So as a newby to an inboard tank can anyone please help me understand what’s involved? Do they have a submersible pump or an external inline pump? How easy are they to drain down? And anything else that you may think is relevant. I’ll be getting a Feeling but I guess both systems are similar

I'm not too sure if it just applies to the newer Feeling range but the toilet flush on mine is taken from the onboard tank.

Of course, that means you can't put the Thetford blue (or is it pink?) stuff in there - well, you could but I believe it doesn't taste too great.

We use a spray bottle of diluted bio liquid to keep the bowl clean after use.

Thanks Colin that’s really helpful. We’re trying hard to order a new Feeling 425 although it’s not been as smooth as I would like. We’ve certainly maid it difficult for ourselves and I’m not wholly convinced any dealer will actually agree to order one for me. Anyway after weeks of research and conversations with all the dealers there are only 2 that will consider it. Luckily one of them was always our preferred dealer despite the travelling distance. Let’s hope it all works out. If both say no then we’ll get a 530 but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that

I didn’t realise that John, it’s the same on our current Globecar campervan

Talking of onboard tanks and toilets I've never really understood why, when the 2010 to 2014 Touring range washroom was specced with a swivel Thetford, instead of the traditional and post 2014 bench toilet, Hymer chose the toilet without its own flush water tank. That obviously necessitated that the flush water came from the same source as the tap system and so that there was water available for flushing, even when no outside source, they had to fit an internal tank. I would've thought it would've been easier to fit a swivel toilet with flush tank, just like masses of other vans have and then offer an internal fresh tank as an option for those that want one. I don't think it could be due to lack of room as the swivel toilet in those washrooms sits, rather conspicuously, in acres of space.

Just one small addition to Eribamotters post. After filling the tank run the tap on its “hot” setting first till water is flowing. That will avoid the possibility of any airlock between the hot and cold tanks.

An 'airlock' i.e an amount of air in a system that cannot be moved and therefore blocks water coming through to the taps is very unlikely in a caravan water system. The water pressure is generally too high and the pipework too simple and short to allow such conditions to develop. What you will get, unless the tap is run as suggested, is a 'bubble of air in front of the water which, when it's finally expelled by opening a tap, will cause spluttering and potential splashing. If you put a hand by an open tap as the water system fills you can feel a gentle draught of air as it's driven out of the water system, ahead of the head of water being pumped through.

Simon
I could perhaps have been a little clearer. If you fill up the cold tank and the hot tank is empty, opening the taps on either hot or cold will only draw water from the cold tank. Opening the taps on the “hot” setting after filling the cold tank will draw water into the hot tank priming it. We travelled many times without realising this until the engineers at Travelworld put us right. Since adopting their procedure we have had no problems.
Capn C

Quote: Captain Calamity wrote in post #9

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Simon
I could perhaps have been a little clearer. If you fill up the cold tank and the hot tank is empty, opening the taps on either hot or cold will only draw water from the cold tank. Opening the taps on the “hot” setting after filling the cold tank will draw water into the hot tank priming it. We travelled many times without realising this until the engineers at Travelworld put us right. Since adopting their procedure we have had no problems.
Capn C

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The good thing about this forum is that you can learn from others experience and the then experiment to see what works for your setup. I can’t comment on what works for others but I know that after setup and filling the cold tank we always run the hot tap only to fill up the hot water boiler before we operate the cold tap (in line with Steamdrivenandys post). It has worked for us for the last 50 plus pitchups. When we previously ran the cold tap first we had problems subsequently trying to fill the boiler.

“In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not” - Albert Einstein.