Sometimes as RVers we aren’t sure of what gear to carry. After all, there’s only so much space in the rig—being piled from floor to ceiling isn’t conducive to moving about freely. But there’s one thing you may want to carry more than one of: a water hose.
Keeping a long water hose in the rig is always a given, particularly if you frequent RV parks with hookups. But a short, coupled water hose, just a few feet long, can make life a whole lot easier when on the road.
We’re accustomed to lots of boondocking, meaning we’re away from hookups for days, even weeks at a time. Pulling into an RV service station to dump tanks and take on water is something we just work into our trips. In national parks it’s not uncommon to find those tall, tower-like water stations, where a hose hangs above the ground supported by a spring structure that keeps the hose off the ground yet easily accessible for use. Not so on one of our park stops.
Here were the towers, but no hoses
Happily the rangers had left a rope tied to the towers so you could pull down the “business end” of the tower. That was fine for rinsing our black water hose, but when it came time to fill up with drinking water, there was no way to get the water into the tank. We’d left our “short” six-foot watering hose back at base and found ourselves stuck dragging out the long hose and hooking it up, then after the fill, blowing the water out of 25 feet of line and wrapping it all up.
There are times, too, when even if the fill station provides a convenient hose, you may be better off using your own. Some folks, for some perverse reason, insist on using an available fresh water hose for cleaning their sewer hose. If in doubt, disconnect the available hose, maybe even clean the tap threads with sanitizer, and use your own. A tank full of bad bacteria will make for a memorable RV trip, and using your own “known clean” hose can pay dividends.
##RVDT2236
Thank you, Russ and Tina! Good tip; thank you!
We keep 2- 25′ water hoses, and 1-15′ hose dedicated only for tank flush and sewer hose rinse out..
I carry a 6′ and two 25′ hoses. A few years ago we stayed at the COEngr’s Pactola dam west of Rapid City SD. I travel with only about 10 gals. on board. The only fill station was at the central rest rooms – about 75′ from the nearest road access. My brother in law had a 25′ hose to make the connection within about 3″! Yes, carry extra hoses or add an extra 400-800 lbs your load!
I carry two 25 ft white hoses instead of one 50 ft.Easier if 25 ft is enough .I got quick connect fittings on the hoses they save time setting up and disconnecting.So far 50 ft has been enough but wouldn’t hurt to put another 25 feet in.
You need to carry an extra drinking water hose, a “Y” hose splitter, a power extension cord, and a 4″ sewage hose.
Better to have it and not need it, than to have to go looking for it.
I would never use water from a dump station even if it were 25’ from the dump site.
Every RVer on a full hookup site uses water from a dump station. Frequently the dump connection and the fresh water supply are less than three feet apart.
You are so correct, Rosy. You never know who put their stinky slinky over that water spigot to wash it out! I have a spray bottle of bleach in my wet bay and spray the water connection thoroughly before hooking up. Even if it is some distance away from the sewer connection I spray it since I once saw a lady let her large dog lift its leg and urinate on the fresh water spigot threads in the empty site next to me. Some people…geez!