How-To: Hooking up at a campground for the first time...

[MichaelC]

Hi all,

I've finally got a spot at a nice little campground for the summer that includes hook-ups for water, electric, cable, etc. & I was wondering about some of the things I should be aware of & also had a couple of questions.

1. When I hook up the water hose do I really need a regulator & how does that work with the holding tank? (do I have to do something that will prevent the water from going into the tank?)

2. I've read where I should put a cup of bleach in the tank/lines and let it sit for a day or so to make sure nothing harmful is in the tank/lines.
Is this right?

3. I do not have access to a sewage line since I wanted a site that was away from the main access road so I know I need a potable tank (Barker or Thetford)
but should I get two - one for the grey & one for the black or can/should I run it into one?

thanks in advance, (the info on these boards has been a big help to me)

Mike

[TG Twinkie]

Unless you have or someone has modified your trailer you won't have a grey water holding tank, you will need a portable tank like a Blue Boy or equivalent.
There are people who use a portable tank for Black water. Your other choice is to move the trailer to the dump site.
If your trailer has an internal check valve or a hand valve to prevent city water going into the fresh water holding tank then you should be fine. Water pressure regulators are highly recommended.
If the fresh water holding tank and lines are original, I would use bottled water for drinking, brushing teeth and cooking. Bathing and toilet flushing are good uses of the holding tank water.

[TBRich]

Originally Posted by MichaelC

Hi all,

I've finally got a spot at a nice little campground for the summer that includes hook-ups for water, electric, cable, etc. & I was wondering about some of the things I should be aware of & also had a couple of questions.

1. When I hook up the water hose do I really need a regulator & how does that work with the holding tank? (do I have to do something that will prevent the water from going into the tank?)

2. I've read where I should put a cup of bleach in the tank/lines and let it sit for a day or so to make sure nothing harmful is in the tank/lines.
Is this right?

3. I do not have access to a sewage line since I wanted a site that was away from the main access road so I know I need a potable tank (Barker or Thetford)
but should I get two - one for the grey & one for the black or can/should I run it into one?

thanks in advance, (the info on these boards has been a big help to me)

Mike

Hey Mike...

Question #1: 1st part: With a model that old, I am presuming that it has been restored or renovated...newer rigs have a pressure regulator built in, but I am not sure if you have one or not...that depends on whether it was included in a reno or resto... I'd use one just to make sure. In fact, I use one on our 06 which already has one, just to be safe. You don't want to blow a line because of too much water pressure. 2nd Part: When you say "the tank" do you mean the fresh water tank? If so, the water pump should prevent water from back-filling into the fresh water tank. OR you may have a system that allows you to fill the fresh water tank from a city water connection. In that case there should be a valve to allow that to happen or not. Again, really depends on what was originally there and whether it was ever modified.

Question #2: It would be a good idea to sanitize the fresh water system before you use it for drinking or cooking. I would not use undiluted bleach...too strong and may damage seals etc... Search "sanitize" for threads related to this for details.

Question #3: I think you mean "portable" not "potable"...you do not want to mix the two up! Rigs as old as yours did not have grey tanks originally. Has one been added to your rig? If not, I'd have one for the grey water so you can leave it in place to collect the grey water...and a separate for black that would be used only when you dump. If you have a grey water tank, whether you use separate blue boy tanks for grey and black dumping is a matter of preference...up to you.

Enjoy! Sounds like a nice spot to spend the summer!

[overlander64]

Greetings Mike!

Welcome to the Forums and the world of Vintage Airstream ownership!

Originally Posted by MichaelC

Hi all,

I've finally got a spot at a nice little campground for the summer that includes hook-ups for water, electric, cable, etc. & I was wondering about some of the things I should be aware of & also had a couple of questions.

1. When I hook up the water hose do I really need a regulator & how does that work with the holding tank? (do I have to do something that will prevent the water from going into the tank?)

When your coach was produced, your water system would have been of the pressure variety. Not knowing whether the system has been modified makes answering your question a little more difficult.

• With an original system, you will find a pressurized aluminum or galvanized steel water tank that was typically placed under the frount lounge. Your city water hose would connect to the intake for the tank and filling the tank provided both water and pressure to run the system. There will also be a Schroeder valve (looks like a valve stem on your wheels) for adding pressure from an external pump. With this system, it was permissible to maintain the city water connection -- but there is a danger of excesslive pressure blowing a line within the system. You may also find an air pressure pump mounted near the tank that was utilized to keep the tank properly pressurized when not connected to city water. The tank and water system is designed to be sanitized with a bleach and water solution . . . but I am not familiar with the process to follow with the Airstream version of the pressurized system.
• Many of these older coaches have been upgraded to a demand system which is very similar to what is found in modern Airstreams. With the demand system, there is a non-pressurized tank that is general some kind of plastic. The tank is filled using a water hose inserted into a fill opening on the exterior of the coach. With this type of system, you will have a demand pump that is typically mounted near the water tank. Depending upon when the upgraded was done, the pump may have a check valve (comparatively recent upgrades) that prevents the demand tank from filling when connected to city water; with older demand systems the pump may not have a check valve in which case there will be a valve that is turned to switch for demand tank to city water service -- if this valve isn't turned when connected to city water, the demand tank may be over-filled resulting in a tank rupture or overflow.
• In either case, an external water pressure regulator is a safety device that will help to insure that your coach's internal plumbing isn't exposed to excessive incoming city water pressure. I have been in a couple of parks where the incoming water pressure was over 100 psi when occupancy rates were low . . . the water pressure regulators in both of my coaches are set to 40 psi as is the external water pressure regulator that I utilize.

Originally Posted by MichaelC

2. I've read where I should put a cup of bleach in the tank/lines and let it sit for a day or so to make sure nothing harmful is in the tank/lines.
Is this right?

There is a formula available here on the Forums for the amount of bleach necessary to sanitize the water system. The bleach is added to the tank and then the tank is filled with water and the pump is utilized to circulate the solution through the pipes until bleach can be smelled at each outlet. Then the solution is permitted to remain in the system for a minimum of three or four hours . . . I usually leave the solution overnight. Then the system is drained . . . then refilled and flushed with clear water at least once.

Originally Posted by MichaelC

3. I do not have access to a sewage line since I wanted a site that was away from the main access road so I know I need a potable tank (Barker or Thetford)
but should I get two - one for the grey & one for the black or can/should I run it into one?

I suspect that you will find that it is easier to utilize a tote-tank for gray/washwater, and move the trailer to the dumpstation on a regular basis to dump the blackwater tank. When I have been located in the same place for an extended period of time, I have found that the blackwater tank typically needs to be emptied about once every week to ten days.

Good luck with your coach!

Kevin