Summer time means family vacations and people packing up the RV to take a trip to their favorite camping spot.
If you are a first-time RV traveler, you are just getting the hang of performing the right maintenance to have an RV that runs smoothly.
Most RVs on the road have several holding tanks: fresh water tank, black water tank and a gray water tank.
The black water tank is used to collect the wastewater from the toilet.
The gray water tank holds the wastewater from the bathroom sink, shower and kitchen sink.
One type of item you'll need to service your tanks is an RV hose.
You'll need several hoses for the RV water tanks on your particular model of recreational vehicle.
The hoses will be used to drain the tanks and fill up the fresh water tank for drinking, showering and cooking purposes.
Try to avoid these common RV hose mistakes during your maintenance of your RV.
Mistake #1: Using the Same Hose for All the Tanks Keep your hoses separated and marked for which tank the hose is for.
Never use a hose to clean the tanks or the RV as the same hose for drinking purposes.
Most drinking hoses are the color white, which marks them as non-toxic.
This means that no lead or other dangerous chemicals from the hose will get into your drinking water.
It's a good idea to have a black hose for a sewer hose to drain the gray and black water tanks, and a green hose to use for other purposes such as washing your RV or for other general cleaning.
Mistake #2: Not Having the Right Connectors and Couplings Some RV parks and resorts have dump stations where you can safely empty out your full black and gray water tanks without the polluted water getting into fresh water sources in the environment.
You need to ensure you have the right connectors and couplings for your hoses to attach to your water tanks and stretch out to the sewer connection.
Always check your connections anytime you buy a new hose, and ensure that if you are connecting two hoses together to reach the dump station sewer that the hoses make a secure connection.
Mistake #3: Improper Storage of Your RV Hose Raise your hand if you are guilty of dragging the hose across the ground as you roll it up in an untidy bundle and stash it in the RV garage storage space along the bottom of the RV.
Try to break this bad habit, as you risk making tears and holes in the hose along with collecting dirt inside of it.
When you are finished with the hose, always carry it as you wind it up in a neat ring.
Connect the two ends together to prevent dust and dirt from getting inside.
You can use some twine to tie the hose so it doesn't unwind as you can now place it into your storage space.
Proper maintenance of your RV hoses ensures they will last for a very long time.
Keep the following tips in mind to avoid common mistakes so you won't have to purchase a new hose during your RV trip.