Fresh Water filling
Second appeal for advice today. You can tell I'm new. We've just had a few single nights away in our new Motorhome and 3 of the 4 sites we've visited have had hard standing with both electric and water. However, this weekend the water was some considerable distance away. I decided not to fill up at home before leaving and we were very low on water, hoping to top up on site. Fortunately, we left before the lack of water became a problem. Would I have to move my Motorhome to the water or is there another solution? Fill a container and pump it in maybe?
Comments
-
You can use a container and pump, a watering can, of anything you fancy. It’s much easier though, in my opinion, to fill at the dedicated MH service point (if there is one) on arrival at the site.
When touring, we fill and empty either on arrival or as we leave. Only once have we needed to fill via a pump and bucket.
0 -
I always carry a 2 to 3 metre length of clear hose with a 'Hozelok' tap connector to allow me to fill up if / when passing the water points. Otherwise, like HuskyPup, I carry a red 10 or so litre watering can. First started carrying the 'can on Orkney back in the '80s when the hose was much to short to reach the taps.
0 -
Personally, when on the road, I would only ever carry enough water on board for a cup of tea or two. Always fill up on arrival with either that blue potable plastic hose or our plastic 15L water container. Have a plastic elbow which fits the filler opening on the exterior of the van, this helps greatly and reduces 'wet leg'!
0 -
We always fill up before we leave home and 200ltrs lasts us 4/5 days
If we need to refill we have 2 x 40mtrs of hose on board or if we need to we have an aqua roll and a 12v pump.
so in answer to your question ,no we neve.r need to move the Motorhome to fill up with water.
Brian & Jo
0 -
Many people carry a flat food grade hose of around 6 meters and a small selection of hozelock fittings - generally a threaded attachment and a push-to-fit adaptor are all that are required. The flat hose is very compact.
Assuming you were given a submersible pump you can fill a container and use the pump, alternatively carry a 5-10 litre watering can and make a few trips back and forth.
0 -
Only two johnthomo? You're already halfway to being an expert!
The answer is you don't have to go to the motorhome service point. There are many options and it is best you choose one that suits you n the motorhome.
I tend to travel with 25l or so. I top up on site using a food grade watering can from
The only downside is that you may have to get stick some plastic tubing on the spout because the spout may not be long enough. Oh and as it only holds 8 litres, several trips are necessary.
I've also used food grade containers [with a tap] and poured the water directly into the tank after removing the big water tank cap. Sometimes I get water splash on the van floor doing this. A plastic pop bottle can be cut to form a funnel so I can stand outside, pour from the container, down the funnel and into the tank.
I carry a short length of food grade hose - c 8m long - with a connector so I can fix it to the longer hose. As we travel with water, it's easy to top up using this short hose when returning to the pitch after a day out.
You don't need to use food grade.That's a personal decision. I've not known anyone to die from using an ordinary hose.
0 -
We fill up our fresh water tank before leaving home, three days later we top it up, three days later we top it up, ad infinitum …....
I have a clear plastic pipe around three metres long and have never used anything but that in over six years in this country or abroad.
A Motorhome water filler cap helps to take any strain of filling away completely as the water flows in for around ten minutes.
I don't have a watering can, bucket or aqua-roll and try to keep things, like me, simple.
0 -
I believe that is not uncommon. There is a “sticky” on the Autosleepers forum about what to do in that situation.
0 -
We always travel with empty tanks and fill up at the service point on arrival. We have a selection of Hozelock fittings on food grade hose. We also have a HEO Solutions water connector, this is put in place of the water filler cap on the motorhome, it has a hozelock male fitting and makes it an easy one man job with no 'splash backs'
We carry a couple of containers should we need to fill/empty whilst on site. A small fold down trolley is very useful. An external submersible pump is also an asset
0 -
just for balance, once 'on the road' and touring, we generally travel full or fullish.
some of our stops won't be on sites so will be using our own shower.
if water is available prior to leaving en route to another, we empty waste and fill with fresh for the next stop...
two lenghts of hose and a variety of connectors as many do, tap fittings do vary from place to place.
0 -
it's also a darn sight easier to fill a 120ltr tank from scratch with a hosepipe than 6 watering cans...
however, like most others, we do have a similar thing in a 10ltr carrier which I do use from time to time...
0 -
Agree two watering cans are easier to carry if you have the space to store them. Why make two trips to a tap when you can do one. I also carry two hoses, a short 10m one and a longer stretchy one. They can be joined together if necessary and with the tap adapters I hope I have everything covered. I usually travel with some water and fill up on arrival. Not had a problem yet.
I also carry two 10L collapsible buckets, got them for £3.99 each from Home Bargain Stores
peedee
0 -
One of the reasons for us swapping to a MH was to do away with the need to fetch and carry water and waste. No way do we fill or empty the tanks with buckets/cans unless it’s a dire emergency. What could be simpler than driving to the tap and drain?
1 -
"What could be simpler than driving to the tap and drain?"
a tap on the pitch?
our long term breaks (which may include a stop or two of a week or much, much more) are likey to be 'away' and the vast majority of pitches there are full/part serviced....so no effort at all.
in the uk I don't do serviced pitches and our longest stays here are likely to be on THS (definitely not CC site) where I can choose to fetch water myself (although we are good for 5/6 days even showering) or take the van to the tap if staying (much) longer.
there won't be a drive over waste at this sort of site either....but we happen to like them for their locatations and terrific value.
I'm a big advocate of decent drive over MHSP and when leaving a site I'll use them to empty waste and fill with fresh, but not all places have them.
its just nice to have the choice.
0 -
There’s always a drain of some sort, PD, which can usually be reached with a hose if necessary.
0 -
Who's talking about road drains? That’s not something I’d contemplate.
CLs and others sites, as we were talking about, always have a waste water disposal point of some sort which can usually be reached with a hose.
0 -
do they?
weve been to many where the 'instructions' are to drain grey waste into the nearest hedge.....
im not saying they don't have a drain, perhaps near a tap?, but again, we've had many a water point that is just that.....a tap with no (obvious) drain.
1 -
Us, too, but the hedge is the "waste water disposal point of some sort" on those sites and can be accessed with a hose with no need to carry the waste water.
0 -
Exactly. As I said, it is the drain of some sort.
0 -
We only have soapy water in our grey tank. We use a wash up bowl for pots and draining veg, that just goes to on-site grey waste. Easier to keep grey tank clean this way, rather than having any food bits in it.
We fill up/empty as we go out/ come in for day in MH. What could be simpler? We don’t carry fancy pumps, aquarolls, wastemaster etc... just a hosepipe, selection of fittings, and a collapsible bucket and / or a bit of pipe.
0 -
Fill up at MH point as you arrive. Carry a watering can to top up if you are staying for more than a few days. We only drink water from a bottle (not bottled water which we fill from the drinking water tap. We dont like drinking water from the mhome tank. Many people do though. Its a personal choice.
0 -
we are quite happy using water from our fresh tank to make tea/coffee. we use a filter jug and obviously boil the water, too...
we like to live on the edge
we're probably going to Salisbury this week
0
