some advice please

[PMM]

We're really looking forward to collecting our Adria Coral at the end of the month and can't wait to get started on this new adventure..so we have booked a few days away a day or two after we pick her up. Having only caravaned up till now....we need to get used to this rather large luxurious home before we set off on our 3 month trip to Europe in March.
We know nothing about stuff like the ideal length for a hose to empty the grey water if the drain is not convenient to drive over??? Also how long should the hose for fresh water filling be??? Do folk prefer the curly collapsible ones or the old fasion type? Does everyone carry a watering can (in addition to the hose) to top up the fresh water??? Any tip to ensure a quiet trip....reducing rattles from kitchen equipment etc? Does everyone empty fresh and grey water before setting off on a trip?
Any advice would be very gratefully received.
Read more at http://www.practicalcaravan.com/forum/new-members-say-hello/54040-new-to-motorhome-ing-and-this-forum#JtIisfFWSGURY035.99

 

[TonyJones]

I can only speak for myself, but I carry a short length of hose (in a box in the cab, with various adaptors) so that when we can drive right up to the tap (eg at home, or on a French Aire) I don't have to unroll a great long one.
But stowed away astern I have two full length ones which can be joined together if needs be, so if we're staying put on site for longer than the tank lasts, I've got a fair chance of being able to fill up without moving! As a last resort, instead of a watering can, I have a roll-up camping type water-bag, which I can use to bring water from a distant tap and hang on the guttering to fill the tank.
For waste water, I have a short piece of hose and a collapsible bucket, both kept in the toilet locker. Between them, they cope with situations where I can't drive over a drain. But personally, I have no qualms about using a street drain if it's in a rural layby - but now I've said that I'd better get my hard hat, that's a practice that arouses strong feelings!

 

[PMM]

Hi Tony, thanks again. THaat's really useful. Would the short piece be about 6ft? We like the idea of 2 long hoses but not the bulkiness of conventional garden hoses so I think we might go for those curly collapsible ones. A selection of fittings is a must. We already have the folding bucket.

 

[TonyJones]

Yes, about 6'. I cut it off the end of one of the long ones.
All mine are the blue ones that go flat to roll up. Some people say you should only use blue, because they're food grade plastic. I don't know much about that, for me it's all about space in our tiny van!

 

[PMM]

interesting about the blue plastic....will google that to make sure we don'tpoison ourselves

 

[Aspenshaw]

Every motorhomer has a tale to tell about what sort of hose to have. Everything depends on what sort of motorhoming you do eg wild camping, Aires, campsites. I have a 15m flat hose on a reel which is split into two sections, one 5m and the other 10m. I have a collection of hoselock joiners and tap ends.
Wisdom is to use food grade hose - usually blue but confusingly can be white or transparent and not all blue hose is food grade. I have a food grade hose, but I don't know anyone who died from using a garden hose [the risk is less than miniscule unless you are susceptible to gastric infections]. Be sure about your water point and be prepared to clean to with a disinfected wet wipe if necessary. I use a food grade water container to top up. Work out whether that is easier than a watering can.
I have a 1m long waste tube which pushes on to my waste water outlet. Depends on the type of outlet fitted to your van. Leisureshop Direct or CAK tanks will have what you need and can advise you. Other firms may!
Rattle free requires thickish towels or tea towels for the kitchen hob, rubberised non-slip matting on the bottom of cupboards, some way of keeping crockery from rattling [we use home-sewed thick cotton mats - non slip matting will work]. Think about the extent of rattles when packing, eg we use more silicon based products than hard plastic.
I would drive the van empty to determine the cause of any rattles and then see whether they are worse when the van is fully laden; if they are, you need to reconsider what you pack.
Be sure not to overload your van. It will have an overall weight limit and a weight limit per axle. Chances of being caught overloaded are low, consequences too high to risk it.

http://www.practicalmotorhome.com/advice/30441-how-to-weigh-your-van

Lots to learn. On the plus side, Europe is full of good accessory shops [better than the UK] and motorhomers help each other.

 

[DonnaG]

Further to the point about dodgy water, we have been using Aquasol for years and are still around to tell the tale! It kills bugs and bacteria and unlike some other products, it's tasteless. In the nicest possible way...
http://www.montystravels.com/page22.htm

Our hose is the type that you push on and normally, it's pretty good and saves us from carrying different adapters. However, if the water pressure is really high, it can blow the hose off the tap! We did have a length of clear pipe which we have used to siphon water into the tank from a 5l bottle, on those occasions where you might otherwise use a watering can - it's easier to store. A while ago, we bought a proper siphoning pipe, with a gadget on the end that you kind of wiggle up and down to get the flow going (no rude comments please!) but haven't used it yet.

Water tanks etc - we empty the toilet cassette and grey water tank at every available opportunity and top up our fresh water tank whenever possible. But that's mostly because we do a lot of wild camping so we never know when we''ll be able to pick up fresh water. If we were always on campsites, we'd worry about that less. (And I agree with Tony about the emptying!)

Rattles? Shove in a tea towel

And most important of all? Enjoy!

 

[PMM]

Thank you so much for all this information. We'll have to sort the hoses out before we go off on our first expedition. We have plenty of the non slip matting from the caravan. I use it to keep things front getting scratched when stacked so dual purpose....always good in the home on wheels We are fortunate to have a weighbridge just down the road from us so we'll be taking the MH down as soon as we get her to weigh her empty to see what we have. MOH was muttering about the axle weighing business...that's his area of expertiese We'll take her down again once she is loaded. We would never knowingly go over the weight limit.

 

[PMM]

Thanks for your helpful advice. Yes, we intend doing as you do with regard to the waste. We would like to mix and match with regard to wild camping. We'll use both on the Continent as we quite like campsites to do the washing and stay still a while. I think we would stop at Aires only a night or 2 to have a bit of an explore...to stop a while it will be campsites.