Unhooking

[irvsiegel]

  Tomorrow I will unhook our rig from the campground water, sewer, electric, and cable TV, and bring it to Camping World for an oil change.  As I was thinking about doing this today, it occured to me that I only had to unhook the campground end.  There was no need for me to disconnect the water hose, sewer hose, or cable TV wire from the coach.  I should just take the hoses and cord and put them into the compartment while still hooked up.  Then I realized that I should do this *every* time I unhook, not just when I'm going out for an hour or so and then returning. 

  So, my question is, how many of you leave your hoses and cable wire connected to your rig and how many disconnect from both the campground and your rig?

Irv Siegel

 

[Tom]

Good question Irv. In my case, I disconnect the water and sewer lines because there's not really enough room for them in the bay. The power cord has the same issue, but it is on a reel and is easily retracted (just press a switch).

 

[Jeff]

That works as long as you are not storing water and sewer hoses together or storing water hose in the sewer compartment.

 

[Karl]

Irv,
I can't give state names to you, but there are several (if not all) that have laws against driving your rig without the sewer hoses disconnected and capped. Water is o.k., but I wouldn't leave my sewer hose connected under any circumstances - just too much stuff left sitting in it.

 

[BernieD]

Irv

I would disconnect, where possible, at the coach end and just leave the cords and hoses loose at the campground, drained and capped where appropriate. Much easier to do and less chance of cross contamination.

 

[Bob Zambenini]

Irv,
I can't give state names to you, but there are several (if not all) that have laws against driving your rig without the sewer hoses disconnected and capped. Water is o.k., but I wouldn't leave my sewer hose connected under any circumstances - just too much stuff left sitting in it.

HMMMMM! Karl I guess I am in violation! I leave my sewer hose connected all the time. I have a tray under the bay where the sewer connection are and I just curl it up in that container and latch it. When I arrive at the next campsite I unlatch, the sewer hose falls out and I put it on the drain.  Newmar installs these on their gassers and they claimed there was not clearance on diesels. But we quickly found out there was and I bought mine at the Newmar Factory parts store.

I guess its the same as all those who have macerators with hose connected all the time.

Bob

 

[Ned]

The caps on the drains are there for a reason.  If a valve fails or leaks, it contains the spillage.

 

[irvsiegel]

Irv

I would disconnect, where possible, at the coach end and just leave the cords and hoses loose at the campground, drained and capped where appropriate. Much easier to do and less chance of cross contamination.

  About three years ago we lost a water hose that way.  We left it connected at the campground and drove into Mammoth (we had a Class B at the time) and when we came back, it was gone!

Irv

 

[KodiakRV]

I disconnect & cap the sewer line.

I disconnect the fresh water hose, curl it up, and screw the two ends together so that no contamination can get inside the hose.

I leave the TV cable connected since that connection is inside a storage bay.

 

[Ray D]

OK, folks. The newby is getting confused.

I thought I was acting on advice I read here, on this forum.  ???

I don't connect the sewer hose, so to move the motorhome, I don't have to disconnect it. I only connect it when I am going to dump. I let the tanks pretty much fill up, and then dump - then rinse - then store it again.

We drink and cook with bottled water. It's cheap, and reasonably reliable. We don't hook up the white hose, usually, unless the campground water is known to us to be pretty nice. We use out of the storage tank and fill it up to about 3/4 full, when we have sweet water available.

We do use shore power, so when I move the motorhome, whether or not I'm coming back, I have to disconnect. I manhandle the entire 50 amp cord back into the storage bay. Yes, it fights me!

Cable TV? Haven't camped anywhere that had it, yet. We use the batwings if they are working. Otherwise, we watch DVD or the sunset, whichever.

Ray D

 

[Karl]

OK, folks. The newby is getting confused.

Ray, you're not a newbie, so let's quit playing "Let's pretend" ;D
They're talking about moving from sites with full hookups, where you have your water, sewer, and electric connected until it's time to move - for whatever reason. Even if you just stay one night at some place and dump in the morning, I'm sure you don't just stow the hose without rinsing it out; which is what is being referred to.

 

[Ray D]

Well, I think I'm a newby. Only been here since early summer. And, I don't know beans about the technical stuff.

We don't hook completely up at campsites, even with full hookups. Just electric and sometimes water. Only dump when the tanks are getting close to full, or at the Fllying J, when we are nearly home. And, yes, I do rinse the dump hose. Actually, Dani usually does that. She wants to make sure it's clean before it gets stored.

I thought this was about unhooking to go somewhere else, temporarily, and then return.

By the way, like mfa, I curl the white hose and screw the opposite ends together, to keep them from getting bent. When I connect it to water, I start by running some water through the hose, onto the ground, to rinse it out. I'm reallly paranoid about water. Never know what grew in my hose since the last time I used it!

Ray D.

 

[Karl]

By the way, like mfa, I curl the white hose and screw the opposite ends together, to keep them from getting bent. When I connect it to water, I start by running some water through the hose, onto the ground, to rinse it out. I'm reallly paranoid about water. Never know what grew in my hose since the last time I used it!

Excellent way of doing things. Many of us do the same. Even when at full hookup sites, we normally leave the black tank closed until nearly full, then dump. It's not a good idea to leave the black tank valve open, as that can let a lot of stuff accumulate. Better to have a full tank and get the benefit of the "whoosh" factor sweeping things out, followed by the gray water to help clean the hose.