Water, water everywhere…

‘Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink!’ This line from the ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ is sometimes how it seemed when we were in the caravan at first. There were taps in the camp to fill the barrel and plenty of water to top up the water tank under our bed but getting the water to flow through the caravan pipes was another matter. Having a ‘Self-Contained’ sticker on the window didn’t mean a thing. In the beginning it didn’t matter as we had the hose and were staying at a Top-Ten camp. However we did want to move from these types of sites. The water issue needed fixing. 

Peter is good on the phone. He is also tenacious. So he rang the dealer, he ran RV specialists, he talked to fellow campers and he spent time trying to decipher the incomprehensible book that came with the caravan. In the end I think he could do this online stuff and be a caravan water consultant.

Solving the ‘Why doesn’t the water flow from the barrel?” problem took two visits to certified caravan establishments, two denials from electricians that things were now working, two new pumps and numerous murmurings from said husband.

Solving the case of the missing water took some time as well. We didn’t move campsites a lot in the early days but we did move. The online tank was always 90% full when we pulled out onto the road but only 15% full when we stopped for the night. Where had all the water gone? It turned out UK caravan designers never thought that people would want to camp in sites with no water. Their thinking was that there would always be a tap at the site to fill the tank. We are hardy kiwis though and want to camp everywhere, water provided or not. We needed our tank to be full when arriving at these places. Realising it was nobody’s fault, modifications had to be done. With the addition of a valve linked to the online tank the water no longer sloshes away as we drive up the road.

With much discussion, tenacity and fortitude and help from a friend the connection where the sink and shower water meet has been changed. The water from the sink no longer regurgitates into the shower. Things are flowing well.

One problem however which seems harder to solve, than these minor ones of ours, and that are all the dripping taps in campsites everywhere.