Motorhome Water Management
As caravanners for more than 30 years we are used ot how to manage water and waste; just fill up the aquaroll and empty the waste when needed, however, as new motorhomers I am trying to think though what to do in a motorhome particularly for one night stops.
The tank capacities are 100 litres for waste and water but I presume that you would not normally want to travel with fresh water tank full? What is a reasonable amount to carry - 20 litres?
So, arriving at a one night stop what should be the regime for taking on water and disposing of waste ready for the next day's travel? The MH has options to fill by both hose and pump and we will take a small watering can plus a 25 litre Fiamma portable
waste water container.
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Weight is the main consideration with one litre of water weighing 1 kg as you probably know. 20l of water is often mentioned as being enough being not too heavy, more than enough for a day's use, and sufficient to stop the pump running dry.
Start with thinking of 20l as a minimum, empty the waste tank when that 20l is used or within a couple of days.
Our regime is to travel with 20l of fresh water, use a water container to fill up, and empty the waste water when a quarter full unless we're going home in which case we empty before departure. Sometimes we'll drain the waste water into the toilet cassette
and empty that on departure.0 -
Weight is the main consideration with one litre of water weighing 1 kg as you probably know. 20l of water is often mentioned as being enough being not too heavy, more than enough for a day's use, and sufficient to stop the pump running dry.
Start with thinking of 20l as a minimum, empty the waste tank when that 20l is used or within a couple of days.
Our regime is to travel with 20l of fresh water, use a water container to fill up, and empty the waste water when a quarter full unless we're going home in which case we empty before departure. Sometimes we'll drain the waste water into the toilet cassette
and empty that on departure.So, it seems like you avoid using the motorhome service points, is that correct? I was thinking that turning up at a site (on the continent) with a choice of pitches awaiting, it would be frustrating to hang around for 10 minutes messing about with water
and waste unless we were staying for a week and wanted to fill up.0 -
As motorcaravanners for over 30 years, we have never found it to be a problem.
Keep 20 - 25 litres in the fresh tank and keep this for washing up etc. Use a small container to get fresh drinking water every day. If convenient, empty the waste water before you leave a site. Top up the fresh water as necessary when arrving or during
your stay (with a 5 ltr watering can)0 -
So, arriving at a one night stop what should be the regime for taking on water and disposing of waste ready for the next day's travel? The MH has options to fill by both hose and pump and we will take a small watering can plus a 25 litre Fiamma portable waste water container.
We do what others on here have said and travel with about 20 litres, give or take a few litres. For just 1 night we wouldn't bother filling up at the MSP. We'd just fill our container, as we'd be using the site's facilities for showering and washing-up. We have a waste container which we use to catch any grey water (washing hands, brushing teeth etc) and just get rid of that in the morning in the designated area. And off we go!
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If you have enough payload carry a full water tank if you think you will need it otherwise carry as little as necessary and certainly dump your waste before you leave a site. I am fortunate and can carry a full tank comfortably but still don't do so unless
it is needed for a few days and I suspect or know it won't be easy to fill up at my destination.peedee
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We also travel with about 20 - 25 litres on board. When we arrive at the site, depending on how long we are stopping , I will either fill up from the motorhome service point or use my aquaroll and pump it in. We use the van facilities to thier full potential
and never use the toilet block on site. You will soon get an idea of how much water you need for your stays once you have been doing it for a while.0 -
Coming like yourself hitch from a caravan background, we had to learn what to do. Like others we now travel with just 20/30l of fresh water and usually empty the waste before we leave the site. It is usually only on CC sites that we use the MVSP, while abroad
we use the 20l black container while on sites for the waste with OH emptying it when its about half full. We bought an extra 25m of flat fresh water hose on a reel which we can connect to the other fill hose so we have a fairly good length in which we can
reach a freshwater tap, as these are usually not too far away across the water we rarely have a problem. On 1 night stops we just use whats in the fresh tank and leave the waste in the waste tank until we reach another site for a longer stay, we have noticed
that if the waste tank is left empty for any length of time you can get a musty smell. For fresh drinking water we use a 2l container and just fill it as required for tea/coffee. Forgot to say if we are staying for quiet awhile on one site we can fill the
freshwater tank by using 2 buckets and dropping the pump filler hose into one and topping up with the other one, doesn't take long and saves having to move the van. I hope like us you will enjoy your new M/H and new found sense of freedom
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I think you are far from wrong.
If you want to carry on 'caravanning' in a MH fair enough!
If you want to 'Motorhome' use it's abilities to travel and to stop, more or less, anywhere.
We don't wild camp but always stay on approved sites (dependant on country)....they cost from zero to about £20....which is our limit!
To fill up I turn on a tap...to empty I turn on another tap!
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We don't carry anything extra for filling or emptying, just a hose pipe. Fill tank when it needs it, empty waste tank when it needs it, doing both when most convenient. Neither of our tanks are massive, but both will last two or three days, using only onboard
facilities. We did carry a small fresh water container when we started, but got fed up of carrying this as well, so soon left that at home. Only extra we carry is a small bucket, which has come in useful for all sorts of things. Stool, dog paw bath, pitch
marker, etc.....
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We fill up at home (our payload is good) and can usually last at least three days before emptying or refilling. To avoid returning to the M/H point we use a water container and pump up from that plus a bucket to empty smaller waste amounts, nothing difficult we don't take special containers with us. If you need to use the M/H point on arrival go to the pitch first and leave your "motorhome on pitch" sign on the pitch and then find the M/H point.
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If I have read this thread correctly I don't think anyone seems to have asked the question as to whether you intend to use your own facilities like the shower which will not only use quite a bit of water and of course start to fill your waste tank. We always
leave home with a full tank of fresh water because one on site we like to get to our pitch, if for no other reason to have a cup of tea or coffee after a long journey. We tend always to travel with the waste tank empty. If we are only staying a day or two
on a site we will just use the service poin to fill and empty on leaving. However if we stay longer we still use an aquaroll to replenish the water tank as our motorhome is geared up for this. For waste we use a 23lt Fiamma container which I use every couple
of days. The shower is perfectly large enough to accommodate these two containers plus our chairs and silver screen whilst travelling. We don't go backwards and forwards with the van to the service point when on site.David
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Thanks to all for the helpful comments. We are going to try travelling with the Fiamma waste and a 6 litre watering can which we would need for topping up the toilet flush and will double up as a tank filler. Autosleepers provide a lengthy hose but it might
be worth buying an extra length. We use bottled water on the continent so the tanks are for washing up etc.An "Occupied" sign is on the list to buy for when we venture away from pitch to top up or visit the supermarket. I think the shower compartment will come in usefull for storage!
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Always empty the waste whenever you can because whatever’s in your waste tank is unwanted weight. You need to carry at least as much fresh water as you expect to need before the next assured filling opportunity.
Our tanks are quite large, so we always fill with a hose as filling them with a can would take a lot of trips. Even so, we don’t fill with more than we expect to use and try to have a minimal amount when setting off to the next site. That means that our
first activity on arrival is to fill up for however many days we expect to be there.0 -
There's a "pitch occupied" sign in the CC shop and offers section. I see it's £9, gone up a bit since we bought one!
Hope you enjoy your van Hitchglitch.
Don’t bother with a ‘pitch occupied’ sign. For a start, Germans wouldn’t understand it. Leave a towel instead. If you don’t have a towel, use some other piece of (cheap) equipment.
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We always travel with Fresh full and waste empty. We've then got the option of stopping anywhere for a couple of days and having all the water we need for washing, showering etc. So when leaving a site with a service point we always fill fresh and empty
waste. When I get to a new site I like to get straight to my pitch and kettle on/wine out without having to go looking for the water point. If staying on site for more than a few days I usually drive the motorhome to the service point when I've got a spare
5 mins.0 -
We have a payload of 530 kg and don't carry bikes or anything other than essential equipment. I would think we could travel with full water tank if needed but obviously it makes more sense to just carry what we need for the next halt. I think I will try
and use a weigh bridge once loaded as it's the sort of thing you only really need to do once.0 -
I was hoping moving to a M/H would do away with all this carry and emtying of waste water but looks like I was wrong
i also think your wrong Michael....but, its what folk feel comfortable with.....
personal view only......i cant see the point of carting a water barrel to the tap and back and then pump the contents into another tank.....
a) why waste energy and not connect the tap directly to the MH tank either at a service point or (as TG says) by carrying a long hose (or two as we do) and let water flow where its needed.
b) if the above is easy (which it is) why bother to carry a blooming great barrel that then serves no purpose.....especially when outside storage (locker door size) on many uk vans is so poor
we dont generally carry '20 lts' per se, merely fill at the first site (unless i know it will be an issue so then fill before hand) and then use as needed.....if a top up is reqd, again its how long for....if continuing on site, reconnect hoses, fill tank....if
not possible then go to MHSP or for a shorter stay use a 10 ltr container to top up.empty waste on exit of site, if waste fills before then.....MHSP to dump if staying longer or small container as mentioned in earlier threads...
i dont see the point of having a large tank and then getting water piecemeal.....
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We have a payload of 530 kg and don't carry bikes or anything other than essential equipment. I would think we could travel with full water tank if needed but obviously it makes more sense to just carry what we need for the next halt. I think I will try
and use a weigh bridge once loaded as it's the sort of thing you only really need to do once.i see AS have now quoted their payload figure with empty water tanks, no gas etc (others are now also doing this following a EU directive to precisely say whats included or not.....previously all MIRO figures included driver (75kg) 90% fuel, gas and water....a
simple generic across brands.....ah well, progress....with this small 'change' payload miraculously rises by over 100kg....sells many more vans, i guess.....
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Hitchglitch, we don't avoid service points as such but we never see the point of using them for a short stay. Even if we shower, we don't use more than 20l a day. Lugging water about is not that difficult unless you have a health issue. Sometimes service
points are not conveniently located.We never use CC site water points designed for caravanners/campers to put 100l of water in our tank or to dump masses of waste water. On CLs and commercial sites, we may have no choice.
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We fill up at home (our payload is good) and can usually last at least three days before emptying or refilling. To avoid returning to the M/H point we use a water container and pump up from that plus a bucket to empty smaller waste amounts, nothing difficult
we don't take special containers with us. If you need to use the M/H point on arrival go to the pitch first and leave your "motorhome on pitch" sign on the pitch and then find the M/H point.Write your comments here...that's what we do too, apart from the bucket, we have a handy outside cupboard that just holds 2 x 23litre water/waste containers, which we use if we decide to stay longer than 2 to 3 days, and can't be bothered to move the van
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There's a "pitch occupied" sign in the CC shop and offers section. I see it's £9, gone up a bit since we bought one!
Hope you enjoy your van Hitchglitch.
Don’t bother with a ‘pitch occupied’ sign. For a start, Germans wouldn’t understand it. Leave a towel instead. If you don’t have a towel, use some other piece of (cheap) equipment.
Write your comments here...I don't understand a towel left on anything, when reserving poolside loungers, it ends up in the pool. Google a multi language Site in Use by motor home , on the reverse of the British sign.
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We fiil (fresh) and empty (waste) whenever the opportunity is available; thus, we typically travel with a full freshwater tank.
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I think people worry too much about the weight of a full tank of water. When you are looking at a vehicle with a GVW in excess of 3,000kg or even more, what's a few extra kilos of water? We always travel with the tank full because we like to feel we have water on board at all times. We don't carry bottled water, no one ever died from drinking water from the tank
Of course, much depends on whether you intend to stay on a site/CL every night or do some wild camping. The joy of a motorhome is that you are not tied to sites. That means a full tank should take your through a couple of nights depending on how much you use. And there are places other than sites to where you can connect a hose to a tap.
As for toilet waste, there is no reason why it cannot be tipped into any public toilet as long as you are careful and don't make a mess. We put our cassette in a converted rucksack so we don't get any glares from other people. We use bio washing liquid sachets in our loo so we are not tipping any of those horrible blue chemicals down the toilet.
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We don't carry bottled water, no one ever died from drinking water from the tank.
Perhaps not, but from your username, other hazards may apply.
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I don't have a strict regime regarding filling the fresh or emptying the waste. I don't worry about travelling with a full tank either although more often than not I find I have it about half full when I travel - that's about 50 litres in my case. But sometimes
I will fill up at home to about 80% before I leave to avoid waiting around at the service point on arrival. Payload isn't an issue and I don't worry about the modest impact on MPG.I very rarely use MH service points; I keep my fresh topped up with a 10 litre watering can three times a day on average and empty my waste every two or three days. Waste emptying is a faff in my case but thats unqiue to the ridiculous emptying point on
my van. Using the emptying points on sites is impractical because of this. I have to use a washing up bowl and a container that I then take to a service point.I do always try to choose a pitch close to a service point.
I use 30 litres a day on average, including showering. I find some poeple's water usage (above) a bit surprising. I would not have thought I was wasteful at all. Do they wash up in the van? Do they use the loo in the van?
I don't drink the water from my fresh water tank. I am not given to hygiene phobia at all - on the contrary i am known to be cavalier - but I can't shake the notion from my head that the fresh water tank must gather dirt, bateria and other foreign bodes.
Anyway I like my drinking water nice and cold so I keep a five ltire container in the fridge and fill this from the fresh water tap.Water management should be worry free,. If I followed the regimes of some of those above I would be stressed out.
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