Hymer caravan has water tank

I guess as you have already realised on the opposite side of the van from the door there will be the tank filler point.  This should be sealed with a blue "petrol" filler cap.  Next to this there will be an oblong box ( I am assuming that this is a UK spec Hymer ) Inside the box there will be 4 things

A connection point for the 12v electric supply for your submersible pump.

A female quick fit connector (a chromed knurled thing) Also.

A rocker switch is for switching the inboard tank  off when using the submersible pump. 

And finally

A blue disk about 1.5" in diameter with a blue point coming out of it.  We are on our third Hymer and have no clue what this is for

In the van you should have the submersible pump assembly so you can plug in the 12v and the water to the side of your van.   If this is missing then they can be replaced but depending on how handy you are the electric plug can be sourced separately  the water connection is identical a male quick fit gas connection and a pump is a pump.

You can connect the aquaroll at this point but what we do is use the aquaroll to fill the tank.  if the tank is empty then it will take a 40 l aquaroll if it isn't empty then it will flood afaik there is no cutout .   Some people seem to spend there whole stay ferrying water to the tank with a water can for me life is too short. So I use the aquaroll and use the pipefrom the pump to fill the tank.  The previously mentioned rocker switch may be redundant and there could be a switch inside the van by the tank that controls which pump is opperational.   You can of course ignore the onboard tank. We don't because we find that the water pressure is better than direct from the aquaroll and it doesn't freeze in the winter. 

Thats about it really.  Enjoy your Hymer which model have you got and don't forget to make sure that you have the correct wheel bolts if you have a steel spare

Anymore questions just ask you don't have to take any notice of my answers.  

Hi Blackcaviar.    We have just sold a Hymer 530 with an onboard water tank.   We found that we just didn't use an Aquaroll at all. Just a hose to fill the onboard tank which you can do very easily if you book a serviced pitch.  Although we always made sure it was empty before we moved on to save weight.   (There ought to be a dedicated Hymer water container in the front locker.  They came with one just the right size to fit neatly at the right hand side.  Saved carrying an awkward shaped Aquaroll inside the van).

Your Hymer caravan will withstand extremely low temperatures and we have been cosy and warm in ours when the outside temperature reached -11C in Central Spain one winter.  That is why they have an onboard tank which is a boon in those conditions. 

Thankyou boff and oldgirl : its a hymer nova 555  and its 12 years old ,can i ask you boff what bolts i need for my spare wheel please ? Cheers mrs bc :)

We have a hymer motorhome with an on board water tank. Why would we/ you need an aquaroll? Before setting out, use a hose to fill up your fresh water tank until the water level indicator on your panel is in the green sector. That's enough to get you going. Buy a plastic watering can which you can then use to top up your water on a daily basis from a tap.

Re the wheel nuts, if it has alloy wheels and a steel spare then most likely the shoulder on the top of the bolt is a different shape. In my 2007 and 2015 Hymer manuals have the same picture of the different bolts.  If you have the original document pack it might have the information in there. if the bolts are different then the van would have originally come with a set.  

PS have you seen this < This > ?

Thanks boff i had seen that review as it happens , it turns out that our van was originally (many years ago) owned by a md of lowdhams (its got 2solar panels and air con , i only know that cos the guy who serviced it after we bought it (we bought it local) is a hymer specialist ,and knew the history of our van: funnily enough i love it even tho its knocking on a bit:) £14.950 new? I think they are double that now ?  i will get my hymer book out and check on bolts (it came in a little "hymer " bag ) i dont think the onboard water tank is as big as a motorhome tank(we had autotrails and they seemed larger than the one under the bunk) which is probably why the previous owner had a water roll cheers mrs Bc 

The water tank will be 45 litres. 

These early Novas came with a 16 litre water carrier with a nice nozzle so were about the right weight to carry from a tap and fill the tank, three visits initially. Unlike MHs Hymer suggests you don't transit with water, though I often do with up to 5 litres for loo flushing washing hands and brewing on long hauls.

Using an Aquaroll in UK caravanning fashion is possible so is using it to fill the onboard tank via the supplied snap-in pump. Where the site water tap is a long way off this is quite an asset. It can travel in the shower.

if a caravan had a fixed internal tank, could it not be pulled up alongside the MHSP (or even other tap) after check in and before pitching? it could then be filled (only 45 l) in a couple of mins with a hose, with no faffing with aquaroll or the lile...mich quicker and easier i would have thought.

tank can then be topped up with a light weight, far less bulky container as needed....

I wouldn't worry too much about age.  There is a good argument, that they were the best built Hymer's ever.  

But going back to the original question I believe that you should be able to use the aquaroll direct or use it to fill the tank. It would have come with a water container and pourer,  I would guess that has disappeared sometime over the years. And I found an aquaroll more convenient.  Like ocsid we used to travel with a small amount of water for convenience.  

BB posted while I was typing .  

Personally I can't for the life of me see the objection to using an aquaroll they work they are realiively easy to pull when full and a 40l aquaroll last us a day including a shower.  As said before I can't for the life of me see what is the point of going to a tap ten times per day with a watering can or what ever. When I can do it once, however everyone is different.  

It is probably the more usual MH culture of one or two nights stays compared to tuggers lingering longer along with tanks over twice this size. I am not going to haul the whole unit up to a suitable tap and add to the clobber with a hose kit for 45 litres of water. I prefer the container but for sites where I know the tap is a long way off I put the Aquaroll on board, its easier.

But every one is free to do their prefered thing.