Driving a campervan in Australia (or Perth in my case) is very unique and lots of fun.
There is, however, a certain routine of tasks that you need to perform every night, after you parked at one of the camper van sites. You will want to be doing that the exact moment once you parked so that other things can follow on (e.g. preparing food, washing up etc).
And because you need to do these stuff, you will need to be spending the night (or day) at one of those camper sites that have these facilities. Fortunately, there are many in Australia and New Zealand.
Electricity Charging for Campervan
First you need to give your campervan electricity. These are needed for things like lights, water pump, cooker etc. The electricity supply points are located usually next to the lot you are allocated to park your campervan.
Then find the electricity cable from your camper van (usually at the back of the camper van) and connect that cable to your camper van’s electricity inlet point.
Fresh Water Supply for Campervan
Secondly you will now want to provide your camper van with FRESH Water. Again this is a water supply located next to your lot. The camper van usually comes with a pipe that has all the right connecter to the supply pipe.
And using the supplied pipe, connect that water supply to your camper van. There, you have FRESH water for your washing, cleaning, brushing your teeth, topping up your kettle and showering..
Getting rid of Grey Water in Campervan
Thirdly it is time to get rid of the “Grey water”. Grey water is a term used to describe the waste water you have used in the shower and the washing basin (e.g. washing dishes, washing fruits and food, pouring away unwanted drinks etc).
You must remove this water properly.
Get the black “grey water” pipe (be careful not to mix up with the fresh water pipe but unlikely lah)… and connect it to the waste hose outlet of your camper van. You will need to locate the lever that turns on the flow of grey water out of your camper van.
In this photo, that is the right lever.
Find the approved grey water outlet (usually just a drain or hole) and let the water flow into it.. you might need to adjust the pipe to ensure the water flows….
This photo shows the black “grey water pipe” placed into the waste water point:
If you are cooking, this is the time to turn on the LPG gas too. It is a good idea to turn it off every day before driving and only turn it on when you cook and to turn it off when you sleep…
It might seem some work at first but after 1-2 days, it becomes part and parcel of your routine once you parked your camper van at the site for the night. And next morning, it becomes the last part of your actions (to keep the three things above) BEFORE you drive off.
Removing Black Water from Campervan
Okay.. now what about the very dirty waste water and solid stool from your urine and stomach. We call it “black water”. There is a special container in the camper van that “captures and holds” this black water which have flow from the toilet bowl inside your camper van.
Before using this container, you should add a little water to it (so that any waste are not then sticking to the inside of the container….). Then you must add the supplied special chemical to the container too. This special chemical will supposedly dissolve the waste materials (e.g. your stool) and also make any waste material not smelly….. Remember to do this BEFORE using the container, not AFTER….
When your container is full (e.g.. 2 days of using), then it is time to find the RIGHT place in the camper van site to properly dispose of the BLACK WATER. You must find that RIGHT place. Check with the staff of the camper van site on where to dispose of your BLACK WATER.
Example of a proper disposal place in this photo
You must NOT use the grey water outlet (the one example above) to do so ! 🙂
Here’s a video of my disposal… Nice right 🙂
Actually, in yet another day, my son must have hold on to his stool for too long and when he finally go to the toilet, the amount must be so much that, despite the use of the chemical, some of that stool are not dissolved and I can see it when I disposed of it…
Should I share that photo ? 🙂
