Although I've haven't got around to trying it myself, one tip that I've read of for filling the freshwater tank, is to use a plastic 90 degree guttering elbow, instead of a funnel..
Supposedly, just a few turns of insulation tape around the one end, is enough to make it a snug fit in the filler housing...so it can be twisted in and it'll stay put, leaving hands free for pouring(..it sounds easier that faffin' about with a funnel or a watering can..and easy to cart about!)
RE:The Hand Over.
Ask loads of question(loads of times if needs be),take loads of notes and insist on seeing EVERYTHING working and on every power source! (so as well as the 12v, it needs plugging into mains electric, connecting to gas, and water in the tank!).
Don't be fobbed off by some "technician" vaguely pointing in the direction of some or other switches, whilst muttering as to what they should do...
Too many dealers use us to do their PDI/fault finding(.."..they'll bring it back if there's something wrong with it..")
If it's still got all the manuals then great, if not, get them to supply some. Although having said that, a fair percentage of the manuals we've had, have been quite generic..and not being "model specific", they can sometime confuse matters.
(..you can get most if not all, of the info you need from forums such as this one though).
We don't drink the water from our tank, if we suspect anything amiss with drinking water all we have to do is throw away a 5ltr container. When it comes to filling I have three hoses, a layflat (for filling at home) a coiled pipe and a washing machine hose (this is handy when parked close to tap and will fit most taps on Aires).
------------- Motorhomevalet, quality professional valeting for your motorhome or caravan,let me rejuvenate your van
Thanks so much everyone for your replies, thanks for the idea about using digital camera on the handover, will do that, I was just being impatient about finding out where abouts waste pipes are under the van, ive never actually seen a motorhome on the CL site we go to that has not got anywhere to dump your waste using anything underneath their van, I think they may just open the valve at night when its dark. Thanks again everyone.
Quote: Originally posted by Lou15e on 03/2/2014
...ive never actually seen a motorhome on the CL site we go to that has not got anywhere to dump your waste using anything underneath their van, I think they may just open the valve at night when its dark. Thanks again everyone.
Hi Lou..
Not wishing to sound all "Preachy", ..but if it is not clear, then PLEASE ask the site owner what you should do with your waste water!
....it may well be, that on more rural CL type sites, they'll be happy enough for you to tip it along the hedgerows etc?..But ask.
DON'T just dump it out beneath the van, under the cover of darkness!..
If everyone did that, then pitches would some become a stinking, soggy, unusable mess..
I must agree that a lot of CL's do not have a motor home waste disposal.However these are good camping area's offering basic facilities at least.We have been on CL's with all you could ask for,showers,wc, water, waste,electric and close to public transport/pubs etc.what more could you ask for?.All you have to do is put a waste container under your van and empty it once a day at the grey water drain just the same as a caravanner would do.As pepe63 said some sites let you dump in hedge row bottoms but I have only found this when we are in a drought situation or drainage is very good,So do ask first.
It may've been mentioned and you're aware already and I'm sorry if I'm stating the obvious but on the subject of waste water, try not to swill "debris" down the sink in the van.
It's best to scrape and wipe plates etc as clean as possible, rather than just rinsing down the plug hole..so as not to risk gunking up the pipes and a stinky waste tank...
We tend to keep a small bucket with a sieve over the top, just outside door and we just tip the washing up bowl into that(..fluids can then get tipped away at a waste point and "bits" can go in the bin bag..).
We've been on some small sites/CLs, where we've seen bits of pasta, rice etc that have been swilled off into the hedge!(..and on one site, there was even "food debris" at the base of the freshwater standpipe ! )
Absolutely agree with pepe & TG above re waste water. Re water usage we don't drink from stored water tanks 'cus my wife,(advisor and mentor) is very sensitive to chemicals - even at home tap water is filtered and we make tea etc from bottled water! (She can smell chlorine from 1/2 mile away!) Also we don't normally fill water tank more than 1/2 full (50 litres)unless we have to use on-board shower etc. Prefer to uses on-site facilities anyway - a) Chance to chat to peeps b) Saves the daily ritual of lugging heavy water containers back & forth if you don't want to move van! All this means occasional tank topping-up with a small camping water container with a gizmo similar to one mentioned earlier fitted in the van water filling point. (Also have a 'roll-flat' garden hose on board tho') P.s. I love camping 'cus it shows how different we all are!
------------- The older I get the better I used to be.
I Have to agree with pepe about removing as much waste from plates as possible.When we first started motor homing everything went down the sink just like the sink at HOME.
Soon found that the small 3/4 waste pipes got blocked and the odour given of was not a requirement of a camping holiday,( Think rotten eggs and you are not far off)I also believe that this odour is toxic and dangerous to say the least.I removed existing 3/4 waste pipes and fitted domestic size solvent weld waste pipe and traps,i used water free waste traps which a lot of people may not be aware of, boat owners will be and i would be willing to forward information to anyone interested.The benefit of fitting larger waste pipes is that water & debris can flow more freely with less amount of fall,the traps simply stop odours and insects coming up through the pipe-work.I must add that i am a plumber so this may not be a job that everyone would feel confident about DIY,
Hi All, thanks again for all your replies so helpful. Picked up the van at weekend and spent weekend in it with rain lashing and wind howling. Took camera for hand over so thanks for that advice, and the waste hose was so easy really was, no you did not sound preachy at all, you are right what you are saying. We just stuck our waste bottle under which we used for both our folding camper and caravan, worked perfectly. We decided on a watering can to fill up the water tank, very easy to do worked perfectly and no hard work involved. Cant wait to go away again very very soon.
Our waste outlet is right underneath the van, in the middle and is a real pain to access(..on sites without drive-over dump points, I have to scrabble about and slide a cut down tuff tub underneath)..
Just another point(although you may well be aware, anyway),just make sure that everything is fully drained down during any cold spells(..tanks, water heater, loo)and leave taps open and, if levers, in mid position...
Hi Pepe63, that's a real pain for you, was so pleased that ours is just tucked underneath the outside of the van was so easy, I was worried like yours it would be in the middle, no idea why they do that on some of them. Yes thanks for the tip, we do do that, I even do that in the summer, may sound silly but I think if anything should happen and we could not get away for a few months, the cold weather could soon arrive and freeze things up.
I'm not sure if this is of any help to you but to fill the fresh water tank I use the filler, marked with red arrow, that fastens into the water inlet and tightens to allow you to fill without having to push the hose into the inlet hole.
This allows me to just watch until the tank is full and also prevents any risk of dirt on the end of the hose getting down the inlet and tainting the fresh water.
If you mean A B C and D - then call at somewhere like B&Q to buy either Hozelock or the cheaper B&Q own brand connectors – get a least 3 or 4 of 'B' because they get left behind fastened to the tap – mine do!
To buy 'E' try Googling - Water filler cap (vented) with hose connector.
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Topic: Water hoses
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