Water tank in winter: basic advice please

[popotla]

For many years my wife and I owned a Land Rover Defender in which we travelled for long periods and lived in. Recently we bought a small mobile home, pictured here (photo from company website).

We have never owned such a vehicle before and frankly know so little about it. There's a lot to learn and at the moment this process is being delayed because I fell off my bike and broke a leg and am thus confined, for the present, to home. I am no longer young and with regard to our new acquisition confess to feeling sometimes a little bit intimidated and wonder if I might have bitten off more than I can chew.

The first thing I'd like to ask about is what do about the water in the 100-liter tank during the winter, when water can freeze? For six weeks in January and February the vehicle will be parked up while we go away. Should I just simply empty the water tank for that period? During December, next month, we hope to make a couple of short trips but during this period too, overnight freezing is quite likely or at least possible. Emptying and refilling, emptying and refilling between trips is not especially convenient but of course if that's what I should do, that's what I will do. Or can some additive be used to prevent freezing? We do not plan to use that water for drinking.

While on the subject of water, I have another question. The filler neck, shown on the photo (second of the two black squares, close together, is quite high up). For filling the 35-liter tank of the Land Rover we had a quite primitive system, one involving a 10-l container, a plastic drinks bottle with the bottom cut off, a short length of hose and a piece of string. But something a bit different is now called for and I'm unsure what to do for the best. Should we get a hose pipe, a solution which would entail storage of something heavy (and wet or damp)? If so, the matter arises of perhaps carrying various connectors in order to have one suitable for whichever tap we find ourselves using. I've wondered also about using a plastic container of some kind ( big watering can with a long spout??) together with a funnel in the filler neck. That would be good exercise, anyway.

And lastly, what about preventing the water tank freezing up while using the vehicle, either travelling or staying on sites for however long, as we expect to be doing from mid-February next year?


Please suggest what is best. Thanks very much for any help.

 

[mitzimad]

for filling we use about 5 metres of layflat hose and a selection of connectors if your tank is internal and your using the van i doubt it will freeze but for periods of no use i would drain tank and blow through all pipe work leave taps open

 

[CazPaul]

That looks a nice van, what make is it? Is it German built?

 

[Podney]

What mitzimad said!

 

[popotla]

Which "selection of connectors" is recommended?

It's German, a Burow Oman.

The vehicle itself is nice, though hardly used at all, so far. I most definitely do NOT, however, recommend the company, Very "friendly" in the beginning, at the enquiry stage, but once €5,000 had been put on the table, interest waned markedly. E-mails unanswered or answered in the shortest possible and most unhelpful way; made to feel in general that one was a big nuisance. All in all an unpleasant experience, one I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I wanted to cancel, even though our deposit would have been lost. There was though some danger, I understood, of being sued for the remaining balance, so I went ahead. I had no idea that this kind of service existed, anywhere.

Delivery took a little over a year. (I knew from the start that this would be the case.)

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[Theonlysue]

If you have any instructions, now would be a good time to read them while you're laid up.
When I camped at weekends in winter, i filled up and heating and hot water on, and emptied when i got back on Sunday.

 

[Lenny HB]

Being German I would assume it is winterised so should be no problems using during the winter. We drain the tanks in our van after every trip, we want nice fresh water to drink each time we set off.
When not using for more than a few days in the winter also drain down the pipes & water heater.

 

[rosalan]

First off... Drain out all the water if your vehicle is parked during freezing periods or if you are not using it for a week or more.
The first to prevent freezing and the later for taste, as standing water soon develops algae and can get slimy.
Filling the tank can be a point for discussion but after many years motorhoming I use a watering can. It took a little time to find the most suitable. I also carry a short hose-pipe of about four metres.
The watering can means I never have to move the van to a water tap which can at times have unsuitable fittings for a hose or be inside a building where a hose cannot reach.
Some vans have the fresh water tank inside the van, under a seat for example, where freezing may not be a problem. It is the waste tank, if you have one, which is more likely to freeze if it exposed to the cold air. The truly winterised vans have this tank between two floors and possibly be fitted with a heater.