Here Come The Questions

[Wanderer2]

I am planning on leaving here Friday AM. I am going to spend Thursday night in my rv here although it is supposed to get really cold and windy. I am going to a state park in SC-Lake Hartwell. I will have city water and electric hook up. They have a dump site for black water. I do need to practice so that's fine. Right now the RV is winterized. I blew out the water lines with a compressor because it got so cold. Hot water tank has been drained.
Should I put fresh water in the water tank before I leave or will it fill when I hook up to city water?
I will hook up outside filter. is pressure regulator necessary? I do have one.
Hot water heater will fill when I hook up right-turn on hot water faucet to fill? Is that correct? When I bought it it was overflowing outside. They said it was because it was too full. They drained and refilled and it worked fine. How do you know when it is too full?
Black and grey water tanks have been both been drained, and antifreeze in traps. Black water indicator says half full????
Do you just google to find nearest propane fill? I know truck stops, but does any gas company fill RVs?

I am hoping that everything is going to work OK, but being a newbie I know that I have a learning curve.
I am trying to avoid doing something stupid that is going to cost me $$$$$$$$$$$$.

There will be other RVs there in case I have questions so that makes me feel better. I guess I am just getting nervous about my first trip out. I have a lot to learn yet. That will be part of the fun. I have read the manuals, but still don't understand some things.

[Acadianmom]

There are so many variables it's hard to know where to begin. I have never winterized other than run the heat and put rv antifreeze in the drain traps so don't really know how to undo it. You want to be sure that there is no power going to your water heater until you are sure there is water in it. Mine is gas and electric. The switch for the electric is on the outside where the water heater is. You have to take the door off and it's a little black switch. I would assume that the tank would fill up if you hook up to the campground water. I always travel with water in my fresh water tank so I can use the bathroom. I don't know how the water heater tank could get too full.

I have never used a filter and don't drink the water out of the faucet but then again I don't full-time. I always use a pressure regulator. Put it at the faucet and it will also protect your hose. I travel with a 25' hose and a 10' hose because you never how much you will need.

The gauges for the black tank almost never works right. Stuff gets on the sensors and makes it show it has something when it's empty. After a while you will get the feel of how much might be in there. I have one of the clear sewer attachments I put on before the hose when I dump so I can see that it is flowing and when it stops. Always dump the black first, close that lever and open the gray.

I have gotten propane at gas companies before. The KOA near me sells propane.

Hope everything goes ok.

Martha

[Wanderer2]

Thanks Martha- I know how to turn the hot water heater on and then there is another AC switch inside that I will use as long as I am on electric. I think that was added. I am trying to make my own list of things to do in order so that I don't forget (CRS) something. I remember you saying that the black tank sensors aren't correct, so I will have to learn how to deal with it. I think that I am probably worrying more than I need to, but then again maybe not. Everything was working fine for 1000 miles of traveling, I am just hoping that it continues to do so after winterizing, etc.
I still don't have the tires solved. I took it to a place in Asheville that said they could do it and have done it before. The boss came out and he and the tech argued about how to best do it. Anyway, the boss said he would not put the braided extenders on and that i needed all metal stems which they did not have. Sooooo I will get that done when i find a place to do it correctly. I have the fish out of water syndrome right now

[Bethers]

To answer another of your questions... Your fresh water fill is separate from where you attach to use water directly. You need to fill the fresh water tank on its own.

[Wanderer2]

OK - I will put some in it before I leave so that I have some on the road. Thanks!

[JudyJB]

If it is going to be chilly, you also might want to pick up a small electric heater so you don't burn through so much propane. I have one that has two settings--1200 watts and 700 watts, but I run it on the lower setting. It really saves propane.

Does your hot water heater have a bypass valve inside somewhere? Many RVs have them that allow you to not let antifreeze go into the hot water heater. Have no idea why. Anyway, when mine was new and winterized, I had to flush all the antifreeze out before closing the bypass valve and letting it fill with hot water. I also had a plug that needed to be put in on the outside. Of course, I did not know that and some helpful men saw water flowing from the outside, knocked on my door, and fixed it for me. So if you see water running, it may be one of those plugs.

Big suggestion is to get to your campground early enough so you can do these things in daylight. I made the mistake of trying to do them at night.

I recently started using an external filter, and it does reduce water flow, but I think it is safer to use the regulator.

ACE hardware stores and U-Haul places almost all carry propane.

[snowball]

the KOA that I stop at in SLC Ut...tells us to use a regulator if in doubt use it won't hurt or ask when you check in
Propane can be gotten several places..some of the propane places don't fill tanks most do it might be good where ever
you are at to call and the truck stops do as well...here in Q even the hardware carries it.I go where it is cheapest...one
place even gives you a cold bottle of water..a small bottle of water but it tastes so good when you forget your bottle
I full time have never winterized...at times it should have been but was too late by the time I thought wonder if even though I'm here
I wonder should I winterize? ... have fun with your trip take a notebook and write down the questions that will come up
sheila

[Wanderer2]

Thank you all. You have been very helpful. I know that I will have to figure out some of this stuff as I go along and get a routine down. I have heard rvers say that they can spot a newbie a mile away -that is a good thing!

[Pooker]

Hi! Don't hesitate to ask other campers for help. They are a friendly group and always eager to help out a newbie. Don't forget, everyone was a newbie at one point.

I would have suggested asking a local RV repair place what they would charge you to de-winterize your rig properly and even go through the motions with you for everything you need to do. However, since you are leaving Friday, that probably isn't feasible. Yes, it's always a good idea to use a water pressure regulator. No, your fresh water tank usually doesn't fill when you are hooked up to park water, so you might want to flush out the tank and add about 1/3 to 1/2 tank of water before leaving. A few times I've been in RV parks where the water had to be shut off for some reason and I was glad to have my own. I bring bottled water for drinking for both the cat and me. Water supplies vary greatly around the country and I try not to upset either of our systems.

Propane is available lots of places - look for the sign depicting a portable tank. Truck stops, many gas stations, and a lot of RV parks sell propane. If you have a good campground directory (or go on line to one), it should indicate what's available in the park listings. DSTLS - don't sweat the little stuff. Enjoy.

Pooker

[JudyJB]

I was spotted on my first trip within about five minutes! The lady in the next spot yelled over as I was unwrapping things to hook up and told me her husband could help me with anything! I thanked her and told her I had to learn on my own.

Also, you might want to sanitize your fresh water tanks by dumping in about a cup of chlorine. (I have to use a funnel for mine.) Then fill your tank about half full of fresh water. You could do this at home so it would have time to slosh around. Turn the water faucets and shower on very briefly to run this chlorinated water through the lines.

Then when you get camped, you can add more water and use it for showers and dishwashing. It will not be horribly chlorinated, but it will get rid of any bacteria. And actually, I am a full-timer that drinks the water from my tanks! I am just really careful about what I put in them and I shock them with chlorine every few months. My motorhome has a full-house filter I replace every 3-4 months, and here in Florida I also use an outside filter because the water tastes awful without it. With the two filters, my water tastes great!

[Wanderer2]

Trying not to sweat the little stuff. I will enjoy more when I am all set up and get more educated on this and that. I am so tired right now that I will enjoy the rest. The weather is going to be nice next week so looking forward to that. Snow here and high winds in NC tonight and Thursday, so might delay leaving until Saturday. Last minute details are keeping me hopping. I am bringing a little electric heater and will put some chlorine in fresh water tank (thanks-forgot about that) I will let you know how things go.

[JudyJB]

After a couple of trips, you will be a super-expert!!