Upon leaving the Kansas Drive hotel, I ran into strong winds blowing across various areas on the highway which was a little unnerving. Suddenly, it was hard to keep my RV in its lane without man-handling the steering wheel. At first, I thought I might have blown a tire. Then I recalled Jordan, my salesman and driving trainer say, “RV’s are top-heavy and will sway and/or shake due to high winds.” It wasn’t long before I noticed drivers of 18-wheelers also swaying in and out of their lanes. Therefore, I moved over to the right-lane and slowed my speed to 65 miles an hour rather than the posted 70 and 80-mile speed limits.
Once I arrived in Sioux Falls after a two-day drive. I pulled onto the shoulder of the highway to activate driving directions to Tower Campground on my GPS. I had contacted this campground prior to leaving My Place Hotel. At that time, I was told vacant sites were available to accommodate my RV. I arrived at the Campground’s Office before they closed for the evening.
After check-in. Josh, an employee led me to my assigned space which was a shared site, rather than a pull-through which was provided while living on the grounds of the MHSRV dealership. By the way, shared site users back-in from different roadways which allow RV’s and Fifth-Wheel vehicles to park back-to-back at his/her designated utility hookup (i.e. electricity, water and sewage station).
As I stood looking at the rear of an RV already sharing my space. “Wow…Backing up a 30-Foot RV wasn’t a part of my forty-five-minute driving training. Further, I’ve owned this RV for 4-days; I can’t back into that space. You’re going to have to do it.” Okay. No problem Josh, replied. He got into the driver’s seat; pulled forward a little and swung the front-end of my RV to the left and backed into my assigned space like he was driving a Beagle vehicle. “Mmm…I’ve got to learn how to do that!” You will, he replied.
Now, let’s get this puppy hooked up to your services. Did a MHSRV Technician show you how to properly hookup utilities? Nope, I replied. “That’s okay, I’ll show you how-to do it now. However, the dealership should have given you a water and sewer hose which I need to begin your hookup.” Those items are in my garage. I’ll get them. “Now that’s sweet! A garage in your RV,” he replied. Alright, this is what the dealer gave me.
“Shoot. This RV Sewer Hose is too short. Further, they didn’t even give you clamps, hose coupler, adaptor or drain seal. Okay, we need to buy some additional parts for the sewer hookup tomorrow. Where’s your exterior electric cord and your city water connector?” The electric cord is in this compartment and the city water connector is here; prior to approaching the driver’s door. “Great. Look…There’s a circle in your electric compartment which pushes out for you to pull-out as much cord as you need to access electricity. But, remember. When you unplug and put your cord back into this compartment don’t forget to close the circle to ensure your cord does not fall out while driving on the highway.” Alright, I replied.
The next task is to connect you to this faucet which is your private city water connection by using your water hose. First, make sure there are rubber-washers in both ends of your water hose which prevents leaks from either connector. Now, screw one end to the faucet; the other end to your RV’s connector and push-down on the faucet’s handler. Good job! No leaks from either end of the hose. So, you’re now connected to city water. No need to refill or use your fresh water tank as long as you’re parked here.
The next morning, an older man and Josh knocked on my door. “Good Morning Mrs. Brown. I am Bill, the Property Manager. I understand Josh couldn’t finish your hookup because you need additional parts for the sewer hookup. We’re here to help you get hooked up. Let me see the sewer hose the dealer gave you, please.” Here it is, I replied. “Yeah, that’s way too short. I’ll go buy what you need and you can pay me when I return.” Okay, that works for me because even if you told me what I needed; the items I buy might still be wrong since I wouldn’t know what the items should look like, I replied.
Knock, knock. “Mrs. Brown if you’re ready, we can finish your sewer hookup now. Also, here is the receipt for the items I brought and they look like this. An additional sewer hose, clamps, internal hose coupler, hose adapter and drain seal which cost $16.25. Thank you, Bill. Let me pay you, then I’ll be ready.
Alright the first thing to remember is this: RV and Fifth-Wheel Campgrounds have different utility station setups. So, it’s not uncommon to need additional sewer hose(s) to reach your assigned station which is the problem here. We use an internal hose coupler to join both hoses together and clamps to make sure the hoses don’t come apart. Then insert this hose adapter to one end of the sewer hose which connects this hose to your RV’s Black and Gray Tanks; the black tank is waste from your toilet and the gray tank is water from your sinks. Now, we connect this hose end to the drain seal which connects to the sewer/dump pipe. I’ll like to add one more thing: To keep the sewer hose from recoiling or bending – we put boards like this under the hose and a few bricks across the top to keep the hose straight. You can keep these boards and bricks if you like, Jose said. Thank you. I’ll keep them.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Since you were interested in a longer space to park your RV so you can use your deck and ramp to load/unload your motorcycle. Those sites across the road will be open in mid-April once we finish using them to pile snow. Therefore, if you plan to stay a while longer and want to change sites; Josh or I, will be available to supervise your first task of unhooking your utilities; retracting your jacks and slide for the move to your new site. Then, guide you through the backup process into your new space and re-hook your utility services, Bill said. Great. “I’ve been eyeing Site 424 over there and would like you to block it for me in advance.” Consider it done, Bill replied.
Based on my experiences: I find the staff at Tower Campground to be friendly, helpful and professional. The grounds were well-maintained and consist of the following: 118 RV and Fifth-Wheel Sites, full RV hookup (i.e. sewer, city water, electricity and television cable); a laundromat, security cameras, concrete, crushed rock parking pads, fire pits, picnic tables and a bathhouse for men and women. As well as, tent sites, cabins, winter storage for boats, RV’s and trailers. Currently, my RV site cost $595 per month which includes utility services; opposed to my past home mortgage note of $1,484.15 plus utilities that fluctuated monthly.
Not forgetting, the maintenance of my lawn, hedges and roof including power-washing of house siding, the deck and driveways. However, houses are wonderful investments when you are raising children. But once your children are grown and gone due to independence, marriage or death, the home you enjoyed becomes an endless money pit. This is when RVing offers a headache free life-style.
