Nancy and Pat, here's another opinion. You can sift through the posts and pick what you want.
I don't believe it's possible to empty the HWH once it has been filled without physically removing the drain plug on the outside. When dry camping, the water pump pulls water out of the fresh tank and pushes it through the plumbing system in the direction of whichever tap is turned on. If that is a hot tap, it runs through the HWH on its way displacing hot water to the tap. If the pump runs dry, the HWH is still full and I can't see any way that it can be emptied. Someone please explain if this is wrong.
So there is no need to monitor whether the HWH is full or not--it is full and the best way to ensure it is full is to fill it at home with the city water inlet. If you stand beside the HWH right after turning on the city tap, you will hear the water running into the HWH until it is full. Six gallons is a fair amount of water so you will hear it running for awhile--don't forget to use a pressure regulator at home too. I always do this at home because it seems pointless, when dry camping, to immediately remove 6 gal. of water from the fresh tank and have the pump hammer away to do something that is a simple part of a pre-trip list.
In addition, we turn on the HWH in the morning for at most 30 min. and then still have enough hot water to do the supper dishes, although I would turn it on again before taking a shower. I know the heater is controlled by a thermostat and only runs when necessary, but it seems wasteful to heat hot water all day long when we don't need it--and I certainly wouldn't use my propane to heat water unnecessarily.
Another thing not mentioned yet: never travel with the water pump on--you just don't know what's happening back there. If there is a leak somewhere the pump will run until the fresh tank is empty. We once saw a trailer in a park hooked to city water and an inside water line broke while the owners were away. Other campers of course didn't notice until the water was pouring out the doors and all the seams. That trailer was still dripping when the owners returned in the evening. After seeing that ruined trailer, I always turn the pump or city water off when we leave for an extended time, and if I forget it spooks me for the whole day. In this way you also get used to using the control panel and its switches and are more likely to check regularly to see what's running and don't inadvertently leave something on.
I am also going to be contrary, or ornery, take your pick
when it comes to generators. First of all I don't use one for camping. A Honda 2000 may have enough power to run AC, but it does not have enough power to start a typical RV 13,500 BTU unit which of course renders the issue irrelevant. However, a Yamaha 2400 will start and run this AC. I believe Yamaha deliberately hit this sweet spot in the RV market and Honda missed it. I know you can parallel two Honda 2000 to effectively get the full power of shore power and that a Honda 3000 is also a nice, albeit very heavy unit. However, unless someone was into big time boon docking I can't see buying two Honda 2000 instead of one Yamaha 2400. Again, someone who has done the comparison shopping, unlike this armchair quarterback, please tell us why the Honda is better than the Yamaha. Like everyone else I'm just looking for helpful information.
Thanks for that really good link, Lode. That is helpful information.
Henry
... you can buy 2 of the 2000s and piggy back them if you wanted to go that route... just more space, more noise, more gas, and twice as much to lug around 
) and run nothing else in the camper while your AC unit cools the camper.... switch it off once you're cool enough, this will allow you to use other heavy electric consuming amenities.
Linear Mode
