Newbie Questions: small details about 1st trip

[Shapi]

Good morning all. I had a few random newbie questions, that are popping into my head as we prepare for our first trip in our Class A MH, a 2007 Damon Outlaw:

1. While driving and kids/DW are able to use the bathroom, do I leave the water pump ON while driving or do I teach them to turn it on, use the bathroom, then turn it off. Or again is it ok just to leave on.

2. When I go to a campground that has hook ups and I use their water, do I need to turn the pump in my MH on, or doe the city water system have enough pressure that I won't need to turn the pump on (yes I did buy a pressure regulator for the hose )

4. When at a campground or parked, do you leave your water heater on all the time?

3. Do you fill your water tank before you leave the campgrounds. That may seem odd, but we are in a drought here in California and I could see some operators getting peeved at that.

4. While driving do you turn on the generator so that you can operate the A/C's for the kids? Do I have to turn on the generator to run the A/C while the coach is running? (I think I do?)

Thanks in advance for having the patience to answer!

[bdickson]

Great questions! Here are some answers from our personal experience, I'm sure others will chime in:

1. We turn on the water pump as we disconnect from campsite water supply and it stays on until we hook up again.

2. While hooked up to a campground water supply the pump should be turned off.

3. Filling the water tank (apart from drought restrictions) really depends on how far you plan to go before the next hookup. Remember that water weighs 8 pounds per gallon, so filling a 60 gallon tank means you are hauling almost 500 pounds of weight. We usually run with the water tank 1/3 to 1/2 full.

4. Water heater: depends on whether yours is gas only or gas/electric. We leave ours set to electric all the time. While hooked up in a campground it's "free" heat.

5. Yes, to run the AC while driving the generator needs to be on. Most people do that whenever they need to, but just remember that a generator can burn up to a gallon of fuel an hour. On most coaches the generator will shut off at a quarter of a tank to prevent you running out of fuel.

Good luck and happy camping!

[450Donn]

Originally Posted by Shapi

Good morning all. I had a few random newbie questions, that are popping into my head as we prepare for our first trip in our Class A MH, a 2007 Damon Outlaw:

1. While driving and kids/DW are able to use the bathroom, do I leave the water pump ON while driving or do I teach them to turn it on, use the bathroom, then turn it off. Or again is it ok just to leave on.on off

2. When I go to a campground that has hook ups and I use their water, do I need to turn the pump in my MH on, or doe the city water system have enough pressure that I won't need to turn the pump on (yes I did buy a pressure regulator for the hose )pump only needs to be on when using water from the onboard tank

4. When at a campground or parked, do you leave your water heater on all the time?yes

3. Do you fill your water tank before you leave the campgrounds. That may seem odd, but we are in a drought here in California and I could see some operators getting peeved at that.if necessary yes, I would add water before I move on. But only enough to last me to the next full hookup. Water is heavy and it is sort of silly to carry more than necessary

4. While driving do you turn on the generator so that you can operate the A/C's for the kids? Do I have to turn on the generator to run the A/C while the coach is running? (I think I do?)yes, run the generator as necessary to use the AC

Thanks in advance for having the patience to answer!

Best advise any one can give you is have fun and maintain your sense of humor

[PyrateSilly]

1 - We turn on the pump when needed.

2 - The only time I have turned the pump on while at a campground and hooked to theirs is when the pressure dropped and it was trickling out.

4 - At a campground and hooked to shore power .... yes the water heater stays on electric.

3 - We have a 100 gallon water tank, we fill to at least 25 gallons if we know we are going to be hooked to water soon, if not then we have been known to fill it most of the way. We have been hooked to CG water and have had the water go out with a problem with the water being down for at least 10 hours. Nice to have a back up in those cases.

4 - Very rarely do we need to turn on the generator while going down the road. Our dash air works fairly decent and besides we make it a point to stop for lunch or to take a little break while during the hottest part of the day. If we do need the AC then yes you need to have the generator running.

[Go Dawgs]

All great questions and great answers. Enjoy yourself and enjoy the memories you are making. My kids get excited every time we go camping, even if it's only 5 miles from home.

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by Shapi

Good morning all. I had a few random newbie questions, that are popping into my head as we prepare for our first trip in our Class A MH, a 2007 Damon Outlaw:

1. While driving and kids/DW are able to use the bathroom, do I leave the water pump ON while driving or do I teach them to turn it on, use the bathroom, then turn it off. Or again is it ok just to leave on.

On my coach I can leave the water pump switch on all the time we traveling and it comes on automatically when the faucet is opened.

2. When I go to a campground that has hook ups and I use their water, do I need to turn the pump in my MH on, or doe the city water system have enough pressure that I won't need to turn the pump on (yes I did buy a pressure regulator for the hose )

No, I don't see any reason to run your pump when connected to CG water.

4. When at a campground or parked, do you leave your water heater on all the time?

We leave the AC on to the WH all the time while at the CG, then turn the LPG on before taking showers to make the hot water last longer.

3. Do you fill your water tank before you leave the campgrounds. That may seem odd, but we are in a drought here in California and I could see some operators getting peeved at that.

Yes, if the CG water is good we top off the freshwater tank before leaving.

4. While driving do you turn on the generator so that you can operate the A/C's for the kids? Do I have to turn on the generator to run the A/C while the coach is running? (I think I do?)

We don't have kids that travel with us, but if the temp outside is really hot then we run the generator and both A/C's for comfort. Yes, you have to run the generator to operate the A/C's while driving.

Thanks in advance for having the patience to answer!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

[Dalsn1]

My advice is to turn on the water pump only when needed. turn it off after each use. If you develop a small leak or leave a facet cracked open you will pump out your fresh water tank. We had a small leak at the out side facet and lost our fresh water over night, it was raining out so we didn't notice the leak.

[Scarab0088]

Shapi,

All the answers above are great - so here's the Outlaw specific info (red below):

Originally Posted by Shapi

Good morning all. I had a few random newbie questions, that are popping into my head as we prepare for our first trip in our Class A MH, a 2007 Damon Outlaw:
(HOPE YOU HAVE FUN! But how could you not, being in an OUTLAW!!)

1. While driving and kids/DW are able to use the bathroom, do I leave the water pump ON while driving or do I teach them to turn it on, use the bathroom, then turn it off. Or again is it ok just to leave on.
(With kids, I would leave the water pump on while driving. With the pump switch in a line on the panel with several other systems, it's best for kids to leave the switches alone)

2. When I go to a campground that has hook ups and I use their water, do I need to turn the pump in my MH on, or doe the city water system have enough pressure that I won't need to turn the pump on (yes I did buy a pressure regulator for the hose )
(The pump will supplement a low pressure shore feed - if needed. But remember the pump pulls from the fresh water tank. Something to watch.)

4. When at a campground or parked, do you leave your water heater on all the time?
(No, we turn if off when not in use. Unless you have the optional / aftermarket electric heater circuit, it will only take 15-20 min to reach full temp from cold, and uses less propane than leaving it run. And we always turn off the shore water feed when leaving the RV...the shore water feed connection is right behind the bathroom cabinet (look up just inside the cabinet) so a leak just inside the RV could be a BIG PROBLEM).

3. Do you fill your water tank before you leave the campgrounds. That may seem odd, but we are in a drought here in California and I could see some operators getting peeved at that.
(We have filled the tank from campgrounds - but all depends on the water quality. It is best to drive without the extra weight of full tanks if you are just going between destinations (for MPG), but don't let it get too low or you could get stuck without water if there is a problem at the other end of the drive. The campground will never know if you filled-up or just took a LONG shower or 3.)

4. While driving do you turn on the generator so that you can operate the A/C's for the kids? Do I have to turn on the generator to run the A/C while the coach is running? (I think I do?)
(YES - it is made to work that way. Yes - the AirCon requires the gennie to run and is only uses about .75 gallon an hour)

Thanks in advance for having the patience to answer!

Best luck

[Shapi]

Thanks all for the help and guidance.