Absolute newbie here/ water question

[Bigmanat87]

When I get to the campsite, do I hook up to city fill, then switch to city fixture when the tank is full? Or do I just hook up to city fixture from the start?

[pconroy]

You can do either. Most of us will just hook up to the water spigot and flip the valves to City Fixtures from the start.

There are times, when I use the campground to fill the tank and then pull from the tank with the valves on "Normal".

[RVermont]

I always carry a little water for dishes, toilet and showers so when I get to a site I hook up directly to city water and set my valves. Before I leave I refill as needed for the next section bn of the drive.

If I find that the camp ground water pressure is too low I might fill my fresh tank and use the water pump to provide the correct flow rates.

[Love To Travel 2]

Something to remember is that when you fill the fresh water tank, you are adding over 400 pounds to the total weight of the MH. We use campground water for dishes and showers and the toilet. For cooking, drinking and brushing teeth, we carry bottled water. We keep a little water in the fresh water tank, but not much, since I can't see the necessity of driving with all that extra weight. If you do fill the tank and don't want to drive with all the water and extra weight, then you have to drain the tank at the campsite, which will take hours and isn't the best thing to do especially for the campers who will be using that site after you, or let the drain open while you drive, which isn't the best thing either. We don't boondock much, so our fresh water tank isn't used very often.

[hboy]

Do what you want. If you have good city water, normally you will probably want to connect to city water and use the city water valve on the trailer. You can put water in the fresh tank, but when connected to city water you will not be drawing water from that tank. Like others, we like having some fresh water in the tank for traveling. Bathrooms stops, etc. So when we travel we set the plumbing to pull from the fresh tank and just turn the water pump on. Then switch to city when we can.

[Siamese]

Not everyone does the same thing. Our plan goes like this:

We usually travel with about 25 to 30 gallons. That way, we have our own bathroom and can do our lunch dishes. If we travel all day somewhere, we might opt to stay over at a Walmart for the first night, and we'll be able to shower in the morning.

When we get to a campground, we never use the city hookup. RV's aren't built all that well, and when they bounce down the road, that's bound to stress what may be some marginal plumbing. Rather than trust that whatever water pressure regulator I use is going to do it's job, I prefer to draw water from our tank with the trailer's 12v water pump. That limits the pressure the system must withstand. Also, when we go on a day trip and leave the trailer in the campground, we can flip off the 12v pump when we walk out the door. Every two or three days at the campground, we refill the water tanks. The downside to our plan, is that every time we run water, we have to listen to the 12v pump. But, that doesn't bother us.

When we fill our tank, we use a simple, Camco inline water filter that attaches to our fill hose. While we don't drink our tank water, we do use it to brush our teeth and wash dishes, so it needs to be pure.

Water destroys trailers, whether it's water that enters from the roof, walls, or the plumbing system. We strive to keep our trailer dry inside.

We drink bottled water. Our tank is for everything except drinking.

[kayakterp]

Similar to above, I always use "CITY FILL" when available with a blue camco water filter and a pressure regulator for everything except drinking & cooking which I always bring bottled water for.
I pull a TT so no need to fill my own FW tank and also my water pump is very loud when not on City Water which is another reason for bypassing my own tank

[jd99336]

As others have mentioned, I usually put some traveling water in for toilets, dishes and unexpected. When I hit the campground, I go to city water. In all my years of RVing I have only had one issue with city water an that was on this 31DS. I plugged in to the first trip on the 2nd year of ownership, went to dinner with friends and came home to water in the kitchen. Found that the hot water fitting was not tight and also found that the park had something like 85 lbs of pressure. My "standard" regulator was the flow restrictor type that they usually give you for free......THROW IT AWAY NOW!!!!!

Next Amazon order was a true pressure regulator with a gauge. Or...get a household version sold at Lowes or HD but may require a couple of fittings. These use a spring with a fiber/rubber seal to truly regulate the pressure, not just the flow. I set my pressure to between 45 and 50 psi and never have had another problem.

I typically turn off my water if gone for a couple of hours as it is no more difficult than remembering to turn off the pump.

Bottom line is there are many approaches, but only one that will make you sleep well at night. One of the advantages to using the pump is that at night if you have a leak, you might be alerted by the pump kicking on and off. So, to each his own.

[coachtcardoso]

I have a follow-up question. Having only done dry-camping, for 3 years, I don't know the ins and outs of using the city water connection.

We are currently hooked up to the city water but still need the water pump to get water pressure. Is there a valve I'm not seeing? Don't see anything near the black/gray valves.

2016 Jay feather 26BHS

[jd99336]

As noted in the previous posts, I do not believe their is a way to "augment" pressure of city water with the water pump. It's one or the other. If your city water pressure needs augmenting, you may want to get a pressure gauge to verify the pressure in case there is something else wrong, as normally that pressure is pretty strong (but not always).

You can either draw your water from the city water settings or you need to fill your fresh water tank, and use your pump. Can't do both.

If you are using one of those flow restrictors that they often give you for free, these can greatly reduce the volume of water from the city connection, so make sure the city pressure is truly the issue.

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by coachtcardoso

I have a follow-up question. Having only done dry-camping, for 3 years, I don't know the ins and outs of using the city water connection.

We are currently hooked up to the city water but still need the water pump to get water pressure. Is there a valve I'm not seeing? Don't see anything near the black/gray valves.

2016 Jay feather 26BHS

As usual I can't find a decent picture of our valves. But post a picture of yours if you can. Above the fresh water hose inlet are our valves.

I flip them to "City Fixtures" when hooked up to city water. If you still have no pressure then look for a clog or something.

[jd99336]

As noted in prior, make sure you valves are set properly. Your statement that you use the water pump to boost the pressure should not be possible if your valves are set to city fixtures as the pump only draws from the fresh water tank.

I have tried it and it doesn't work.

Now, I too have noticed low pressure when compared to my home showers and sinks. A lot of this is the water conserving fixtures. I had trouble with my bathroom sink with poor flow and cause the pump to cycle on and off. I pulled off the nozzle and drilled a couple of larger holes in the restrictive plastic screen and the problem was solved.

Many folks replace their fixtures with "normal" home use stuff to get better flow, but I have not personally done that.

Simple test of true pressure is to pull a couple of these things like the shower head and the bathroom sink nozzle and see if the flow issue is more to what you are expecting. If so, the problem is likely there.

Beyond that, you will just need to trouble shoot starting at the spigot and working forward.

[coachtcardoso]

Originally Posted by jd99336

As noted...



If you are using one of those flow restrictors that they often give you for free, these can greatly reduce the volume of water from the city connection, so make sure the city pressure is truly the issue.

Thanks for the reply. I've returned home and hooked up garden hose w/o the flow restrictor. I currently have plenty of pressure. The issue had to be that pressure regulator.

[jd99336]

Originally Posted by coachtcardoso

Thanks for the reply. I've returned home and hooked up garden hose w/o the flow restrictor. I currently have plenty of pressure. The issue had to be that pressure regulator.

Congrats...easy fixes are always the best. However, do get a decent quality true regulator that is adjustable and has a gauge. You don't want to risk a blow out when pressure is too high (that happened to me....and with the cheapo flow restrictor on).

Glad this corrected the issue.

[LeonDawn]

Jayco tells you NEVER switch valves while under pressure!!!!! Switch to what you need, city water, dry camping etc.... before you hook up and then turn the water on. Also just FYI get a water pressure regulator for the water line. We camped in a park in Colorado that warned you of extreme water pressure. Jayco recommends under 50 psi.

[Bayoutalker]

Originally Posted by pconroy

As usual I can't find a decent picture of our valves. But post a picture of yours if you can. Above the fresh water hose inlet are our valves.



I flip them to "City Fixtures" when hooked up to city water. If you still have no pressure then look for a clog or something.

I have a 2017 Jayflight 34RSBS and mine doesn't have any valves at all. Simply connect the hose to the fitting on the trailer and turn on the spigot. If pressure is present it will come out of the faucets. If not, turn on the pump switch and draw from the tank. It's automatic. To fill the tanks there is a separate fill port. My point is that there are many configurations out there.

As for the regulator, I originally used the one that came with the unit. After about a year pressure decreased quite a bit. I removed the regulator and pressure was restored. I then went to an RV supply store and asked for a higher flow one. The one they recommended was set to 50-55# and had a higher flow rate. For $20 it was worth a try. After installing it I had better pressure than ever and much better volume.

[JFlightRisk]

Another personal experience of mine, the inline water filter we use also reduces the water pressure a little. All things can add up in the end. Low campground pressure, plus a pressure regulator, plus a water filter, plus maybe a really long water hose, etc, etc. You can see where I'm going with this.

[RKHengst]

We have had camping trailers and fifth wheels for many years. However, we have never had a valve to set either. We just hook up to city water and use it. Yes, we have a regulator and filter in line, but we have always had sufficient pressure for all our camping needs. I can count on the fingers of one hand how many times we have used the tank for water, and no, we never travel with water in the tank. Just never had the need for it, I guess.

And we use bottled water for drinking and cooking, for ourselves and the dog.

[1Cruzin]

To date, i have not filled my fresh water tank. i always hook directly to city water. If I ever intend to dry camp then I will fill the fresh water tank. i don't even know if my water pump works. Maybe I should find out. Enjoy camping your way.

[corv65]

Make sure you use a pressure regulator at the city fixture .