Fresh and Waste Water Tank sizes

[misterbee]

Good Evening - I am viewing a few potential purchases in the coming weeks (first MHome)
I was wondering about the tank sizes - it would be a first purchase and mainly just for myself though on occasions my son + daughter may venture along with me - I guess i can carry portable fresh water containers - I am just seeking advice about the pros+ cons re the water and waste tank sizes - so any recommendations/suggestions re minimum size etc. would be appreciated , thanks , Brian

 

[Lenny HB]

For two people a min water tank of 120 Lt, the bigger the better providing the van has the payload. Waste is often 80-90% of the fresh tank.

Our first van had a 120 Lt that was just about OK, last van was only 100 Lt I used to carry 2 x 20Lt containers full of water in the garage. Current van is 160 Lt which we find much better.

 

[funflair]

I guess it really depends how you are going to use your van, we have 360 litres of fresh and 250 of grey and black, it's great if you are going to be in one spot for over a week but overkill if you are going to move and have the option to dump and fill every few days, if you have more than you need you can always half fill but can't make a small tank bigger.

 

[misterbee]

Thanks Guys - that useful to know and steers me away from one prospective viewing as the tank is really small , Brian.

 

[tacr2man]

Payload is No1 concern , as a big freshtank needs to be usable , the grey is not that much of a factor

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[Arnside037]

Just got back from 6 days off grid in Scotland with few chances to fill up or unload. Only carried around 60 litres in a 100 litre tank and used 4 x 5 lit plastic bottles for drinking. Be frugal when washing up and don't generate too much grey water. Then when on a site ... go for it ... take a shower!
Surely it all depends on how you see yourself using water, but a 80 - 100 lit freshwater tanks seems fine provided you are aware of how much you want to use per day and want to carry ( weight / payload/ fuel economy etc)

 

[Googlebot]

We have 4 of us and only a 100 litre tank, waste and fresh. Not much payload I am afraid which is the primary concern for everyone.

 

[misterbee]

Thats useful to know - I was toying with viewing a fairly tidy MH - water tank size is 54L - I wouldnt expect to use so much on my own but wasnt sure about the resource of a fairly small tank

 

[Lenny HB]

54 Lt is very small, on your own you might last two nights if you like your morning shower.

 

[Arnside037]

Thats useful to know - I was toying with viewing a fairly tidy MH - water tank size is 54L - I wouldnt expect to use so much on my own but wasnt sure about the resource of a fairly small tank

Now that is small. Especially if you are flushing a loo from the water tank as well. I would say 10 lit a day (excluding drinking water) would be frugal, so you'd only have about 3 days supply (no showers!) with a small reserve.

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[misterbee]

54 Lt is very small, on your own you might last two nights if you like your morning shower.

i love my morning shower

 

[misterbee]

Now that is small. Especially if you are flushing a loo from the water tank as well. I would say 10 lit a day (excluding drinking water) would be frugal, so you'd only have about 3 days supply (no showers!) with a small reserve.

That has sorted that potential viewing then - I can do without rations and no shower

 

[Lenny HB]

With a small tank like that I take it you are looki g at a PVC and probably a Brit built one so the tank will probably be underslung and uninsulated so not suitable for winter use.

 

[misterbee]

With a small tank like that I take it you are looki g at a PVC and probably a Brit built one so the tank will probably be underslung and uninsulated so not suitable for winter use.

It was an Automatic autosleeper ravenna 2004 , i think - 4 berth - great condition - well looked after - no ref. to tanks but , unless i am mistaken ,that model points to a 54L water tank

 

[Reallyretired]

With two of us and daily showers we get through 15-20l a day so our120l tank can last nearly a week. We are good at water saving showers.
The loo cassette is more of a limiting factor, though we carry two cassettes.

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[headlight]

We have an 80 litre fresh water tank.
We, 2 of us, use the site facilities to shower.
80 litres lasts us 5 days so that's about 15 litres per day.

 

[The Wino]

It really depends on a few things the main one being do you expect to stay a lot on sites. If you do a 50 l tank is a lot more than most caravans and you could use a aquaroll. If you think your going to stay off grid and like a shower every day it's probably going to be a nuisance.
The way the original post is worded it could be just one person using the MH in which case the water capacity could be less of an issue

 

[MillieMoocher]

We tend to stay on sites/ CLs or temporary sites where water is available, as opposed to wild camping where refilling might be more of an issue.

Our previous MH had 120 L fresh and 100 L waste and they were fine for us (2 adults) and we rarely used on site showers etc.

The current one has a 60 L fresh tank and a 40 L waste and this has meant that we use water in a slightly different way. Flannel wash instead of shower (or use site showers), and drinking from a separate 5l water carrier but otherwise using the van in the same way as we always used to gives us 4 days without needing to fill or empty waste.

We do have to fill the 5 l pretty well daily though as we do drink a lot of tea and coffee.

If the waste gets full - which sometimes it does before we are ready to head off - I just empty some into the trusty bucket we always carry and dispose of it.

So I think there is no doubt that more capacity is better but with a few adjustments you can cope with smaller tanks. We tend to only stay in any one place 2-4 nights and refill/empty as we leave the sites.

 

[Aspenshaw]

We tend to use sites with clean shower facilities and washing up facilities (we rarely use the site wuf) so our water needs are modest ie 25 litres will last us for 3 days. We have a 140l fresh water tank and have only used it to the full on a few occasions of 'wild camping'. Our van's loading margin does not allow for full tanks. Site facilities provide extra space for ablutions and privacy, which might be useful when the off-springs are with you, and the toilet block can be a place for a natter.
Go big if you will not be using sites.

 

[Lenny HB]

It was an Automatic autosleeper ravenna 2004 , i think - 4 berth - great condition - well looked after - no ref. to tanks but , unless i am mistaken ,that model points to a 54L water tank

I was going to say is it an Autosleeper, I understand why they fit such small tanks. A friend had one he fitted a second tank but all underslung so useless for winter use.

Our usage for two of us is 35 to 40 Lt a day if we both have a morning shower, if the weather is cold and we only have a shower every other day out 160 Lt can last 6 days. We carry a spare loo cassette so that lasts 6 days as well between servicing, we rarely use sites.

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[TOT]

Think of your weight ratio - you need space for beer and wine over spare water containers...?

 

[Lenny HB]

Think of your weight ratio - you need space for beer and wine over spare water containers...?

No problem for us, night before we came back last week with full tanks, 35 bottles of wine, 6 bottles of gin and around 50 bottle/cans of beer we still had 170 kg spare, getting close on the rear axle a bit under a 100 kg spare.

 

[Lenny HB]

Think of your weight ratio - you need space for beer and wine over spare water containers...?

No problem for us, night before we came back last week with full tanks, 35 bottles of wine, 6 bottles of gin and around 50 bottles/cans of beer we still had 170 kg spare, getting close on the rear axle a bit under a 100 kg spare.

 

[misterbee]

It really depends on a few things the main one being do you expect to stay a lot on sites. If you do a 50 l tank is a lot more than most caravans and you could use a aquaroll. If you think your going to stay off grid and like a shower every day it's probably going to be a nuisance.
The way the original post is worded it could be just one person using the MH in which case the water capacity could be less of an issue

Yes, in the main , just myself

 

[misterbee]

No problem for us, night before we came back last week with full tanks, 35 bottles of wine, 6 bottles of gin and around 50 bottles/cans of beer we still had 170 kg spare, getting close on the rear axle a bit under a 100 kg spare.

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[misterbee]

We tend to stay on sites/ CLs or temporary sites where water is available, as opposed to wild camping where refilling might be more of an issue.

Our previous MH had 120 L fresh and 100 L waste and they were fine for us (2 adults) and we rarely used on site showers etc.

The current one has a 60 L fresh tank and a 40 L waste and this has meant that we use water in a slightly different way. Flannel wash instead of shower (or use site showers), and drinking from a separate 5l water carrier but otherwise using the van in the same way as we always used to gives us 4 days without needing to fill or empty waste.

We do have to fill the 5 l pretty well daily though as we do drink a lot of tea and coffee.

If the waste gets full - which sometimes it does before we are ready to head off - I just empty some into the trusty bucket we always carry and dispose of it.

So I think there is no doubt that more capacity is better but with a few adjustments you can cope with smaller tanks. We tend to only stay in any one place 2-4 nights and refill/empty as we leave the sites.

Thats good to know