# water hose - campsite



## ritaz1964 (Sep 29, 2009)

How does a family of four have a shower with such small tanks on the motorhome? 

Can you connect to water taps at campsites thru europe so you have constant water? (hae used the showers on campsites before, eons ago, but I got scabies...yuck!)

I know now to wear shoes, etc, but I have young kids, they dont listen!

Cheers, Rita


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## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

Hi Rita

It depends on how big your tanks are. Our previous motorhome only had a 40 litre fresh water tank, and we could have 2 people X 2 showers over the weekend from that (as well as cooking, washing up, etc).

Perhaps you need to re-educate yourselves a little. Try getting a 'trigger type' shower attachment - that only passes water when you have the trigger pulled.

What we do is: 

* Get in the shower.
* Run until it's warm (only c. 5 seconds).
* Spend 5 seconds under shower getting wet.
* Turn off the shower.
* Soap up, and scrub / wash / bathe the bits that need doing.
* Then rinse off.

Water is a precious commodity in a motorhome, and needs to be treated accordingly.

You can get systems that allow you to hook up permanently to water supplies which automatically refill your tank, but you'll find very few sites with on-pitch fresh water (and also grey water waste outlet, don't forget :wink: )

Gerald


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## ritaz1964 (Sep 29, 2009)

Ill have to read the specs on this MH and see how much water we do have in the tank.


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Water*

Rita

Some campsites have a tap and drain on each pitch - Camping Baia Verde at Lake Garda (your Lake Garda thread) is one, and so it is easy to top up etc. There are plenty of sites in the UK with this facility, but expect to pay a premium for the pitch.

Scabies from a campsite shower block? I am intrigued!!!!!!!

Russell


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

I don't think one of my sons will be suited to on-board showering.

The other morning he was in the (house bathroom) shower (could hear pump going) as I got into mine. I showered, washed hair, dried, dressed, put away guest sofabed, melted the ice in the fishpond, food and water for birds, put rubbish out, and as I came back into the house I heard his shower pump switch off. I swear if our hot water tank were twice as big his showers would be twice as long.

Dave


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

I endorse all that Gerald said above 

Just to add some figures

These are from my boat (but exact problem)

Water tank 160lt (35gal.) Water used for shower, cooking and washing up

Using Gerald's mehod and trigger shower head, 2 of us, 1 shower a day, water lasted 10 days and was not empty - no guage.

Can be done

Geoff


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## ritaz1964 (Sep 29, 2009)

yes.... scabies. It was during a Contiki 18-35 trip thru europe. We were told to shower at campsites with thongs on (that is the foot variety, not the knicker type). Anyway, Im a non beleiver of thongs (both varieties), so I showered barefoot. Now, weeks later I was in Greece staying with the relo's and I was itching like crazy! All the creases (arm...behind knees..... armpits....etc.....). I kept on thinking it was heat rash, cos it was sp damn hot, I kept using an astrigent to cool my itchy skin. In the end, I worked out it was scabies (went to doc), and I bought a rinse I had to put all over my body a few times to kill the wicked little itches, took weeks to go away!... So, I dont fancy getting scabies again! Hence why I want to shower in my motorhome to avoid the itches. I have learnt we have a 136 litre freshwater capacity on our motorhome...sounds plenty, if I adopt the on/off technique mentioned, Ill get by! It will be summer after all!


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Contiki*

Oh yes, thanks for the memories of the Contiki Coach Holidays! Bring it on!

Russell


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

We happen to have 136 litres of fresh water on our panel van as well. Our shower has a trigger head but we are not particularly parsimonious with water. On our two week holidays we only refill once, even when staying the majority of the time on aires. 

Dave


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## Bob45 (Jan 22, 2007)

Rita
We have travelled all round France and Germany in the last 2 years staying on campsites. We use their facilities (unless they are dirty) and find the showers and loos usually ok. 
I would think that your bad experience is very rare and my advice would be to stay on decent sites and use their showers.
If you do want to use your M/H shower then I agree with the others that water should be used sparingly.

Bob45


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## steco1958 (Mar 5, 2009)

ritaz1964 said:


> yes.... scabies.


Athlete's foot, had it for years as a serious swimmer when young, due to similar non wearing of footwear in public swimming baths.


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## ritaz1964 (Sep 29, 2009)

now....Im itchy!


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Just had a good scratch, :lol: :lol: our water tank holds 150 L but when you women wash your hair then this is so important usage is a second thought. :roll: :roll: 

cabby


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## foll-de-roll (Oct 29, 2007)

Hi 


I was under the impression that you could only catch Scabies from body contact or bedding!! 


Public showers were always a source of Athletes Foot, hence the wearing of Flip- Flops by many people on Campsites. 


The other thing you could consider, which is the Safari Douche, which runs of the Cigar lighter socket, and has a submersible pump which you can dump into a water container, or if you are Free Camping into a stream or Loch. 

The other thing is if you are on an Aire and close to a beach many of the 
beaches have showers for washing off the sand. 


I would have thought with a vehicle the size of yours, you would be trying to reduce your load, by only carrying just enough water for comfort. Just a thought 

Andy


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## wakk44 (Jun 15, 2006)

We always try to use the campsite showers where possible,unless they are dirty.If we use the m/home shower then the 'Gerald' method is used with the shower head trigger switch. 

It's surprising how little water is needed if you are frugal.We have an 80 litre freshwater tank which is more than adequate for the 2 of us.We also use a couple of 10 litre watering cans to top up the tank,every time we visit the shower block we just take one and then top up the freshwater tank.

It works for us and we don't carry a load of pipe with different tap fittings,I have never understood why folks do that,what can be simpler than a couple of watering cans ?

edit: we always wear our crocs in the site showers in case there are any nasties in there :lol:


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

Hi.
When we are wild camping at the side of the river Ebro in Spain for a month straight water is of a premium, we can get free town water in our own containers from the local fishing tackle shops hose pipe in Mequenenza, so to preserve the onboard water in our tank we bought a solar shower from a camping shop. 
This is a great bit of kit I just fill it up put it on top of the MH roof and put the pipe through the shower roof light. Lovely warm water after a few hours in the sun all for free, it usually lasts about 6 showers between fills.

Camp sites we just use their facilitys.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

shower bag - great!

Just don't leave it in sun too long in mid-summer or you can scald yourself-literally! Baby bottle touch test advised.

Geoff


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

nicholsong said:


> shower bag - great!
> 
> Just don't leave it in sun too long in mid-summer or you can scald yourself-literally! Baby bottle touch test advised.
> 
> Geoff


We go Jan , Feb, March not much chance of scalding in these months :lol: .

WE do sometimes put a kettle full of hot water in if it isn't a pleasantly warm though.


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## bigfoot (May 16, 2005)

The main danger from swimming pool changing rooms and shower floors is from Veruccas,I never heard of scabies or Athletes foot being caught in these ways.


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## ritaz1964 (Sep 29, 2009)

what is a verucca? It sounds exotic!


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## dawnwynne (Nov 14, 2009)

ritaz1964 said:


> what is a verucca? It sounds exotic!


not exotic at all...simply warts.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Rita, it's all down to re-education as Gerald says. Especially the kids :roll: 
We have always been used to 400 to 500 litres of fresh water in RVs and can go a week being careful. Now down to 120 L. in the Hobby and can manage 4 days being even more careful. 
Never used any site or public shower or loo yet in 25 years.

Stateside all RVs and sites have fresh water (city water) connections and sewer outlet connections. So you are spoilt even in an RV.

Ray.


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## smithies (Jul 1, 2007)

Rita, 
I second everything Raynipper says ( Well...apart from the never having used campsite showers....as we work in campsites during the summer, I consider it part of the job to , at the very least, try out the facilities so that I can help customers get the best experience they can....for instance,at one campsite, and despite it having being used, it wasnt realised that there were no mirrors in the disabled block until I used them...this was put right straight away !! )

When we had our Autotrail we used the watering can fill up method, but when we changed to the RV the only method of filling the tank on board is by using hoses...hence Gordon carries a collection of hoses that led someone to ask if he had ever been a fireman !! :lol: 

Jenny


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## trevd01 (Oct 26, 2007)

We have only had a 'motorhome' with a shower/bathroom/toilet since last March. For the three years before that we had a Bongo campervan without such facilities And for the previous 35 years we have been tent campers.

So I would say we have plenty of experience of campsite showers.

We have been camping in a dozen European countries, and yes the standards of campsite showers vary, but if you check them out before checking in to a campsite, you can set your own standards. Those standards will have to be lower sometimes, if you want to spend less, or stay in a particular place.

There is sometimes a relationship between price and the quality/cleanliness of the showers, but often paying more provides you with children's playgrounds/'supermarkets' etc. In France, generally we find the Municipals work for us, some of these have superb showers etc. One muni stayed in had individual bathrooms per pitch and quite a few have had their own water tap on each pitch.

The OP has a location of Australia, so I guess you could regard our European ways as being part of the diversity that makes travel interesting.

But if you find after checking in, the showers are not as good as you thought, you can always move on the next day.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

We generally use camp site showers with caution but use them, veruccas are a common problem around swimming pools and showers - wherever wet feet are!

http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Warts-and-Verrucas.htm

Athletes foot is a fungal infection which can also be found elsewhere on the body (differet names but same fungus) - usually found in areas where skin is moist and does not dry out as the fungus is susceptiible to drying out.

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Athletes-foot/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Scabies is a condition caused by a tiny mite;

http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Scabies.htm

We have used city water in USA but not in UK - not common on sites we have visited. Showering on board is quite OK - we use a trigger head from CAK tanks;

http://tinyurl.com/yafgmag

this is their catalogue - page 29 has two trigger shower heads.

Do make sure shower head has been rinsed through fairly often - bugs can develop in there if left unused and with water inside.

Don't forget it takes time to reheat water if you use too much - first shower - great, second OK, third - cold, fourth - b***** freezing if too close together :lol:

Dave :lol: :lol:


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## trevd01 (Oct 26, 2007)

Penquin said:


> We have used city water in USA but not in UK - not common on sites we have visited. Dave


 :?: :?: :?:

No idea what you mean...


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## backaxle (Nov 6, 2006)

ritaz1964 said:


> yes.... scabies. It was during a Contiki 18-35 trip thru europe.
> 
> Is that an 18-35 trip or 18-30,if it was the latter it probably wasn't scabies you caught :wink:
> 
> ...


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

When we were in a rented RV in Florida we were linked to city water at every site - you connect the van direct to the tap and turn off the water pump so that everything is fed by mains pressure.

I believe that a few sites do have this facility in UK and Europe - but in our 30 years use I cannot recall being offered that facility.

So we use the on-board tank for our supply and refill regularly - we use normal site showers IF they are clean and well maintained (and not full of grass!). But are well aware of the need not to follow through the sower too fast as it takes about 20 minutes to reheat water!

Hope that clarifies it,

Dave


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## backaxle (Nov 6, 2006)

Hi Penquin,
How do you connect directly to the tap and turn the pump off?(this is a serious question).

Backaxle


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## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

wakk44 said:


> It works for us and we don't carry a load of pipe with different tap fittings,I have never understood why folks do that,what can be simpler than a couple of watering cans ?


It's a problem of geometry. We carry so much stuff, we haven't got room for a watering can-shaped item. We can fit a roll-flat hose in the side locker, because it's so thin (c. 30mm). I've got a collapsible water container (again, thin) for emergencies, but it's a right palaver getting water in the tank and not all over my feet 

Also, we try to travel with just a minimum of water in the tank, and look to fill up when we arrive on site. I'd hate to fill a 100 litre tank with watering cans. I have split my hose into 1/3 - 2/3 lengths, so I use the small one (which is just rolled on itself) if I'm right next to the tap, or unroll the larger one off the reel if I'm further away.

Gerald


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

I'm a fan of French Municipals - you just never know what you're going to get.
It could be shining chrome, plate glass and piping hot water or slimy wooden duckboards and ice cold dribbles.

Having a small camper I use the site facilities but have an assortment of footwear:

Bare footed - surprisingly frequently.
Flip flops - when it's not too bad.
Crocs - getting a bit iffy.
Wellies - I REALLY don't want to get my feet wet here!

(Wellies are also very useful when you have to use one of those aromatic continental loos - how long can you hold your breath?)


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

backaxle said:


> Hi Penquin,
> How do you connect directly to the tap and turn the pump off?(this is a serious question).
> 
> Backaxle


With the system on the rented RV you connected a white hose from the tap outlet on each pitch with a screw thread fitting and then connected the other end onto an idential fitting on the van - it connected in to the water system and also had a non return valve in it. So the whole van system was now pressurised to mains pressure.

Since the van would now be working on mains pressure for the internal taps, the loo flush, the shower and the external shower fitting, there was no need for the internal van water pump to be operating. There was an isolating switch on the main contrl panel to simply turn it off. Water continued to flow whenever a tap (faucet !) was opened for either hot or cold. It did mean that the whole system had to be able to withstand mains pressure - which is possibly why vans in Europe do not have it as we use plastic pipe - in the USA our RV had copper pipes throughout - but as it weighed 8 1/2 tons that was not a major consideration presumably! (And had a massive PETROL engine + automatic gearbox).

Dave


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## backaxle (Nov 6, 2006)

Penquin said:


> backaxle said:
> 
> 
> > Hi Penquin,
> ...


I see ,you were explaining an american RV system.I thought you had some means of doing this on a European MH .

Backaxle.


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## trevd01 (Oct 26, 2007)

Penquin said:


> When we were in a rented RV in Florida we were linked to city water at every site <snip> Hope that clarifies it,
> 
> Dave


...ah I see. What we call mains water in the UK, then.

Plenty of sites in France, Belgium, Italy etc (and some in the UK) have a mains water tap and a drain on each pitch, which you can top up your onboard tank from as often as you like, if you have a suitable clean water hose. That obviously works with a European (pumped water system) van.

You probably would need a longer grey water hose than most people carry to reach the drain on many pitches though.


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## Suenliam (Mar 22, 2006)

Am I right in thinking the city water is the same as the caravans "serviced pitches"?

We have converted our shower to a wardrobe so always use the site showers unless the spiders got there before me in which case we move on smartish :roll: I have yet to catch anything nasty in almost 20 years of British and French showers. Lets hope that continues this year :wink: 

Sue


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## Rosbotham (May 4, 2008)

I understand that this year's Elddis Autoquest has some form of system ("Whale") that allows you to connect a serviced pitch water supply direct to the motorhome. Doesn't pressurise up the whole system...at least I don't think so...instead has a setup whereby the freshwater tank is filled and it automatically triggers the mains supply off. Makes up for the miniscule tanks on Elddis/Compasses.


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## sprintman (May 26, 2009)

I have just bought an Elddis Autoquest which I pick up early Feb, it does have this 'Whale' system fitted though how many pitches will have the facility to hook up to the water supply I don't know, nor how good the system is and the waste water tank is just as small so that needs to be addressed somehow.

We tend to use the site showers whenever possible so the minimal water tank shouldn't be an issue most of the time, unfortunately the only times we will be planning to wild camp is when my son and I are away and based on the time he spends in the shower at home I better get in before him. 

One of those solar shower bags could be a useful purchase


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