Today using a motorhome service area is not complicated. That’s why more and more people prefer this variant for holidays. Usually no one explained to you in detail how to use a service area, but you can read on the internet, for example here. Nevertheless, even if you do not like such an experience or one day you find out that your camper is too old, there will be a free junk camper removal service to help you to solve this problem.
In this article we are going to observe the most common mistakes in camping. However, there are several ideas to preserve your privacy and make your camping holiday more pleasant.
Basic things to know for camping beginners
One of the first and main rules- don’t wait until your tanks and cassette are full! Without toilets or running water, your motorhome would no longer be quite one. That’s why it is very important to remember to drain regularly. And once in the service area, rest assured: the only thing you could be blamed for is to get dirty without cleaning, to empty your cassettes in the wrong place or to grill politeness to other motorhomes.
You have to drain used water at the intended location. But now, not all service areas are configured in the same way. Some have an emptying platform lined with a gently sloping concrete space, others require a certain address to place the sewage drain outlet above the drain (the size of a manhole). Without direct vision, the mirrors distort the actual distance. If necessary, ask your passengers or other campers to guide you and do not hesitate to start your labour again.
Once the drain pipe is placed on the drain grid, all you have to do is open the valve and let the water flow. On a 100-litre tank, it takes about ten minutes, which leaves time to perform other operations at the same time.
Be sure to empty your cassette in the right place. Sometimes some people confuse the overflow housed under the clean water tap, which, of course, is not intended for this purpose. However, a few centimetres next to it is a stainless steel lid that must (it is true) be lifted to reveal the receptacle responsible for receiving the contents of your cassette. Unscrew the cap from your toilet and pour. Once the latter has been emptied, it must be rinsed and cleaned. Once again, be sure to use the intended tap (with a small “WC” sticker) rather than clean water.
Other users would not be happy to fill a bottle of water on the same water nozzle as the one where the cassette drain pipe has just been placed to rinse the inside. For better hygiene, a small sponge on the outside never hurts before putting the cassette back in its original housing.
By the way, it’s important to remember that if your camper is old or even junk, you still can sell it or utilize it easily with such services like JunkCarsUS. Such service can remove or buy your old vehicle from your home.
What to expect from prices?
Access to water can be paid on a service area, but fortunately they accept:
- Coins,
- Cash,
- Bank cards,
- Paypal.
All payment systems exist here. In the case of the usage of tokens, be honest: do not use tokens purchased in another municipality, even if they are compatible with the terminal you are using. This combination might save you a few dozen cents, but it is this kind of behaviour that leads town halls to close their area or impose a $10 service + night package.
What is the longest step before camping?
You have to fill the hundred litres of the tank with clean water, and the flow is not always very efficient. Not to mention that many terminals only have a push button. Releasing it sometimes means stopping water distribution. To revive it, you will have to pay a token again, but this example remains increasingly rare, with many service areas using a quantified distribution of 100 l.
It should be noted that some paid areas have a “gasottle pump” type pipe to fill the tanks quickly by delivering the same 100 l. For the others, you must use your hose and connect it directly to the clean water nozzle. You can check the progress of the filling at the instrumentation panel, but, in any case, the water discharge from the tank duct will tell you the overflow.
Simply pour water into the black water tank, and pass a stealthy sponge towards the toilet tap, in case projections have taken place. This step is part of the good citizenship rules that each motorhome operator is supposed to demonstrate.
Before returning to the road, check that you have not forgotten anything. In the “top 5” of forgetfulness is the cap of the clean water tank, set aside the time of filling, or the product for the toilet cassette. Finally, also remember to close the drain valve to prevent the small amount of wastewater stored at the bottom of the tank from being projected onto the road.
Several good ideas to arrange motorhome areas better
In this part we are going to discuss several points that can help you to improve your camping holidays. Usually people forget about small but significant details when it comes to holidays.
First of all, you need to keep the emptying area and garbage cans away from the locations: obviously, the spaces dedicated to emptying are traffic and manoeuvring areas. Like garbage cans, they are also not very gloating spaces.
Separate the clean water tap well from the cassette emptying area: several Internet users mention this problem, which seems recurrent. What we want to avoid is the risk of confusion: that some motorhome operators use the clean water tap to clean their cassette.
When there are electrical connections, provide one per location. Especially when electricity is included in the package, and therefore everyone pays for it.