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Old 05-22-2017, 05:40 PM   #1
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Newbie, questions after 2 campouts

I have. 2017 26BH. My family of 4 have somewhat successfully executed 2 weekend camp outs. I have a few questions.

First, if you are at a full hookup campsite, do you hook up your gray/black tank drain right away, or do you wait till you are ready to leave? Not wanting to get into too much detail...when we were closing things down, when I went to attach the hose to the tank pipe, when I took off the cap a small amount of obvious black tank material came out, is that normal? Note the amount of black take material was not a lot, but not pleasant.

Second, for the hot water heater (electric), do you leave that switched "on" the entire campout? How long does it take, for example, to get enough water heated for a quick shower?

Third, we are camping for a week in South Dakota this summer. We are taking a small dog along. We will e staying at sites will full hookups. If we leave for around 6 hours to see some sites, should we have any worries about leaving our dog with the AC turned on with the thermostat set appropriately?

Thanks for any advice!! Jeff
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Old 05-22-2017, 05:56 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by Jaums04 View Post
I have. 2017 26BH. My family of 4 have somewhat successfully executed 2 weekend camp outs. I have a few questions.

First, if you are at a full hookup campsite, do you hook up your gray/black tank drain right away, or do you wait till you are ready to leave? Not wanting to get into too much detail...when we were closing things down, when I went to attach the hose to the tank pipe, when I took off the cap a small amount of obvious black tank material came out, is that normal? Note the amount of black take material was not a lot, but not pleasant.

Second, for the hot water heater (electric), do you leave that switched "on" the entire campout? How long does it take, for example, to get enough water heated for a quick shower?

Third, we are camping for a week in South Dakota this summer. We are taking a small dog along. We will e staying at sites will full hookups. If we leave for around 6 hours to see some sites, should we have any worries about leaving our dog with the AC turned on with the thermostat set appropriately?

Thanks for any advice!! Jeff
#1 with 4 of you yes I would hook up sewer during set up.
#2 safe number is 1/2 to hour.
#3 We leave dog alone all the time just like at home jus make sure it is familiar with camper to lessen stress.
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Old 05-22-2017, 05:57 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by Jaums04 View Post
I have. 2017 26BH. My family of 4 have somewhat successfully executed 2 weekend camp outs. I have a few questions.

First, if you are at a full hookup campsite, do you hook up your gray/black tank drain right away, or do you wait till you are ready to leave? Not wanting to get into too much detail...when we were closing things down, when I went to attach the hose to the tank pipe, when I took off the cap a small amount of obvious black tank material came out, is that normal? Note the amount of black take material was not a lot, but not pleasant.

Second, for the hot water heater (electric), do you leave that switched "on" the entire campout? How long does it take, for example, to get enough water heated for a quick shower?

Third, we are camping for a week in South Dakota this summer. We are taking a small dog along. We will e staying at sites will full hookups. If we leave for around 6 hours to see some sites, should we have any worries about leaving our dog with the AC turned on with the thermostat set appropriately?

Thanks for any advice!! Jeff
At full hookup sites (with sewer) you'll want to keep your dump valves Closed most of the time. If you keep them open - the moment someone does #2 in your bathroom it's going to hit the bottom of your black tank like a brick and make a nice turd pyramid. (It's ok to discuss poop here lol)

Dump your tanks when you have enough water / material in them to justify doing so regardless of your hookup situation.

Question 2.. we leave our hot water heater on while camping, the entire time. It takes about 30 to 40 minutes to heat up. I'd turn it off if I thought to do so, but why? I shut it down when we tear down camp. Now if I was using propane for hot water, that's different.

The only time turning your hot water off would be critical - is if you run your tank dry. That element will burn out if it is ran while dry.
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Old 05-22-2017, 06:59 PM   #4
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Agree 100% with Bansai - hook up but leave valves CLOSED until ready to dump. We leave electric HW heater on all the time and also switch on propane just before we all take showers. I believe it helps shorten recovery time.

We try not to leave our dogs in the camper and go out. We did one time and the power went out while it was in the high 90's. Came back and trailer was sweltering. Been a bit leary since then...
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Old 05-22-2017, 08:10 PM   #5
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if we are staying for any length of time I hook the sewer connection up right away, same with water (also black tank flush) and electric. I leave the grey tank open black closed. When I need to drain the black I also use the black tank flush. Amazing even after 10 minutes you will get waste flowing our with rinse on.
Many campgrounds have rules about leaving a dog unattended in the camper. Many will bark if anyone walks by which is irritating to everyone else around you. Also as said, power does go out once in a while. If it's cool and you leave windows up, barking becomes an issue.
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Old 05-22-2017, 08:30 PM   #6
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We also camp as a family of 4. When I hook up sewage, the grey tank valves are opened, black tank stays closed. The day before we leave I close the grey tank and let it fill back up (we can almost fill up grey in a day). When I dump to leave, black first. Then the grey water dump will wash out the hose for you. Learned this from Pops, and he's been RVing for almost 40 years.

I run the electric side of the water heater during the stay. When we're all going to shower, I'll flip on the gas. My Atwood is rated for ~18 gal/hr on dual.
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Old 05-22-2017, 09:00 PM   #7
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I rarely have full hook ups, and I do not have a black tank flush. But when I do, I keep both tanks drain valves closed. I fill the tanks full, then open the black tank, then the grey tank to flush the hose. Reclose until I am ready to dump again. If you want to take a longer shower, you might want to leave the grey tank valve open, until a day or so before you leave. I know a number of people who, when they have full hookups go through and clean the tanks better then when they are at a dump station, as they have lots of time and no one waiting.

As for the water heater I leave mine on electric when I have shore power, you can also turn on the gas mode at the same time, to speed up the recovery time.

If we must leave the dog, I turn on the AC, and the radio for background noise. I also open the roof vent and crack some windows for air flow.
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Old 05-23-2017, 02:56 AM   #8
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As long as you have water pressure, the full hw tank can not run dry. Just to be safe if you don't have city water just turn the pump off before leaving the site.

The dog question depends on your own experience with you dogs. Some will bark at every movement outside, others could care less. We leave ours inside with the ac on or a few windows open. Power has gone off and come back on while we are gone but the inside temps were not dangerous. It's a personal decision.
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Old 05-23-2017, 04:52 AM   #9
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OK, so I am newbie also with 2 excursions under our belts, one full hookups, one boondocking.
I was prepared to offer advice, until I read everyone else's advice, now I am wondering if we are incorrect. On our initial outing with full hookup, we didn't open either waste valve, and on the second day, we had water backing up in the shower. A neighbor suggested we open grey water when we setup at a campground, but leave the black closed. He suggested a day or so before leaving to close the grey valve until leaving to have some grey water to flush the black from the sewer hose.
This seemed to be logical and worked for the rest of our trip, so let me ask, why store grey water other than to flush the black from the hose?

Thanks

The boondocking yielded other lessons.
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Old 05-23-2017, 05:23 AM   #10
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I don't think there's any particular reason to have the grey tank valve open, or closed. It all depends on how fast you fill the tank from showers, or dishwashing. Some keep an eye on the monitor panel more, some not. If you have a large crew, or use a lot of water, open is OK. We are a gang of two, so it takes a while to fill the tanks, and the grey water is opened to flush out the hose, after the black tank is empty. It's a personal preference. Also, I expect something to flow out when the black tank valve is opened, so it's open slowly, with the sewer hose end underneath to catch it.
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Old 05-23-2017, 07:53 AM   #11
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OK, so I am newbie also with 2 excursions under our belts, one full hookups, one boondocking.
On our initial outing with full hookup, we didn't open either waste valve, and on the second day, we had water backing up in the shower. Thanks

The boondocking yielded other lessons.
Either you have a very small grey tank or your crew is taking way too long showers. We always use the CG bath house when ever possible. RV showers are not designed to be used as a spa shower. If you have a sewer connection at the site then no harm no problem but it developes bad habits when you don't have a sewer hookup.

PS Showers are the first place that will back up from a full tank as it is visible and does not cause an over flow like a sink might.
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Old 05-23-2017, 06:06 PM   #12
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I always hook up the hose right away, but like others, let the tanks fill up then drain the black followed by the grey to wash out the hose. Sometimes, I have to drain the grey down some after a day or so because it fills up faster with two small kids getting baths...

I leave the hot water heater on all of the time, unless it is really hot weather - I shut it off at night in that case because it tends to make my sons bunk hotter (it is right under his bunk).

I also found that the chill-n-serve fridge under his bunk also gets really hot, so we don't use it. I plan to make it so I can set it outside and plug it in while we are at a site... one day...

We also leave our dog quite often with the A/C set to a comfortable temperature while we sight-see.
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Old 05-23-2017, 06:12 PM   #13
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Thanks for the responses. What I'm still wondering is why, when I went to attach the hose, when I twisted the cover off, why was there a small amount of "black tank material" that came out before I could get the hose attached. I didn't have the black tank valve open.

Given we've only camped twice, the first time everything was clean. The tank dump went as planned. But the second time there was a small amount of black tank material. Now I'm worried about the next time we camp, when I go to attach the hose....what's gonna come out?

I'm wondering if it matters which direction the black tank handle is turned? It was definitely pushed all the way in, but does it merrier if the handle is positioned horizontal or vertical??
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Old 05-23-2017, 06:39 PM   #14
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You might have had a little leakby - maybe something stuck in the valve. I wouldn't worry unless it becomes a re-occurring problem - then I would get the valve checked out to make sure the seal is ok. I've seen a bit in mine once or twice, but it seemed to be grey water...

Handle doesn't matter if it is horizontal or vertical.
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Old 05-24-2017, 07:01 AM   #15
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We leave valves closed unless needed. Our rule is use the campground potty for #2 unless it is middle of the night.

We leave hot water heater ON unless on gas.

We leave our dog frequently but also take him along for outings.


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Old 05-24-2017, 08:13 AM   #16
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Unexpected things always seem to happen with camping. I say this is why always wear gloves when handling the waste water. and clean your hands after. A tiny bit of paper may have stopped the valve from fully closing, or the wet sides of the drain pipe dripped to the lowest spot, the cap. It happens.
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Old 05-24-2017, 08:13 AM   #17
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Third, we are camping for a week in South Dakota this summer. We are taking a small dog along. We will e staying at sites will full hookups. If we leave for around 6 hours to see some sites, should we have any worries about leaving our dog with the AC turned on with the thermostat set appropriately? Jeff
Put yourself in your neighbors shoes and ask yourself Would you want to be parked next to a camper in which the owners left their dog unattended to for over 6 hours. while they went sightseeing?

If your dog is the kind that behaves then I wouldn't mind if you did. But as just happened to us Our neighbor camper left his 2 dogs alone every time they went out and one was well behaved but the other was a hound dog and he lived up to his breed and is was constant howling from the time the owners left until they returned a few hours later. That was on Friday evening and then twice on Saturday. The third time on Sat the owner was standing outside with the dog on a leash and for a good ten minutes all the dog did was howl. It was at point that I had a few words with the owner and asked if he really enjoyed hearing his dog act that way. His wife then added that it was the dogs first camping trip I said it didn't matter That breed of dog will howl any time but that the owners were very inconsiderate for allowing the dog to act that way.

So just my opinion If your dog is well behaved I see nothing wrong with leaving them in the nice A/C camper But on the other hand if your dog does nothing but howl or bark the whole time your away then take them along with you.


AFTERALL ITS NOT JUST YOUR VACATION ITS THE DOGS VACATION ALSO AS THEY ARE PART OF THE FAMILY
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Old 05-24-2017, 08:27 AM   #18
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Hook up sewer hose when setting up, leaving both valves closed. Empty when needed.

Leave the WH on when at the camper, except when DW uses the electric hair dryer. I have a remote monitor which reads the current (amps) usage at any given time. If both are on I'm close to the 30 amp limit.

If the A/C is on and running, WH on and heating with electric, microwave in use, a breaker will trip.

Just have to monitor what's in use at any given time.

Don't have a dog now, but when we did leave, we covered the windows to avoid any visual distractions for the dog.

Also left a radio on at low volume. This was in our former class A with 50 amp service. Left everything on because usage wasn't a issue and it had a power shedding feature to shut down if the limit was reached.

Personally I would turn off the WH when leaving the dog inside when your gone, to avoid any chance of tripping a breaker with the A/C running also.

When you return, turn it back on. Doesn't take long to get hot water anyway.

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Old 05-24-2017, 09:43 AM   #19
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My dog eats the most expensive things within range of his mouth whenever he's unattended. He's still in 'puppy phase' so I'm hoping that won't last.

Honestly the longest I've ever left one of our dogs unattended while camping was for maybe an hour, and I was down at the lake trying to catch dinner, within ear shot of the dog. Some dogs are better behaved than others, I imagine the decision to leave a dog behind for any stretch of time is 100% dependent on your dog's disposition and the climate. If a power failure is going to result in my dog getting cooked, I wouldn't have a very good time leaving him behind.
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Old 05-24-2017, 11:50 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaums04 View Post
I have. 2017 26BH. My family of 4 have somewhat successfully executed 2 weekend camp outs. I have a few questions.

First, if you are at a full hookup campsite, do you hook up your gray/black tank drain right away, or do you wait till you are ready to leave? Not wanting to get into too much detail...when we were closing things down, when I went to attach the hose to the tank pipe, when I took off the cap a small amount of obvious black tank material came out, is that normal? Note the amount of black take material was not a lot, but not pleasant.

Second, for the hot water heater (electric), do you leave that switched "on" the entire campout? How long does it take, for example, to get enough water heated for a quick shower?

Third, we are camping for a week in South Dakota this summer. We are taking a small dog along. We will e staying at sites will full hookups. If we leave for around 6 hours to see some sites, should we have any worries about leaving our dog with the AC turned on with the thermostat set appropriately?

Thanks for any advice!! Jeff
As many others have said. As for Q#1, I hook up my black/grey water hose either during my set up or the next day if I'm getting to my campsite in the evening. I leave the valves closed until I want to dump. I usually dump a little gray water out several times over the weekend to keep the tank from backing up into my shower, but I want to have nearly a full grey water tank when I dump my black tank to flush out the hose. When hooking the black/grey hose, hold the opening so that when you take the cap off the liquid dribble goes into the hose, not on the ground.
As for Q#2, I leave my electric switch to the HW tank turned on the entire campout. I turn it off the morning we are leaving after everyone has showered.
As for Q#3, I leave my A/C on when we are camping in hot weather, but away from the trailer, to keep the trailer cool when we return or for our dog. However, make sure you have the fan set to "high" not "low" because the A/C may ice up if only on the "low" setting. I do turn off the water to the trailer when we leave for any length of time. I've heard too many horror stories of water flooding an RV when the owners are away. Turning off the water spigot is safe prevention.
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