-We get a lot of questions about the basics to the basics when it comes to RV living.
-Like, where do you get all your running water?
Can you take a hot shower in a Wal-Mart parking lot?
Or, can I like, use the toilet when I'm not hooked up to sewer?
I mean the list of questions is never ending.
-Guys, we had the same questions when we were new to the RV life.
But after four years of RV living, we are bringing you the answers. And we are gonna bring it to you very simply.
-And if this is your first time to our channel, we are HappilyEverHanks. My name is Kyle. -I'm Renee.
-And we are here giving you everything you need to know about RV living. So that you too can get out on the road.
And experience a whole new life that you never thought was possible.
-So this video is geared towards RV living for beginners. -Yes.
-We're talking, no solar, no generator. Just a brand new RV.
-So grab your coffee. Grab a pen and paper. Let's get into it.
-So what happens if it's too cold or too hot in your RV?
Most RVs have an air conditioner. And that is gonna cool your RV down.
But you do have to be plugged into shore power.
And what do we mean when we say shore power?
-That is actually the 30 amp hookup or the 50 amp hookup.
Those are the thing you're gonna be plugging in to when you actually hit the RV parks.
-If it's too cold... most RVs come with a furnace. -Yes. -Where the source of heat is from propane or LP.
-Which is really awesome because that you do not have to be plugged into electricity to use.
You actually have an on-board battery that is able to power that propane furnace.
So basically, all you have to remember is an AC you have to have electricity. But the furnace you're good to go.
All you need is a battery that is fully charged and bammo.
-Yeah, isn't that awesome that you could be chilly.
And not hooked up to shore power electricity, and you can still run the furnace. Now...
eventually that battery will drain, but we'll get into that.
-Another huge thing that we always get asked is like when can I use my appliances in the kitchen?
-That's a good one because you have a refrigerator most likely. A microwave. And an oven/stove.
-So lets start off with the refrigerator. It's really easy and simple.
The refrigerator can either run off the electricity provided at the RV park.
Or it can run off the propane as well on board of your RV.
-With the 12-volt battery, it will actually light the propane in the back of the refrigerator. So you can actually get
cold food and cold beverages if you're just parked in the middle of nowhere...
for a night or two. And you're just running off of your battery.
That's fantastic. -Don't have to worry about it. -The food's gonna stay cold. Don't you worry.
What about the oven and stove top? -Same thing as at your home. You run it off propane and bammo.
No other electricity is needed. Which is great. -Yeah. So if you're...
once again, pulled over and you are not hooked to electricity / shore power...
-Yeah. -You can cook on the stove top. You can cook in the oven, thanks to propane.
-Mac and cheese is not off the menu tonight.
Same thing when you go to cook in your oven. That requires a pilot light to be lit.
And then you can use propane to cook anything in your stove. So... really cool.
-Yeah. As long as your 12-volt battery is working fine and you have propane, you can cook.
Wait, what about the microwave?
-With the microwave, you have to be plugged in to use that electricity.
-What if I want to eat a Hot Pocket like, in the Wal-Mart parking lot?
-Okay, you're gonna have to go back ten, fifteen seconds in this video. Rewatch what we just talked about.
-Okay. So what we're gettin at is some of the big appliances. So far your air conditioner...
and your microwave... They use a lot of electricity.
So you need to be hooked up to an electrical outlet. -But the refrigerator and the stove. Pssh.
(spoken together) -You're good to go.
-Jinx!
-You owe me a soda.
Okay before we move on to the next topic. Guys if you enjoy what you are seeing and hearing.
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-All right. So all this talk about the battery and being hooked up to electricity but... -Yeah.
-If you're always hooked to electricity why do you even need a battery?
-Well that's a great question. Because let me tell ya.
That battery is gonna be a great source of running your lights when your not hooked up.
-And you can also run some other stuff. Like your propane detector to know if you have a leak or not.
It will run your stove top, and your oven like we were mentioning. Your...
refrigerator and some other things that we're gonna go into shortly.
-Oh nice. Okay. Because I want to move on to some questions that we actually get asked the most. -Right.
-A huge one that we get asked is... Where does your water come from?
-Yeah. How do you get water out of your faucet? Do you have to be like connected all the time?
Can you get water anytime of day? And the answer to that is... Absolutely.
-Let's break it down really nice and simple for you.
Start at an RV park. If you want to have running water while at an RV park.
It's a simple garden hose connected to a spigot there.
You turn it on. You hook it up to the the RV. And you got running water.
-That's what the term city water comes from. Because it's a continuous water source.
And how you get pressure into your faucets is basically the PSI from the water source.
-But let's say you're actually out and you don't have any hookups.
You're in the Wal-Mart parking lot for the night and you're like...
Hmm? I hope I can get some water for my RV? -We got a solution.
-You have a thing called a holding tank for your fresh water.
But the main point we want to get across is with this holding tank, also comes a water pump built into the RV.
-Yeah you're thinking, well how does it get from the water tank into the faucets. -Yeah.
-That's where that 12-volt battery just comes into play again. -Bam.
And if you need some more clarification on tanks and understanding everything that goes into those. Don't worry.
We got another video for that.
-If you are pulled over and you know you have water in your tank. But nothing is coming out of your faucets. -Yeah.
-Don't worry. You just have to hit the little button that says water pump and then you might here a little...
(water pump sound)
-Okay, now you can wash your dishes. You can actually go take a nice hot shower.
-Wait, you can shower? -Yeah. You can brush your teeth too. -We're gonna talk more about this later. Now relax.
We're gettin there. Goodness gracious.
-Which answers another question. Yes.
You will be able to take a shower when you're not hooked up to any connections.
-That's sweet. And you may be asking well how do I get hot water? Let us tell you.
That propane will do its job and heat that water heater for ya. And you have hot water whenever you need it.
-If you're wondering how long does your water tank last? We did a little experiment.
We have a 90 gallon water holding tank. -Yeah.
-And we were not hooked to city water. Just to see how long it would last.
We were able to take five, quick showers each.
-Yeah. It actually lasted a lot longer than we were expecting.
And we did dishes in between as well.
-You can really make these water tanks last a long time. -Yes.
Okay. Another huge thing we always get asked is like, how do you watch TV on the road? -Wow.
Your TV is another big appliance. -Yeah.
-That requires a lot of electricity. Just like the air conditioner.
Just like the microwave. -Yes. -It will not run off the battery.
So if you are hooked up to electricity and you're able to turn your TV on.
There's a couple ways you can watch TV. -Yeah.
-A lot of RVs have an antenna on the roof. And you can sometimes pick up some local TV stations.
-Which is really cool. Hey, it's better than not having TV. -Yeah. -So that's cool.
-We've done it a couple times and it works great.
-Yeah. -But also, a lot of RVs are rigged to be able to connect to cable.
Some RV parks have cable as an extra hookup.
But if you're not a cable person. If you don't want cable TV...
-No need to worry. -Yeah. -We're in the 21st century here.
We watch Netflix or like you were saying the Roku and the Fire Stick. So, there's options out there.
You can watch TV. It's just like a home on wheels. -Yeah. -So, it's pretty cool.
-Here's one that I know you're all thinking. I know it. I can see it. You're about to say it.
Can I still use the toilet? Even though we're not hooked up to sewer?
-Yes. You can use it while not hooked up to sewer.
-You can? - No you totally can. So it's really cool.
There is another holding tank within it called your black tank.
And that's where all your waste goes.
-So if you guys are driving across country and you don't feel like using the bathroom at the rest stops.
Do what we do. We use our RV toilet all the time. -Let er rip. -Guess what?
Water pump on. You got the (water pump sound) pump on.
-Here we go again. -You got running water. You can flush your toilets.
And you're good to go. Because you're just gonna carry that with you in your tanks.
I don't recommend using the toilet while you're driving.
-Did that need to be said?
-I just..I don't know. We've never tried it. This is not a personal experience.
-If you need more clarification on more how to videos.
And everything you need to know about RV living like Mrs over here.
Be sure to check out this playlist right here. Because we have so much more valuable content.
-And if you found this video helpful. Don't forget to hit that like button.
And leave a comment below if you are brand new.
And you want any other information related to the basics of RV living.
-We love ya. It's HappilyEverHanks checking out. -Bye. -See you guys.