10 Things You Need To Know About RV Hookups

When you're just starting out RVing, hooking up an RV to utilities can be intimidating.  Here are ten tips to help you to feel more confident when connecting to RV campsite utilities.

RV hookups are on the driver's side of your RV.

1.

When you get to your campsite, you’ll want to try to align the left side of your RV with the hookups for power, water, and sewer.

Chock your wheels and get level before anything else.

2.

Put your stabilizer jacks down, and use jack pads to distribute the heavy weight of the RV.

Hook into power first.

3.

That way, you can test power connections to prevent possible damage by shoddy connections. And you can extend your slides without using battery power.

Campsite power pedestals are either 30 amp or 50 amp.

4.

It's a good idea to carry an RV dogbone power connector so you can always connect to power.

All campsite power pedestals are not created equal.

5.

Some campsite wiring is sketchy. Power surges and bad wiring can fry the electronic components in your RV.

Hook up your city water supply.

6.

To prevent damaging your RV's water system, use a water pressure regulator between the faucet and drinking water hose before hooking up an RV to water.

Use a lightweight, expanding drinking water hose.

7.

You should never use this hose for black tank flushing. You'll want to get an orange hose for flushing the black tank.

Use an inline RV water filter.

8.

This keeps particulate out of your water tank and water system while improving the taste of your water. A water filter saves wear and tear on your RV water system while it purifies your water.

Hook up your sewage connection.

9.

For this, you'll need an RV sewer hose. If you want to ensure your wastewater flows smoothly, you'll need an RV sewer hose support.  This holds the hose at an angle so wastewater flows downward into the wastewater intake pipe.

 Don't leave your holding tank valves open while you camp.

10.

Only open your black or gray tank valves when you are ready to dump your tanks.  Leaving the black tank valve open while you are hooked up causes the water to drain out of the black tank. The black tank then dries out and smells.