Are water pumps a standard fitting?

[CrewOVtwo]

Are all water pumps the same fitting?
We have a Bailey Unicorn we are picking up next week but it's a few hours drive away, so I can't just pop down and check?
We had a caravan 12 years ago, but I can't recall if they were the same in those days either.
Many thanks.

 

[otherclive]

There are two main types. The external type that sits in the aquaroll. Then there is an internal type installed within the caravan.

If the caravan uses external pump then this will be supplied as part of the purchase and its weight is included in the MIRO.

What do you want to know this for? If you download the user manual from Bailey it will describe the water system.

 

[Buckman]

Whale and Truma have different fittings.

 

[CrewOVtwo]

Brilliant. Thanks.
I will attempt to download the manual.

 

[otherclive]

Brilliant. Thanks.
I will attempt to download the manual.

Just to emphasise, a brand new van, or even a pre owned one from a dealership should be supplied with an external pump if that’s the makers selection. Just like an EHU cable and step too. Supply of a gas cylinder can depend on the maker and model of caravan. Some don’t some do. Battery is normally owner supply.

 

[CrewOVtwo]

I downloaded the manual and the answer is as clear as mud 😂

Technology and me have never been great friends, so I'll wait until I get to the dealership and buy one from them.

I got a list of things to buy from the dealership and water pump connection was one of them.

Thanks again folks.

 

[Niall_McIntosh]

We have a Bailey Unicorn (Vigo) 2017 and it uses a Whale external Pump:

 

[audiorob]

As already noted the caravan should be supplied with the pump. If you are buying one to have as a spare it would be worth searching online so you know what to expect to pay from the dealer. My pump of the same whale type lasted about 9 years before the top of the pump itself broke and I chose to replace the whole unit although I could have bought a proprietary pump and fitted it to the original tubing and connector.

 

[Buckman]

Agree that the pump should be supplied as part of the caravan as without it the caravan is basically useless. We have never had to buy the water pump.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I read the OP's question to be asking if all the pumps are the same, not are they supplied with the caravan.

Let me answer the first point. There are several different manufacturers of caravan water pumps, and there is no standard design for the fittings, so you have to get the correct pump and plug to fit the system fitted in your caravan.

If you are buying a brand new caravan, the the correct pump and lug should be supplied with the caravan.

But there is not telling if the pump will be supplied with a second hand caravan. You would be wise to contact the seller to find out if a compatible pump is being supplied with the caravan, and if not then ask the seller to get one.

If th e pump is one that drops into an external water container, it might be worth obtaining a spare one to take with just in case. Having a pump fail in mid holiday is an annoying inconvenience.

Do read up about how to use the water system, becasue with a submersible pump, its important not to let th e pump run dry, as it relies on the water flow through the pump to cool the motor, if the the water runs out, the motor can over heat and damage the pump.

Many caravans use a pressure switch to monitor the water pressure and to turn the pump on and off automatically. Do read up on how to adjust the pressure switch.

 

[Buckman]

I read the OP's question to be asking if all the pumps are the same, not are they supplied with the caravan.

Let me answer the first point. There are several different manufacturers of caravan water pumps, and there is no standard design for the fittings, so you have to get the correct pump and plug to fit the system fitted in your caravan.

If you are buying a brand new caravan, the the correct pump and lug should be supplied with the caravan.

But there is not telling if the pump will be supplied with a second hand caravan. You would be wise to contact the seller to find out if a compatible pump is being supplied with the caravan, and if not then ask the seller to get one.

If th e pump is one that drops into an external water container, it might be worth obtaining a spare one to take with just in case. Having a pump fail in mid holiday is an annoying inconvenience.

Do read up about how to use the water system, becasue with a submersible pump, its important not to let th e pump run dry, as it relies on the water flow through the pump to cool the motor, if the the water runs out, the motor can over heat and damage the pump.

Many caravans use a pressure switch to monitor the water pressure and to turn the pump on and off automatically. Do read up on how to adjust the pressure switch.

Many newer caravans have an automatic cut off if the water supply dries up and switch off the pump. Also during the PDI before hand over the dealership should make sure that the pressure switch is adjusted correctly?

 

[otherclive]

I found that at times the pressure switch required readjustment depending whether we were on EHU or battery.

 

[RogerL]

I found that at times the pressure switch required readjustment depending whether we were on EHU or battery.

The older, electro-mechanical pressure switches were voltage-sensitive so needed different settings for the 13.8V float voltage on EHU and 12.8 > 12.0 off-grid as the battery gradually ran down. Modern electronic pressure switches are much better as they adjust to a single pressure, but accept a voltage range of about 9 > 15 volts.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Many newer caravans have an automatic cut off if the water supply dries up and switch off the pump. Also during the PDI before hand over the dealership should make sure that the pressure switch is adjusted correctly?

DEalers should do a lot of things but often some things get forgotten.

 

[Buckman]

DEalers should do a lot of things but often some things get forgotten.

Probably not forgotten, just ignored and left for the customer to discover costing the customer time and money returning the caravan for repair.

The PDI is generally an additional cost, therefore if it has not been done properly I wonder if you can claim for the time and cost of returning the caravan for repair. I feel certain that you probably could claim>