nervous about hooking up city water for first time

[Tweitekamp]

I have never hooked up to city water before. I have a regulator (40-50) and all the correct hose. We are going to a campground that has this feature for the first time so I want to utilize it. I have some concerns about traveling 3.5 hours to a campground to try something new and not have water in my tank. Insurance policy I guess you could call it. Would I be hurting anything if I fill my fresh water tank AND hook up to city water? If I don't turn on my water pump, I would just be using city water right? I just don't want to get all the way down there and have something go wrong and not have any water in my tank.

I just need clarification/verification that I am not going to do any damage to pump/hoses if I fill my fresh water tank AND hook up to city water at the campground.

The city water pressure doesn't fill the fresh water tank right??

Only advantange not to fill the fresh water tank at home is the extra 450lbs hauled down there. Guess I can haul it and dump it if everything works correctly.

Thoughts?

Todd

 

[pegmikef]

Most folks keep some water in their fresh water tank for just such a circumstance and to use while traveling. I don't know if I would fill it completely because then as you said you have all the extra weight. Having water in the tank doesn't affect anything when you hook up to city water. On the other hand if for some reason there is a problem with your fresh water hookup (unlikely) you can always use the city water to fill your fresh water tank on site. . . . and no the city water connection at the trailer does not fill your fresh water tank. You have a separate input to fill the fresh water tank.

 

[azdryheat]

I keep my water tank less than 1/3 full for potty stops and such while on the road. I've never had any issues hooking up to city water except when the temps got down below freezing and the hose froze. I just make sure to use a pressure regulator and a good water filter. One other thing I do is hook up a Y adapter so I can add a second hose for flushing my black tank at the end the stay.

 

[donr827]

Todd, it would help if we knew the year and model trailer that you have. Do you have a Universal Docking Center?
Don

 

[Camperman]

I have never hooked up to city water before. I have a regulator (40-50) and all the correct hose. We are going to a campground that has this feature for the first time so I want to utilize it. I have some concerns about traveling 3.5 hours to a campground to try something new and not have water in my tank. Insurance policy I guess you could call it. Would I be hurting anything if I fill my fresh water tank AND hook up to city water? If I don't turn on my water pump, I would just be using city water right? I just don't want to get all the way down there and have something go wrong and not have any water in my tank.

I just need clarification/verification that I am not going to do any damage to pump/hoses if I fill my fresh water tank AND hook up to city water at the campground.

The city water pressure doesn't fill the fresh water tank right??

Only advantange not to fill the fresh water tank at home is the extra 450lbs hauled down there. Guess I can haul it and dump it if everything works correctly.

Thoughts?

Todd

Can you try hooking up the city water at your home first so that you can check everything out and get comfortable with the procedure ?

 

[danemayer]

We always travel with at least 1/3 full fresh tank and always use the city water connection at the campground. Everything will work fine. If you inadvertently turn the pump on, it will draw water from the fresh tank and combine it with the city water. Sometimes at campgrounds where the water pressure is very low, when DW washes her hair, we'll turn on the pump to increase the flow of water so she can rinse her hair more easily.

Given that you have a regulator, I doubt you'll have any problems with the city water connection. If you did, as Peg and Mike said, you could always use the city water to fill your fresh tank and then operate from the pump.

 

[Tweitekamp]

Thanks everyone! It makes perfect sense what you are saying. I guess I could use the city water to fill my tank IF I FELT IT WAS NECESSARY just as insurance. We won't open the camper on the road unless the 3 year old needs to go potty. In that situation, I guess I may put 15 gallons or so in the tank just to flush if necessary.

Not knowing the campground, I just don't trust things always work!!

I went through all the sinks and such snugging up the water connections at the faucet. Surprised how most of them needed a 1/4 turn just to snug them up. I am just paranoid about springing a leak. Like someone stated, I could hook it up to water at the house to make sure everythign will work, but I have to hook the camper up and move it from the barn to house to try it. Bit of a pain to do. I am going to trust it works. Supposedly they did that at the dealership when I bought it a month ago.

Only problem with this situation is we don't have sewer so I will need to watch the length of showers! We should be just fine though.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[dw68]

"I am going to trust it works. Supposedly they did that at the dealership when I bought it a month ago" HA HA HA
Sorry to laugh, but chances are if you didnt catch it at the pre delivery inspection nobody did. I think the pre delivery inspection is a joke, other wise we all wouldnt have to return back to the dealer for a lot of these minor repairs.
If you have been running on the pump, you should be fine with the city connection.

 

[Silverado23]

Not sure where you are going but most of the rest areas along the interstates in Iowa have good water. You may want to check areas near your campground to see if they have water available, if you feel you need to fill your tank. Travel close to your destination and then fill. Along the shower thing, if you pick up a tote tank, showers really should not be an issue if you have water but no sewer connections. Something along the lines of the Thetford smarttote or other brands work well for dumping grey water when you don't have sewer available. I just use mine for grey water, never the black tank.
https://www.campingworld.com/shoppi...te-and-smarttote-lx-portable-waste-tanks/6073

 

[TXTiger]

As the others have said I keep some water in the tank for bathroom stops while on the road. You can hook up to city water at the campground with water in the tank and use either city water or water from the tank via the pump. I wouldn't depend on filling up the tank at the campground. If there is no city water or the campground is having problems with the water supply, you won't have any water to fill your tank. You should always have an emergency supply of water in your tank. Perhaps when you pull out of the barn you could stop by the house before leaving and fill some water into then tank. Just a thought.

 

[caissiel]

What I do to check my water lines is by having water in the fresh water tank.
I put the 12volt pump on and wait, while the taps are all shut, the pump will cycle on and never come on again. If there is air leaking the pump will run longer, and if there is a water leak the pump will just cycle very short. Just BRRUTT BRRUTT that short.

After I would feel safe to trust the regulator to do its job after there is no more leaks.

 

[Tombstonejim]

The on board shurflow pump runs at 45 PSI. If it does not leak using the onboard pump it probably is not going to leak on campground water.

 

[gasman]

We have had a couple of experiences with water system problems at campgrounds. One time we had a power outage. Since the water system was on a pump, there was no water available for several hours until the power was restored. Another time the campground experienced a broken water main which resulted in no water for more than a day. Although these problems are not common, they do happen from time to time. We always carry at least half a tank for insurance.

 

[LtlTwister]

"I am going to trust it works. Supposedly they did that at the dealership when I bought it a month ago" HA HA HA
Sorry to laugh, but chances are if you didnt catch it at the pre delivery inspection nobody did. I think the pre delivery inspection is a joke, other wise we all wouldnt have to return back to the dealer for a lot of these minor repairs.
If you have been running on the pump, you should be fine with the city connection.

dw68, soooo true. Don't even get me started about our experience when purchasing our Elkridge E26 a couple weeks ago. Let the saga continue... It is ridiculous all the things they didn't know or "forgot to tell us" or just plain screwed up on!! Good thing we love this 5th wheel so much! You know it is bad when I knew more about the camper than the sales people did. Should have seen the red flag right then. LOL