Motorhome arrival - fill up then find pitch or?
Hi
Caravan owner moving across to a motorhome so sensitive to a new set of protocols.
If I'm travelling relatively empty of water, on arrival, is it ok to find a pitch and plonk a pitch saver on it, then drive to the water point, or does protocol demand you fill up then find a pitch?
Thank you
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All motorhomers that I've seen arrive on site have selected a pitch, placed something on it and then gone to water point to fill tanks.
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I assume the OP is asking what folk do as regards filling when arriving at site. However, I assume the post hasn’t been approved yet as all I am getting is
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Usually we drive around the site and select a pitch, mark it with our MH using this pitch sign. Then OH wanders back to reception to check us in while I fill up. If there is plenty of choice or only staying for one night, we just head straight to the water and select a pitch after filling.
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Exactly as Steve described - arrive, book in, select pitch and mark it, one person goes back to the office to report the pitch number while the other drives to the MHSP.
Mind you, most times when arriving on site we have no need to do the tanks if we’ve done them when leaving the previous site.
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Yes, same as Steve and Tinny say. We normally travel with a full water tank, but got a good pay load. Time of arrival tends to dictate on Club Sites, if it’s busy, mark your chosen pitch first. Not busy, then fill up. If you are in a little cul de sac of pitches, and choose carefully, you might be able to pitch up, then fill up from nearest tap with a long hose, but you do need to be careful of other folks driving over hose, or tripping over it. Travel full if you can👍
You can check out where service points are on each Club Site before you go, if this helps.
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I hope you don’t mean fill from an ordinary service point with a long hose, TDA😱. It might work well on a CL but I’ve seen some very upset folk on a club site when a MH monopolised an ordinary service point in that manner instead of using the MHSP. 😲
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I tend to agree, particularly when the club has spent thousands on MHSP specifically for them. I only encountered a MH doing it the once and asked him to remove his hose as I had nowhere else to fill my aquaroll.
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We travel with a little water on board, enough to prime the system and allow for a kettle fill or two and toilet use. This we put on board at home so arrive at site with some water on board. We use about ten litres a day so have a 10 litre plastic Jerry can and use this to keep water at a usable level. A daily trip to the service point is all that is then needed. This keeps fresh water on board. We do empty the whole system, never very much left, on ending a tour prior to placing the van back in storage. This works for us and keeps the water relatively fresh. Obviously those that shower, wash up etc. in their van will need more or if infirm it may not be right for them but personally I’d be unhappy to have ‘old’ water in the pipes for long periods, particularly in summer.
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Once checked in, it's probably sensible to find a pitch first and putting something on the pitch to show that it is taken. (signs to this effect can often be purchased at site receptions if you don't already have one) You are usually given a map on arrival where the site staff will usually mark the motorhome service point so it should be easy to find.
We usually travel with some water in the tank so I tend to pitch up first, usually as near to an ordinary service point that I can and then just top up the tank using a 10 litre watering can. All adds to my daily step count
David
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Thank you all very much for your replies which are the ones I'd hoped for.
Because we can't bring our MH home, we will need to plan carefully. I don't want to waste fuel by travelling full, but @micksyf's answer is a good one which I like, for keeping the system primed - makes great sense.
Thanks again everyone - happy to close this thread
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Rowntree has or had (not been there for sometime) a very awkward MSP and there were queues to use it. I could reach one of the service point taps from my pitch so I decided to use it. One of the site managers saw my hose and disconnected it saying it was a trip hazzard. Huh, so are EHU cables.
peedee
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Oops, had no intention of opening a can of worms😕 It was Rowntree Park I was thinking of, along with Barnard Castle and Warwick Racecourse. Two, (YRP, and WR) have terribly placed MHSP. The third you have to drive right round the site, out the barrier and back in again🤷♀️
There’s a nice little cul de sac at YRP, right at the back of the site. One of the pitches has a tap next to it, at none busy times, perfect for filling up, no trip hazard. You just need to be polite enough to let others use it rather than wait, if they need to. Or simply wait while 11pm when most are in bed and do it then. We had same at Warwick. There was a tap in the hedge by our pitch, we just filled up very late at night.
But, it’s a while since we have used a Club Site, and had to fill up. If this is yet another rule, we will abide. We are out of the Club Site “loop” don’t have these problems on CLs.
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There’s a nice little cul de sac at YRP, right at the back of the site. One of the pitches has a tap next to it, at none busy times, perfect for filling up, no trip hazard.
That was the area I was pitched TTDA, not quite as close as that but close enough for my 25 meter hose to reach the tap. Think I was one pitch away and I ran the hose round the back of the nearest van. On other sites I have not had any problems when I have been near enough to use a service tap.
peedee
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Before you forget this thread I thought it may be helpful to mention waste water. Forty or so years ago we bought our first motorhome and made the mistake of using the sinks as we would at home. Despite making sure excess cooking fat and residue did not enter the closed system it wasn’t too long before a smell emanated from the plug holes and to my horror, at the end of the season, I discovered the tank and pipes were coated with an oily/greasy residue. Being not that easy to clean, we did with great effort any time, we then made the effort to ensure such debris did not find its way into the system and found practices to eliminate this. Well worth the little effort needed in my opinion.
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Good point Micky. We always use a wash up bowl, then throw this into waste water, not down the MH sink. Only thing that tends to be in our waste water tank is handwash and showering water.
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Same here. We have a small 23lts Fiamma waste wheeled tank which we use for all kitchen sink waste water. Just fits under the van at the back. Usually lasts 3/4 days. Alternatively if we are within easy walking distance of a waste point I will dispose of the bowl full of water there.
David
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🤭 I do use sink for this, but the mouthwash rinse sort of disinfects the waste tank🤣 Very occasionally we get a bit of waste tank smell, even though we empty it daily, and after each trip. We have tried all sorts to keep it fresh down the years, including the old “rolla cola” (cheap Coke) trick. A good glug of undiluted Zoflora seems the best thing.
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Yes, we just take bowl to waste point. We use our MH daily, so don’t bother with waste master, but a good idea if staying on a site without moving. We carry a collapsible bucket, so if staying in, just run waste into this, and empty at waste point. We are lucky as our tap is quite high compared with a lot of outfits, so bucket fits under easily.
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Never bother, seems to me you are making life harder for yourselves when motorhoming is about relaxing and being easy. All waste water goes into my tank and have never had any problems. I carry a length of old coaxial cable to stuff up the outlet pipe on the rare occasions I get a blockage. That soon removes any blockage in the pipes and a dose of tank cleaner as necessary keeps the system smelling sweet.
Getting back to protocols, if I need water on arrival, I find my pitch after checking in, mark it as occupied, then go for water.
peedee
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That’s rather contradictory, PD. You’ve never had any problems yet you occasionally need to clear a blockage and need to use tank cleaner😂.
I'm with those who pour the washing up water into a service point or hedge as deemed appropriate by the site operator.
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We also don’t bother decanting washing up water and release it straight into the tank. Unlike at home however, any particularly messy, and in particular greasy items are wiped off with kitchen paper prior to washing. I use a 100 ml of combined cleaner / freshener in the waste tank when stopping for 3 days, which generally stops any smells. Although at 35 C you are going to get some. All the drains have traps, except for the basin. Therefore as long as you remember to put the plug back in after draining all remains sweet smelling. You soon realise if you’ve left it in when emptying as it bloops and drains slowly.
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That’s rather contradictory, PD. You’ve never had any problems yet you occasionally need to clear a blockage and need to use tank cleaner
They are not problems to me TW. On the other hand carrying a bowl of water to a service point some distance away is a wast of time and one I have no desire to do especially in the rain and cold. You might as well take the washing up to the dish washing area. This is a far more sensible approach but still one I do not do.
peedee
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Each to their own, PD.
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I was surprised how dirty my waste tank and pipes in and out of it were at the end of that season despite all efforts to eliminate smells and most of those fatty deposits entering the system. We even tried that ‘Roller Cola’ method along with other chemicals and proprietary products will little improvement. Tank Fresh was the best but it really only masked the smells and did not provide a fully clean end result. Much remaining in those unreachable parts and pipes and applications had to be regularly applied, particularly in warm weather very noticeable on taking the van out of storage or after longer periods of non use. That term nose blind also applied I think. The solution came with changing the van and changing our practice from day one as previously mentioned. No real faff, no smells and no cost for those previously and regularly repeated products. Just a tiny bit of effort. Win, win in our view.
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We use kitchen towel to wipe plates down and never put greasy washing up water down the sink. Despite this, we still get a "whiff" if we travel with grey waste in the tank.
The best solution I have found to combat the smell is to disolve a dishwasher tablet in boiling water and flush it into the tank, then drive to our next detination.
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Dishwashing in a baby Eriba was always going to be a problem - tiny sink, no draining board and only cold water on tap. So breakfast things went into an empty bucket which lived under the caravan - and as the day went by cups, glasses and plates were added, until in the evening I picked it up and went to the dishwashing place .
In France it was always busy there with jolly company - always men sent on the same errand as I was - chatting, joking and friendly. But in UK the dishwashing place was always deserted with no one else there. Funny how Brits want to fill tanks with enormous quantities of water, heat it, wash dishes indoors, and not venture out. And then dispose of smelly water as described.
Is it the weather or something to do with national character?
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