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Scott
Trip Date 06/01/2018 Posted On 09/05/2018 16:59:49 |
Camping | Customizations | Cleaning | Water | Water Hose | Pressure | RV Water System Issues
When traveling in our RV, we have run into several issues related to the water hoses and water system. In this post, I share my experiences to help others be prepared.
Hose Y Fitting
First, I always bring a hose Y fitting so that when we are at a campsite, I can easily access an outdoor hose without disrupting the indoor water service. I find the extra outside hose very useful. Perhaps obvious, the most common uses that I have for the hose are:- Washing dirty pots and pans - Frequently, after a meal there may be a pan, crockpot (if we forget to use or run out of liners) or other item that needs a little scrubbing. Rather than filling the grey tank unnecessarily, I do a quick scrub outside at the hose and finish off the cleaning inside.
- Cooking with open fire - When cooking on a campfire or charcoal grilling, I like to have a hose handy for dousing the fire when I'm done. And, you never know, maybe one day there will be an emergency needing some quick action.
- Washing hands or feet ... from the 101 ways that I find to get dirty!
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Water Pressure Regulator
Between the spigot and Y adapter, there is a pressure regulator. The pressure regulator is important when hooking an RV to the water source at the campground or other fill-up location. The pressure at the spigot varies widely from place to place. At some sites that I've been to, the pressure was so high that it could've/would've damaged the inside of the RV if the regulator was not there. The water lines inside the RV, particularly when in city water mode, can only tolerate average pressures. You could easily break a seal and cause a flood inside the RV under a sink or some other hard to access (or hard to realize) location. Water, which will eventually lead to mold, is definitely undesirable. A friend of ours had to dispose of their RV when it was overcome with mold - bad news.Potable Water Hose
Aside from needing to have a potable (drinking water) hose to avoid leaching of rubber chemical compounds into the drinking water system, the most important feature of the potable hose for RVers is the EZ-grip twist attachment (see photo). The common inexpensive Camco hose works, but isn't very easy on the fingers when taking the hose off. In addition to never kinking, the Apex brand NeverKink hose also has the EZ-grip - both features are great. You can also purchase insulated or heated hoses for the winter, but I haven't needed one of those yet.I usually use my favorite hose but on the occasions, when I need extra water hoses, I add on those cheap hoses. I also have one of the compact 'As Seen On TV' hoses that works great when needing to reach your water source in a pinch. Since they are so compact, they are a great addition to your RV supplies.
When camping in some Missouri State Parks earlier this year, we learned that they don't usually have water at each site. We were planning to check-in during early spring following a late freeze, so all of the state parks had turned off their water to avoid breaking pipes. Therefore, I needed to fill my RV fresh water tank before arriving at the park. Luckily, I found a gas station that had space for me to park my 33-foot rig without blocking other cars. The employees at the station were very nice to allow me to fill my tank, however the water source was far from my parking spot. With three 20-foot drinking water hoses plus a 50-foot expansion hose, I made it! (We also have our eyes on some campgrounds that recommend bringing 100-feet of hose for your stay.)
See my related post about mysteriously missing water - it describes some other related aspects from this trip to Missouri.
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Water Bandit
I recently learned about the Water Bandit which helps getting water from a tap into a hose when the tap has no (or bad) hose threads. This flexible blue rubber fitting attaches to the end of a hose and wraps tightly around the spigot so that you can fill a bucket or jug. This allows you to more easily capture water at a park and direct it to your RV fresh water tank.
Draining Grey Water
At some point you may need to drain your grey water tank while you are parked. You need to have another hose for non-drinking uses - you should not use your drinking water hose to drain your grey water. Even-though you are just draining the grey water tank, the water still contains some nasty bacteria since it flows through common pipes. You will also need a dump hose cap with a hose adapter which will allow you to direct the grey water away from the site and into the bushes.Most grey water tanks only contain rinse water and some soap - especially if you sanitize your tank annually. Many parks, however, don't allow draining grey water as they don't want the campsite flooded with undesirable contents. If you are boondocking or on private property, always check with the property owner to determine if draining your grey water is permissible.
Finding The Parts
Reminder: This Wordy Explorers post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, we will earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for reading!You can easily find these items on Amazon and even get home delivery:
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