New to RVing...

[Oystercopy]

Hello everyone! We just bit the bullet and bought our first travel trailer. Only towed it home from the dealership so far, about 70 miles away. We got a shorter than necessary tutorial on it when we bought it, but were concerned (mostly) with the water tanks (and what to do with them) and the electrical power. Its a 26" Puma Palomino. We're excited to go camping!

 

[Excalibur]

I recommend a youtube series from RV Tips and Travels. They have a series of what they call Master Class. A whole series of specific tasks and tips on how to take care of your RV. Walks you through just about everything you need to know for each task. I have learned a lot from this series and I have been camping for over 50 years.

 

[Oystercopy]

I recommend a youtube series from RV Tips and Travels. They have a series of what they call Master Class. A whole series of specific tasks and tips on how to take care of your RV. Walks you through just about everything you need to know for each task. I have learned a lot from this series and I have been camping for over 50 years.

Thank you so much! I went searching for that series on YT and did not find it, specifically. Will keep looking. We were only allowed such a little bit of time of training when we bought it, so we really didn't want to venture out with it until we knew more about the water and electric, particularly.

 

[Laura & Charles]

Welcome to the forum! Lots of friendly and knowledgeable folks here! If you put the info about your rig and tow vehicle in your signature, it’ll save you from having to repeat it with every new post/question. Also, it’s best to start a new thread for each question/topic. (A single thread with several questions quickly becomes a confusing mess.)

I suggest your maiden trip be to camp in your driveway. It’s not unusual to find some problems right ‘out of the box’. Some minor (eg loose knob), some major (eg furnace or water heater won’t light)… it’s nice to have access to tools and the home bed while getting things sorted out.

 

[jackiemac]

Thank you so much! I went searching for that series on YT and did not find it, specifically. Will keep looking. We were only allowed such a little bit of time of training when we bought it, so we really didn't want to venture out with it until we knew more about the water and electric, particularly.

https://youtube.com/@RVTIPSANDTRAVELS?si=xt_qEJnMEHzl5B79

Think this is the link.

Always keep black tank closed until emptying and flushing. Add more water to the tank after emptying to stop solids sticking to the bottom and potentially drying out.

Empty black first then grey so it cleans hoses a bit.

We keep a small bin for toilet paper and only put "dirty" paper in the tank.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Bearcatrp]

You’re on a great forum to learn and ask questions. Welcome aboard. Baby steps. Each time out, do a bit more. One thing me and the misses do is walk around the campground. We look for ideas. Don’t be afraid to stop by to say hi and ask about what caught your eye. Very friendly folks at campgrounds. Have learned allot from fellow campers. Good luck and enjoy the ride. If going used, get one made before 2017 (pre covid). Don’t go nuts buying a big expensive rv. Your first one will tell you what you really want down the road. I started with a 26 foot tow behind. Learned allot from that trailer. Am now on my second 5th wheel.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

Welcome, and you've come to the right place to learn and find out how to enjoy your RV to its fullest.

As far as water goes you are going to have two options. One is to fill your onboard water tank which will limit your use of water, and then what should be labeled "city water" which is when the campsite has a water spigot to attach a hose to (make sure it is a freshwater hose only, not a garden hose) that will give you unlimited water. But, the caution here is if you don't have a sewer connection at your campsite you will still be limited to how many gallons of fluid your grey (sinks and shower) and black tanks (toilet only) will hold. Also, do not turn the campsite water on full blast. Many have high pressure or unregulated pressure that could damage a water line. Most folks use a pre-set water pressure regulator to about 40 lbs and available at Walmart and Amazon.

Jackie pretty much summed up the simplicity of the water. Where you will find the biggest use and consequently take up the most room in your "grey" tank, is washing dishes. What my wife and I do is use a dish pan in the sink to wash and rinse dishes, not turning the water on full blast, and then take the collected water in the dish pan and dump it outside. Now, some may say you shouldn't be discarding this "grey" water outside, but water and dish detergent don't hurt anything. You will see many newer campers with outside faucets/showers on the campsite side of the trailer and their owners setting up a wash station where they'll wash the dishes in a dish pan, then rinse right onto the ground, same concept.

With electricity, first off get yourselves some kind of electrical management system; https://www.amazon.com/Progressive-..._B01N0W4CZ8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadi

to protect your electrical supply from the campground. Next is to monitor your usage in the camper. With a 30A electrical connection, you'll have just over 3000 watts of combined electrical power. You can find charts online to add up what each device you use and how many watts it takes. A couple of examples are your 1500-watt hair dryer and your 1200-watt microwave doesn't leave you much more power to say brew a pot of coffee.

Don't worry, everything will come to you quickly and soon you'll be hitting the road and enjoying your RV with the rest of us.

 

[JudyJB]

Instead of dumping your dishpan water outside where it can attract animals and insects because of the food particles, dump it in your toilet. Most of us fill our grey water tanks much faster than black water, and I feel the soapy water helps the black water empty.

Most campgrounds forbid doing dishes at a water faucet outside for exactly the reason about attracting animals and insects, and they instead provide sinks with hot water for that task. Some also will provide special drains for grey water, such as dishwater. Please use those instead of the ground to dispose of your dishwater so as to keep the campground clean for the rest of us.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

In reply to Judy, if you scrape and clean off your dishes before washing there are very little to no food particles left over. In my 16 years of camping, I have yet to come across a single campsite that I would have thought was "contaminated" by the previous folks occupying the site and doing their dishes outside, and my guess is you haven't either, And, as far as our practice of dumping dishwater goes, we would only even consider this at more rustic type sites where there is usually a wooded area around the campsite to dispose of the water, not in the campsite directly. Look, animals use the great outdoors as their personal bathroom, rain washes all kinds of dirt, dust, road oils, rubber residue, and lord knows what else off of our RVs and any tow vehicles. You can't tell me my dishwater is more toxic than those items.

Now, the suggestion of dumping the dishwater into the toilet is an excellent suggestion and this Is something my wife and I will do on maybe the last couple of days of a stay. But, we will only do this with the confidence that there is no way we will fill the black tank before our departure during intended use. We are also firm believers that other than being full, you can never have enough water in the black tank to aid in the tank flushing, and some dishwater with Dawn can only help with a more complete flush.

 

[Happy73]

Hello everyone! We just bit the bullet and bought our first travel trailer. Only towed it home from the dealership so far, about 70 miles away. We got a shorter than necessary tutorial on it when we bought it, but were concerned (mostly) with the water tanks (and what to do with them) and the electrical power. Its a 26" Puma Palomino. We're excited to go camping!

Hi, I'm also new to this RVing. I purchased a 26' travel trailer and quit apartment living to permanently live in a nice, quiet, adult RV Park. Been here4+ months and love my life (I'm 73 yo female). I have no clue how to figure approximate cost of running my AC. Any ideas?
Thanks

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

Happy, welcome to the forum. I suggest you start this question as a separate topic under New to the Forum section.