What services will i find?

[Darkspeed]

I know this is a basic question but I have never been on the road with a trailer before. What services will I find at most trailer camping / overnight facilities?
30a power ? 50a? Water? Septic?

Thanks in advance

[moosetags]

Most commercial campgrounds have electric, water and sewer. State parks sometimes have no hook-ups. Many Florida State Park Campgrounds have electric and water, and some have sewer.

Brian

[Darkspeed]

Should I have a 50a cord with a 30a reducer just in case?

Is the water hookup a garden hose fitting?

[moosetags]

Unless your trailer has been rewired somewhere along the way, it should have a 30 amp cord. We carry a 50 to 30 amp adapter pigtail, but have only used it once in over 800 nights of camping.

Your water hook-ups should all be standard garden hose stuff. We use garden hose quick connects. It makes things a whole lot easier.

Brian

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Darkspeed

I know this is a basic question but I have never been on the road with a trailer before. What services will I find at most trailer camping / overnight facilities?
30a power ? 50a? Water? Septic?

Thanks in advance

There is some regional variation due to code compliance and policy differences from one state park system to another. Individual parks/campgrounds vary as well, so it's hard to generalize.

Electrical

Some state/local parks may offer nonelectric sites intended primarily for tent camping.

Otherwise, nearly all campsites have a 30a connection with most also having 50a and 20a connections. There are a few places with only 20a connections such as some Iowa state parks and a few older campgrounds or temporary campgrounds for festivals and fairs. There are also a few campgrounds that have 50a service only but they are extremely rare and in nearly all cases will have a 50a-to-30a adapter you can purchase or borrow.

In most cases the power connection will be within 25' of the rear streetside corner of the trailer but there are rare cases where it is farther.

Water

Nearly all facilities offer water for filling freshwater tanks, at some central point in the campground. A few that cater primarily to tent campers do not or have deliberate limitations to make it hard to fill tanks.

Water is always available at any campsite that also has sewer connections.

Whether there is water at other campsites varies. As a matter of policy, for example, the Minnesota state parks do not provide water to campsites without sewer connections, to discourage dumping of greywater on the ground.

If water is provided there will be a faucet with garden hose threads. Sometimes there isn't a faucet for each campsite so it helps to have a Y fitting but that's rare.

Sewer

In most state, local, and national parks it is rare to find sewer connections at the campsite although this is beginning to change with newer parks at least in some areas. Commercial campgrounds have them more often.

Nearly all campgrounds and parks have a centrally located dump station, unless there are sewer connections at each campsite.

Sites like woodall's and Rvparkreviews have listings for individual campgrounds.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Darkspeed

Should I have a 50a cord with a 30a reducer just in case?

If your trailer is wired for 30a (most are), you should carry your 30a cord (which may be detachable or permanently affixed to your trailer depending on your situation) and a 20a-to-30a adapter. The dogbone-type adapters that have a short length of cord between the 20a and the 30a work more reliably and fit better than the one piece ones.

I would also suggest a 25' length of 20a extension cord. A regular household extension cord with 12 gauge wire is perfect and you can buy them at a home center or hardware store.

If you camp in nontraditional places (like a friend's driveway or behind a restaurant where you know the management) you might want longer cords and more adapters so you can take advantage of whatever presents itself.

Is the water hookup a garden hose fitting?

Yes.

I also carry a "water thief" that allows for attachment to nonthreaded faucets (which some places have to discourage you from attaching a hose either for code compliance reasons or just because they don't like RVs) but have rarely used it.

[Darkspeed]

Originally Posted by Jammer

There is some regional variation due to code compliance and policy differences from one state park system to another. Individual parks/campgrounds vary as well, so it's hard to generalize.

Electrical

Some state/local parks may offer nonelectric sites intended primarily for tent camping.

Otherwise, nearly all campsites have a 30a connection with most also having 50a and 20a connections. There are a few places with only 20a connections such as some Iowa state parks and a few older campgrounds or temporary campgrounds for festivals and fairs. There are also a few campgrounds that have 50a service only but they are extremely rare and in nearly all cases will have a 50a-to-30a adapter you can purchase or borrow.

In most cases the power connection will be within 25' of the rear streetside corner of the trailer but there are rare cases where it is farther.

Water

Nearly all facilities offer water for filling freshwater tanks, at some central point in the campground. A few that cater primarily to tent campers do not or have deliberate limitations to make it hard to fill tanks.

Water is always available at any campsite that also has sewer connections.

Whether there is water at other campsites varies. As a matter of policy, for example, the Minnesota state parks do not provide water to campsites without sewer connections, to discourage dumping of greywater on the ground.

If water is provided there will be a faucet with garden hose threads. Sometimes there isn't a faucet for each campsite so it helps to have a Y fitting but that's rare.

Sewer

In most state, local, and national parks it is rare to find sewer connections at the campsite although this is beginning to change with newer parks at least in some areas. Commercial campgrounds have them more often.

Nearly all campgrounds and parks have a centrally located dump station, unless there are sewer connections at each campsite.

Sites like woodall's and Rvparkreviews have listings for individual campgrounds.

Huge thank you for the detailed reply!

[damonbeals]

You will also see a system call point hookup. Where they say they have 3 point hookup. Which means, electric, water and sewer. And some fancy parks will say 4 point, electric, water, sewer and Cable TV!

Almost any commercial campground now days will have 3 point hookups, as all the big rigs want it. The smaller campgrounds, and state parks are different.

You should carry a 30a to 20a and a 30a to 50a, because you might arrive late at a park and that is the only site available. You should buy a 25' and 50' white water hose, Walmart and any camping store have them, don't use a standard green garden hose, unless you like funny tasting water. Again just because you never know how far the hookups are. And you should have several lengths of dump hoses for the same reasons.

Damon

[Darkspeed]

Thanks everyone! My trailer is getting a full rewire so it sounds like 50a service is the way to go.

The water thief is a neat idea also!

[Jammer]

50a service will add weight and cost. It's only a good idea if you need it. In general, you don't need it unless you have more than one air conditioner, although if you have more than 1500 watts of electric heat or have an electric water heater it might be worthwhile.

The main disadvantage of 50a service is that the cords are heavy, bulky, expensive, and not very flexible. I do have 50a service (due to a second air conditioner) but the cord is a real pain.

I use a 30a cord in most cases to save wear and tear on the 50a cord and because the 50a cord is such a hassle.