IMS Dry Camping

rtiedeken · 05-20-2015, 06:55 AM

I am looking to take my maiden voyage to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Indy 500. The track is only 30 minutes from my house. There is no electric, no water, nor a dump station. They will have water and sewage removal services available in the lot. I am a little shy as this is my maiden but looking for any info, or experiences to gain me some confidence in pulling it off.

It will be in Lot 1C in grass. I will buy my generators today. I assume I will fill up with water when a service truck comes around and remove sewage at the end of the race.

Is this a bad idea for a maiden? I figure if I need anything I can travel home to get it.

Lesson learned, in Indiana, on a holiday weekend, plan your trip and reserve a spot well in advance. All camping sites within 1 hour are booked. The track is a decent Plan B, plus I would love to see the 500 for my first year living in Indy.

mowdoc · 05-20-2015, 07:32 AM

I have stayed in camps at the Sturgis motorcycle rally where we depended on pumper trucks to empty our tanks. I have two things you should know/do.

1) never pass a chance to get pumped even if your tank is only half full. You don't know when the truck will return.

2) Operate the dump valves on your rig yourself, don't let the pumper guy do it. I had a guy break my black valve and I spent a day chasing down parts to fix it.

Fresh water will prolly not be available so be sure you top off your tank before going and take very short showers. Drink bottled water and use the camp restrooms as much as possible.

Be sure to wave at me - I will be watching the race on my outside TV under the awning at Lake Havasu AZ. and drinking Banana Foster Martinis!! The wife says I make the best on the planet.

Seann45 · 05-20-2015, 08:50 AM

Since you don't tell us what kind of RV you have we have no idea about your holding tank size or how many people will be with you.. Solo I get a month with my black tank and 5-7 days off my gray.. Leave with a full freshwater tank (as you say your only 30 min from there) and then have the pumper service only as needed they will probably be spending the weekend there if there are many trailers there.

rtiedeken · 05-20-2015, 09:22 AM

Sorry.

Jayco 23RB, just me, my wife and our Yorkie.

mike837go · 05-20-2015, 09:48 AM

Just 1 tip: (as modoc suggested) Use as little water from/into your tanks as practical.

When we boondock, SWMBO and I could do 4 days on 20/20/5 (FW/GW/BW) when we limited ourselves to 1 shower each and carried separate drinking water.

[quietly]Because we camp on her private land, I could do #1 clear of the trailer to avoid flushing the toilet.[/quietly]

oldmanAZ · 05-20-2015, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rtiedeken

Sorry.

Jayco 23RB, just me, my wife and our Yorkie.

2015 23RB has 90gallon FW and 39gallon each Black and Gray. I didn't see where you said how long you'd be at IMS.

dmward · 05-20-2015, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldmanAZ

2015 23RB has 90gallon FW and 39gallon each Black and Gray. I didn't see where you said how long you'd be at IMS.

90 if he has the optional tank, but still 48 (incl hot) if he doesn't. Should still be enough for a weekend or more especially without kids.

Raspberry · 05-30-2015, 01:48 PM

Just wondering how your weekend at Indy went?

rtiedeken · 05-31-2015, 06:47 AM

Thanks for asking. It went very well.

I had an issue getting the trailer hitched in the morning due to the battery being dead. I put a jump box on it and was able to get it done. I have to learn how to manually crank the tongue up and down. I also need to install a battery cut off switch so the CO2 detector doesn't drain it while its in storage.

I filled the fresh water tank at my house and hauled it 30 minutes north to the track. I was there early enough to pull into a spot and not have to back in. Thank God.

Setup went very smoothly. No issues at all.

We conserved our water usage, arrived Friday evening and by Saturday Sunday morning we were out of water and no RV water was coming around on Sunday. I have a plan in place to bring a few 7 gallon blue water jugs from Walmart as backup or standby should this happen in the future.

We ran the furnace for heat on Friday night as it was a little chilly. We ran the AC on Sunday as it was hot and humid. We also left our dog in the trailer while we attended the race with the TV and AC on and he was great.

I purchased and ran a Honda EU2000i companion most of the weekend and the 2nd eu2000i in parallel when the AC was needed. They ran great, very quiet and efficient and cool to put away after running. Well worth the investment.

Our black and grey filled to about 2/3, the dirt bag next to me dumped alongside his camper but I wouldn't do it so we dumped at the Flying J. We had 1 issue when dumping, my black tank valve was open or worked itself open, not sure. I asked the guy behind me for help as it was my first time. I closed the valve and opened the cap to attach the hose and well...... I got a handful. It wasn't pleasant. Attached the hose, paid my fee, entered my code and successfully dumped the black then grey tank, rinsed up and rolled out.

Brought her back home, unpacked and cleaned her up, and put her away until the next adventure. Our maiden voyage was a success and I loved every minute of it.

We even used the dinette as a bed for a friend that attended one evening. The 23RB is the perfect first TT for me, my wife, and our 4 year old Yorkie.

The next day we renewed out tickets and camping for next year, the 100th running of the Indy 500. We also secured our tickets for the Brickyard 400 this year, no camping though as I will be busy the Friday and Saturday before.

Thank you all for the great information, it was very helpful. I am glad to have my maiden out of the way.
____________________________________________
Jayco JayFlight 23RB
2009 GMC Sierra 1500 SLE Ext Z71
2 Peeps and a Yorkie

havnfun · 05-31-2015, 07:09 AM

Glad to hear that all worked out for you. Sounds like it was a great race/camping trip and that you have a perfect TT. Welcome to the Jayco Forum and share some pics of your setup.
Happy RVing,
Jeff

rtiedeken · 05-31-2015, 07:15 AM

Pics of setup.

dsmith3 · 05-31-2015, 07:40 AM

Thanks for sharing your experience. We also have the two Honda 2000's. Will be using them this summer.

Battery tip: I always disconnect negative terminal when put trailer in storage. Always fully charged when pull it out for next adventure.

Wally26RLS · 05-31-2015, 09:38 AM

Dont forget, at least with my 26rls, if you can get close enough to plug into your Tow Vehicle, that will give you power for your power tounge and slide out to operate (I know from experiance..lol) Our dealer had mentioned that during the walk through and it came in handy because I didn't disconnect my battery either and the parasite draw killed it. When it came time for our first trip it was dead. So I backed up till I was close, plugged in, raised the tongue, placed the ball and hooked up, brought the slide in. Saved me having to manually do it all!!!

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