Learned a lesson about full hook up and power outages. Fill your tank!

Timmer

Senior Member
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397
Location
Minnesota
Lesson learned. Full hook up and power outages - fill your water tank!

This last weekend we were traveling for my daughter's softball. We stayed at a KOA with full hookup. Given the full hookup, we didn't bring our generator, and didn't fill our water tank. We came back the first night and within minutes of our return the power went out for a large area, not just the campground. We had no water and 2 softball players that needed showers (badly after a long hot day :)). We had to use bottled water to brush our teeth, etc. It was hot and the power company had some issues keeping up with the AC in the area. The power came back on a few of hours later in the middle of the night. Ok, things happen, it was a minor inconvenience. Then the next night a huge explosion type bang wakes us up and there is a flash that lit up the sky that you could see through the window blinds. At the same time our AC turns off, campground lights go dark, etc. Here we go again! This time it's not the general area, but the campground itself. We left late morning and it still was out at that time. But, as far as our experience, do you think we filled the water tank after the first incident? Nope, we had mentally added it to our list of things to do at the beginning of our trips. We weren't smart enough to fill it after it happened the first time!

So, reminder, bring your generator if you have one, and always put some water in your tank in case you lose power!
 
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There was no water available with the power out? That is weird, I don't think I've seen that before. Usually water pressure is unaffected by a power outage.
 
There was no water available with the power out? That is weird, I don't think I've seen that before. Usually water pressure is unaffected by a power outage.

We tested and there was definitely no water. We spoke to other campers and we mutually shared our struggles. Most were RV's and had generators, but they didn't think to fill their tanks either. The only way you would have water is if it is gravity fed or the campground had a generator. If you were in the city you likely would have a water tower feeding the campground. Most of the campgrounds we would visit are remote and would have a well, which would require power to the well pump. I suppose the campground itself could have some sort of a holding tank as well but I don't recall having ever seen one. We have seen campgrounds that have a big generator, but have never used that as a factor for staying there. Maybe we should!
 
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If on a well system.... a power outage could effect the well head pump. Got one at our stick built, been there, done that! CG's should have generator backup for well heads IMO.

If it were me, would take up a hotel until fixed on that situation depending on how long of stay and estimated outage time. Also would inquire about a refund or deduction due to services not available at CG - if longer than a reasonable amount of time.
 
There was no water available with the power out? That is weird, I don't think I've seen that before. Usually water pressure is unaffected by a power outage.

If the campground is on a well without a backup generator for their pumps this will happen.

Rob
 
This last weekend we were traveling for my daughter's softball. We stayed at a KOA with full hookup. Given the full hookup, we didn't bring our generator, and didn't fill our water tank. We came back the first night and within minutes of our return the power went out for a large area, not just the campground. We had no water and 2 softball players that needed showers (badly after a long hot day :)). We had to use bottled water to brush our teeth, etc. It was hot and the power company had some issues keeping up with the AC in the area. The power came back on a few of hours later in the middle of the night. Ok, things happen, it was a minor inconvenience. Then the next night a huge explosion type bang wakes us up and there is a flash that lit up the sky that you could see through the window blinds. At the same time our AC turns off, campground lights go dark, etc. Here we go again! This time it's not the general area, but the campground itself. We left late morning and it still was out at that time. But, as far as our experience, do you think we filled the water tank after the first incident? Nope, we had mentally added it to our list of things to do at the beginning of our trips. We weren't smart enough to fill it after it happened the first time!

So, reminder, bring your generator if you have one, and always put some water in your tank in case you lose power!

Great reminder. We never travel without our generator and a full tank of fresh water. :)
 
We always travel with water. Never know if you'll need to use the bathroom or have a break down and maybe need to wash up. We've already arrived at a campground that was in the process of fixing a water main break.
 
Great reminder. We never travel without our generator and a full tank of fresh water. :)

We travel with SOME water, but not full. Water is very heavy, and many trailers can’t afford the extra weight while towing. We are right at our trailer GVW with 5-7 gal of fresh water on board for roadside flushes. That’s after very careful loading.

Seems to me a good strategy would be to fill the tank AFTER arrival and setup. Then dump the excess BEFORE departure.
 
We travel with SOME water, but not full. Water is very heavy, and many trailers can’t afford the extra weight while towing. We are right at our trailer GVW with 5-7 gal of fresh water on board for roadside flushes. That’s after very careful loading.

Seems to me a good strategy would be to fill the tank AFTER arrival and setup. Then dump the excess BEFORE departure.

Sounds like you need a different tow vehicle or different loading strategy if you are that close to your max weight ratings. I know the water is heavy but we only boondock and go deep off the grid when camping. For that reason, there is no where to fill our tank when we arrive wherever we might be going. Secondly, my wife loves the softened water from our house rather than what you might find out in the boonies. I would much rather leave my house equipped and prepared for my trip than to rely on finding needed supplies later if I can help it. I bought a truck and camper setup where I was not worried about the weight ratings of what I wanted and needed to carry. I would be very disappointed to have those types of constraints on our camping experiences.
 
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Sounds like you need a different tow vehicle or different loading strategy if you are that close to your max weight ratings. I know the water is heavy but we only boondock and go deep off the grid when camping. For that reason, there is no where to fill our tank when we arrive wherever we might be going. Secondly, my wife loves the softened water from our house rather than what you might find out in the boonies. I would much rather leave my house equipped and prepared for my trip than to rely on finding needed supplies later if I can help it. I bought a truck and camper setup where I was not worried about the weight ratings of what I wanted and needed to carry. I would be very disappointed to have those types of constraints on our camping experiences.

It all depends on the camping experience one might be looking for. We always camp in full service RV parks, so boondocking was never in our plan. We live in our trailer for 2 months every summer in a cooler location. The trailer we bought has lots of living space. It simply does not have the gvw headroom to haul lots of water. It doesn’t matter how I load it. The TV is no issue. My suggestion to fill the fresh water tank upon arrival is based on our camping experience. YMMV.

I happen to know that lots of trailer models are limited on how much water they can carry. Obviously, these are not good choices for boondocking. Good reason to know what camping experience you are looking for before choosing an RV.
 
It all depends on the camping experience one might be looking for. We always camp in full service RV parks, so boondocking was never in our plan. We live in our trailer for 2 months every summer in a cooler location. The trailer we bought has lots of living space. It simply does not have the gvw headroom to haul lots of water. It doesn’t matter how I load it. The TV is no issue. My suggestion to fill the fresh water tank upon arrival is based on our camping experience. YMMV.

I happen to know that lots of trailer models are limited on how much water they can carry. Obviously, these are not good choices for boondocking. Good reason to know what camping experience you are looking for before choosing an RV.

I couldn't agree more. That's the first question I ask people when they want recommendations on campers, batteries, solar, and all the bits and pieces.
 
We boondock some, and when we do we will carry a full tank of fresh water, with the black and grey tanks empty. Otherwise, be generally travel with only a little fresh water, and a bit in the black and grey tanks with the Calgon/Pine Sol mix to clean them. As soon as we land I dump and fill. When we're ready to go again I dump.

Our electrical system can handle one air conditioner for a few hours, but if one is one we generally have both on. The problem is that the MultiPlus II switches to batteries instantly, and it can't handle the load of two air conditioners. That happened yesterday, so I had Jo Ann turn off the air conditioners while I reset the MP. Fortunately, it hadn't actually tripped, as the power apparently just blipped. We stayed plugged in, but with only one a/c running, just in case.
 
We travel with 1/3 tank of water and always carry a generator. If we think our next stop is dry we will fill the water tank more, but I figure no sense in dragging water around when it's usually pretty plentiful.

We have friends that always put water in their tank when they arrive, even at a full hook up campground and then just run off the tank. Not sure remember theologic in that other than it would likely give consistent water pressure.
 
We travel with SOME water, but not full. Water is very heavy, and many trailers can’t afford the extra weight while towing. We are right at our trailer GVW with 5-7 gal of fresh water on board for roadside flushes. That’s after very careful loading.

Seems to me a good strategy would be to fill the tank AFTER arrival and setup. Then dump the excess BEFORE departure.

That's a good suggestion. When we book full service sites (or electrical only for that matter) I don't take the genrerator and I'm sure many others don't either.
 
Having the water tank full came in handy a few years ago when in Texas for the winter and the power went out, for some time. The campground had city water, city had no backup power for the pumps, so slowly lost pressure to none.

Having water tank full, 2 good batteries, Honda eui 2000 gen and extra gas, full plus extra propane, came in handy.

In my 32 years of line work, I spent 90% of every storm out working, in it and after. It's best to plan ahead for the weather.
 
When in FL filling the tankis something we do fairly quick, more so because the water system is sure to have a line leak and get shut down a few times a season. We have been lucky about power outages there. But once while in the SC foothills we lost power for a day and a half due to storms, at the same time we had a few inches of water hanging out at the bottom of our steps that was deceiving because the door mat was floating in place. What a surprise when I stepped on it and the mat went surfing!
 
From my working days, as a lineman, i highly would recommend being prepared for the worst, like loosing power and or water.
1 or 2 or more good batteries, full propane, full water tank, a generator is very nice with extra gas, and ones world really doent change much in a camper.

Reasons are, its not only a storm that may take out the power. Animals like squires and such, tree branches/falling trees, a broken pole, can cause a power outage at anytime. The damage can be a simple blown fuse, or a damaged piece of equipment that needs replacing. As well as, someone could dig into the underground secondary or primary at anytime, or a ground rodent may chew on it and cause an outage. And that can take out the water depending on how the water is delivered.

My last 8 years i worked alone as a trouble man/person. So at times multiple things could happen at the same time, and a person can only go in one direction at a time. So depending on whats going on, it might take a wile to restore power.
 
Good thinking on the water management! We've had similar issues with our electrical system, especially when running multiple ACs. Have you considered upgrading to a higher capacity inverter or adding more batteries to handle the load?
 

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