Took my 13' Casita out for the first time! - I have some questions

[lfkwtz]

Hi all,

Picked up a 2002 13' Patriot Standard about a month ago in great shape and she's my very first trailer. Took her out this weekend and everything went smoothly - but I have some questions if anyone can help!

1. I don't have a gray water tank and the outlet just drains underneath the camper - should I be getting one of those portable tanks that I slide underneath and hook that up to it?

2. The sink has two knobs, but they're both cold water. Was a hot water heater not an option for this model? Would it be easy to add one - or maybe not worth it just for the sink since I don't have a shower anyways?

3. Do the fridges need to be fully leveled - both side/side and front/back - to operate? I tried switching mine on with the 120V but it didn't seem to work - but I wasn't level side/side (still learning ) I may just need to read through the manual a bit to figure out how to use it

[Jon in AZ]

1. So-called “blue boys” are nice because they slide under the trailer, but a 5-gallon bucket with a lid and a hole for a scrap of old garden hose will also work. Important thing it it should be closed so it doesn’t attract bugs and critters, and small enough to handle. Remember water weighs around 8# a gallon.

2. It may or may not have a water heater. If it does it’s probably in the street side dinette bench, with a rectangular metal access door for the controls on the outside. It has to be turned on to have hot water.

3. Yes it should be reasonably level. RV absorption fridges take a long time for initial cool-down, like overnight or longer in warm weather. The only indication it’s working is a little heat if you put your hand on the upper exterior vent. Give it time.

[John in Santa Cruz]

our old tent trailer had no grey holding tank, I used those large jugs from liquid laundry detergent, and had a foot or so long stub off an old garden hose to screw into the exterior drain fitting, and feed into the jug. I think those laundry jugs are like 1-2 gallons

[lfkwtz]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

1. So-called “blue boys” are nice because they slide under the trailer, but a 5-gallon bucket with a lid and a hole for a scrap of old garden hose will also work. Important thing it it should be closed so it doesn’t attract bugs and critters, and small enough to handle. Remember water weighs around 8# a gallon.

2. It may or may not have a water heater. If it does it’s probably in the street side dinette bench, with a rectangular metal access door for the controls on the outside. It has to be turned on to have hot water.

3. Yes it should be reasonably level. RV absorption fridges take a long time for initial cool-down, like overnight or longer in warm weather. The only indication it’s working is a little heat if you put your hand on the upper exterior vent. Give it time.

Thanks - will try the hose / bucket plan.

The sink itself has one water line that splits into two. I'm guessing it never had a water heater and Casita only installed this sole type of sink with two knobs to keep costs down?

Thanks for the tip on the fridge - didn't realize it's that hard to tell it is on.

[Jon in AZ]

I’m guessing they just keep one faucet in stock for simplicity. Unless you have a shower, there’s no real need for a water heater, which adds weight, cost, and maintensnce. It only takes a few minutes to heat water on the stove for washing dishes or a sponge bath.

[lisantica]

You may want to consider a closed grey water capture system. Like the blue one that tucks nicely under the trailer that was mentioned earlier. I say this because one campground I tried to gain entry to turned me away because I didn't have this.

They said I could go into town and buy the parts to make one and they specifically said a closed system was needed and they'd inspect it upon my return.

The hose into bucket will work many places and obviously boon docking as well, but I wanted to point out that some campgrounds can be more strict than others.

[lfkwtz]

Originally Posted by lisantica

You may want to consider a closed grey water capture system. Like the blue one that tucks nicely under the trailer that was mentioned earlier. I say this because one campground I tried to gain entry to turned me away because I didn't have this.

They said I could go into town and buy the parts to make one and they specifically said a closed system was needed and they'd inspect it up on my return.

The hose into bucket will work many places and obviously boon docking as well, but I wanted to point out that some campgrounds can be more strict than others.

Good to know! Sounds like it's worth the small investment to do it right the first time then.

[lfkwtz]

Something like this will do then?

https://smile.amazon.com/Camco-Porta...12&sr=8-3&th=1

[lisantica]

I bought one that looks just like this, at around $75

https://www.amazon.com/Tote-N-Stor-2...ct_top?ie=UTF8

[Raz]

The large blue jug is 7 gallons. About $15 at Walmart. Add a piece of old garden hose. The smaller jug is 2 1/2 gallons for fresh water. By adding my water in 2 1/2 gallon increments I know that after two fills it's time to dump.

[lisantica]

Originally Posted by Raz

The large blue jug is 7 gallons. About $15 at Walmart. Add a piece of old garden hose. The smaller jug is 2 1/2 gallons for fresh water. By adding my water in 2 1/2 gallon increments I know that after two fills it's time to dump.

Attachment 137552

Raz that's a good looking setup.
If your 7 gallon jug had the hose screwed on (there is a part that could be purchased that works), then the campground I was at would have accepted your solution.
Some California campgrounds are strict with everything having to be fitted and not placed in which is why a screw on hose fitting would be ideal for Calif.

[Raz]

Originally Posted by lisantica

Raz that's a good looking setup.
If your 7 gallon jug had the hose screwed on (there is a part that could be purchased that works), then the campground I was at would have accepted your solution.
Some California campgrounds are strict with everything having to be fitted and not placed in which is why a screw on hose fitting would be ideal for Calif.

As I recall the jug comes with a spigot that screws into the hole, so the hole is threaded. A trip to the plumbing dept. might yield a solution.

[brucewarren]

I am working on a 1978 Airstream and was surprised to discover it has only one tank... the toilet and the shower and all the faucets connect to that tank. I had a Casita 13 for 3 years and it had two tanks. Maybe there is a way to run the gray water line into the black water tank? Good enough for Airstream ought to be good enough for the Casita.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by brucewarren

I am working on a 1978 Airstream and was surprised to discover it has only one tank... the toilet and the shower and all the faucets connect to that tank. I had a Casita 13 for 3 years and it had two tanks. Maybe there is a way to run the gray water line into the black water tank? Good enough for Airstream ought to be good enough for the Casita.

A Casita 'Standard'' doesn't have a toilet or black tank, only the Deluxe models do. It doesn't have a shower, either, so that grey outlet is strictly wash water from the kitchen sink.

[Jann Todd]

[QUOTE=lfkwtz;793913]Hi all,

Picked up a 2002 13' Patriot Standard about a month ago in great shape and she's my very first trailer. Took her out this weekend and everything went smoothly - but I have some questions if anyone can help!

1. I don't have a gray water tank and the outlet just drains underneath the camper - should I be getting one of those portable tanks that I slide underneath and hook that up to it?

2. The sink has two knobs, but they're both cold water. Was a hot water heater not an option for this model? Would it be easy to add one - or maybe not worth it just for the sink since I don't have a shower anyways?

3. Do the fridges need to be fully leveled - both side/side and front/back - to operate? I tried switching mine on with the 120V but it didn't seem to work - but I wasn't level side/side (still learning ) I may just need to read through the manual a bit to figure out how to use it[/QUOTE

Did the fridge work on propane? Did you put it on electric for a few hours before you left? It will take about 6 hours to get really cold. Get a thermometer with a remote sensor and put the sensor in the fridge. You can monitor how cold it is without opening it up. Every time you open it you lose cold and it takes about an hour to get back what you lost. Yes they need to be level. If not the gas in them pools to one area and can burn a hole in the tube. You also must have a 12V battery to run the panel if there is one. Do you have a battery and is it good? There are a lot of variables that may have caused it to not work.

[Yvimij]

Originally Posted by lfkwtz

Hi all,

Picked up a 2002 13' Patriot Standard about a month ago in great shape and she's my very first trailer. Took her out this weekend and everything went smoothly - but I have some questions if anyone can help!

1. I don't have a gray water tank and the outlet just drains underneath the camper - should I be getting one of those portable tanks that I slide underneath and hook that up to it?

2. The sink has two knobs, but they're both cold water. Was a hot water heater not an option for this model? Would it be easy to add one - or maybe not worth it just for the sink since I don't have a shower anyways?

3. Do the fridges need to be fully leveled - both side/side and front/back - to operate? I tried switching mine on with the 120V but it didn't seem to work - but I wasn't level side/side (still learning ) I may just need to read through the manual a bit to figure out how to use it

Does it have a fresh water tank? If so, does it have an electric water pump? My Patriot had a 20 gallon fresh water tank but no electric water pump. The sink faucet did not have a knob at all. It had a pump handle that would allow me to pump water from the fresh water tank. It also had a grey water storage tank but no shower/toilet or black water tank.

When my 3-way fridge gave up the ghost, I bought a 12 volt compressor replacement that worked better than the 3-way had ever worked. The 3-way became extra storage space.

That trailer suited my purposes fine. It allowed me to continue camping long after my aging body could no longer backpack. I never had to worry about finding a dump station. Dish washing involved little more than pouring a splash of hot water into my empty coffee cup so even though the trailer had a gray water tank, It seldom had more than a couple of ounces of water in it.

My style of camping would not work for many folks. But there are some virtues in simplicity.

[kenbmcg]

We bought an old well used 1987 Scamp 19. We live in Atlantic Canada/rust country. We took out the toilet and black tank and installed a composting toilet. We removed the water tank and grey water and installed two 5 gallon water tanks under the sink...one for fresh water and one for the grey. It did not come with a shower so we rigged one up in the bathroom with a drain in the floor pan and shower curtains and an Ovation shower pump. Good to go and nothing to winterize, freeze, or leak. It is not elegant but suits our needs for traveling and boondocking.