6 Things Not to Do When Camping with a Camper

My wife and I recently purchased a brand-new camper by Grey Wolf. It’s a wonderful camper, but there are some things that the salespeople assumed that we knew about campers. Things that we had to find out the hard way.

I have decided to write six tips and tricks of what not to do if and when you decide to take a camper out camping.

1.    Before adding water, close both the freshwater tank and water heater.

It was my first time filling the freshwater tank. We were getting ready to take the camper out and I was excited. I’m sure to seasoned campers, this is a no brainer.

I put the garden hose into the tank slot and turned it on. Within a few seconds, I started hearing water hit the concrete. Of course, I knew what the problem was. When we picked up the camper, the guy mentioned closing the freshwater tank valve. No big deal.

Once I had closed the valve, I turned the water on again. This time, instead of water coming out toward the back of the camper, it was coming out near the front. Upon further inspection, it was coming out of the hot water heater. Which brings me to my second point.

2.    Make sure you have the correct tools.

The salespeople didn’t tell me that we needed a special size socket to close the hot water heater. None of my lug wrenches worked. When I contacted them, their first response was that it was 1 1/8”  in size.

Not a problem, I ran to the local hardware store and picked one up. Came back and realized that it was too big. Eventually, I figured out that it was 1 1/16” in size. Of course, that was after going back to the hardware store to exchange the socket a couple of times. Thankfully, I still had the camper in my driveway and not at the campground.

Believe me, I was very frustrated. I was frustrated that they told me the wrong size. And even more frustrated that they didn’t tell me it in the first place.

Nonetheless, I got the hot water heater sealed and was able to add water to the tank. I didn’t know that I could fill up at the campground. Which leads me to tip number three.

3.    There are some things that you can’t, or shouldn’t, do until you get to the campground.

This might go without saying, but before heading out, make sure nothing is on the counters that might fall off. It’s no fun getting to your destination to find a mess that could’ve been easily avoided. This includes any televisions not secured to the wall(s).

Then there’s the issue of fluids in the tanks. Some states have limits on traveling with fluid in your tanks. I refer to it as fluid, rather than simply water, because the campers have at least three tanks. The white tank, the grey tank, and the black tank.

The white tank is for your fresh water. Whether you choose to drink it or not is up to you. I’ve been told that once you winterize your camper, it doesn’t taste the same after that. The grey tank is the tank that holds your often soapy water. Fluids from your shower and sinks goes into this tank.

And then there’s the black tank. This is where everything that goes down the toilet is held. Each of these tanks have their own sizes. And they each add weight to the camper. That’s why it is highly suggested that you dump your tanks before leaving the campground. And for good reason.

Speaking of dumping your tanks, that leads me to my fourth point.

4.    When dealing with the waste hose, wear gloves, and make sure the caps are off.

I had purchased a 15’ hose to dump the tanks with. It came with a 90-degree elbow to ensure the waste went directly into the dump tank.

Along with the hose, it came with two caps. These were to ensure that no residue escaped once you were done with it. The caps would merely keep any leftovers inside the tube for next time.

Being my first time dumping the tank, I was a bit nervous. There were others there to help us out. To supervise to make sure I didn’t do anything stupid. Well, wouldn’t you know it. I still managed to do just that.

Before we left for camping, I had put the caps into the hose for safe keeping. When it was time to dump, I grabbed the hose and hooked it up to the tank. Now, we were told that you ALWAYS dump the black tank first. With the hose tightly connected, I opened the valve to the black hole. To my surprise, nothing came out.

In my horror, I realized why nothing was coming out. I had left the caps on. First, I pulled the cap out of the end leading into the dump tank. Next, I had the awareness to close the black tank valve before doing anything else. Once closed, I knew that I had to disconnect the hose in order to remove the cap.

Thankfully, the distance between the valve and the end of the pipe was about twelve inches. Unfortunately, that also meant twelve inches worth of crap was about to spew out onto the ground.

Important, anytime you’re dealing with the waste hose, make sure to wear gloves. It’s preferred that you wear disposable ones. That way you can just throw them away each time.

I removed the hose, the stuff spilled out onto the ground. Next, I reached in, removed the cap, and then reconnected the hose. Thankfully, there were no further incidents with that. After clearing, and rinsing, the black tank, I then released the gray. This is to clean out the hose. Very important.

And speaking of incidents, onto my fifth tip.

5.    When you get to the camp site, it’s best to arrive while it’s still light out.

The campground that we stayed out, had back-in slots only. Not only was it pitch black outside, but it was raining like “cats and dogs.”

My wife was my eyes on the ground. Unfortunately, we didn’t have predetermined hand signals. Nor did we use our phones because the rain was so heavy.

Most men know that there are certain universal hand signals when backing a vehicle or trailer. At the time, my wife was unaware of what those were.

Rather than have a smooth back-in, I had to get out of the car multiple times to see where we were. To determine how much further I had to go. Or, how much I had to move over. Both were the case that night.

I had a backup camera hooked up. With the intense rain, however, it was rendered useless. The only thing I could see what a fuzzy white screen. I’ve used the camera since then, even during the rain, and it showed up with an excellent picture. My theory, it acted up because it was our first time using it.

Now, my wife was a trooper. She stood out there in the pouring rain without complaining. And she wasn’t wearing a raincoat.

Eventually, we got the camper parked and got ready to set it up. Again, it was pitch black out and raining. Which meant that we had to set everything up in the dark. Thank God for headlamps.

It took about thirty minutes to set up the camper the first time. That included disconnecting from the SUV and storing everything not needed in the storage compartments.

Of course, we didn’t realize that we were on mud and that the camper would sink to one side during the night. Since we had only planned to be there for two days, I didn’t want to reconnect the camper to put it up on blocks to level it.

If you find yourself in need of some good quality, and compact blocks, here are some that I found work excellent. These are what I use every time we go out. One cool feature about them is that they fit together like Legos.

Which brings me to my final point.

6.    Make sure you have everything before you go.

When I say “have everything” I mean as much as you possibly can. Don’t be like us and have to go grocery shopping because we didn’t pack enough food. You’re out there to relax and enjoy your time. Not worry about what you forgot and/or should’ve brought.

The next morning, when I was making breakfast, I realized that we didn’t have much food. At least not enough to get us through the weekend.

We decided to go to the grocery store. That led us to be gone from the campground for the majority of the day. The place we were camping wasn’t terribly far from our house. So, we decided to stop by the house as well.

Had we brought everything in the first place, we would’ve stayed out there. Done some fishing, swimming, and had some fun in the sun. Instead, we spent the day doing everything else but that.

If and when you decide to go camping, and it’s your first time, I hope you’re able to learn from my mistakes. So that you might enjoy your time, rather than worry about what your forgot or didn’t do.

Another thing that my wife and I have done, since our first time out, is pick up a pair of two-way radios. It’s much easier to talk to one another. Plus, now we don’t have to worry about standing in the rain to communicate.

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