FREEZEPROOF WATER HOSE

[mountainborn]

http://olivertraveltrailers.com/freezeproof-larry-mountainborn-harmon/

[Overland]

Thank you Larry.  Anyone have a recommendation for a good pre-made heated hose?  It seems like this Camco version gets the best reviews on Amazon.

 

What's the best length to buy?  I assume you'd want the shortest one that is practical, so is 12' sufficient for most campgrounds?

[KarenLukens]

I honestly don't see the need only because I don't stay hooked up to city water when it's way below freezing. I've used heat tape, lived in Alaska for a few years, and still just don't have the need to stayed hooked up to anyone elses plumbing when it's that cold. I'll pull my hose out around 2pm, fill the tank, drain everything else if needed, then put them away for a few days.

[Overland]

That's probably what we'll do ourselves, but thought it worth asking.

[J-Rhett]

Yep, disconnecting the water hose if you know it's going to freeze is a good idea and having a backup hose in case you get caught is a good idea too. Or you might have to bring your frozen hose in and unthaw in the bathroom.

[ScubaRx]

After a particularly cold night in Tombstone, Arizona in late January 2016  that froze our water hose, we purchased this hose at camping world.  I have provided a link from Walmart because it is considerably cheaper there. Admittedly it would be cheaper to just take in your hose if freezing temperatures are expected, but we were caught unawares that night.  We have had the opportunity to use it when the temperatures were dropping below freezing and it does work. It also comes with a handy-dandy double male adapter that can be screwed into either female end of the hose.  This effectively reverses the hose end that has the electrical plug and allows you to plug it in at the pedestal if the electric and water are close enough or at the  trailer if they are not.

[Overland]

Thanks again Steve.  I think this is something that I'll hold off on until we see how much junk we end up with stuffed in the basement.  I can see how it would add some peace of mind though.

 

In December, we were talking to my wife's cousins who had just bought one of those big bus winnies with the big electric fireplace and all that.  They were saying how they had to crawl under the bus every night to disconnect the water.  That seemed...inconvenient?  I think if it were me, I'd be mumbling something about $x00,000 every time I had to do that.

 

So is 25' considered the best length for a water hose, heated or not?  Never having used hookups, I have no idea how far away they can be from the trailer.

 

 

[bugeyedriver]

I think if it were me, I’d be mumbling something about $x00,000 every time I had to do that. So is 25′ considered the best length for a water hose, heated or not? Never having used hookups, I have no idea how far away they can be from the trailer.

 

Overland,

 

Bwahahaaaa on the mumbling comment!   I like maximum flexibility while camping.  One time I was camping high in the Rocky Mts, at a federal park where Mountainborn and Butcherknife were camphosts.   There were no hookups, but water was available at scattered points.  The source of water closest to me was across the street, about 125 feet from my trailer.  If campground rules permit greywater discharge, it is convenient to have water hoses that can reach a distance.  I now carry 175 ft of water hose.   Two 25' coiled hoses and three collapsable hoses ( two @ 50' and one 25').  These take up  a very small footprint in the bed of my truck.

 

Pete

[KarenLukens]

I carry two - 25's wrapped up with bungee balls, then I use the bungee balls to strap my filter to the water supply. I also carry an 18" piece of 1" clear vinyl poly tubing that fits perfectly over the National Forest campground faucets because those faucets will spray water in every direction and that length fits into my 8 gallon portable. Seems like water is around 150 yards from most of the better camping sites in National Parks.

 

https://www.plumbingsupply.com/cleartubing.html

 

This 6' piece went with the trailer but it's cheap and available at any hardware store.

 

[SeaDawg]

Overland, your cousin might consider a four or five foot easily drained , and easily reached hose, joined to a longer hose.

 

12 foot works in the thoughtfully laid out campsites. Carry two. Or a twenty five. Live off the tank.

 

Our worst experiences have been in Canada. Power trees , shared, sometimes 100 ft away, but we could borrow a cord at the office... In provincial parks if we needed power

 

Not usually a big deal for us, as we fill at a central spit, and live off solar, as we do at home. I can count on one hand the number of times we've actually used a powered or water site, in nine years.

 

Sherry

[KarenLukens]

I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve actually used a powered or water site, in nine years. Sherry

Wow :) Now that's impressive. I'd never used hookups until I met Karen , and with the Casita we had to in bad weather to have enough battery to run her CPAP at night if we didn't have the battery charged enough. We've used hook ups a lot now and the 4 battery/ solar system is the main reason we upgraded to Olli :) Today is the day that we leave California to start out for Hohenwald and the Pineapple Express from the Philippines is hammering down :)

 

[Overland]

I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve actually used a powered or water site, in nine years. Sherry

I hope I can say the same in 9 years.

[SeaDawg]

I hope so, too. We love the unplugged unhurried wilderness.

 

Sherry

[SeaDawg]

Karen, I just read your post.

 

I wish you both safe travels, and good weather, both ways. Especially in the mountain passes.

 

Hope you love your Oliver as much as we love our little one. All these campers live much bigger on the outside.

 

As to power, I tend to charge our phones and tablets in full sun, or, if travelling, in the truck. We limit lights and power usage as if we were still tent camping, except for the welcome addition of the furnace and fan.

 

The furnace is the big power draw. Very greedy fan power. We leave it on minimum setting at night.

 

I digress. Have a wonderful trip. And, be safe.

 

Sherry