Yikes! Did something I was sure I’d never do

[purring along]

Some day it will just be one of many stories to tell, and hopefully a good laugh. We have all made stupid rv mistakes.

 

[SilverFoxes]

Some day it will just be one of many stories to tell, and hopefully a good laugh. We have all made stupid rv mistakes.

This was definitely major stupid. I’ve been trying to convince my wife in your belief that it can happen to anyone. I think she’s coming around, mostly because I’ve managed to avoid any big mistakes up to now, although I’m already worrying about what kind of dumb thing I might do in the future. I’ll get over it … hopefully.

 

[team bradfield]

don't be too hard on yourself, I did the same 2 years ago in my last 5th wheel, I was getting ready for our first trip of the season, hooked up the water to the sewer flush, luckily I was monitoring the tank levels and couldn't figure out why the fresh water tank was still empty, then it hit me, bout broke my leg rushing out of the RV to shut the water off, after that, I kept a BF preventer valve on the flush at all times to remind me "NO". 1st stop at the campground was to dump a black tank full of water, It least I knew it was flushed good, lol!

 

[AuntieDodo]

I’m sorry for this mistake but like others everybody has probably made a mistake or two over the years. Some costly some not so much so don’t be too hard on yourself.

For the repairs, I would not let just anyone get in there for the fixings. If it were possible I would bring it right back to factory for repairs other than that MAKE SURE you know the dealer’s reputation and have found others who have used them.

 

[SilverFoxes]

don't be too hard on yourself, I did the same 2 years ago in my last 5th wheel, I was getting ready for our first trip of the season, hooked up the water to the sewer flush, luckily I was monitoring the tank levels and couldn't figure out why the fresh water tank was still empty, then it hit me, bout broke my leg rushing out of the RV to shut the water off, after that, I kept a BF preventer valve on the flush at all times to remind me "NO". 1st stop at the campground was to dump a black tank full of water, It least I knew it was flushed good, lol!

Interesting. I suppose the “real” mistake we both made was to leave the coach immediately after I connected to water. Ordinarily I’d have my wife open some faucets inside simply to get some local water running through the plumbing. Our haste caused by our quickly approaching dinner arrangements should have never upset that normal routine. That would have made the whole incident a non-incident. Hard lesson learned. Never leave the RV until every connection has been triple-checked. Like you, I’ve already taken steps to ensure that I can never make the same mistake again.

 

[SilverFoxes]

I’m sorry for this mistake but like others everybody has probably made a mistake or two over the years. Some costly some not so much so don’t be too hard on yourself.

For the repairs, I would not let just anyone get in there for the fixings. If it were possible I would bring it right back to factory for repairs other than that MAKE SURE you know the dealer’s reputation and have found others who have used them.

Totally agree. Taking it to the Newmar factory would pretty much be out of the question unless we had it transported, one way or another, due to family time constraints. Otherwise we’d probably take it North Trail RV in for Fort Myers, FL. Evidently they’re one of the largest Newmar dealers in the country with a highly rated service department.

 

[Rich W.]

It's a worrisome situation and I can't stop beating myself up for being so careless, particularly because we're anything but newbies.

Speaking from experience, that part fades over time. Things happen and you deal with it and learn from it, but you certainly aren’t lone on the list of folks who have made costly careless mistakes. I couldn’t even discuss mashing a baggage door at a fuel island for almost a year. I think there is a good chance that this will end well for you. And for this situation the best RV service facility would be in Nappanee. Maybe find a driver to take it there? Have you spoken to North Trail to see what they would do? if they have a plan for this?

 

[DennisT]

Interesting. I suppose the “real” mistake we both made was to leave the coach immediately after I connected to water. Ordinarily I’d have my wife open some faucets inside simply to get some local water running through the plumbing. Our haste caused by our quickly approaching dinner arrangements should have never upset that normal routine. That would have made the whole incident a non-incident. Hard lesson learned. Never leave the RV until every connection has been triple-checked. Like you, I’ve already taken steps to ensure that I can never make the same mistake again.

When we leave the coach, even for a short while, the water is turned off “just in case”.

May never happen as far as something leaking while we are gone but the few seconds to turn off seems like a good habit.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Interesting. I suppose the “real” mistake we both made was to leave the coach immediately after I connected to water. Ordinarily I’d have my wife open some faucets inside simply to get some local water running through the plumbing. Our haste caused by our quickly approaching dinner arrangements should have never upset that normal routine. That would have made the whole incident a non-incident. Hard lesson learned. Never leave the RV until every connection has been triple-checked. Like you, I’ve already taken steps to ensure that I can never make the same mistake again.

Now that this thread has run it's course! I will make a suggestion, and the solution I have and still use. Understand that it is highly unlikely this could happen to me because:

1. I have remedied it! I no longer stay at RV parks.
2. I have issues with people using potable water hoses for black water purposes.

The first item is of course personal, and therefore offers nothing to this conversation, but is relevant in that I have been vocal about how I live.

On the second point, error can't happen in my little universe!

Years ago I waited in line at a dump station and saw someone use the hose to clean his sewer hose in ways hard to imagine! No longer would I use the filthy hose connected to a stations bib for potable purposes.
It went further though! I swore to never us any potable water hose to fill my tanks ever again!!! Not even my personal hose.

White hose potable water. Green hose dirty work!!!

If I can find a place to stow a dirty work hose with my limited space, so can you, and this problem will never again grace your RV again!!!

 

[Rich W.]

A hose reel plumbed in directly also eliminates the possibility of this happening.

 

[SilverFoxes]

Now that this thread has run it's course! I will make a suggestion, and the solution I have and still use. Understand that it is highly unlikely this could happen to me because:

1. I have remedied it! I no longer stay at RV parks.
2. I have issues with people using potable water hoses for black water purposes.

The first item is of course personal, and therefore offers nothing to this conversation, but is relevant in that I have been vocal about how I live.

On the second point, error can't happen in my little universe!

Years ago I waited in line at a dump station and saw someone use the hose to clean his sewer hose in ways hard to imagine! No longer would I use the filthy hose connected to a stations bib for potable purposes.
It went further though! I swore to never us any potable water hose to fill my tanks ever again!!! Not even my personal hose.

White hose potable water. Green hose dirty work!!!

If I can find a place to stow a dirty work hose with my limited space, so can you, and this problem will never again grace your RV again!!!

Thanks for your thoughts, Kevin.

Actually, the hose had nothing at all to do with my error. I pulled the potable water hose (which is blue in my case) and connected to the campground valve first and allowed some water to flush the hose as always. My error came when I let memory of our previous RV (this was only our second trip in the new one) tell me to which of the coach inlets to connect the other end of the hose. That memory told me that the one on the left was potable water and the right was sewer flush. I failed to pay any attention to the huge labels above both inlets of the new camper. To make matters worse, both of the inlets on the new coach are white; the previous camper used white for the fresh water inlet and black for sewer flush. I got no clue from the new unit in that regard.

In any case, I would never use the same hose for both potable water and flushing a black tank. I have dedicated hoses for each and all of my sewer gear, including the necessary hose(s), are orange. Those were still stowed when I was connecting to fresh water.

As for campgrounds, we love ‘em, particularly state and national parks and recreation areas. Are there bad ones? Of course. That’s all taken care of by utilizing any or all of the available technology to do lots of research before booking a site at a campground where we’ve never stayed before.

 

[SilverFoxes]

A hose reel plumbed in directly also eliminates the possibility of this happening.

That is truly a great idea! If you know of any that could be mounted in the plumbing bay horizontally please let me know. There’s not an over-abundance of space in ours.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

That is truly a great idea! If you know of any that could be mounted in the plumbing bay horizontally please let me know. There’s not an over-abundance of space in ours.

Because commercially fitted ends are not needed on a flush hose consider a hose with two male ends and a modified (female)fitting on the rig. Try and fudge that!!!

 

[Rich W.]

That is truly a great idea! If you know of any that could be mounted in the plumbing bay horizontally please let me know. There’s not an over-abundance of space in ours.

They mount them vertically by cutting out a notch in the wet bay panel on the right side. I’ll post a pic later. Since its an option, your’s will probably accommodate it easily.

 

[Boat Bum]

I put a 45 degree elbow on my fresh water fill with a filter attached that I leave permanently, makes it unmistakable.

 

[Rich W.]

Now that this thread has run it's course! I will make a suggestion, and the solution I have and still use. Understand that it is highly unlikely this could happen to me because:

1. I have remedied it! I no longer stay at RV parks.
2. I have issues with people using potable water hoses for black water purposes.

The first item is of course personal, and therefore offers nothing to this conversation, but is relevant in that I have been vocal about how I live.

On the second point, error can't happen in my little universe!

Years ago I waited in line at a dump station and saw someone use the hose to clean his sewer hose in ways hard to imagine! No longer would I use the filthy hose connected to a stations bib for potable purposes.
It went further though! I swore to never us any potable water hose to fill my tanks ever again!!! Not even my personal hose.

White hose potable water. Green hose dirty work!!!

If I can find a place to stow a dirty work hose with my limited space, so can you, and this problem will never again grace your RV again!!!

Got me thinking about this so I picked up a new white hose yesterday. I retire the old ones when they start showing their age. I also built in the space around my DEF tank and installed a stinky slinky bin to get that out of the wet bay. So the only hoses in the wet bay are for potable water.

 

[SilverFoxes]

I put a 45 degree elbow on my fresh water fill with a filter attached that I leave permanently, makes it unmistakable.

Another good idea, which I’ve already done. The space between the hose inlet and the basement door was really tight anyway. The elbow will eliminate the strain on the hose trying to get it over and down to the basement floor opening.

 

[SilverFoxes]

Got me thinking about this so I picked up a new white hose yesterday. I retire the old ones when they start showing their age. I also built in the space around my DEF tank and installed a stinky slinky bin to get that out of the wet bay. So the only hoses in the wet bay are for potable water.
View attachment 19213View attachment 19215View attachment 19214

Great photos. Thanks. Interestingly, our coach came with the sewer “bin” already on the right side of the DEF tank with a latching door. Don’t know if that was after-market but it’s sure handy for stowing the sewer stuff. Oddly, that compartment on our coach doesn’t have a floor, so to the left of the DEF tank it’s just open to the world (and maybe critters). Did you install the full floor yourself or was it a factory build?

 

[SilverFoxes]

Because commercially fitted ends are not needed on a flush hose consider a hose with two male ends and a modified (female)fitting on the rig. Try and fudge that!!!

I like that idea, too. Finding oddball hoses and other you-name-its is always fun on Amazon. You’ll end up finding all sorts of weird and wonderful stuff that people have come up with to sell there.

 

[Rich W.]

Great photos. Thanks. Interestingly, our coach came with the sewer “bin” already on the right side of the DEF tank with a latching door. Don’t know if that was after-market but it’s sure handy for stowing the sewer stuff. Oddly, that compartment on our coach doesn’t have a floor, so to the left of the DEF tank it’s just open to the world (and maybe critters). Did you install the full floor yourself or was it a factory build?

Yes I built it in and since the bin fit on the left I put it there and the rest makes good storage. I had that light too so I put it on. I looked at some pics of new Kountry Stars and saw that they include the bin. Nice to have that.