Permanent Camp Site--first timer questions

[Lowes48fan1]

We've rented a campsite on a lake in Wisconsin for the entire season. Until this year, we've traveled to different campgrounds and never stayed more than a week at a time.

I'm interested in learning what others who leave their camper all season do when it comes to leaving the unit from weekend to weekend.

1. Water--I plan to turn off the water each time we leave.
2. Slide--should I leave it out?
3. Electric--is it okay for the house batteries to be plugged in to shore power 24x7 for three or four months?
4. Do you leave the AC on or shut it down?
5. I have an outdoor kithchen that has a small fridge in it. Is it okay to leave the fridge on or will it build up too much heat in the closed compartment. BTW, I have a Salem Hemisphere 282RK.

Any other tips, tricks or things I should be aware of ?

Thanks in advance!

[heavynlori]

Water off

Slides out - we have toppers

Electric plugged in 24/7 all summer

A/C off - vents left open with maxair covers on them

We dont have outside kitchen so no help there

Dont forget to put awning away !

[Bckdraft]

We have a small fridge outside we leave plunged in...

[tonyz1]

We keep ours on seasonal site for 7 months but do pull it out from there when taking vacation trips. Most campgrounds will have their own set of rules and requirements for their seasonal campers. Not sure if you are talking about a private lot or campground. Anyway, we leave our fridge on.

Water off whenever not there and pressure released from hose.

Our campground wants our slides to be pulled in when not there, so not to interfere with mowing and trimming.

A.C. is shut off.

We leave it plugged to electric but check battery levels every so often.

Happy Camping!

[Wiscampsin]

Seasonal camper for 10 years - here's what we did:

1. Water off when not there
2. We left our 4 slides out from April 15th to Oct 15th - never had a problem
3. Plugged in to campground pedestal during the same time period.
4. AC off when not there but covered roof vents left open
5. Never had an outdoor fridge so can't help with this one. Many friends who did have one never had a problem leaving it on.

Good tip from heavynlori about the awning. And I would suggest you strongly consider a EMS unit from Progressive Industries to protect your camper from spikes/surges/low voltage situations. Have a great 1st season!!

BTW where is your seasonal site?

[jtesta1]

What do you do when you leave your house. Turn off your water and water heater. Raise ac thermostat to keep from overheating.

[Sandbagger]

We left our slides out but put slide jacks underneath to add extra support and stability.

Rarely left air on and when we did we raised the temperature on thermostat.

Turned off water. Had a neighbor that did not and water line in camper broke causing significant damage. They bought a new camper.

Left outdoor fridge on.

[Wilco]

Water- Off
Slide- Out
Electric- On (Keeps the inside fridge cold and the battery charged.) Check the water level in the battery monthly.
AC- Off with the ceiling vents open. I installed vent covers to prevent rain from coming in when the vents are open.
I do not have an outdoor kitchen. You could install a grill in the hatch (or thru the wall into the kitchen) to allow the heat to escape. I would probably put a thermometer in the compartment and see how hot it gets with the hatch closed to determine if any changes are necessary.

[amblt]

1. Water--I plan to turn off the water each time we leave.

Agreed- and release pressure in hose.

2. Slide--should I leave it out?

We do.

3. Electric--is it okay for the house batteries to be plugged in to shore power 24x7 for three or four months?

We keep ours plugged in, but I've read lots on the cheap chargers installed by manufacturers being hard on batteries. Not sure what the solution is-other than replacing the cheap charger. Considering an EMS to protect from spikes and over/under voltage events.

4. Do you leave the AC on or shut it down?

Shut it down, leave roof vents open under the Max Air covers.

5. I have an outdoor kithchen that has a small fridge in it. Is it okay to leave the fridge on or will it build up too much heat in the closed compartment.

Can't answer that one. Our spare fridge sits on the deck.

Cheers

[CaptnJohn]

Please do NOT put jacks under your slides.

[Seasonal]

• Beer in fridge when you leave so there will be a cold one available when you arrive next time.
• You can leave the grey tank open most of the time if you are on sewer.
• People add extra jacks in front and back of the axles to stop rocking when walking through the trailer.
• If you get a shed, leave a box of wood and kindling in there so when you arrive, it's easy to start your arrival fire.

[mraynie]

We have a permanent place for our camper and all the above advice is good. Make sure the water heater is turned off when you leave. We spray the ground contact points with Ortho Home Defense to keep crawling bugs out. I hate ants. Close curtains to keep sunlight from fading things. Make sure unit is clean before leaving for the week, mice love crumbs and raccoons can find a way in. I've seen where they've made holes through the underbelly or from the roof as well. I'm hesitant to use a sonic pest repeller since there have been some fires and that seems like a common denominator. We aren't allowed to have any lights or a/c on if we aren't at camp. We have lights that we can easily plug in outside so we can see to unlock the camper. Keep a flashlight handy to turn on water if it's going to be dark when you arrive.

[Lowes48fan1]

Thank you to everyone who responded with great tips! Very much appreciated.

We'll be staying on Lake Koshkonong in Milton, Wisconsin. We made the decision because it is so close to home--1.5 hours. We knew if we were three or more hours away, we would visit less. Heck, being this close, I can go up for one night!

Originally Posted by Wiscampsin

Seasonal camper for 10 years - here's what we did:

1. Water off when not there
2. We left our 4 slides out from April 15th to Oct 15th - never had a problem
3. Plugged in to campground pedestal during the same time period.
4. AC off when not there but covered roof vents left open
5. Never had an outdoor fridge so can't help with this one. Many friends who did have one never had a problem leaving it on.

Good tip from heavynlori about the awning. And I would suggest you strongly consider a EMS unit from Progressive Industries to protect your camper from spikes/surges/low voltage situations. Have a great 1st season!!

BTW where is your seasonal site?

[Iwritecode]

Originally Posted by Lowes48fan1

Thank you to everyone who responded with great tips! Very much appreciated.

We'll be staying on Lake Koshkonong in Milton, Wisconsin. We made the decision because it is so close to home--1.5 hours. We knew if we were three or more hours away, we would visit less. Heck, being this close, I can go up for one night!

I know that lake. We went swimming in it a few times. I remember walking way, way out into it and the water was still only up to my chest.

When I was a kid, my parents had a seasonal site at Blackhawk CG in Milton, so we weren't far away.

[Iwritecode]

Also another trick is to put a cup of water in a solo cup and keep it in your freezer.

When the water freezes solid, put a coin or something small but heavy on top of it. Then when you have been gone for a week or more and come back, check the cup.

If the coin isn't on top anymore that means you lost power long enough for everything to defrost.

We always knew we lost power at some point because the clock on our microwave would be off. But we were never sure how long the power had been off.

[Scrapper]

We've been seasonal since 2000 and do everything mentioned above. If you have a 2-way refrigerator leave it on auto and leave the LP tanks on. If the power goes out the fridge will switch to LP.

Our campground allows solar and low voltage lighting. Some even leave their scare light on by the door. Each seasonal site has to pay their electric every month just like at home. I have a water feature that runs from mid-April to mid-October whether we are there or not.

[paulmac]

We don't have a permanent site, but our camper is kept at the campground in storage, then moved to the site when we plan on using it by the campground. I would like to have a way to monitor the camper when not there. I ran across this device that can monitor a camper or other things using blue tooth and a smart phone to alert you in case of temperature, humidity, motion, etc. I will admit reviews are not great. But does anyone use something like this to monitor their camper when they are not there? https://www.amazon.com/Blustream-Tem...estream+sensor

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by paulmac

We don't have a permanent site, but our camper is kept at the campground in storage, then moved to the site when we plan on using it by the campground. I would like to have a way to monitor the camper when not there. I ran across this device that can monitor a camper or other things using blue tooth and a smart phone to alert you in case of temperature, humidity, motion, etc. I will admit reviews are not great. But does anyone use something like this to monitor their camper when they are not there? https://www.amazon.com/Blustream-Tem...estream+sensor

You still need to provide a smartphone at the camper so why pay $50 for what is available free? I have a $5 thermometer I put on the counter that measures temp and humidity. When we leave the dog my wife's cell is plugged into a socket to keep the battery up facing the thermometer. We have the free app Alfred on both phones. I have Alfred on my phone and can see the thermometer and hear any noise as well.

[Mtelkman]

Originally Posted by CaptnJohn

Please do NOT put jacks under your slides.

I will 2nd this. Bad idea to use jacks under slides especially when you are not there.

[paulmac]

Originally Posted by CaptnJohn

You still need to provide a smartphone at the camper so why pay $50 for what is available free? I have a $5 thermometer I put on the counter that measures temp and humidity. When we leave the dog my wife's cell is plugged into a socket to keep the battery up facing the thermometer. We have the free app Alfred on both phones. I have Alfred on my phone and can see the thermometer and hear any noise as well.

Your right, and the other issue is the campground WiFi doesn't let you stay connected forever it will disconnect you. And since no one would be there to reconnect it you would not be able to monitor the camper anymore. I just would like to monitor things while the camper is in storage between uses so that if it detects motion inside the coach I could at least call the campground and let them know. I will have to keep looking around and see what else might be available.