Question for Those Who Have RV's and Experienced RV Campers

We don't yet have one, but DH is always trying to tempt me! He hates staying in hotels. Those we know who enjoy them most definitely use the toilets, then empty the septic systems in designated areas. I guess that would be a preference thing. DH spends some time learning at this RV Forum. You may find some answers there from experienced RVers.

Have a safe trip and enjoy your first adventure!

We RV'd for eleven years and everything about it...we loved! It didn't matter what kind of bad weather we had - we never left our RV and never encountered a problem. We treated our RV like our home and lived in it like we do our home. As far as the toilet - we always used it and rarely used the restrooms at the campgrounds we stayed at. We preferred staying where they had sewage hookups. If they didn't have sewage hookups we had our own Tote-n-Stor. Campgrounds all have areas where you can empty your Tote-n-Stor upon leaving their grounds. There is nothing worse than having to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night or when it is pouring down rain outside. We had friends that didn't use their bathrooms either only because they didn't want to have to empty their holding tanks. We liked the convenience of having the bathroom and we never minded having to empty the tote when we had to use it. I think it is just personal preference.

I hope you have many enjoyable years of RV'ing.

lynzzz - our cats were welcomed as your dog is and I loved cooking in my beautiful kitchen and having friends over.

After RVing for a few years we decided to stay put and had a boat and a lovely spot on Lake Erie in Geneva-on-the-Lake, OH. Several years ago we sold everything when my husband acquired Meniere's and tinnitus. We do miss the comradery of fellow campers we met over the years and the great times we had over campfires. Those were memorable times we will never forget.

patticakes - It would be interesting to know how your first weekend in your RV went for you guys. I hope you come back and let us know; would love to hear how it went.

Second the advice about pulling in your awning in bad weather. We were in a park where we own shares (camp there at least 2 months a yr) when a freak storm came thru and took off at least 10 awnings and totalled 2 trailors that were under large trees that lost large limbs. We now never use our awning and instead purchased a $100 free standing awning to put over our picnic table.

We actually live in our current camper for 5 months every summer when we snowbird from Fl to Pa. We have always loved camping. Started out with a pop up tent camper then a Hi Lo that had a bathroom, a couple different fifth wheels and now we have a 43 ft park model in a permanent spot. We always use our BR - we do go to walmart to the camping section and buy the RV toilet paper because it dissolves better in the tank than regular paper. We also use the chemicals they recommend for in the tank. We have a sewage hookup but my DH prefers to let the tanks get almost filled then empty them instead of leaving it directly open because they completely empty that way instead of anything being left behind. He does leave the grey water tanks open to directly drain.

You do not have to leave the camper in a storm though we do leave if there are tornado warnings. We have cable TV and internet which we do unplug in case of storms but we also have a surge suppressor between the RV and the plug and a strip one where we plug in our electronics. My DH is an electrical engineer so he knows about these things. I think he got the one outside at camping world. It protects the appliances and the things like the water heater and furnace, but is not sensitive enough to protect the electronic stuff, like computers and phones.

When we travelled we would keep those blue ice packs in the freezer while the RV was plugged in and during the day when we travelled we would put them down in the fridge and keep it cold that way. They say it is extremely unsafe to actually run the fridge while driving because gas fumes can easily explode and if you are running the fridge while travelling .There is a gas flame because it is propane operated. especially dangerous at gas stations. So keep the blue ice packs in the freezer at night and put them in the fridge during the day while you travel - it will keep everything cold just like a cooler.

I bought a set of melamine dishes at Penneys about 30 years ago and they have never broken - we still use them every day.They have many thousands of miles on them. When we wanted to eat out we usually went to Cracker Barrell because they always have RV parking.

can't think of anything else.

Thanks, everyone, for the excellent advice and tips. We definitely appreciate them. As far as our first weekend adventure, it was a success even though we had some rain the first day. It really didn't interfere with our trip. The only thing we had to adjust was that we didn't put our awning down until the second day due to rain and wind.

Just a couple of questions for those that may know. Did you ever have any problems using the propane hot water heater? We didn't use it this time but will in the future. I was just hesitant because I don't especially like propane.

Also, anyone know of a netting that they might sell that could be attached to awning to enclosure patio area and protect from bugs, etc. Or, would we have to get a free-standing shelter with netting on the sides? If so, any recommendation for one that's durable yet not too hard to assemble?

OP - you need to get yourself a catalog from Camping World.