- May 23, 2021
- 7
- 70
- Funster No
- 81,409
- MH
- AutoTrail Tribute
- Exp
- Hiring for two years, now an owner
So we’re five months in to MH-ing and had our first unforeseen technical challenge on Sunday. We headed down to Box Hill in Sussex with our MH. It wasn’t an overnight stop, we’d planned to use the MH as a warm base camp for the dogs and hubby to do a bit of online work while the Missus was off to complete the Three Peaks Challenge - 8.5 hours walking up and down three big hills… A nice bowl of steaming porridge before the start, and a nice hot shower, cuppa and hot food at the end, before driving back home.
We’d planned and checked everything the evening before - battery charge, gas, food and filled up the water tank … checked the heating and running water worked - and set off early next morning, arrived on time and got the porridge on.
Then the mystery started… by trying to fill the kettle - a brief sputter followed nil water and an empty tank alert.
What the blinking heck??….
Obvious thought (you’re all there already, I am sure)… idiot me had left the fresh water drain stop open, or the heating drain valve. Happily for me, I knew full well I hadn’t done so … I don’t fully trust the readings on the panel as it only registers 75% when water starts spurting out of the filler cap indicating it’s brimmed.. and as I’d literally filled that tank until it spurted out of the filler, and then twisted open the drain which immediately let water out - and closed it again- full tank, clear drain, all good.
So naturally I went round and checked - yes, properly closed. I twisted it open and a tiny trickle emerged and stopped - now completely empty in the space of about 12 hours…
Fortunately we had a backup 2 litre bottle of water on board, so tea and water for the dogs early on was fine and the Missus- somewhat grumpy and no doubt lamenting no shower later and assuming it was muppetry on our/my part - headed off on her marathon 8-9 hour hike.
I really didn’t want to hang around all day with no heating, water or loo, so I knew I would be de-camping to at least get some more water…so headed of to the nearby Lidl and forty minutes later was back £9.70 poorer but with 32litres of water in 2 litre bottles… I was determined to get that hot water working if I could…
I opened the first bottle and first new problem- more water was going down the side of the MH and not in the filler - the pipe runs horizontal about 10cm before dropping down to the underslung tank… so mandatory on-board Stanley knife deployed, and an improvised funnel with neck created out of the first bottle - then the rest of that and two more bottles straight in, then I dropped to my knees looking for a leak underneath - and would you Adam and Eve it, more a gush than a leak, right about centre of the van… it turned out that the fresh water drain tube had literally parted company with the tank connecting pipe and was just hanging there. So that water had probably left the van on my gravel driveway… or on the way down the A41/M25, shaken loose by the appalling road surfaces…
This particular van is very low to the ground and I’m not very thin, but I got far enough under to deploy mandatory on-board gaffer tape and at least temporarily fix that join.
Poured another 6 litres in, then down on my knees…not a drop I could see anywhere- thank gawd - and so the rest of the water went in, and when the Missus got back- tired, sweaty but having completed the three peaks challenge- very well done to her - a big smile when she found hot fresh tea, running loo and hot shower was waiting after all.
It’s very gratifying to have got the complete surprise issue fixed on the spot, though it woke me up to the reliance on water… So I still need to make a more permanent fix on that joint, which looks very vulnerable that close to the ground, plus a more robust filler/funnel for dispensing from bottles or collapsible bucket - I actually have a motorised pump and hose kit to assemble, courtesy of a video on this very site - but not expecting to need it, left it in my workshop ready to assemble in due course- which will now be immediately assembled and residing permanently on the van!!
We’d planned and checked everything the evening before - battery charge, gas, food and filled up the water tank … checked the heating and running water worked - and set off early next morning, arrived on time and got the porridge on.
Then the mystery started… by trying to fill the kettle - a brief sputter followed nil water and an empty tank alert.
What the blinking heck??….
Obvious thought (you’re all there already, I am sure)… idiot me had left the fresh water drain stop open, or the heating drain valve. Happily for me, I knew full well I hadn’t done so … I don’t fully trust the readings on the panel as it only registers 75% when water starts spurting out of the filler cap indicating it’s brimmed.. and as I’d literally filled that tank until it spurted out of the filler, and then twisted open the drain which immediately let water out - and closed it again- full tank, clear drain, all good.
So naturally I went round and checked - yes, properly closed. I twisted it open and a tiny trickle emerged and stopped - now completely empty in the space of about 12 hours…
Fortunately we had a backup 2 litre bottle of water on board, so tea and water for the dogs early on was fine and the Missus- somewhat grumpy and no doubt lamenting no shower later and assuming it was muppetry on our/my part - headed off on her marathon 8-9 hour hike.
I really didn’t want to hang around all day with no heating, water or loo, so I knew I would be de-camping to at least get some more water…so headed of to the nearby Lidl and forty minutes later was back £9.70 poorer but with 32litres of water in 2 litre bottles… I was determined to get that hot water working if I could…
I opened the first bottle and first new problem- more water was going down the side of the MH and not in the filler - the pipe runs horizontal about 10cm before dropping down to the underslung tank… so mandatory on-board Stanley knife deployed, and an improvised funnel with neck created out of the first bottle - then the rest of that and two more bottles straight in, then I dropped to my knees looking for a leak underneath - and would you Adam and Eve it, more a gush than a leak, right about centre of the van… it turned out that the fresh water drain tube had literally parted company with the tank connecting pipe and was just hanging there. So that water had probably left the van on my gravel driveway… or on the way down the A41/M25, shaken loose by the appalling road surfaces…
This particular van is very low to the ground and I’m not very thin, but I got far enough under to deploy mandatory on-board gaffer tape and at least temporarily fix that join.
Poured another 6 litres in, then down on my knees…not a drop I could see anywhere- thank gawd - and so the rest of the water went in, and when the Missus got back- tired, sweaty but having completed the three peaks challenge- very well done to her - a big smile when she found hot fresh tea, running loo and hot shower was waiting after all.
It’s very gratifying to have got the complete surprise issue fixed on the spot, though it woke me up to the reliance on water… So I still need to make a more permanent fix on that joint, which looks very vulnerable that close to the ground, plus a more robust filler/funnel for dispensing from bottles or collapsible bucket - I actually have a motorised pump and hose kit to assemble, courtesy of a video on this very site - but not expecting to need it, left it in my workshop ready to assemble in due course- which will now be immediately assembled and residing permanently on the van!!
