Introductions! And a quick general question

[Ginger&Grey]

Afternoon all,

Just picked up our first Cali a couple of weeks ago (very excited!) - A California 180, manual, in toffee brown. We're busy planning our first trip away this Bank Holiday down to Studland Bay, fingers crossed for good weather! I grew up with my parents owning a VW camper and having many happy holidays, now it's our turn to give the kids the same experiences.

Firstly just wanted to say hi! And to say what an invaluable resource you guys and the forum are. I can't tell you how many questions I found answers to on the site that I couldn't find anywhere else!

Second thing is I have a quick question:

How long does the water stay fresh for once in the tank? I've seen posts about cleaning and capacity, but just wondered once full, how long does the water generally remain drinkable?

Look forward to chatting more over time, unfortunately can't make the Cali on the Farm event, but next meet I'll try and get along to say hello!

 

[snowy55]

Hi and welcome.
Water tank has been a debated topic recently. We drain ours over winter and refill with the "shock horror" garden hose with just a splash of liquid Miltons then just top up as and when required through the season.
According to my mother I used to eat soil and worms as a child, perhaps that's what has built up my resistance to all the bugs that apparently can lurk in there.
Hope this helps.

 

[bvddobb]

With one tank, we typically manage to do 3 days. From it we cook, make coffee and tea, brush our teeth, drink from it, wash up and shave and wash ourselves when we're out in the wild, etc. As a 'reserve' we have two 2 liter water bottles in the door. Has always sufficed.
We never 'top up'; when we refill, we drain whatever is left first. When we refill, we let the drain open for the first few litres to flush the tank. When we come home from a trip, we drain the tanks, only to fill them again for the next trip.
Once a year, we clean the fresh water tank with three tablets of Steradent in a full tank that we drive around with and let stay 24 hours. Drain, flush with the drain open, drain again. That's our cleaning routine.
Never had any issue.

 

[GrannyJen]

Firstly welcome, secondly cannot help with the water tank as I never drink from it,

However, putting water to one side, welcome

 

[Hotel California]

Hi and welcome !
As for the watertank just try to empty it as frequent as you wish/can , if you don't have it al used up after a trip just drain it , that way i think the risk of any bacteries and contaminations gets lower....but you need to have the possibility offcourse.

 

[WelshGas]

Well mine was filled up in the UK on Thursday last. I'm now in Northern Norway. I've added about 20L since then still going strong. Another 12 days to go.
I too am of the older generation brought up on a diet of worms and earth as a youngster.
Happy Days.

 

[GrannyJen]

We are all different.

I am no screeching bio-hazard sterilise everything in sight freak. I too was brought up on a diet of worms and earth. Thankfully I was for when I went to Western Sudan and Chad in 2004 to write on the humanitarian disaster there for DEC so the disaster nearly got me. Thankfully my immune system was, is still, in excellent condition.

I now drink bottled water for it's consistency, not purity. 6 months in IC and Acute medical having my liver restored to health after "something in the water": got to it means I now take very good care of it, otherwise I would have to cut back on my glass of wine and gin and tonic.

Sorry, but not every bottled water drinker is a screeching hypochondriac.

 

[motacyclist]

Welcome G & G and congratulations on your new toy

Regarding the water, all we ever done is fill from the garden hose (after flushing it); we leave the water in when we get back but drain off and replace on the next trip. We never drink the water straight from the tank but use it for tea & coffee etc.

Since reading the alarming thread about filling from the garden hose I cast around for a different method of filling before we left home on our current trip, couldn't think of anything so in went the garden hose again. However, we now have a bottle of water by the sink for brushing our teeth duties

 

[Hotel California]

YOUR OWN garden hose will probaly be fine , but seen some camperowners filling the water with the hose on a camperspot in France where few minutes before an other had used it to clean a portable toilet putting the end of the hose in the waste tank of his toilet.................

 

[Nick CB]

As an ex Dutch Barge owner I agree with most of the above postings. Boat fresh water generally has a huge capacity. I got into the habit of never drinking the stuff. The same can't really be said of the Calli. Good house keeping practice, eg draining and sterilising as often as practicable is highly recommended.
Bottled water is so easily found these days, why take the risk? Water is highly susceptible to all sorts of grollies, just take a microscopic look at a drop of water from your filler hose and you'll probably find more wildlife in it than London zoo.
As for earth and worms. Well........at least my mum's gravy used to move about.

 

[Ginger&Grey]

Thanks all, really appreciate the advise and the welcomes.
Well, back from our first trip away and have to say it was superb!! - Everything we hoped it would be
Already planning the next break.
I do now have one more question though!!!
How do people put on their roof topper? (which incidentally really helped regulate the heat for the kids who slept up there.) Once it's up there it's a doddle to fit, but getting it up there proved to be a bit tricky (ended up using the dog's crate as a step, but it now looks a little worse for wear!) I was thinking about getting a step, but don't want to take up too much space in the van. Are the flat pack ones any good? And do they get high enough?

 

[Meoncoast]

I keep a little folding plastic step in the boot for elderly relative seems to work ok {getting in and out of van}, not sure if it would last long if I was using it for my weight also not sure if it is high enough for what you want as we don't put a topper on

 

[WelshGas]

I have one of the fold flat ones off eBay. Works for me.
Don't put the roof up too far before putting the Topper on. For me, putting the Topper on at the front with the roof up about 6-9" and then pulling the back section down works.