Hookups... left or right side?

[TomC]

I like built in propane tank. Once mounted, you don't have to have anything else done. Portable tanks have to be recertified every few years, or buy new. If you plan your trips, etc, you won't have to have the inconvenience of unhooking to fill the propane if you run out. Fill for propane can be anywhere on the coach.
Good Luck, TomC

[Audiomaker]

Lot's of great information. Sorry if it's been covered in the past (umpteen times).

One thing I see watching vid's about buses camping more than with other RV's is that I see them backed in more often (but not always).

I didn't know if people with 40'+ RV's dealt with different orientations vs shorter rigs, if pull throughs are usually set up one way, while face ins are setup another.

I did a lot of google searching for photos of RV parks and saw a few different things.... even one having the pedestal *in front and to the left* of the driver's door.
Backing in, heading in, pulling through... it gets a little confusing.

I am constrained by the design of my vehicle, so I'll tell you what I have in progress and see if you can find the problems with my setup and logic...

First, I purchased a 100gal fresh tank.  That's a pretty big tank when you're standing looking at it trying to find a place for it.  There is a 72" area on my driver's side that I could have divided into smaller tanks, or the fresh tank can just be made to fit in there. (ie...  I could have gone 50F/50G, or 30F/30G/30B..etc.)

Anyway, the premise of my restoration is a little different.  It will never be a luxury coach with exotic wood cabinetry.  The premise of my rig is "BOM", or "Bug Out Mobile".  Yeah... I prep' a little (err..plenty).

Based on that, in an emergency or shelter situation, fresh water was my priority so I got the largest fresh water tank that would fit under there (I don't have compartments like you guys, this all gets slung under).

Playing tank Jenga under there, I've located a spot that will take a 35 gallon black (between the frame in the rear), and about 30 gallon grey on the right side just in front of the rears.

I might as well tell you, that I personally don't have issue with dumping grey water roadside, or while camping alone.   I'm sorry, but I was in the restaurant business and knowing what goes down drains, or tossed out in the dirt at *any* restaurant in a day is far worse than some fresh water mixed with coffee or even some sweat and biodegradable soap.   Same holds true for the amount of petroleum getting washed to the roadside on any particular day by the large numbers of vehicles going down that road.
Point is, I figured if I'm in a park, then the grey would be open, and if I'm not and full... yes, I will find an appropriate spot to release it.

Black tank, well I'd like to have more but there's no room. 30-35 gallons, so I will be using public facilities as much as possible.   I figure if for some reason I'm boon docking for an extended time, that I can figure a way to dump it into portable vessels to haul out later (10 5 gallon sealed paint buckets takes up very little space prior to use).

Anyway, you get the idea and I welcome your thoughts on my thoughts and capacities?

I have already purchased a 30 gallon propane tank for the purpose of mounting (RV type with mounts).
It seems like 30 gallons should last a long time, but I will add at least one backup portable.
I may not always be towing.  My rig's secondary vehicle is a motorcycle that rides inside, and it would be awkward trying to refill propane tanks from it.  I suppose I could get a big backpack for a small tank... that's a good idea.
The propane tank must be mounted on the passenger side, and I was wondering if the (required) remote fill is better on the left or the right.  There will be no direct access to the tank, so I have a choice.

I hope to wander a bit.  My plan is to boondocks as much as I can between RV parks, and it is an ignorant guess that I could go 2 weeks on that rig between dumping and refilling?  I welcome your thoughts on this too.  It's just me and a dog that eats and drinks a human amount.  
So yeah... 10-14 days self contained, then a day at the park or wherever I can dump and refill, then repeat.

Honestly, I have to make some justifications to all of this.  I am going down this road because I lost my house and I consider this rig "insurance" while I start a new life.   For what I already have invested, I could have rented a house for well over a year somewhere, so the justification becomes "insurance first".
That said, I might go out for 2 months and decide it's not for me. To this end, the justification (and hence the design) become that I add this whole rig to my paranoid prepper bug out kit and park it in the driveway.

What does that have to do with service placements?... not much.  I suppose I'm just trying to describe my thought process and why I'm hoping it's ok to go with a lot of fresh water, with much less grey and black water capacity.

All of your input here is really helping me visualize how to do these installations. Thanks!

Sean

[sparkplug188]

Don- Do you have a model number on that 50 amp cord reel?

[gumpy]

Gumpy have you ever noticed that having your water and power on the right side is just the opposite of most if not all rv sites. Do you just run the cord and hose under the bus to the hookups? Just curious.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Ummm,   no, but I have noticed that I can't tell right from left at times. My electrical and water inlets are actually on the left side (driver's side).  Will have to see if I can edit that post.

[eagle19952]

Composting Toilet.

http://www.gonewiththewynns.com/composting-toilet

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003EX7LV6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003EX7LV6&linkCode=as2&tag=gonwitthewyn-20

[Jon]

My former company manufactures a lot of the components RV parks use at the sites and with rare exception their location is always going to be on the driver's side of the coach. What is not an absolute is the placement of the services relative to a specific point on the coach.

Generally services are grouped in an area around where the rear axle(s) will be when the coach is in the proper position on the site. It is getting more common for some campgrounds to have the electric power outlets, cable TV, and water connections all on the pedestal. But that doesn't mean that is the case all the time. The sewer inlet is going to be somewhere on the driver's side but how far forward or behind the power pedestal is a huge variable, but ordinarily the sewer will be within 5 feet or so of the electric pedestal. I have never encountered connections intentionally placed on the passenger side of the coach. I have had them behind the coach, I have had them further forward on the site, but on the driver's side, and I have seen them where they have been located between two coaches, with the intent one coach is to point in one direction and the other coach in the opposite direction so the two driver's sides were side by side.

[Cary and Don]

We got the 50 amp reel off Ebay.  No idea as to the model.  They are really easy to install.

On the tank issue.  Try and get the hot water heater as close to the point of use as possible.  You don't want to waste water waiting for it to get hot.

If you are planning on letting your grey water run in any state or federal park, you need to rethink that also. It is not allowed. Doesn't make much sense with the tent campers one spot over dumping their wash water on the ground.

Don and Cary

[Hobie]

Don- Do you have a model number on that 50 amp cord reel?

I have a Safe T Reel, manual rewind.    Had it over 20 years with no problems.   Well made but $$.  Mine was $400.     Welding suppliers carry these.

[lvmci]

Don & Cary have a great point, proximity to the most used hot water faucets is important, my bus has a tankless propane and a 10 gallon electric water heater, originally designed to use elec while in rv park, my experience boondocking has led me to use the tankless, mostly. Less water running, less to empty, more time till I have to dump. Sean, I would be carefull about dumping your grey water, it is done a lot, but, there are local ordinances in a lot of places, that could be a quite expensive ticket. My bus has a black/grey tank combined, bigger tank in one place, taller, deeper, uses up less space overall, the side effect is that when emptying the tank you get a better clean out by the force of the extra water in the tank, from the water that would have been in a grey tank, lvmci...

[Dave5Cs]

Gumpy I looked at it and thought it was fine and you said left side not right or did I miss the editing, LOL

Dave5Cs

[georgemci102a2]

Why not... left (and) right side ?...Im hooked up to another bus right now that has female 50 amp access plugs on both sides and with power management all is well....ps if anyone else pulls up for a bit then i can supply generator power for supply, or for house battery charging..George..

[Audiomaker]

Don & Cary have a great point, proximity to the most used hot water faucets is important, my bus has a tankless propane and a 10 gallon electric water heater, originally designed to use elec while in rv park, my experience boondocking has led me to use the tankless, mostly. Less water running, less to empty, more time till I have to dump. Sean, I would be carefull about dumping your grey water, it is done a lot, but, there are local ordinances in a lot of places, that could be a quite expensive ticket. My bus has a black/grey tank combined, bigger tank in one place, taller, deeper, uses up less space overall, the side effect is that when emptying the tank you get a better clean out by the force of the extra water in the tank, from the water that would have been in a grey tank, lvmci...

Yes, thanks for the warning on dumping grey.  I am familiar with being stealth in such matters, but I want to be fully forthcoming to everyone on this board.  Hopefully the grey water police aren't watching.
You can also "leak" grey if you have a valve.  A slow drip while driving will never get noticed.  If it does... "oops".

Eagle mentions a compositing toilet above.  Having lived and worked in a repair marina for a couple years, I've seen them and have been considering one.  Kinda pricey to my budget at the moment.  Might even do the porta potty thing and save up for one instead of doing a wet type toilet install. 

A tankless hot water heater is already on the list... propane.   If you haven't looked at my "bus projects" thread, I have a full 6' jacuzzi tub going in.  That will be enclosed with sliding glass doors.
While this might seem extravagant, it's actually very practical.  You can hand wash clothes in it and such.... even store stuff in it going down the road.
I have torn apart a real jacuzzi that I own (but no longer needed), and have the heating system for it ready to install in the tub (4.5kw 240v).
Since we're here, I'll describe my logic on what I imagine will be a very different plumbing setup...

First, Yes... I will have a tankless LPG.  In fact, I'm using one right now while still living in my house. 
With the tub, I will plumb it so it recirculates either using the electric, or LPG heater. 
Basically it will be such that if I'm at an RV park, I can fill the tub with their water and turn the 240v heater on until the bath is hot enough to use.  My generator can also accomplish this if I'm boon docking and out of propane and reeeeaaally need a bath.
Sometime soaking in a hot tub is just what a body needs.

Now here's the part of that plumbing plan that I hope you'll all be open minded about...
I really enjoy long hot showers.   I intend to install a secondary "drain"  to recirculate to the pump (and yes, back through the instant hot water heater).
The idea is to fill the tub with very little water and recirculate the water for as long as one would want to take a shower.
I will put a strainer and a water filter on the return line.
The process would be to get in with the drain open to the grey water tank, get clean, then close the drain and switch to the recirculating line.
That might sound gross, but taking a bath you don't even clean before getting in and sitting in that water (at least I don't know anyone who does).  You're basically sitting in the water you clean in and drain it at the end.
With the system I'm designing, you would shower with similar water, and it would be strained and filtered to catch any stray eyelashes or whatnot.
My hope is to get it to about a gallon of water per shower, but make the shower last as long as you like.
(ACK!  I can hear it coming already! Lol!).

[Mex-Busnut]

Sean:

My two pesos' worth:

We have stayed (when we had our fifth-wheel and before that, an overhead camper) in campgrounds from Oaxaca in southern Mexico all the way up to Ontario, Canada. Hookups were always on the driver's side, around the rear 1/3 of vehicle length. Some state and national parks and rest areas along interstates have dump stations. They are always on the driver's side.

See here for finding dump stations:

http://www.rvdumps.com/

I am also of the portable propane tanks decision. I see you already bought a fixed tank.

I don't know about the U. S. The fixed-type propane tanks ALSO have to be periodically certified every so many years. Here in Mexico: We have to change the valves on them @ 5 years, and @ 10 years they have to be replaced. If you use the portable tanks and exchange them for full ones at the gas place, then that is THEIR problem and not yours. :-)

The size of your fresh/gray/black water tanks also depends on how many people are traveling in your rig. Also: Consider showers when boondocking to be:
(1) Wet yourself down.
(2) Turn off the water. (for this purpose we installed a third faucet en route to the shower head.)
(3) Apply soap and shampoo.
(4) Turn on water and rinse off.

We have managed to shower (males) with under 1.5 gallons of water, and females with under 2.5 gallons.

I chose an electrical pass-through water heater to save propane. It can run off the inverter. Also I used insulation on all the hot water line to reduce loss of heat en route to shower.

I wish you success, my friend! 

[gumpy]

Gumpy I looked at it and thought it was fine and you said left side not right or did I miss the editing, LOL

Dave5Cs

I edited the original post. I had originally said right side for power and water, which is not correct. Hadn't had any coffee yet when I wrote it.

[gumpy]

A couple responses on this thread have indicated they have, or have seen service fixtures on both sides of their bus. This is fine for water and dump valves.
It's not fine for electrical entrance unless there is a selector switch somewhere which actively selects one side or the other. The reason I say this is because
the service entrance fixture has bare male prongs inside the cap which mate to the female plug. If both sides are simply connected together in the breaker
box, then when one side is plugged in, the prongs on the other side are hot. This is a huge risk, even if they are covered with the screw on cover that
Marinco fixtures have.

I don't know the specifics of the installations of the people who mentioned that on this thread, but please be smart about what you are doing. Don't do
something stupid just because it's convenient for you. If you want an electrical service entrance on both sides, make sure you use a selector switch.