Water connection on serviced pitch

You could, of course, have a barrel and a siphon system to keep it topped up. Then you'd need to have some sort of pump to get the water from the barrel into the tank...and find somewhere to store the barrel(s).

personally, I just use a hose as you've described.

you can leave your hose connected to the tap and just shove the other end into the filler hole. You can use the hose to top up at any time, you don't have to wait for it to become empty.

using a hose is the least hassle, IMHO as you don't need all the extra kit that caravanners carry in the way of barrel (or two) and all the pumping kit.

keep it simple is the way.

Even though nearly a month old, this was showing as the latest post just now (14/11/2022 at around 18:00) on the top-level list of discussions. That caused me to look at it and found you'd had no responses, which seems odd. 

I am a motorhome owner as well. As far as I know, there's no way, with a motorhome, of having the water "on-tap" permanently. Of course, you do not have to keep attaching your hose every time you need a top up. You can leave the hose between the tap and your van permanently hooked up (you'll need a water cap with a hose connector on the inlet to your van instead of the usual closed cap). Then you just turn on the tap to top up your water and turn it off again afterwards. You can't leave the tap on permanently because your tank will just over-flow and you'll be dropping fresh water under your van and onto the pitch.  

Most (all?) caravans don't have on-board water tanks and the water is fed, via the pump, directly from the Aqua roll. On a serviced pitch it is possible to have a ball or float valve, similar to most toilet cisterns, that screws into the side of the Aqua roll using the opening on the side. They can then leave the pitch water tap on permanently, but as the water in the Aqua roll rises it reaches the float which is then raised and closes the valve and cuts off the water. That way they can leave the pitch tap on all the time. I believe there are more sophisticated systems whereby you can connect the hose from the tap directly into the caravan, avoiding the need for an Aqua Roll. 

I've never been a caravanner; this is just what I have picked up. I hope it's right. I think it is, but someone will correct any errors. 

The bottom line is, in a motorhome, you just have to turn the tap on and off when you need a top-up, but you can leave the hose connected. 

If we are on a service pitch I tend to leave the hose out as mentioned above. Although I don’t leave it connected to the hose connector cap on the van. It only takes seconds to reattach it and connected there is the risk that either myself or someone cutting across the pitch might trip over the hose, shearing off the connector cap and possibly damaging the filler itself.

As far as most motohomers are concerned the advantages of serviced pitches are rather limited. They are not always in the best places on sites as far as we are concerned either. I’d rather save the difference and have a possible greater choice of pitches,

I think it might depend on your motorhome. Our previous van was an Autosleeper. The water fill hose was connected via a Whale pump to the van (special socket on the van). Connect to the tap, turn on, and when full it stopped filling.  So presumably, in that case you could just leave it connected, although in my ignorance I would be a bit concerned about water pressure.

Current van, put the hose in the filler cap, turn on, and wait for it to overflow.

I dont go out of my way to pitch on a serviced pitch, and wouldnt pay extra.  But I quite like it when we do end up on one in that we dont need to move the van to fill up, and I can attach a hose to the waste to get rid of it.  Yes, I know we could use a watering can to fill up, and we do have one, and do use it occasionally (loo flushes direct from tank, so separate loo water tank) but in our van using a watering can isnt very easy. The inlet is quite high and the pipe into the tank is almost horizontal so you have to fill slowly and at a higher angle.

Ah, that's interesting. I often wondered if any manufacturer provided a system like that on a motorhome. It would make sense, but I had not come across it before.

Also, I often wondered about water pressure - not for myself but for those caravanners using these float valve things. I am not sure I would trust these; they are all plasticky and rather flimsy looking and I would feel nervous about leaving the tap on all the time. But for all I know they are very reliable. Another downside is that I have seen a few leaking connectors at the water tap before now which, over time, would waste quite an appreciable amount of water. I would be self-conscious of this, but some do not seem remotely fazed by it.

I find the big advantage of a service pitch is not so much the fresh-water side, where, I agree, in a motorhome, the advantages are limited, but it is the waste-water side of things. I find having my waste drain away immediately is a big plus. I tend to have longer morning showers when on a serviced pitch knowing the lack of hassle to both fill up and drain away!!

If not on a service pitch, I use an Aqua roll and 12-volt pump to fill my fresh tank. I find storing the aqua roll presents no issues, but you could not leave it permanently attached with a float valve, because there is no mechanism by which the 12-volt pump can switch off and cut the flow of water. The tank would just keep filling and filling and overflow.

If very close to a service point, I top-up my fresh tank with a 10-litre watering can. It is much less hassle provided you don't have far to walk as it does, obviously, require more journeys! I remember a post, years ago, from a caravanner who thought it was absolutely hilarious to see motorhome owners filling up their tank with a watering can. It is actually a very sensible approach in some circumstances.         

Again, much depends on the size of your tanks and the rate of usage. We fill the tank and, even if showering in the van (say, on a CL) we get 5/6 days worth from one fill...definitely not a case for using service pitches.
Similarly, as a proportion of the water usage (tea, coffee, cold drinks) passes through 'us', it gets deposited in a toilet somewhere, not in the waste tank which, again, has never been filled on a single stay.

i don't know how long Graydjames stays on a site at a time, but I wouldn't have thought a single person in a large MH would ever drain a full fresh tank, nor fill the waste...one pull of a lever on the way out and, presto...but there you go....

Depends on how long a shower you have, if you wash up in the van and what that washing up entails. We are clearly not as frugal as you. On a non service pitch our fresh lasts 3 days with a 10 litre watering can top up. The waste also lasts three days, despite the extra 10 litres,  as a fair bit of the fresh is drunk or used by the flush. If we stop four days, which is normally our longest stay, I have to decant 20 litres from the waste and put in another couple of watering cans. I agree with GJ the big plus of a service pitch is the waste drainage, there always seems to be a queue when we leave.

Just to answer your question on your second paragraph, the float valve rests inside the aquaroll (other brands are available) and shuts off the supply from the tap when the aquaroll is half full and then the pump either in the aquaroll or inside the caravan takes over to pump water into it when you open the taps inside. So the water pressure from the tap doesn't affect anything inside the caravan. If the float value fails then all that happens is that the aquaroll overflows, now this does happen but very occasionally, in 20 years of using one it's happened once to me and I've seen it on other caravans but someone will notice and either turn the tap off or get the warden to do it but there is no damage to the caravan just a large puddle by the side of it.

There are systems that plug straight into the caravan without the need for an aqauroll but these have pressure reducers on them.

Yes the drip from the tap does happen as well, I always make sure it doesn't if it's to do with 'my side' of the tap but often it's the tap that leaks and I report it and will turn the tap off when going out for the day.

We wash up, shower and wash in the van and can easily go 4/5 days on a full water tank. The biggest chore is emptying the loo and topping up the flush neither of which is negated by the use of a serviced pitch. I only ever use serviced pitches if that is all the site offers and then would only have to refill the water tank and empty grey waste if staying more than 4/5 days. In that case out would come the hoses.

peedee