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New PUP camper with lots of questions
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30 Posts
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July 18, 2017 - 1:31 am
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Hi folks. I made a full introduction in the New Members forum so I won't repeat myself here.

As this is my first trailer there are many things I'm unsure of or parts I need help  finding...

The main problem at this point, two weeks before we head out on our first trip, is finding shower curtain hooks. There is an aluminum shower curtain rail in our Fleetwood, but it didn't come with a shower curtain. Many hours wasted searching online and I cannot find a suitable runner or hook or whatever you might call it. The rail is an I beam style and quite small. Any ideas?

Regarding the plumbing, we have a toilet, but it looks as if it just pops out and manually empty s like our Thetford camping potty. In this case, I assume we do not need any kind of sewer hose, even with full hook ups?

Using the grey water tank for the sink, how do we empty this? The cap screws off but I assume the water will just spill out everywhere. Is there a trick or an accessory to this?

Is there a way to charge the RV battery from the truck alternator while we are driving/towing?

I see a lot of drinking water hoses for sale at RV stores. Do these hook up to the water bib at the camp site? Is this water safe to drink, or are these hoses a waste of money?

What's an appropriate pressure for the PUP tires?

Regarding the clean water tank, is it safe to fill at home and drive with it, or are you meant to fill up at the camp site. Is there usually a hose bib at campground entrances, or do you need to run a long hose from a shred bib in the ground?

Thanks for baring with me. I feel I'm going to make a complete tit of myself on our first few trips until I get the hang of this.

Cheers for any help and advice
Adam

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July 18, 2017 - 7:32 am
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Welcome to Canvas Campers!!
I will help where i can. Others will offer more advice based on their experience.
  As far as gray water. You may have a holding tank which would mean a valve under the camper behind the outlet. if not hook up your drain hose in the sewer before you start.
  Depending on how your vehicle was wired it may be set up to charge the camper battery. if not there us an extra terminal that could be used for this in the connector. Be sure to fuse this and remember along with charging the camper it can also draw the Vehicle dead.
  I drank a lot of water from a regular hose so. OK! proper water hoses are a good idea. The water at campgrounds in most places is tested for use. You can fill at home, but most places have a place to fill before you get to your site. Why carry the extra weight if you don't have to.
  Tire should be inflated to the pressure listed on the sidewall. They built the tire and know best. Running pressures lower than recommended are a recipe for disaster.

                    Chief,

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July 18, 2017 - 6:48 pm
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Thanks Chief. Great info to get me started. Totally appreciated

Adam

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July 19, 2017 - 12:53 pm
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For future reference, I solved the shower curtain problem. Found this site that had the rail hangers and hooks I need. http://www.curtain-tracks.com/.....icles.html

And of course good old Amazon for the curtain

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July 19, 2017 - 1:11 pm
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Hi welcome to the world of popup campers.  Some are easy and others make you scratch your head.    The gray drains and black water from pups is different than conventional wisdom in Travel Trailers on up.  The pottie should have either a tank or Cassette Tank.  The Cassette Tank comes out of the side of the camper and is the same area where you add fresh water to the toilet system.    Showers and kitchen sinks are even more of  PITA BUTT.  Normally they are located far from each other on opposing sides of the pup.  Shower drains contain "black water" but is called gray water just like kitchen sink water that may have "black water" mixed in from hand washing or washing infants in the sink.  The dual drains need to routed to a single drain and usually a 15 to 25 gallon portable tank is needed. 

Easy pups: have kitchen gray, water no inside shower, and thetford portable potties or even a bucket to do the deed either in the pup or outside in tent.  Depending on where you camping you can use the outside shower easily with a shower tent.  In NO showering allowed areas it requires a way to capture the nasty "black water" from the shower pan.  In my many years of camping in all types of campers I recommend using the endless hot water of a facility's comfort station and use the "roughing it" methods off grid only. 

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July 20, 2017 - 2:17 pm
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Thanks for a great reply, really helpful.

You're right it's a bit of a head scratcher so far. I guess they are limited by space to lay things out in a bit of an odd fashion.

We do have a cassette type potty, not a big deal there. It does seem there is clean water tank that doesn't look too big we would have to keep a check on. I downloaded a manual for Fleetwood campers that I need to read through for full operational instructions.

As far as grey and black water goes, doesn't it all dispose down the same drain/sewer. Do people do something different with the grey water?

Thanks again
Adam

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