how long? size?--water hose, extension cord

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scappoosebrad

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Tired of searching the site as a newbie about to take delivery in January, trying to "stock" with needed accessories...

So what length of water hose do you find adequate? quality needed including flexibility?

What length of extension cord do you use/need to plug in to camp site? what gauge, quality do you find works best? your normal outdoor extension cord?

thanks for your feedback on these "dumb" questions, but never had a camper and never paid attention while tent camping recently...
 
scappoosebrad said:
Tired of searching the site as a newbie about to take delivery in January, trying to "stock" with needed accessories...

So what length of water hose do you find adequate? quality needed including flexibility? <25 feet should be plenty. You can always get close to a hose bib to fill the tank. Do consider buying a 'Water Thief" that slips over bibs without threads, so you can connect a hose.>

What length of extension cord do you use/need to plug in to camp site? what gauge, quality do you find works best? your normal outdoor extension cord? <Another 25 foot answer. A bigger gauge is alway better in terms of current flow, but I don't think it's necessary. I'd say 10 gauge is more than sufficient. You will want to get an adapter that will take you from a 30 amp service to the normal 3 prong 15 amp type plugs on extension cords.They are often called "dog bones" because of shape. >

thanks for your feedback on these "dumb" questions, but never had a camper and never paid attention while tent camping recently... <They're not dumb questions. We all have to start somewhere. >
Click to expand...
Edit: to be clear, the dog bone I mentioned is for the 30 amp service at a campground to your extension cord. FWC provides a short adapter that goes from the 15 amp extension cord to the RV type 30 amp connector on the camper. My Bobcat has a regular 15 amp connector that an extension cord plugs directly into.
 
I personally keep an extremely short water hose and extension cord onboard, but I'm also a 1/2 ton owner within payload. I purposely travel light and it's the sum of everything that make the difference.

The water hose is about 8' and the electrical cord is about 15'

The extension cord is just for emergency in case my battery dies or something weird happens to my electrical system. I've never had an issue with the length of the water hose. I fill up my onboard tank.

I agree ~ 25' would be a more reasonable length to keep on hand, especially if you are going to places that you are unfamiliar with the hookups. You can probably get away with a shorter hose for water, if you don't plan on staying connected to water. My 8' hose has never caused me issue.
 
Bill D said:
I personally keep an extremely short water hose and extension cord onboard, but I'm also a 1/2 ton owner within payload. I purposely travel light and it's the sum of everything that make the difference.

The water hose is about 8' and the electrical cord is about 15'

The extension cord is just for emergency in case my battery dies or something weird happens to my electrical system. I've never had an issue with the length of the water hose. I fill up my onboard tank.

I agree ~ 25' would be a more reasonable length to keep on hand, especially if you are going to places that you are unfamiliar with the hookups. You can probably get away with a shorter hose for water, if you don't plan on staying connected to water. My 8' hose has never caused me issue.
Click to expand...

Ah, Bill D......learning to work with a short hose; good on ya...had to do that...actually I have a Hawk on a Tundra [1/2 ton ]; but quit cutting the handle off my spoon that I backpack with to save weight; hence a 25 foot drinking water hose and 25 feet 12 guage electrical cord....I understand that ounces grow into pounds; but not reaching the faucet with a short hose is a bummer. Not to stay hooked up to it but to fill the storage tank.

Remember a pressure regulator that screw on the water hose [inexpensive] in case the faucet water pressure exeeds the FWC limits.

Just my take...

Phil
 
You want to have a white drinking water hose. Camping World has a good selection. 25' and I have a short one 5' for my water softener when I fill up at home at the start of the trip. I have a 25' extension cord, heavy duty. I have a 25' 30amp to 30amp extension cord, a surge protector for the 30amp and a 50amp to 30amp dog bone which I have never used. White hoses for drinking water. jd

Sent from my SM-G900V using Wander The West mobile app
 
25' Water hose, water bandit and a 4 way key for various spigots just in case.

Never plugin to shore power but do carry a 25' extension cord for being able to plug in my camera and use the intervalometer if I so desire.
 
I have a 25' hose, but also two 10' hoses to use with my water transfer pump. I keep the ends of the hoses screwed together to avoid contamination during storage. I find that I use the 10' ones much more often, much easier to deal with, and the 25' hose is more of a PITA to deal with if I only need a short hose, which is most of the time. I can screw the two 10 footers together if necessary. Perhaps three 10' hoses would be the way to go for the most options.

Don't just use a garden hose. They are full of chemicals and heavy metals nowdays. Get the white ones in the RV section at Walmart or an RV store.

Your new camper should come with a 30 amp plug adaptor to 120 V.

You also need a short hose for a grey water drain, just long enough to go from the connection on the camper side to the grey water container. This can also be used for the shower water drain if you have the built in shower.

BTW We just got our new camper the other day, but also have a small trailer which is why I already have the hoses.
 
Another item in addition to good ideas above is a filler extension with a cutoff valve to stuff into the filler inlet (keeps the hose from falling out). http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/water-tank-filler-with-shut-off-valve/4674

I use an old washing machine filler hose with one right angle end for my gray water hose. Long enough to reach the collection bucket sitting below. Oh, yeah, carry some kind of collection bucket for the gray water.

I, also, carry a 25 ft white RV water hose & a 25 ft extension cord with a 30 amp to 15 amp adapter in case a campground has only 30 amp sockets.

Enjoy your first trip in the knowledge that most of us are still tuning our equipment list.
Paul
 
Here's my $0.02 worth, in the form of what I carry:

A white (food-grade) 25-foot water hose, with caps on both end to keep it clean. I have another flat coiled hose that doesn't take up much room. I've never used it. A charcoal inline water filter to take the taste out of city water, with a 6-inch hose on one end and caps on both ends. A "water bandit" adaptor for stripped faucet threads or other unusual connections. A filler adaptor with shutoff valve, that can be inserted into the water inlet (Otherwise, you have to hold the hose end in there). A water pressure regulator for connecting the camper water system to a hose. I've never done this -- I just fill the tank. I keep these last items in zipper plastic bags to keep them clean.

I also carry a little 12-volt water pump, and associated hoses, for filling from a bucket. Some Forest Service campgrounds just have a hand-operated well pump.

Two 25-foot 14-gauge 3-wire extension cords. I installed a twist-lock connector that matches the camper power inlet on one of the cords. One 25-foot cord is usually enough, but I need both to plug in at home, so I just bring them along. I've needed them both when plugged in at someone's house. Adaptors that allow me to plug my cord into 30-Amp and 50-Amp campground outlets. I've never used the 50-Amp adapter -- those hookup seem to always have 15-Amp outlets, too.

I guess the weight of all this should be a factor in my thinking but I've chosen instead to try to be prepared.

- Bernard
 
Thanks folks...great suggestions...looks like a 25' white water hose is preferred by most, but like the idea of 2 x 10' hoses...I believe the electrical adapter comes standard with our new Fleet, so a regular 25' outdoor extension cord should be a good place to start...

Have already thought through the grey water set up probably using an old piece of hose @ 5' or so plus a collapsible 5 gal water container (light wt/stores well)...

As mentioned at the outset, we have never used water/electrical outlets as tent campers, do not have a shower, and will have a roof mounted solar panel, plus we prefer to camp "off the grid" where there is no water/electric plug ins, e.g. the many "free" campgrounds in Canada next to our favorite fly fishing lakes...that being said however, with our new camper, many new and exciting opportunities will no doubt take us to places/campsites were water/electric will be available--taking the place of hitting a motel between dry camp sites... thanks again for all the great suggestions...
 
smlobx said:
One of the suggestions I got from Hallmark when we bought our camper is to get a lighted extension cord so that you can verify that the outlet you are plugging into is actually working. I would not suggest going smaller that 14 gauge (remember that the smaller the number the larger the wire).
We picked up this one..

http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-25-ft-12-3-SJTW-Extension-Cord-with-Lighted-Plug-757-123025RL6A/205377773
Click to expand...
The 110V outlet in my FWC has an LED that lights up as soon as I am plugged into shore power.
Just thought I'd throw that out there, given this will be a new unit and it likely has an LED indicator as well.
 
Timothy McGowen said:
My 30A adaptor provided by FWC (2016) also has LED built in. Just one of the little extras that I appreciate.
Click to expand...
That's cool. Little things they seem to keep upgrading as time goes on.
I would appreciate that as well.
 
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