Hello fellow Sojourners. I’m your host Dave Laton and welcome to Travel With A Purpose, a podcast designed to keep sojourners and friends informed, entertained, and inspired.
In today’s episode we will be discussing a few things to think about if you are a new RV owner, or perhaps you need a reminder as an experienced road warrior. We all need reminding and additional learning as we go along.
Also, the information I'm providing is for RVing in a campground. If you are boondocking, there is a whole different set of skills you will need. We'll look at talking about those in a future episode.
Well, we've all been new RVers at one time and remember mistakes we made and the learning curve on our RV systems and processes. We probably still cringe at some of the goofy mistakes we made as we learned.
I'll share one that was a potential disaster for me. I thought it would be a great idea to hook up our freshwater line and black water flush line to the water supply using a Y connector. And I think it would have worked except I accidentally turned on the water supply for the black water tank, not the fresh water. It didn't take long before I began to hear some water running. I looked up and there was water running down the outside window of the slide out. I ran outside and saw water running off the roof and down the side. The black water tank was overflowing. Fortunately, I had recently done a very thorough cleaning of the tank. I realized what I had done and disconnected the water supply and started over. It really could have been a disaster.
So, the lesson I learned from that experience was to make certain I had hooked up the right water lines.
I thought I'd share some easy tips for beginners so perhaps you won't make the same mistakes we made. And, for some of us, it is a good reminder.
I want to start by saying check the weather for your trip. This includes the route and where you will be staying. It doesn't take much weather to cause problems. I talk about traveling in weather in episode 23, "RVing in Severe Weather.
Perhaps one of the most fearful times of a trip for new RV owners is when we pull into a campground for the first time. It seems everyone is lined up watching you for the sport of it. Don't be intimidated. It's what RVers do. But, we're probably not watching you and judging your backing skills. It is just as likely you happen to be in our line of site as we sit outside our rigs. So naturally, we're watching what is going on as you park and set up your area. RVers are generally helpful folks and like to meet and greet. Sometimes we get in the way so think about that as you become more experienced. It's a good idea to leave a person alone as they set up unless they ask for help.
There were times in my career when I was part of the process for educating new faculty. I was responsible to evaluate their performance in the classroom. The new instructor would be nervous so I told them that just because I was writing something down didn't mean it was a negative thing. I was more likely to be pointing out something they were doing well. Think about that as you pull into a campground and begin to set things up. it is just a likely that the folks watching are saying things like:
Wow! That's a nice rig!
I really like the color of that rig and how it matches the tow vehicle.
Look at how many slide outs that rig has.
Our next rig is going to look like that!
They might even be thinking, "They really know what they're doing.
And they might be thinking about how cute your pets are.
So don't assume we're sitting there with our clipboard checklist out evaluating you and looking for your goofs. Don't be nervous. Even if you must pull out or pull around and back in again…we've all done it many times.
Here's some practical things to remember.
As you get to your assigned parking place, don't begin to pull into it until you get out and walk around the site. Most of the time you will not have an escort so you want to scout out the location for yourself. You will probably be tired from driving all day and anxious to get set up. This is the danger zone. Don't get into a rush! That is when we make our mistakes.
Look for placement of utilities, possible obstructions such as picnic tables, firepits, trees, overhead limbs, bushes, and such. Also think about how you are going to back into the site if it isn't a pull through. This is a good time to discuss it with your traveling companion if he or she is going to spot for you. You also want to think about how far back to go or how far forward, so you optimize your position relative to the water, electricity, and sewer connections. You want to minimize your distance from them. You also want to make certain there is enough room for you to let out your slide out and perhaps your awning. You should know how far you need between the slide out and anything next to the site. Our requires a minimum of three feet but that is only a minimum. We certainly need more than that to be safe and comfortable.
You will want to see how level the spot is before pulling in. You may have to adjust where you park on the site to miss a tire rut or mound made by a previous camper (speaking from experience here). Pick the most level spot to make set up much easier.
A pro tip for all RV owners is to have a checklist to follow. It helps us to not overlook critical steps in setting up and taking down our RV.
Don't unhook your rig from the truck until you are ready to level. I recommend leveling side to side first. Then chock the RV tires to avoid rolling. Once that's done, I unhook and level front to back. We have a 5th wheel so certainly I make sure the landing gear is down before unhooking. Don't turn on your refrigerator or other systems until you are as level as you can be. This will allow your systems to work properly.
OK…let's talk about pedestal hookup. Most folks want to hook up the electricity first so they can get the air conditioner and refrigerator working right away. Before you hook up to the pedestal, look to make sure your pedestal breaker is off. Also make sure your RV circuit panel is off. And turn off your major appliances such as the air conditioner, refrigerator, and microwave. You are trying to avoid a surge of electricity to your rig that might damage the system if too much electricity is coming through the wiring.
If you don't have one, you should purchase a surge protector that also tests the pedestal for proper operation. First plug in the surge protector and make sure the pedestal is working. Then plug in your RV power. At that time, turn on the circuit breaker for the pedestal. Once you see that it is working properly, then turn on your RV circuit breaker. Then turn on your major appliances one at a time. I also have a plug-in volt meter to let me know how much power is coming to the rig.
By the way, most lights in the RV are run off of the 12 volt or battery system so don't rely on them to determine if you have power.
After I've leveled the rig and hooked up the electricity, I hook up water and sewer lines. It's just me but I'd rather hook up my water before I hood up the sewer lines. When you hook up water lines, be sure to use a water regulator. I have an adjustable one with a gauge on it. Some campgrounds have a lot of water pressure. Too much pressure can damage the water lines in the rig.
And just one more point about water, even if you don't use it very often, it is a good idea to check your water pump in the rig. We don't use ours but every now and then I run some water into the tank and test the pump.
Last of all I turn on the gas lines and activate the water heater. Don't turn on the water heater until you have put water in the tank. This is another reason I turn on the water supply first before hooking up sewer lines and turning on the gas. It gives plenty of time for the water heater to fill. It usually takes a small amount of time for the gas to work through the lines to reach the water heater so be patient.
Our water heater is gas only. I read a great tip for water heaters that are dual power. The author recommended heating the water the first time with gas. After this is done, then switch over to electricity to save the gas. You never know when there will be a power outage at the campground so extra gas is great to have. By the way, one thing on my wish list for our next RV is a tankless water heater.
Now, while I'm doing all the outside stuff, my wife is inside getting things ready. She checks all the cabinets and other areas looking for items that might have shifted while traveling our bumpy highways. Remember the warning if you've ever flown somewhere. The cabin crew will warn us to open the overhead bins carefully because items will have shifted in flight. That is also true in our rigs. No matter how much we try to secure things, there is always something that bounces loose. We actually check for this when we stop during the trip. We look for things that might have shifted, especially if something fell where it could jam the slide out. One thing that has helped us is we use hook and loop strips to secure cabinet doors, especially in the rear of the RV. These take the most beating.
I won't spend time in this episode to go into unhooking and leaving the campground. I'll reserve that for another episode. But as I said before, use a checklist to make certain you don't overlook something important. And take your time. Unhook all shorelines, turn off the pedestal circuit breaker, store everything securely, and close and lock all hatches. Then do a walk around to make sure you haven't left something laying around. If you have family or pets with you, do a head count.
OK…that's just some things to think about when you are starting out. There is much more to learn but that's part of the fun of RVing. And as you gain experience, don't forget to help others as they travel with a purpose.
Thank you for joining me on this podcast. If you are interested in being a guest on our podcast or know someone we should have as a guest, or if you have topic you would like us to discuss, please email me at: sojournersevangelize@gmail.com.
I’m your host Dave Laton and remember we glorify God as together we, “Travel With A Purpose”!
