Posts Tagged ‘RVing’

I’ve watched many RVers do it and read of experts who connect their water supply hose to the the RV first.

I doubt I’m the only RVer who does it my way, but I have a routine of connecting my RV water supply hose to the campground faucet first. Here is why.

• By connecting to the campground faucet and running some water through the hose I can flush out the hose. This is even more important the longer it’s been between hookups. Who knows what bugs, dirt, etc. have gotten in the hose. Certainly, if you connect the ends of your hose when not in use you keep the dirt out, but closed up that way a hose can get really funky.
• If you’re the first to use that campsite in a while there can also be rusty or cloudy water come from the campground water line when you first open the faucet.
• I’ve seen a video of an RVer who rigged up a Y-valve at the RV side water connection to bleed the air from the hose. By running water to flush the hose the way I do it, it also ‘primes’ the hose displacing most of the air. Just keep the end of the hose above the campground faucet while connecting to your RV.  (turn the water off first) You’ll get little if any sputtering from your RV sink faucets.
• While flushing the hose I’m also getting a good idea of what the water pressure is. If it’s really high I use my regulator. I don’t always use a water pressure regulator… but I’m not telling you that you shouldn’t. When we started RVing I always used one but over the years I’ve found that most campground water pressure is fine as is. And there are times when it can be very low. In these cases I don’t want the reduced flow a regulator causes.

I don’t use a lot of water doing my routine. It doesn’t take that long to flush even the longest hose and usually it’s 25 feet or less. Besides, if there isn’t a bush or tree nearby that needs watering I just water the grass so the water isn’t wasted.

So, what’s your routine? I’d like to have your thoughts. Please leave your comments below.

RVer Darlene Durham offers this tip:

I begin by turning on a light in each area of our motorhome, which for us is the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen/living area. I start in the furthest corner of the bedroom and push on each overhead cabinet door and every drawer to ensure it is latched. Sometimes a cabinet door or drawer looks closed but it may not be latched and can fly open during the movement of travel. I also ensure the closet doors and the door to the bathroom are secure as I make my way around the room. When all is secure in the bedroom, I turn off the light as I move to the bathroom and repeat the process in each room until I get to the front of the motorhome.

If I am interrupted during the process, I look to see which room’s light is still on. If the light is off, I know I finished that room. If the light is on, I know I did not complete securing that room and will start over from the beginning in that room. I always double check that I secured our mirrored closet doors and glass shower door as a glass door banging open during travel could result in broken glass.

The contents inside the cabinets and drawers also need to be secured such as putting non-slip material between dishes and packing contents, including refrigerator contents, tightly to avoid movement. When first starting out RVing, we recommended you have a checklist for securing all areas of your RV for travel until you get a process in place that works for you. This “flight attendant” process only takes a few minutes and has worked well for us for years in ensuring all doors and drawers are latched and secure for travel.

As long time RVers with tens of thousands of miles traveling in our RVs, we like to think we have learned a thing or two about RVs and the RV lifestyle. We hope you will join us on the road and enjoy this wonderful way of traveling. Get more tips about RVs and RVing at our website http://www.lovetorv.com.

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