Hooking Up Water or Filling the Tank

The Adventure Travelers RV has all the comforts of home.  Including running water!

Of course, since this is a home on wheels, you need to either; fill the fresh water tank and take the water with you or hook up to a water supply when you get to a site with full or partial hookups.

Know that when you are traveling with a full tank of water, you are carrying 8.34 pounds of water per gallon.  Our fresh water tank holds 44 gallons, so that’s almost an extra 367 pounds.  That adds a lot of weight to an RV, which reduces your MPG (miles per gallon).

Connecting to a Campground Hookup (City Water Connection)

This is the easiest way to have the creature comfort of running water.  You don’t have to fill the internal water supply tank (saves gas), if you are at a full or partial hookup campsite.  Follow these instructions to get water flowing easily:

1. In the Drivers Side Rear outside compartment, you will find the hose labeled, Fresh Clean Water.
2. To make a direct connection to the City Water Connection, connect the Orange end of the hose to the campsite water spigot and screw the other end (male end) into the hand twist connection labeled City Water Connection (on the Drivers Side Rear portion of the RV).
3. The Orange Adapter on the end of the hose is a Pressure Regulator, which ensures you do not rupture any pipes on the interior of the RV by having too much water pressure in the hose/pipes. Please ensure you leave this ON at all times.
4. Turn on the campsite water spigot slowly and after about 20 seconds, have someone on the interior of the RV check to see if the water is running.
5. When using the City Water Connection, DO NOT turn on the Water Pump. The pressure from the City Water Connection will give you all the water pressure you need, even for a shower.

Filling Up and Using the RV Fresh Water Tank

If you’re going to boondock or will not be at a full or partial hookup campsite for a while, ensure you have filled up the fresh water tank for all of your water needs.

1. In the Drivers Side Rear outside compartment, you will find the hose labeled, Fresh Clean Water.
2. To fill the fresh water tank, connect the Orange end of the hose to the fresh water fill spigot (at a campsite usually) and screw the other end (male end) into the hand twist connection labeled Potable Water Only (on the Passenger Side Rear portion of the RV).
3. The Orange Adapter on the end of the hose is a Pressure Regulator, which ensures you do not rupture any pipes on the interior of the RV by having too much water pressure in the hose/pipes. Please ensure you leave this ON at all times
4. Turn on the water spigot slowly and have someone on the interior of the RV, check the Convenience Center Fresh water button to see how full the tank is. (Depress black small Fresh button and check water level).
5. There is an Overflow Valve, so you can’t over-fill the water. When the fresh water tank is full, turn off the water at the spigot and remove the hose.
6. Ensure you place the cap back on the water intake, so no debris gets into the fresh water.
7. When using the Fresh Water Tank, you need to turn on the Water Pump (Convenience Center Panel) to run fresh water.

IMPORTANT:  Water Conservation

When using just the Fresh Water Tank on an RV, you may be surprised at how fast you use water.  One of the fastest drains on your water supply is the shower.  If boondocking/dry camping ensure you let everyone know that there is limited water and showers are a luxury that should be fast and water conserving.  Second in line, is cleaning dirty dishes.  Ensure you keep an eye on the tank and refill it as needed.

Remember, water is life.

Showers, dishes, flushing, washing and drinking, drains the tank faster than you think.  Conserve.

Water Heater

There are two ways to heat water.  On the Convenience Center console you will see two red buttons on the left side of the panel.

1. If you are plugged in to AC power via the 30 amp electrical cord (microwave is On) Turn On the Electric (far left) Water Heater button about 20 minutes before you need hot water. You will get about 10 gallons of hot water before it begins to get cold (enough for a quick shower or doing dishes).  This is the preferred button to have ON.  This just uses AC power to heat the water.
2. If you are boondocking or do NOT have AC power, you can heat your water using the Propane Gas (next to far left) Water Heater button about 20 minutes before you need hot water. You will get about 10 gallons of hot water before it begins to get cold (enough for a quick shower or doing dishes).  This uses propane gas to heat the water (limited supply).

Use the Grey and Black Tanks

When we are at a full or partial hookup site, we always let all the grey (dishes/shower) and black water (toilet) go into the tanks and we do not leave the valve open to the sewage hose/city connection.  Having the grey/black water go directly into the tanks, eliminates odors from coming through the hose.  I do leave the hose connected to the outlet on the RV and leave the other end in the city waste hole, so every morning, I go out and dump the black water first and then dump the grey water last.  This keeps the hose clean (grey water usually has a lot of soap in it) and reduces any smell.  Ensure you fully close each hand valve (grey/black). 

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