A couple of wildcamping questions?????

bodgeitnscarper

bodgeitnscarper

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Hi All,
We have just returned from a long weekend of wilding in Angelsey.
We are quite new to motorhomes but are seasoned VW campers and tenters and I love to tarp and bivvy in the woods.
Back on topic though. Over the last month we have spent 3 weekends away in our Autoquest 600 MH. We started off on a CCC rally site on the first 2 trips but the latter Anglesey one was wilding at some of the most excellent spots off the poi download (thanks Canalsman). Anyway, we have a recurring pattern of problems/niggles.
1. Water- I don't like to travel with a full tank as it sits quite high up in the van. I usually half fill it and try to find a place to fill up at our destination. This weekend we couldn't find anywhere whilst enroute to our first stop (near Molfre) to fill up with water.
We always carry 5 litres of drinking water in the cupboard as I don't use the tanks for drinking as I don't know what other people have done before we owned it.
We found a shop and bought 2 x 5ltr bottles, some for the tank and some for drinking.
On a previous trip I have filled up at a garage with an outside tap.
Soooo.... what do you guys do? Fill up at home? I am going to make up some short lengths of hose so that I can fill a vessel from drinking water taps at sinks etc.

2. Emptying toilet- Our loo needs to be emptied daily (4 people) and this posed a problem this weekend. I ended up emptying into a rural public toilets but couldn't rinse the cassette as there was no accessible taps. I use organic loo additive which is ok for normal sewer systems but I feel uneasy marching into a public loo with the cassette. Because I couldn't rinse the cassette it was a bit smelly when back in the van even with extra additive. I guess there are very few options on this one as it's either public loos or a campsite. I wondered about calling into a CS site and asking to use the facilities but it seems a bit cheeky hardfaced. I was also thinking of making a dedicated short hose for rinsing the cassette from a wash hand basin. What do you lot do?

Thanks

Bodge
 
Ditto, you have answered al lyour own questions and seem to have mastered all the problems, we do much the same as you do/did.
 
hi..after a coupleof tanks of chlorinated water your tanks will be ok. always carry a container for emergency. fill up when ever and as often as you can. better kept full than empty .when away. as for toilet dont put any chemicals in .not even the so called green. just tip it out dont rinse or wash the inside. you need bacteria to keep it working. most use a pee bucket. get a shovel and dig a whole if need be when wild camping. after a couple of use the smell should disapear. almost. dont wash it out when you get home let the bacteria breed. works for me and i did used to work in the sewage industry . so understand about bacteria and their uses. have fun.
 
we always carry a watering can and never pass the the chance of topping up even if it only takes a gallon or so,don't be embarrassed to ask for water we have never been refused yet and they will probably never see you again:eek: ,like wise with the thunder box empty when ever you can never mind how full it is ,and try to p!ss in it as little has you can:eek: after time it comes second nature
 
We can usually be self-sufficient for about three days, so if we cannot find access to fresh water or waste disposal on the fourth day we might book into a CL and then move on on day 5.....and so on. On the other hand, we have usually found water available at garages (never been refused yet) and casette emptying also at garages or public loos (with rinsing water available). Either way, the odd £5 for a CL will not break the bank so we are happy with this arrangement. As for driving with a full tank of water, all I can say is that we do so frequently and so far have not had any problems - but people with more technical expertise than me might think it unwise. Whatever you do, happy travels!
 
We also have a load of containers for drinking water which we take from home,we use this for drinking water and all other water for everything else.
We also have 2 x 5 gallon containers which we use as emergency water.I have a selection of hoses and fittings to make getting water easy,but even this is not perfect as some of these taps are far too big.I also have a 5 litre mineral water container which i fill to then empty into my 5 gallon container,it does the job.
I also unashamedly use the disabled toilets in a quiet location as this and emptying the toilet is a more stress free job in a toilet with more space.
I also fill the water up at a service station, if i get no water from their tap,then i go elsewhere for my fuel.
I would also add that we can go 3 days wilding before running out of water,that is with a full tank of water and our 5 gallon containers full.
 
Water !!!

Hi We have found that Sainsbury`s always have free water & air, not much use admittedly if your in the middle of nowhere !! but we`ve started noting where they are incase we ever need one.The other supermarkets charge to use their machines. If we need to empty the loo we try & wait till later in the day before using the public loos. We carry a big funnel with a flexible end & find with this we can get water into a container from most public loos. have fun, it`s a great life
"The golden oldies" alias Trevor & Rachel
 
bodgeitnscarper said:
1. Water- I don't like to travel with a full tank as it sits quite high up in the van. I usually half fill it and try to find a place to fill up at our destination.

2. Emptying toilet ... Because I couldn't rinse the cassette it was a bit smelly when back in the van even with extra additive.
Click to expand...

Well, here are some suggestions:

0. Rinse out your water tanks until you are satisfied that they are clean enough to drink from. Do you think the previous owners poisoned it?

1. Are you worried that the van will overturn with a full tank? I've never seen that happen to a motorhome, though caravans fall over all the time.

2. The organic/green toilet fluids never seem to work properly. In my experience only Blue Diamond blue fluid is good enough. Give it a try and be amazed by the lack of smell.

But of course the secret to making the loo last longer is to use the toilets whenever you are out! Our old van was good for about 15 person days, but the smaller one in our bigger Hymer is only good for about 8 person days. However, if yours only lasts one day with four people, you must have big bladders or a very small loo!
 
One year on.

Ok just to update this thread. It's been a year now since I posted this thread. I now travel from home with a full tank (75l) which is used for everything but drinking.
The toilet has it's own tank (5L) I fill 2x 5L fresh water containers which fit in the under sink cupboard. I also half fill a 25L container with drinking water to top up the 2x 5l containers. I use the 25L to fill the main tank using a submersible pump on a hose with a gizmo that fits into the water inlet. I have tried hoses (always 2 inches too short)
watering cans (ok) but find the 25L and pump the best for me.
We have travelled around the UK and northern France in the last year and wild most of the nights we are out. We get 2 full days and nights out and about without pit stops.
Toilet emptying at public loos is no problem now, I use a large holdall to carry the cassette from the van and carry a 2l milk bottle to fill up from the toilet taps for rinsing.
Water refills at garages or any outside taps we see, otherwise we book into a c&cc rally or cl to fill up and empty the cassette.

Thanks for all the info on other threads, it's most useful.
 
You said in your post that you could not rinse your cassette as there was no accessible tap. well I am well pleased about that, did you mean that if there were you would have stuck your cassette spout over the tap and contaminated the tap for others, I'm sure you didn't but some people do this especially on French Aires, it makes me cringe when I see this happen and often confront the offender in a civilised way, pointing out how dangerous to health this can be.One should always be careful at public taps when getting water as one does not know what a previous user has done, it is wise to wipe the tap with a sterilised cloth / Baby wipe before taking water, always us a separate container of water to flush your cassette unless at a dedicated toilet dump such as the Clubs supply.
Drinking water is best carried in a 5 litre container rather than drinking water from your tank IMO.
It is easy to carry a plastic watering can to use when filling or topping up your tank, rather than hoses IMO, one good reason for this is that you don't run the risk of someone taking your parking place when you go to get water.
 
Fool that I am I never realised that you had posted a year ago and were now updating, glad all has gone well for you and you seem to have got it all right, toilet dumping and filling up with water is all part of the fun of Wilding isn't it.
 
Like quite few others I keep a long neck watering can to top up the water tank although we don't drink from the onboard supply, just keep water containers handy.

A few weeks ago in France I saw a chap had added a short length of hose to his watering can spout, and made a mental note I would try that to make filling even easier.

PS If you go to Scarborough (not recommended) it appears that none of the normal 'rules' apply to waste water - the locals seem to think it is normal for motorhomers to discard it wherever they please.:rolleyes2:
 
I bought a plastic petrol can and marked it water and keep it to top up on board water tank. It works better than a watering can as you can also store water in it and it has a screw on spout to use when emptying it into the tank
 
How do people top up without hosepipe when have the fitting onside of van that only takes a hosepipe. Our first van you could fill up with watering can. We have an autocruise stargazer, and dont know how we would fill it up without hose. Any suggestions helpfull.

Angela.
 
i know this is a bit long winded and there is probably a much easier solution, but htis is what i do.

I have a funnel attached to a piece of hose, or you could use a bottle, i fill my 25 litr container, luckily my filler point is just below my little kitchen window, i put the container on the kitchen side, put the funnel part in my tank filler hole tip the container up and hey presto, 3 journeys and i ahve a full tank, yeah it is a little messing around, but when you are in the highlands and cant get water. this is an emergency operation, lol,
 
You can buy a large funnel with a flexible long neck on it. I think they are manufacture for filtering oil but cost a pound on the market. Works great in the water fill point as the long neck goes right down into inlet
 
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