First time Popup owner

[jtorrisi]

Just wanted to say hi to everyone and let everyone know that my family an I had our first trip in our new/used popup.  We had a great time and are looking forward to many more trips.

Also...since i am new here, and to pop up camping...any usefull tips for the "rookie" would be welcome

[dcampbell1969]

Welcome to the board.

Useful tip - don't leave your 30a to 15a adapter at home, still plugged into the outlet in the garage. The 30a service at the campsite could be unavailable.

[jtorrisi]

Welcome to the board.

Useful tip - don't leave your 30a to 15a adapter at home, still plugged into the outlet in the garage. The 30a service at the campsite could be unavailable.

I have one at home and one in the camper...Thanks for the tip!!

[jtorrisi]

One thing i am not sure about is the water hookup....it didnt come with a hose or anything.  Do the campsites with water have hoses or do you need to provide your own, also i dont thingk i have a holding tank for waste water, does it just drain onto the ground? FYI... All I have that uses water is a sink

[uchwear]

One thing i am not sure about is the water hookup....it didnt come with a hose or anything.  Do the campsites with water have hoses or do you need to provide your own, also i dont thingk i have a holding tank for waste water, does it just drain onto the ground? FYI... All I have that uses water is a sink

If you don't have one with your camper you will have to buy one.  You will need a white drinking water hose.  You can find them at an rv dealer.  You will also need a pressure regulator so it won't blow out the internal hose going to your sink if the pressure at the campground is too high.  

I am new to popup camping too.  we have had ours about a month.  One of the best tips we have gotten is to use sterilite drawers for storage if you don't  have enough space.  You can get them at walmart or target.  They inexpensive plastic drawers you can set on your counter tops to allow you to have extra space.  While towing you can leave them in the floor of the pup.  Enjoy your camping experience.  It's been fun for us so far.

[jtorrisi]

If you don't have one with your camper you will have to buy one.  You will need a white drinking water hose.  You can find them at an rv dealer.  You will also need a pressure regulator so it won't blow out the internal hose going to your sink if the pressure at the campground is too high.  

I am new to popup camping too.  we have had ours about a month.  One of the best tips we have gotten is to use sterilite drawers for storage if you don't  have enough space.  You can get them at walmart or target.  They inexpensive plastic drawers you can set on your counter tops to allow you to have extra space.  While towing you can leave them in the floor of the pup.  Enjoy your camping experience.  It's been fun for us so far.

Good idea on the plastic drawers....Thanks!!

[dthurk]

One thing i am not sure about is the water hookup....it didnt come with a hose or anything. Do the campsites with water have hoses or do you need to provide your own, also i dont thingk i have a holding tank for waste water, does it just drain onto the ground? FYI... All I have that uses water is a sink

As stated above, you would need to buy a white water hose for fresh water into your camper.  DO NOT use this hose for any other purpose than to connect your camper to a potable water supply.  Use a pressure regulator, and many also use a water filter.  The regulator is a necessity, the filter is optional.  
 
Waste water from your camper is known as grey water.  It is illegal in most, if not all states, to dump grey water directly on the ground.  You should collect it.  We used a 7 gallon blue Aquatainer from WalMart and a short piece of swimming pool filter hose and a 1.5 inch "P" trap adapter from Home Depot to connect to our 1.5 inch outlet on the camper.  We didn't have a need for any venting of the system and water drained very quickly from our sink.  We dumped the Aquatainer at the bathhouse, preferable into a dishwashing sink (not a wash sink) or a toilet.

[jtorrisi]

As stated above, you would need to buy a white water hose for fresh water into your camper.  DO NOT use this hose for any other purpose than to connect your camper to a potable water supply.  Use a pressure regulator, and many also use a water filter.  The regulator is a necessity, the filter is optional.  
 
Waste water from your camper is known as grey water.  It is illegal in most, if not all states, to dump grey water directly on the ground.  You should collect it.  We used a 7 gallon blue Aquatainer from WalMart and a short piece of swimming pool filter hose and a 1.5 inch "P" trap adapter from Home Depot to connect to our 1.5 inch outlet on the camper.  We didn't have a need for any venting of the system and water drained very quickly from our sink.  We dumped the Aquatainer at the bathhouse, preferable into a dishwashing sink (not a wash sink) or a toilet.

Is the grey water hookup on the outside with a screen inside the hookup? Is there a way to hook up the grey water inside the camper?  We have a white water container under the sink, but i think that is if you dont have a water hookup at the camp site.

Thanks for all you help so far!!

[dcampbell1969]

Is the grey water hookup on the outside with a screen inside the hookup? Is there a way to hook up the grey water inside the camper?  We have a white water container under the sink, but i think that is if you dont have a water hookup at the camp site.

Thanks for all you help so far!!

The hookup with the screen is most likely your city water connection.

[EvanDoss]

Is the grey water hookup on the outside with a screen inside the hookup? Is there a way to hook up the grey water inside the camper?  We have a white water container under the sink, but i think that is if you dont have a water hookup at the camp site.

Thanks for all you help so far!!

Your grey water hookup is whichever one water comes out of when you put water down the drain in your sink.

Yes you are correct, the fresh water tank under you sink is to be used when camping without water hookups.

It is always good to know what type of hookups you will have available at the campgrounds you will be camping at. For example we will be camping this next weekend at a park that has electricity hookups but no water hookups so we will be utilizing our fresh water tank under the sink.

Tip: Instead of filling up the freshwater at home I will fill it up as soon as we get to the park, then we will go setup at our camp site. Doing this will reduce about 100lbs of weight my TV is having to tow thus saving gas. But if you were ever going to camp at a place where no fresh water was available then you would have to fill up at home.

I have a gray water tank that catches the water from my shower, but my sink drains to a hookup on the side of the camper. I would like to redirect my sink drain to the grey water storage tank. Has anyone done this?

[EvanDoss]

Waste water from your camper is known as grey water.  It is illegal in most, if not all states, to dump grey water directly on the ground.  You should collect it.  We used a 7 gallon blue Aquatainer from WalMart and a short piece of swimming pool filter hose and a 1.5 inch "P" trap adapter from Home Depot to connect to our 1.5 inch outlet on the camper.  We didn't have a need for any venting of the system and water drained very quickly from our sink.  We dumped the Aquatainer at the bathhouse, preferable into a dishwashing sink (not a wash sink) or a toilet.

I have also heard that dumping gray water directly onto the ground is illegal.  What I don't understand is what is the difference between an outdoor shower where the water just falls to the ground and using the shower in my camper where the water goes to the gray water storage.  

It makes since not to dump black water but why not grey water?

[dcampbell1969]

It boils down to a numbers issue.  If it was legal, more would dump it, then you would have too much being dumped.

[Eric Sass]

When you're camping make a list of things you would like to have. You can pick up some great ideas just by looking at your neighbor's site. For instance, an indoor/outdoor carpet is nice to have. You can pick one up a Costco for $25. Everytime we go camping I buy one more item. Last time I bought a folding table to set up by my grill. Just last week I picked up some flatware from Walmart.

Have Fun!

[jtorrisi]

Thanks for all the great tips and for helping me with my water questions

[TXpopupmomma]

Good idea on the plastic drawers....Thanks!!

I am new to camping also and ran into the storage problem.  I found these folding stackable shelves at Walmart for less the $4.00 each and they work good.