ckz72reddale
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1972 Red Dale 12' "Foxy"
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Post by ckz72reddale on Sept 10, 2017 8:59:12 GMT -8
We currently have an old freshwater tank, 12V LOUD pump which feeds into a hand pump. We want to switch out to city water with a separate city water faucet, keeping the hand pump with new portable water tanks. We currently drain directly out of the camper, with a threaded end on the drain pipe outside. I have a couple questions-
1. Is there anything I need to consider about ditching the 12V pump and just having a hose available to use with portable water tanks that will fit under the seat? I have not tried the hand pump yet, hoping it has not been ruined from being hooked up to a pump.
2. When installing the city water hook up- is it a straight inlet, water line to faucet and new faucet? That's it? Do I need to vent the system or have a check valve as I have seen in other diagrams here of city water systems? Anything else to consider or is just that straight forward?
3. What else do I need to add to the end of the drain pipe if I want to be able to drain direct into a full hook up system from my drain pipe? We have just been draining into a bucket and then dumping in an appropriate spot, which actually works great, but I know some parks won't let you do this.
What haven't I thought of?
Thank you.
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nccamper
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1962 Forester- 1956 Shasta
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Post by nccamper on Sept 10, 2017 17:40:24 GMT -8
In my camper the city water comes straight in. It’s a hose rated for drinking water, to a in-line filter, to the camper connection, through a pipe (copper to flex hose), to the faucet. There is no check valve because there is no shared line to the sink since the hand pump is exclusively for the tank
what “if I want to be able to drain direct into a full hook up system from my drain pipe?”
Some people buy a sewer cap that the drain hose connects to and a P-trap to keep gas from seeping into the camper. My shasta had a vent on the drain system but my Forester did not.
“We have just been draining into a bucket…”
I use the bucket where it’s discreet but many people who camp in a private campground have to use a portable holding tank. Which they then drag to the dump station or dump it in the woods.
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ckz72reddale
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1972 Red Dale 12' "Foxy"
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Post by ckz72reddale on Sept 11, 2017 4:55:22 GMT -8
Thanks nccamper! I've been looking at those rolling holding tanks.
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ckz72reddale
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1972 Red Dale 12' "Foxy"
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Post by ckz72reddale on Sept 11, 2017 8:48:20 GMT -8
Ha! Turns out there is a city water inlet in already, waaaaaay under the camper. That would be fun to crawl under there to hook up a hose! Also turns out, our Shurflo 130 hand pump faucet works off of city water and as a hand pump. Well, works is a misnomer. Push down for city water works well, but the copper coming in from under the camper leaks terribly. The hand pump doesn't want to pump water, the inlet is where the 12v pump was hooked up. There looks to be another inlet that is capped. Could that be where we need to hook up for the hand pump to work correctly? Anyone have one of these that works? Is it worth fixing? I like that city and hand pump are combined in one faucet. We really don't have room for 2 faucets.
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ckz72reddale
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Posts: 96
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1972 Red Dale 12' "Foxy"
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Post by ckz72reddale on Sept 11, 2017 14:15:00 GMT -8
Well, I will keep answering my own questions today, since they may help someone down the road. Took the SHURflo faucet apart and the rubber drum part of the seal was broken, so it wasn't creating any suction. Started looking it up online and realized it's the same thing as the much maligned Leisure Components hand pumps. Found a repair kit at our local RV center, took it apart, cleaned it, sanitized it and put it back together with almost all new parts. Works great now! We will be re-routing the city water to a more accessible spot where the freshwater tank fill inlet was on the side of the camper and using fresh water portable tanks with the hand pump. A million times better than the old grimy green tank that was in the camper when we got it, and we just gained a bunch of storage under the front street side banquette seat! Calling victory on the day!
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nccamper
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1962 Forester- 1956 Shasta
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Post by nccamper on Sept 11, 2017 14:43:46 GMT -8
Excellent. You're both the student asking questions and the master answering them.
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