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Granlobo12 View Drop Down
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Posts: 7 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Proper Decorum For Fill-Up & Sewage Stops
    Posted: 01 Apr 2016 at 9:33am
Hello everyone and thanks for your time and for sharing your experiences and expertise!  

(I hope this is an acceptable place to post this...I tried the "search" feature to tap into existing discussions, but didn't have any luck.)  

Despite growing up camping/hunting/fishing and being fairly capable DIY-ers, we're admittedly complete newbies with our own RV camping.  

We're in the process of planning out a nice PA - Smoky Mountains - GA - Everglades - Keys - Carolinas - home "loop", and I was hopeful that I could get some feedback regarding "fill-ups" between semi-dry-camping locations.  

Most of the state and national parks we're looking at are electric only...so the AC/water pump/lights should hopefully be a non-issue for us.  

Most of the sites have no water hookups...and I wanted to ask about the acceptable protocol for handling that.  

Seems wasteful to drag 250+ lbs of water from PA to TN, but since towing weight isn't a problem, is that what you'd do?  

And once the water is diminished, what should we do before moving southward again and setting up at another "no water" facility?  Is it acceptable to visit a full-hookup campground and ask to pay for just a dump/fill-up?  Do they make you "pay the piper" and pay for a full-hookup site in order to do that?  

Do some of these "electric only" state parks perhaps have a hose for clean water fill-up that isn't overly advertised?  

We've found some really neat places that we want to visit...but as a newbie, I'm not sure how to replentish our water along the way - in a way that abides by RV convention and manners.  

Any info is great appreciated...thanks!  :)  
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jrallen View Drop Down
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Posts: 1 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Apr 2016 at 9:50am
I can't speak for all states, but I know all of the rest areas in Alabama have camper dump stations as you're leaving them. These are free to the public and open 24/7. At least at the one I dumped at last weekend, there was also a water hookup at the dump station so you could wash out your tanks and I assume fill your fresh water tank with if you wanted to as well. I'm sure someone else can chime in about their experiences in other states.
2016 RP180
2012 JKUR
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Apr 2016 at 11:12am

The easy thing to do is to ask the gate attendant at the campground, when checking in. It is usually not a big problem in filling or dumping. Most places will have some means by which to do both. Some are just easier than others.

For instance, the Elkmont campground in the Smokies has neither but, there is a dump station & water fill about 7 miles up the road at the Sugarlands visitor center.

Even tent campers need fresh water so, there is usually something in the area. Worst case scenario - you carry and fill a 5gal. jug at a spigot and pour it in the water fill on the Pod.
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Granlobo12 View Drop Down
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Posts: 7 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Apr 2016 at 11:54am
Jrallen and David,

Thanks for sharing...very helpful!  :)  

Have a nice weekend!
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furpod View Drop Down
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Posts: 6128 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Apr 2016 at 12:13pm
We have been in lots of Elec. only NF and NP and even COE CGs.. I don't think a one of them didn't have water somewhere. And generally there is either a dump station there, or a centralized one ot two in the park somewhere. LBL has one at each end, and the largest CG has 2 in it. The CG we like there, Energy Lake, has several spigots, none more than a few hundred feet from the sites. So you fill when you pull in, and wing it from there, If staying less then 4 days, never an issue for us anyways.


Here is a linky..

Note the map is for on of our localish favorite CG's.. Not the water spigot markers. On your way in you stop next to one of those, hook up your FW hose, fill up your holding tank, then go to your site. Don't forget your hose. At this particular park, all the CG hosts have a large LARGE hose real you can borrow if needed..
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CharlesOK View Drop Down
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Posts: 2 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Apr 2016 at 5:31pm
Words to the wise. NEVER fill your tanks anywhere near any dump station. I have personally watched people use the fresh water hose to flush there dump hose. If that is the only place to get some much needed water. Take off their hose, flush the spigot and wash it with bleach before you attach your own WHITE water hose. Fill your tank or take just what you want and then put away your own hose before you touch the dirty hose on the ground. Re-attach their hose to be neighborly. I NEVER fill my tanks with water through anything but my own hose that I KNOW is safe to use. I carry bleach for just such necessary use.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Apr 2016 at 6:21pm
Originally posted by CharlesOK

Words to the wise. NEVER fill your tanks anywhere near any dump station. I have personally watched people use the fresh water hose to flush there dump hose. If that is the only place to get some much needed water. Take off their hose, flush the spigot and wash it with bleach before you attach your own WHITE water hose. Fill your tank or take just what you want and then put away your own hose before you touch the dirty hose on the ground. Re-attach their hose to be neighborly. I NEVER fill my tanks with water through anything but my own hose that I KNOW is safe to use. I carry bleach for just such necessary use.


Welcome to the forum!
It is good to remind that safety should come first.
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Posts: 767 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Apr 2016 at 7:01pm
I generally travel with about 1/3 tank of fresh water.  Its convenient for cooking lunch (and cleanup) while en route, for using the toilet, and for a quick shower after stopping off at a beach.

As others have mentioned, campgrounds without water/sewer hookups generally have a dump&fill station.  Most have quite a distance separating the dumpstation and the fresh water fillup to prevent (or at least, make it difficult) cross-contamination.  Stop on the way in to fill your fresh tank, and stop on the way out to empty your grey and black tanks.

Many campgrounds have water spiggots placed throughout the park.  On the way to my campsite, I've been known to pull over beside one and fill the trailer's tank.  Its bad form to block the road, or to tie up the spiggot for more than 10 minutes - so, get out of the way and fill-up quickly.

And, finally, I also carry a few 26L Aquatainers which I'll fill at a communal spiggot and then transfer to the trailer's fresh tank.

Oh - one of my favourite spots to camp, about 90 minutes from home, is a very old and very minimal conservation area; great hiking, kayaking, and some fantastic caves to explore.  No electricity, no dumpstation, and just a couple water spiggots around the camping area.  Obtaining fresh water isn't too much trouble, but emptying the tanks has to wait until I get home.  For that, I use a FlowJet Macerator pump and pump through a garden hose directly into my plumbing stack.  Its an expensive toy, but I've found it useful over the years; not only for dumping at home, but for campgrounds where the sewer outlet is inexplicably 3 feet off the ground, for campsites where I don't have onsite sewer but my friend on the next site does, and occasionally dumping directly into a sewage tank.
Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150
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techntrek View Drop Down
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Posts: 9062 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Apr 2016 at 9:11pm
Don't worry about the weight of the water on the road.  The air resistance accounts for 95% of the problem.  Adding or subtracting a few hundred pounds won't make a change you can detect in that other 5%.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Dr. GREG SMITH View Drop Down
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Posts: 10 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Jul 2016 at 9:55pm
granlobo, we camp in Iowa. All electric sites have multiple shared fresh water sources. We simply fill up before going to our site. If we run out of fresh water, we use an electric pump and a hydrolier, or sometimes interconnected hoses to refill, so we don't have to move the trailer. We find that the black and grey tanks can go 9 days or more without a dump. Dumping is done before we leave the campground. We avoid Sunday afternoon and holidays to minimize waiting in line.    
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