Water hose - flat or round?? (1 Viewer)

Mar 21, 2009
1,367
874
Harwich, Essex
Funster No
5,989
MH
C Class
Exp
4 years
Got to get a new water hose. Should we get a flat one that rolls up into a cassette or just a normal round one?
Had a cassette years ago and it never wound up satisfactory - maybe they are better now? It's just the space a round one takes up.
 

Jim

Ringleader
Jul 19, 2007
36,187
128,610
Sutton on Sea, UK
Funster No
1
MH
Adria Panel Van.
Exp
Since 1988
Round is easier but bulkier, I now carry a 5m round which fills quick and is normally long enough for most fill ups. Then two extra lengths of flat stowed away; 15m and a 20m . Every now and then I find I need to join all of them together and borrow someone else's to fill up without breaking camp and moving. :Smile:
 

slobadoberbob

Free Member
Jun 1, 2009
6,151
1,960
Kent, garden of England
Funster No
6,953
MH
Winnebago 23' something
Exp
25 years & counting
Have a flat one but

I have a flat one, paid a fair bit for it, but the cassette it is in is crap.. real pain using it. At home I fill the RV using a normal hose and on sites or shows I tend to fill a 5 gallon water bottle and transport it from tap to RV and then load that via a pump and short hose.. (yes it would be heavy if you had to lug it about - I put it on my disabled scooter as it is hard to lif of the ground when full).

Bob:Cool:
 

JeanLuc

Free Member
Nov 17, 2008
3,304
2,199
Warwickshire
Funster No
4,952
MH
Hymer B630 Star-Line
Exp
Since 2007
I had a flat hose for about three years but it developed leaks along the folded edges during the last year of its life. I think I paid between £20 and £30 for it so it was not a really cheap one. Simple to use and easy to store.
Then I changed for a food-grade round hose; it is black, has thick walls and is rather stiff to wind. But it does a good job and I cut it into 5 and 15 metre lengths with connectors (I still have about 10 metres in the attic as a spare, but it will probably never wear out). It is also easier to drain the round hose after use than the flat one. I keep the round hose lengths joined together on a standard garden hose reel.

I found that the flat hose did not work if the water supply pressure was very low: a situation encountered on some remote sites. It failed to 'inflate'.

So, flat is lightweight, generally easy to use and easy to store, but be prepared to buy a new one every two or three years; good quality round is heavy and bulky, but it always works and will last for ages.

:rain:
 
Feb 27, 2011
14,669
74,862
UK
Funster No
15,452
MH
Self Build
Exp
Since 2005
I have one of those coiled spring like ones which I use for 1mtr to 10 mtr runs. I then have a 20Mtr flat one which I have cut 5Mtrs off.

The spring style one is brilliant as it very quick to use and put away. The flat one is great for long distances as it doesn't take up much storage space.

If I am more than 30Mtr away from the tap and I can't be bothered to break camp I have a large watering can. I will be replacing this soon with a flat pack one.

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makems

LIFE MEMBER
Sep 23, 2011
3,435
27,584
Ingleby Barwick,,Teesside
Funster No
18,264
MH
Sadly had to give up
Exp
2010-2017
I have 3 round food grade hoses of varying lengths from 5m to 15m that can be joined together. Flat hose always has to be pulled out to it's full length no matter how close you are to the filler.
Round is quick to get out and quick to drain and put away. It does take up space though.
 

DESCO

Free Member
Mar 11, 2009
2,646
266
London
Funster No
5,894
MH
low profile
Exp
18 years +12 years tugging
Would go for a round every time, only ever had one flat hose apart from having to uncoil every time it did not last more than 2 years.
 

Geoffers

Free Member
May 13, 2011
506
215
Groby Leicester
Funster No
16,396
MH
Coachbuilt
Exp
5
We have a 15m flat food grade which is a pain because you have to unwind all
of it even if your next to the tap.So we keep a 5m length of round hose as well.
We also carry a 5 gall container in the toad, with the help of an old fold up shopping trolley / sack truck,and a whale portable pump we are covered for all occasions . But back to the question Round.:thumb:

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Apr 27, 2008
11,788
13,942
Eastbourne East Sussex
Funster No
2,327
MH
Hymer low profile
Exp
Since 1972
I carry a flat hose and a shorter round one for if I'm near the tap. Still occassionly use the watering can though. I also have an aquaroll that I can transfer using a submersible pump. All are ideal at different times.:Smile:
 

Myfanwy

Free Member
Jan 2, 2009
104
25
Cheddar Somerset
Funster No
5,275
MH
A Class
Exp
nine years
Flat or Round Hose?

:winky: We are camped in Roquetas, Spain at the moment until February and unfortunately not near enough for our round hose to fit the water tap.

We have unsuccessfully up until now been able to buy a flat hose at the Chinese shops and builders merchant type shops. We wanted to get one simply for the storage space as we do find the round hose so bulky at times and to also buy another hose which would reach the tap.

The flat hoses seem to have gone out of fashion here. Perhaps its because as you all seem to have the same opinion, that they don't last very long. Maybe it has something to do with the heat as well!!
 
Jan 11, 2010
2,743
9,476
Chester
Funster No
9,901
MH
Auto-trail
Exp
Well that`s our 13th year & still loving it.
round

Hi, We would say go for the round, we bought a flat hosepipe on a reel cost £29.99 brilliant stored so easily.
That`s great until you come to use it, you have to unwind the whole lot off the reel to get any water through it, now that`s a bloody pain.
Have since bought an aquaroll which stores easily inside the garage, fill that up and have made up a whale pump to a short length of hose, wired a 12volt outlet socket inside the garage and presto, top up the water tanks without any hassle. :thumb:

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Terry

LIFE MEMBER
Dec 27, 2007
11,904
8,969
Lincolnshire
Funster No
1,075
MH
A class
Exp
Can't remember ;)
Hi I have a flat one that is made up of 3 small bore pipes joined together.:thumb:It comes on a cassette and you can pull out as much or little as you like then winds in easy.:thumb:I have seen them on (i think ) Bargins uk or Bargains uk for about a tenner
terry
 
Nov 30, 2009
6,543
148,326
Pickering
Funster No
9,521
MH
PVC the PUG
Exp
Since 2009 with motorhomes several caravans then tents before that.
Just got one of these.............Link Removed

Good quality hose at 7.5 meters :thumb:.

We also carry a flat hose type.......just in case.

Ralph
 

harryoxford2

Free Member
Sep 14, 2010
524
251
Bishops Stortford Herts
Funster No
13,706
MH
B
Exp
2010 and camper all my life
Hmmmphffff ..once again I have to come to the rescue with what is such a simple and logical problem.
step 1..buy ordinary round cheap garden hose.

step 2 wait for road repairs near you where a steam roller will be used.

step 3 buy flat pack cassette to store your new flat hose in...quality of round and lasts forever and the compactness of flat...

simples...ps the flat pack cassette should be bought in the 2 meter wide size ie to accomodate flat hose that is 2 meters wide.

if you want the full monty, I have fitted an adapter to my rear wheel and i load one end of the flat hose into the cassette as normal then drive off..the flat hose winds itself up and when I stop next I remove the cassette from the wheel.
I admit there is a slight flaw as the other end when wound up bangs on the floor on each revolution of the wheel which some people may find annoying.
Myself I kinda like it as it reminds me of when I used to stick lolly pop sticks in my cycle wheels when I was younger (40s) and the sticks twanged on the spokes and sounded like an engine..as does the cassette end banging on the highway. your choice..

again simples....Im tired after all that mental energy..im going to have a sleep

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Jul 28, 2010
1,710
617
The world
Funster No
12,902
MH
Small car
Exp
1
do not get a coiled one they look good but after a few uses the coils get tangled (like the coiled telephone wire) a night mare in the dark or in the rain
 
Feb 27, 2011
14,669
74,862
UK
Funster No
15,452
MH
Self Build
Exp
Since 2005
do not get a coiled one they look good but after a few uses the coils get tangled (like the coiled telephone wire) a night mare in the dark or in the rain

I have had mine since 2005 and its still going fine. I am just about to replace the hoselock attachment on the end for a brass one but 6 years isn't bad.

Flat one has lasted me just as long.

Bearing in mind I have fulltimed for the last 3 years so it gets pretty good use :winky:
 

movan

LIFE MEMBER
Dec 2, 2009
21,492
120,752
Moving around
Funster No
9,543
MH
Burstner
Exp
since07
:Sad:All my flat ones end up having leaks. :Sad:

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Minxy

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 22, 2007
32,488
66,004
E Yorks
Funster No
149
MH
Carthago Compactline
Exp
Since 1996, had Elddis/Swift/Rapido/Rimor/Chausson MHs. Autocruise/Globecar PVCs/Compactline i-138
Round - easy to use, cheap as chips (standard garden hose, not the 'drinking water' type), takes up a bit more space but goes into our gas locker on top of the bottle, I've cut it into two lengths, a third and 2 thirds and we then have the choice which to use or both if required.

Flat - easy to store but a pain the bum to roll up and get the water out, unless you get a good one, they tend to leak.

Spiral - easy to deploy but being springy don't stretch as far as they are supposed to and can be difficult to keep in the filler inlet if you have to leave it to go and turn the tap on (yes, I've had the unexpected 'cold shower' when doing this). Can be a pain to put away as they 'fight' and get taffled up very easily - I found slotting it onto my arm helped.

Generally it is quicker to use the round hose to fill up as it has a larger bore - the flat and spiral ones can be slower as the bore tends to be smaller - this is an important consideration when topping up at aires etc which measure the water by the 'time' it takes to delivers the water, rather than by the 'quantity' delivered.
 

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