The water System

There are three different types of water system, an onboard pump, an exterior pump and in some cases both with an onboard water tank.

In the majority of cases, newer caravans have an onboard water pump with a pick up tube on the outside of the caravan that goes into the Aquaroll. 

Truma/Whale exterior pump.

Above is the external water pump that has been located into the pump housing and placed into the Aquaroll ready for use. If you have in onboard pump system the pump assembly will be replace with a water pick up tube that will locate into the caravan in the same way as an external pump

Waste Water.

 The waste water leaves the caravan via two waste points and can be collected by a Wastemaster (pictured below). The waste points are normally found on the off side of the caravan just behind the wheel. The two points can be joined into one using an easy drain.

Draining Down

It is important to drain the water system down during the winter months to avoid frost damage. To do this locate the yellow water hater drain down valve (pictured below) and flip up so it is vertical, this drains the water from the tank. Then the taps need to be left open and in the central position to allow the air back down the pipes. The toilet tank will need to be drained (See Here) and the shower hose must be removed from the tap to get the last bit of water from it.

Draining back up

 To do this flip the yellow switch back to its horizontal position, put the filler hose in a full Aquaroll, close the washroom taps and leave the kitchen tap open in the hot position. Switch on the pump switch and the pump will start to run. The hot tap will splutter at the air is forced out of the tank. When the water is running cleanly the tank is full and you can turn the tap off. It is important to open the rest of the taps and get the water through, then insure the pump reaches pressure and switches off, this tells you that there are no leaks in the system. 

The above picture shows and onboard pump with a surge damper and the yellow drain down valve. 

The 240v conection

The orange 240v cable plugs into the on site socket then into the blue caravan socket which is usually situated in the battery box. The 240v then goes to a consumer unit. 

The 12v System

The battery is located in the battery box usually net to the mains inlet.The battery supplies power to the lights, water pump, 12v strip lights, toilet pump (if fitted), the gas side of the water heater and any blown air heating fan. If a power cut occurred you will still have lights and water, and be able to run the fridge, heating and water systems on gas, this is why it is important to check the operation of the battery.

The Gas System

The gas system runs the cooker and provides back up to the water heater, space heater and fridge if the is no 240v present. All caravans from 2008 onwards will have a Truma bulkhead regulator situated in the front gas locker compartment. A high pressure hose is then attached to this and is connected to a gas bottle. 

We recommend using Propane gas (Red bottles) as it is a much cleaner gas and has a lower freezing point so can be used in winter. Butane will stop working efficiently at around 4 degrees and has a higher oil contend to can block up the regulator and appliances. 

Conection

Insure the bottle is correctly fitted using the gas hose provided. The propane fitting is a LEFT HAND THREAD so needs to be unscrewed, to screw it in. A correct sized spanner must be used to tighten the fitting into the bottle. The bottle can then be turned on and the gas system used. 

A common problem is that the regulator can block up with oil and stop working. If you have little or no gas coning into the caravan, insure the bottle is turned on and the internal switches are in the correct position, if there is still no gas then the regulator will need to be changed by a competent person. 

There are two size, 8mm and 10mm. Most caravan are 8mm. 

To insure you don't get this problem, when you have finished with the gas system, turn it off at the bottle and light the hob to remove the excess gas that will remain in the system. This is especially important over the winter months when the oil in the gas goes thick.