First time glamping... A few questions!

[jmart273]

Finally took our new 5er out and have a few questions. First time RV owner here. Some of these may be dumb but I really appreciate any feedback.

1. Woke up this morning and there is condensation all over the windows and top part of walls next to ceiling. I understand how this happens, but what do I do about it? The only vent we have is the one in the bathroom. Tonight I will leave the vent cracked and fan on to help alleviate this. Any other tips would be appreciated.

2. My screen door doesn't stay attached to my main door. About half of the time, we open the door to enter our RV and the screen door is shut. The plastic latch that holds the screen door to the main door appears to not be doing it's job very well. Is this a normal problem? Is there anything I can rig up somehow?

3. Took my first RV shower tonight. The water refuses to come out more than a trickle and goes straight down. Makes cleaning under arms and other parts very difficult. I'm hooked to city water (which is running very high pressure) and a pressure regulator. The gauge is in the "green" band. Is this normal? Surely there is something I can do about this.

4. I got 40' of sewer hose onboard. I bought 20' and a friend gave me another 20' before I went out. I took it thinking I would never need it. Well, low and behold, I do not have enough hose to reach the sewer connection. Part of this is the horrible site we have, as far where I have to park related to where it is located. The real question is, my 40' of hose is more like 30'. Do you have to stretch these hoses for awhile? I didn't want to stretch it too much and put that strain on my dump connection.

5. Last question. I have the standard batwing antenna that came with my RV. I understand that I just point it to the biggest city, in this case Portland. I am about 55 miles north of Portland and signals are hit or miss. Is there an easier way to set this thing up to get better signals? How do I know it's pointed in the right direction? Do I need a better antenna?

Again, any suggestions or feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[buzzcop63]

1. Heating with the furnace brings in a lot of moisture, venting can help if you are not dealing with real low temperatures. A better way is to use electric heat, which is drying and pulls moisture out of the air. Dehumidifiers can also be used to pull some of the water out of the air. Using a combination of furnace and an electric heater can work, keep in mind that freezing temperatures will require the furnace to be run to heat the basement and its tanks.
2. Sounds like the screws holding the latch need to be adjusted.
5. 55 Miles is too far, I use a meter with my amplifier that gives me the strength of the signals, you turn the antenna until you find the best location and strongest stations then have your TV do a search. For about twenty bucks you can buy an addition to the Wingard antenna that will help some, as well as the directional meter, which replaces the present amplifier.

[Pull Toy]

+1 for buzzcop

2. Adjust, or if broken, replace latching thingee.

3. If your water pressure is good at the sink, you might have construction debris in shower head. Disassemble and inspect. Also be sure the little "water saver" button on the side of the shower head is pushed the right way.

4. Hose will stretch over time. Don't open "Black tank" until full of water, to get good flushing action. Then open "Grey tank" to flush hose. 40' seems mighty long to me

[ctbruce]

Do you have the antenna booster on? 55 miles is a fur piece but will give you better chance of pulling something in. It may need to be a Redbox kind of night.

Do you have the option to back up a little bit more? 40' is a long way especially when it comes to dumping.

Chip Bruce, RPh
Kansas City, MO
2016 Fuzion Impact 312
2017 3500HD Silverado LTZ

[the sodfather]

Looks like all good advice so far. Not much more to add except when backing into my spot, I pay close attention to the distances for water, sewer and electric. Then adjust. Also that the slide is clear....

[Outback 325BH]

The word "glamping" should not be in any heterosexual's vocabulary!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[PARAPTOR]

Looks like you got some good advice. WHOW closest you can get to sewer was 40' :facepalm: hope sewer is down hill from you :banghead: As far as the antenna I think the addon wingman ??? unit is a good investment (~$20). It will not help much with VHF stations (lower numbered) but I have found really helps to bring in more UHF stations (higher numbers). As mentioned for OTA signals make sure your amplifier is on

EDIT: Thanks canesfan !! yes upper and lower were switched, At my age, love socks either way they are correct

[canesfan]

Looks like you got some good advice. WHOW closest you can get to sewer was 40' :facepalm: hope sewer is down hill from you :banghead: As far as the antenna I think the addon wingman ??? unit is a good investment (~$20). It will not help much with UHF stations (lower numbered) but I have found really helps to bring in more VHF stations (upper numbers). As mentioned for OTA signals make sure your amplifier is on

I think the VHF channels are the lower numbers and the UHF are the higher numbers. At least they were when I was younger. As we get older who knows? :D :hide:

[sourdough]

40' for a sewer hose run is WAY long. Are you sure you're not hooked to the dump for another site? Most places I've gone to it would put you in another site, or the middle of a road, if you went 40' away from where your trailer is. It will be a pain to try to drain.

Something is wrong with your showerhead or water pressure. Does the kitchen sink run normally? If so check the shower head for stoppage or the little cutoff button is not all the way open. You could also remove the pressure regulator and see what that does if the kitchen and shower both have low pressure.

It appears you are in OR so I imagine your humidity is pretty high. If temps are well below freezing you need to be running the furnace to keep the tanks somewhat warm. You can try to supplement that with electric heat, cracking the vent/window or purchase a dehumidifier. When it's cold and humid and we run the furnace we also run the dehumidifier which seems to work great.

The door latch probably needs adjustment. You can adjust the latch itself or the catch that it snaps into. The catch can be adjusted up or down; sounds like yours may be too high and not engaging the door.

I don't know anything about the antenna....we never use ours. Good luck.

[MattHelm21]

3. I agree with sourdough. Do your other faucets run normally? Since the shower may move more water, it may be necessary to open more than one faucet to test this. If the pressure drops in other faucets, it could be a bad pressure regulator. Or, do you have an inline water filter. That may be clogged enough to restrict flow.

Certainly look at that shower head of it is only at the shower.

Good luck.

[ctbruce]

3. I agree with sourdough. Do your other faucets run normally? Since the shower may move more water, it may be necessary to open more than one faucet to test this. If the pressure drops in other faucets, it could be a bad pressure regulator. Or, do you have an inline water filter. That may be clogged enough to restrict flow.

Certainly look at that shower head of it is only at the shower.

Good luck.
Also take it apart and make sure there is no debris caught in the head. It has happened before and reported on the forums. Can't remember if here or on Forest River Forum. You can do a search.

Chip Bruce, RPh
Kansas City, MO
2016 Fuzion Impact 312
2017 3500HD Silverado LTZ

[mikell]

The shower head has a valve in it make sure it's open. It's so you can shut it off to conserve water. Not needed in city water.

Victim of the above.

Some turn others are pushbutton.

[Tbos]

A lot of showers are weak but not as weak as you describe. We put a new Oxigenics shower head on the hose and it has made a world of difference.


2016 Passport GT 2810BHS, 2014 Silverado 1500 LT in Deep Forest Green

[Ken / Claudia]

Call me old school and because I read to many OSP reports nearly every fall about troopers finding people who had been sleeping in closed up RVs and did not get fresh air and had furnace venting problems. I have a window cracked open somewhere in any RV I sleep in and a vent open part or full. Yeah I use more propane and would change if I full timed. At the coast or in the valley I do not have inside moisture problem's.

[MattHelm21]

Back to 3.

The shower head has a valve in it make sure it's open. It's so you can shut it off to conserve water. Not needed in city water.

I ran into this the first time I used an RV shower too. Where this feature isn't immediately obvious, the back of some plastics shower heads turns like a dial. Turn it one way, you have full flow, turn it the other way and the water is restricted to a trickle like you described.

[jmart273]

Thanks for the great replies/advice. Glamping has been removed from my vocabulary.

1. I started cracking a window and running the vent in the bathroom non-stop. That seems to help with the condensation greatly. This summer I will pick up some small electric heaters on clearance and start heating the RV that away, also maybe pick up a dehumidifier.

2. I adjusted the screen door and that seems to work a lot better. After looking at it more, I am going to have to take off the plastic latch holder, drill new holes and move it even lower. At it's lowest adjusted position it is still closing sometimes. This is what is causing it to shut and come disconnected from the main door. Easy fix.

3. I moved to another campground and did a couple more nights. The shower was slightly better. Yes the valve is open. The nozzle doesn't come apart at all, but it doesn't appear clogged. The other faucets all have good flow. I think part of the problem is I have to manage my expectations. The shower is not going to be like the shower at home. I was looking at buying one of these to help a little:

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-43712-Shower-Switch-Off-White/dp/B000OAG2DK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487663955&sr=8-1&keywords=rv+showerhead

4. The original site I had was horribly setup. Several of my neighbors said so as well. Yes, it was my sewer dump hole, not the other sites'. I was only staying there 2 nights so I just treated it like a dump station. No worries. If I were to stay longer I would have asked for a new site. Agree, 40' of sewer hose is a lot, but I have 2 dump connections on the RV so it can be tricky if the dump hole is not in the right spot.

5. Yes the booster is on, but I guess I was too far away. How easy is it to install one of those signal strength meters? Anyone have experience with the Dish tailgater?

[JRTJH]

jsmart273,

Your trailer (and most others as well) is very easy to "torque off center" while leveling. If you do get the frame twisted while trying to level it, the doors won't close properly, the screen will not latch properly and you may even have problems with sliding windows opening easily. Remember that the door is manufactured in a jig that prevents (hopefully) any misdrilled holes. So the screen door latch should be in the correct position. That might be affected if the door was installed incorrectly, but I wouldn't go drilling new holes until you know for sure that it's not a result of "how you set up the trailer on the site"....

As for the showerhead, I think you'll find that CAMCO showerhead to perform just about like what you got from the factory.... Most of us have the Oxygenics showerhead and find it saves water and provides a better spray than the OEM. Depending on which finish you need, painted, chrome or brushed nickel, you can get one on sale for about the same price as that CAMCO. https://www.amazon.com/ETL-26781-White-Oxygenics-Shower/dp/B00F5MUB66/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1487692944&sr=8-2&keywords=oxygenics+rv+showerhead

[sourdough]

Thanks for the great replies/advice. Glamping has been removed from my vocabulary.

1. I started cracking a window and running the vent in the bathroom non-stop. That seems to help with the condensation greatly. This summer I will pick up some small electric heaters on clearance and start heating the RV that away, also maybe pick up a dehumidifier.

2. I adjusted the screen door and that seems to work a lot better. After looking at it more, I am going to have to take off the plastic latch holder, drill new holes and move it even lower. At it's lowest adjusted position it is still closing sometimes. This is what is causing it to shut and come disconnected from the main door. Easy fix.

3. I moved to another campground and did a couple more nights. The shower was slightly better. Yes the valve is open. The nozzle doesn't come apart at all, but it doesn't appear clogged. The other faucets all have good flow. I think part of the problem is I have to manage my expectations. The shower is not going to be like the shower at home. I was looking at buying one of these to help a little:

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-43712-Shower-Switch-Off-White/dp/B000OAG2DK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487663955&sr=8-1&keywords=rv+showerhead

4. The original site I had was horribly setup. Several of my neighbors said so as well. Yes, it was my sewer dump hole, not the other sites'. I was only staying there 2 nights so I just treated it like a dump station. No worries. If I were to stay longer I would have asked for a new site. Agree, 40' of sewer hose is a lot, but I have 2 dump connections on the RV so it can be tricky if the dump hole is not in the right spot.

5. Yes the booster is on, but I guess I was too far away. How easy is it to install one of those signal strength meters? Anyone have experience with the Dish tailgater?


Have you taken the shower head off the hose and turned on the water to the shower to make sure there is not problem in the head?

Also, the shower head is the location that will tell you if you actually have low water pressure. At some locations I've had to remove the pressure regulator to get the shower to put out adequate water. You may be experiencing the same thing. It could be the regulator or it could be that the pressure is already low enough that the regulator is not required. We use the regulator and an inline water filter so between the two it seems that some locations get reduced too much.

[canesfan]

What I'm surprised no one has mentioned yet re the shower head, it most likely has a water restrictor in it. It's a round thing the size of a dime or so with one to several little holes in it depending on the make, usually right at the connection where you screw it onto the hose. Or maybe you're just expecting a home shower experience. You won't get it in the camper. You can drill out the holes in the restrictor or completely remove it. It will make a big difference in water flow. Or like a lot of us you can replace the shower head. One other thing I will do because I'm too cheap to buy a "good" pressure regulator, is to fill the water tank and use the pump for showering. I have always found I get better water pressure from the shower with the pump than on city water with the cheap pressure regulator. Doesn't cost anything. :)

[jmart273]

jsmart273,

Your trailer (and most others as well) is very easy to "torque off center" while leveling. If you do get the frame twisted while trying to level it, the doors won't close properly, the screen will not latch properly and you may even have problems with sliding windows opening easily. Remember that the door is manufactured in a jig that prevents (hopefully) any misdrilled holes. So the screen door latch should be in the correct position. That might be affected if the door was installed incorrectly, but I wouldn't go drilling new holes until you know for sure that it's not a result of "how you set up the trailer on the site"....

As for the showerhead, I think you'll find that CAMCO showerhead to perform just about like what you got from the factory.... Most of us have the Oxygenics showerhead and find it saves water and provides a better spray than the OEM. Depending on which finish you need, painted, chrome or brushed nickel, you can get one on sale for about the same price as that CAMCO. https://www.amazon.com/ETL-26781-White-Oxygenics-Shower/dp/B00F5MUB66/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1487692944&sr=8-2&keywords=oxygenics+rv+showerhead

I've never thought of this or even knew this was a thing. The latch I am talking about is just the cheap plastic thingy attached to the main door. Has 2 screws. It's purpose is two-fold, to hold the screen door to the main door, and to push the screen door handle down far enough so that the screen door latch does not engage the jam. It's not pushing the screen door handle down far enough, causing the latch to engage the jam about 20% of the time, causing the screen door to stay shut.

Do you think me adjusting this little plastic piece would negatively affect anything?

[jmart273]

What I'm surprised no one has mentioned yet re the shower head, it most likely has a water restrictor in it. It's a round thing the size of a dime or so with one to several little holes in it depending on the make, usually right at the connection where you screw it onto the hose. Or maybe you're just expecting a home shower experience. You won't get it in the camper. You can drill out the holes in the restrictor or completely remove it. It will make a big difference in water flow. Or like a lot of us you can replace the shower head. One other thing I will do because I'm too cheap to buy a "good" pressure regulator, is to fill the water tank and use the pump for showering. I have always found I get better water pressure from the shower with the pump than on city water with the cheap pressure regulator. Doesn't cost anything. :)

Canes fan, this is some good advice. I will definitely try this. I also have noticed that I get much better water pressure with the water pump. I do not want to buy another shower nozzle if I don't have to. I will look at that flow restrictor and opening it up slightly or removing it altogether.

When I disconnect the hose it appears that the water pressure is adequate, but the nozzle is not clogged.

When I purchased my RV everyone said I must have a pressure regulator, so I bought and installed one. I am also running an inline filter, which I'm sure restricts flow even more. Is the regulator overkill? The entire RV is piped with PEX tubing, which is quality stuff from what I understand. I am not concerned about water usage if I am connected to city water.

[sourdough]

I use my water filter everywhere and my pressure regulator when required. I don't use any scientific method. I can tell 100 psi water from 40 psi. If I have adequate water flow but not too high I don't use the regulator. We don't use it here at this park but the city water pressure is only about 40-45 psi. The PEX is good stuff but I'm not sure about the connections they use on RV tubing. They definitely aren't the same as was used on our house in the mountains when we had it completely re-plumbed and make me cautious about running very high pressures.

[Cougar29FKS]

If it was me I would absolutely use a regulator. The pressure differs from place to place and the connections are not the same as in a house. I wouldn't risk it anyway.

Also another vote for Oxygenics shower head. I have tried several and this is by far the best. One annoyance is that it continues to drip after shutting it off at the head while showering. I called support and asked about it and they said it was normal. I purchased a cheap shutoff valve off of Amazon and use that between the hose and the head. Works great now.

[Jens Weber]

Android app Development Antenna is a good help to locate where the antennas are located so you can point your Batwing in the right direction

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

[Jens Weber]

Android app Development Antenna is a good help to locate where the antennas are located so you can point your Batwing in the right direction

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
Should be DTV Antenna (stupid auto correct)

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

[sourdough]

If it was me I would absolutely use a regulator. The pressure differs from place to place and the connections are not the same as in a house. I wouldn't risk it anyway.

Also another vote for Oxygenics shower head. I have tried several and this is by far the best. One annoyance is that it continues to drip after shutting it off at the head while showering. I called support and asked about it and they said it was normal. I purchased a cheap shutoff valve off of Amazon and use that between the hose and the head. Works great now.

I quit using a regulator "all" the time after encountering a couple of situations where adding it in line cut the water pressure to a point it was unusable in the shower. Didn't think it would do that but it does (I've went thru 3).

[rhagfo]

1. Heating with the furnace brings in a lot of moisture, venting can help if you are not dealing with real low temperatures. A better way is to use electric heat, which is drying and pulls moisture out of the air. Dehumidifiers can also be used to pull some of the water out of the air. Using a combination of furnace and an electric heater can work, keep in mind that freezing temperatures will require the furnace to be run to heat the basement and its tanks.
...............

Call me old school and because I read to many OSP reports nearly every fall about troopers finding people who had been sleeping in closed up RVs and did not get fresh air and had furnace venting problems. I have a window cracked open somewhere in any RV I sleep in and a vent open part or full. Yeah I use more propane and would change if I full timed. At the coast or in the valley I do not have inside moisture problem's.

I don't believe gas furnace places moisture in the air, yes, burning propane results in moisture, BUT the combustion chamber in the furnace is sealed!! The combustion uses OUTSIDE air and it exhausts to the outside. Inside the trailer the same air is recirculated over the furnace heat exchanger and picks up heat NOT moisture.
The moisture comes from bodies in the trailer, venting is the way to prevent condensation. Even in cold weather you need to vent the moisture.

ON EDIT: I might also add that we now in the winter run our furnace while on the road! We set the t-stat at about 60 degrees, typlical drive to the coast is about two to two and a half hours, when we arrive the trailer is warm, and because we always have a couple vents open (Vent Covers are your friend) a lot of the "dampness" is also out by then.
I will also add that our last month on the coast we only used electric heat. I had installed the RV Comfort Systems "Cheap Heat" add-on system to our 30,000 BTU furnace. It worked GREAT!