Boat camping electric hookup

[trailertrawlerkismet]

In preparation for becoming Ranger Tug owners, when our R-27 will be picked up in Washington in August, I'm curious to find out about the how's of hooking up to RV park electric. Our plans are to trailer our boat to new cruising destinations with several days to a week between locations so the thought of stopping at RV parks seemed like a logical idea. If there any Tugnuts that have first hand knowledge and experience to share we'd appreciate the education.

 

[JamesTXSD]

We have used our boat in campgrounds frequently while trailering to cruising areas. You'll need a 30 amp adapter to go from the marine connection to a standard campground 30 amp. You can get that at West Marine or you can make your own with parts from any electrical supply house.

Having hauled our boat coast to coast quite a few times, we have run into an occasional rare campground/RV park that doesn't allow boats. Their loss, as there will always be another place down the road. Because our "water situation" is different from RVs, I think they have had experience where inconsiderate boaters have allowed gray water to run out... a very big no-no in most campgrounds (although some allow that). So, you can't use your shower or even your sink if they run out overboard when in a campground. We put a plastic wash tub in our sink and then dump that out in the sewer connection, discretely. Most of the time, we are welcomed in parks and campgrounds and have met some nice folks who are interested in our traveling style.

Although you didn't ask, there are ways to save $$ while land traveling. We belong to a variety of RV discount groups (having been RVing over 300,000 miles); the one we use most frequently when land traveling is Passport America, which saves you 50% at participating campgrounds. When all you need is a place to park for the night, and want electricity and a shower house, these can be an inexpensive way to go, if there are member PA parks on your route. If you don't need the hookups, another inexpensive alternative is: http://www.freecampgrounds.com/ Many of those are city parks that allow camping for $10 or less, or dry camping alternatives, like Wal-Mart.

While some on the C-Brats have referred to their boats as a "boaterhome", there are some aspects of the boat that can't easily be used on land and in campgrounds, like the gray water situation or air conditioning if you have a marine a/c. But, it is the bed you are used to, you don't have to pack/unpack, you can use your microwave and other onboard amenities, many parks have cable TV and nice amenities like swimming pools and hot tubs. Just one of the real advantages of a trailerable boat.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Jim B:

Thank you for the very useful information. I've checked out the two web sights and can see that what they have to offer can make the land traveling part of getting to the boating more enjoyable. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience.

 

[thataway]

As Jim and Joan, we have also "camped" in our C Dory 25. I have had initial resistance on a couple of occasions, but invited the host of the campground to look at the boat. As I explain we have a holding tank for liquids, just like the trailers, the objections melt away--and most want to know more about the boat and concept. You can pour small amounts of the liquid into the head holding tank, but pumping it can be a problem on the road. We have experimented with seals between the macerator pump out and hoses, but never been really satisfied.

We used a hospital type of wash basin for dishes, and then put that into a 5 gallon pail, which was then dumped into the sewer hook up. Again no water goes overboard. We have RV air conditioning, which I consider to be far superior to marine air conditioning in small boats. (you can run it on the trailer, on a lift, there is no jelly fish or sea weed plug up of the intake etc.