'm worried about 5 days. I hate to do it already, but I think we might be buying one of those portable tanks to dump into.

You shouldn't have worry about a 30 gallon black tank, for a 5 day trip.
But, unless you're very conservative on water usage, you'll probably need to dump the gray tank.
In the 13 years we've had a tote tank, we only had to use it for gray water and NEVER black water.

[tyler811]

Originally Posted by Mrs.Shockley

We might have gotten it in...but it would have been a really tight fit on those ends. May be the brand we bought?

In our defense of TV - we were trying everything out and if we hadn't turned on the TV we might not have known the antenna doesn't turn like it's supposed to - something for the dealer to fix. And we know the DVD player works...and I got bored when the husband did the 20 minute each way drive to Wal-Mart for more of the stuff we forgot. (We bought the DVD on the first trip.)

As for Facebook - well how else am I supposed to brag about my new toy to all my friends?

Hope you had fun, we love camping. No need to defend your watching tv. I like to watch my morning news while cooking breakfast and having morning coffee. I like an internet access as I also read my news too, just like the old days when campground offices/stores used to carry the local paper.

[upflying]

Had a brain fart on my recent RV park stay. I unhitched in a nice level spot and lowered the stabilizers...and then realized the "pedestals" were too far away for my 25' water hose, 25' electric and 25' sewer hose. Pull everything up, hitch back on and reposition the travel trailer. This park was set up so the sewer and water was in one area and the electric was in another area.
I will never do that again.

[DouglasReid]

Originally Posted by upflying

Had a brain fart on my recent RV park stay. I unhitched in a nice level spot and lowered the stabilizers...and then realized the "pedestals" were too far away for my 25' water hose, 25' electric and 25' sewer hose. Pull everything up, hitch back on and reposition the travel trailer. This park was set up so the sewer and water was in one area and the electric was in another area.
I will never do that again.

Get yourself at lest a 25', preferably 50', extension for all of those three connections.

Then you can set up where it is most shady, level, etc. and not be lashed to the connections and forced into a less desirable setup.

[JayArras]

Originally Posted by DouglasReid

Get yourself at lest a 25', preferably 50', extension for all of those three connections.

Then you can set up where it is most shady, level, etc. and not be lashed to the connections and forced into a less desirable setup.

+1

Also add a longer coax for cable and a 50 amp adapter to that list.

[koller1509]

Originally Posted by Iwannacamp

I understand. My DW got me something like this...

https://www.amazon.com/Sorry-What-Sa.../dp/B07BF68MVR

One member posted they have a pact that anything said during that 15 minutes is quickly forgiven. Good idea.

Use phones or walkies and camp on. Stops the yelling. FWIW my DW is now my go to assistant.

I have the shirt with that saying!!

[TheWolfPaq82]

Can't tell ya how many times I've seen this over the years. Watching some campers trying over and over and over and over and over to back in TT with absolutely no clue as to what they're doing. Finally driver pulls out, drives around to the backside of site and drives straight onto the pad. I've watched as they went right thru a site that someone was already set up on. I watched a couple do that last year at a local CG and later when I went to talk to them I learned they were "Full Timers" for the last 15 years.

[Mrs.Shockley]

Originally Posted by TheWolfPaq82

Can't tell ya how many times I've seen this over the years. Watching some campers trying over and over and over and over and over to back in TT with absolutely no clue as to what they're doing. Finally driver pulls out, drives around to the backside of site and drives straight onto the pad. I've watched as they went right thru a site that someone was already set up on. I watched a couple do that last year at a local CG and later when I went to talk to them I learned they were "Full Timers" for the last 15 years.

I almost wish that's what we'd done, as we managed to back the truck off across the road and wedge a 6x6 site marker between the front quarter panel and the running board. The site was $25 per night. New quarter panel on the truck we've owned 40 day...makes it a pricey trip.

[mjones12]

Originally Posted by Mrs.Shockley

I almost wish that's what we'd done, as we managed to back the truck off across the road and wedge a 6x6 site marker between the front quarter panel and the running board. The site was $25 per night. New quarter panel on the truck we've owned 40 day...makes it a pricey trip.

An inexpensive lesson. Keep enjoying yourself.