Setting Up Your RV For Full Hookup Campgrounds 

When you first arrive at a campsite, it can be easy to forget some of the steps along the way as you settle in. If this is your first time out for the season, or if you are new to RVing, it can be especially tough getting into the swing of things. Here is a set of instructions for setting up your RV when you first arrive at a campsite.

Checking In

When you first arrive at the campground, you will most likely need to check in at the front office before heading to your campsite. While in the office, it is a good idea to get a map of the campground and find out if there are any campground-specific rules that need to be followed. This can include anything from keeping sewer discharge hoses off the ground, to pet rules and restrictions, to quiet times, and beyond. It is always a good idea to learn the rules upon arrival to avoid issues with the campground or your neighbors.

Arriving At Your Campsite

Once you are checked in and find your campsite, it is time to park your RV. At some campsites you can pull straight through with the RV and the tow vehicle (if applicable) without needing to back up. However, at many campsites this is not the case and you will need to back the RV or trailer into the spot. Backup cameras can certainly be helpful in this situation but you can also rely on a friend or neighbor to help you back in. Before going any further with setup, put wheel chocks in place. This will keep the RV from rolling forward or backward during the rest of the setup process. 

Connecting to Utilities

After getting the RV situated in the campsite it is time to hook your RV up to the campground provided utilities.

Connecting Your RV To The Power Pedestal

Step 1

The steps here will be to pull the RV power cable from its storage area and connect it to the Energy Monitoring System before plugging into the power supply pedestal. It is also important to note, before plugging in, what amperage will be supplied and if a dog bone power reducer will be necessary.

Step 2

Once you are plugged into the pedestal simply turn on the breaker (located on the power pedestal) and you are now on shore power. 

Connecting Your RV To Fresh Water

Next, connect your fresh water supply garden hose to the campsite water spigot or hose bib and turn on the water supply. It is your choice to use a pressure regulator or not, but keep in mind that no two campgrounds are the same so it may be a worthwhile purchase. The same can be said for any inline water filters that you may have for freshwater supply to your RV. They are not a mandated requirement for an RV, however, having cleaner filtered water is a nice upgrade to the RV overall. 

Connecting Your RV To The Sewer Line

Now it is time to glove up and hook up to the campsite sewer port. Start with the sewer hose support and run it from the general proximity of the RV discharge port to the sewer port. Then loosely rest the sewer discharge hose on the sewer support.

Connect the 90 degree elbow ending into the campsite sewer port. Form a P trap at the end of the sewer support closest to the RV. Before connecting to the RV, pour some water into the P trap. The water in the P trap will work as a vapor barrier between the RV and the campground sewer/ septic system. Water can be added either with a hose outside the RV or by running a sink in the RV for a minute or so. Connect your RV to your sewer discharge port making sure to keep the black water holding tank valve closed and the gray water holding tank valve open.

Opening The RV

Now that you are connected to the campsite utilities you can start opening the RV and getting it set up.

If your RV is pulled by a tow vehicle, you can begin the process of disconnecting the RV from the tow vehicle. Start by disconnecting the chains and sway stabilizer and unhook the breakaway switch from the tow vehicle. Since the RV has already been connected to shore power (from the steps above) there will be no need to leave the tow vehicle on and running or even connected to the RV via the seven pin connector. 

Next, if the tongue jack is electric, begin running the foot down to the ground to begin lifting the tongue away from the tow vehicle trailer hitch. Make sure any hitch locks have been removed and the spring-loaded clip on the tongue is in the open position. Once the tongue is above the tow vehicle hitch ball, you can disconnect any remaining connectors between the RV and the tow vehicle and move the tow vehicle. 

Carefully open the main entrance door to the RV, as stored items may have shifted during travel. Extend the stairs into the RV.

Leveling The RV

You should now have access to the electrical control panel for your RV. Start by extending any slides that your RV may have before putting down the stabilizers. This will allow the stabilizers to level the RV properly with the slides out first.

Place stabilizer pads down before lowering the stabilizers. This will keep the RV more stable while moving about inside. Then extend the stabilizers to the pads, sandwiching the pad to the ground. Make sure the tires of the RV do not leave the ground. They are still the primary support for the RV.

Be sure to check the leveling indicator on your RV while lowering the stabilizers. This will ensure the RV remains level for the camping experience.

It is good practice to have each person staying in the RV climb into their bed to make sure everybody is comfortable with how level the RV rests.

In order to fully level the RV, you may need to use the tongue jack to adjust the front end of the RV.

Interior RV Setup

As the RV sits at this point, you are almost ready to enjoy your RV in the campsite. There are a few additional systems to go over in the RV to ensure a fun, worry-free experience.

Begin the interior setup by running a sink in the RV to confirm water flow from the campsite. This will also help to see if there are any issues as far as the water supply is concerned. The water pump does not need to be in the ON position while camping at a full hookups campground. The water pressure supplied by the campground should be enough to keep all of the water supply lines flowing without the need for running the water pump. 

Make your way into the bathroom. Prime the black water holding tank by holding the toilet flush pedal down all the way for a full minute (as pictured below). This will allow 3-5 gallons of water to enter the black water holding tank (depending on the flow rate of the water supplied by the campground).

Next add a treatment of a high-quality bacteria- and enzyme-based holding tank treatment. We recommend Unique Camping + Marine RV Digest-It or RV Digest-It Plus.

Hold the toilet flush pedal down just enough so that the toilet ball valve is closed but water is still flowing into the toilet bowl. Do this for roughly 15 seconds. The toilet is now ready to use. Repeat this process for each bathroom.

Going to the refrigerator next, make sure the refrigerator is set to the Auto setting,  not to the propane setting, as you are connected to the shore power provided by the campground. It is far more cost effective to run it this way versus using propane

Heating And Cooling The RV

Setting the temperature in the RV is relatively straightforward. However, it may take some planning for the temperature drop at night. If you plan on using the furnace during your stay at the campground, first set the thermostat to Heat.

The propane should still be off at this point. Allow the furnace to run for 5 minutes with the propane off to purge the system. Turn off the thermostat. Go outside and turn on the propane.

Go back to the thermostat and set it to heat. The furnace will light if the temperature in the RV requires heat. Otherwise it will kick on when heating is required. We recommend making sure the furnace actually lights and is blowing warm air out of the vents before nightfall as this can be stressful to figure out in the dark.

If you plan on using the Air Conditioning system on your RV during the camping trip, switch the thermostat to AC and set the desired temperature. If the thermostat is calling for cooling the Air Conditioner will turn on and blow cold air.

With the propane already turned on for the furnace, it should be easy to start the cooktop or oven.

Simply turn on the burner you wish to cook on to the light setting. (usually labeled on the cooktop knob) Then, turn the sparker switch until it lights.

If you will not be using your furnace for this particular camping trip, getting the propane stove going is simple. Turn on the propane outside of the RV with all of the cooktop and oven knobs set to the off position. Use whichever burner or oven you would like to when it is time to cook.

Lighting The RV Water Heater

Lighting the water heater with propane is also straightforward. Simply open the gas valve on the propane (if it has not been turned on already in a previous step) and turn on the water heater switch on the control panel.

You should be able to hear the water heater light if you are inside the RV.

It is recommended that you run the water in the kitchen sink and bathroom(s) to make sure the water heater is working and that hot water is being supplied to all of the fixtures in the RV. This will also help to refill any P traps below any sinks or showers have enough water in them to act as a vapor barrier between the sink(s) or shower(s) and the gray/ galley holding tank(s).  If only warm water is coming out of the faucets when calling for hot water, you may need to check that the bypass valves by the water heater are set correctly. If the RV was winterized then incorrectly set valves are usually the culprit.

This concludes the arrival setup for full hookup camping. We hope you enjoy your camping experience!

If boondocking/ dry camping is more your style, check out this article!

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