The short answer: use a hose made for drinking water to fill your caravan's tank or connect to mains water, not a garden hose. A drinking-water hose has an inner core that does not add a plastic taste, smell or toxins to the water. Pack 10 or 20 metres of drinking-water hose, a tap connector, a fitting to suit your van's water inlet, and an in-line filter for gritty supplies.
This guide covers which hose to use, how to work out what fitting your caravan's inlet needs, how to connect at the campsite step by step, and what to pack so you have clean water at every stop.
Caravan water at a glance
- Hose: a drinking-water hose, kept only for the tank. Hoselink's Drinking Water Hose is made in Australia, BPA and lead free, and comes in 10m ($44.90) and 20m ($87.90).
- Length: 10m for most caravan park sites, 20m for free camps, shared taps and farm stays.
- Tap end: a Universal Tap Connector screws onto any size Australian tap.
- Van end: depends on your inlet thread. Check the caravan compatibility guide.
- Dirty supplies: an In-line Water Filter at the tap catches grit. It does not make untreated water safe to drink.
- Washing: a second, separate hose for the van, boat and boots.
Can you use a garden hose to fill a caravan water tank?
It is better not to. A garden hose is made to water plants, and many are not made for water you will drink, cook with or brush your teeth in. Water that sits in a hose on a hot day can pick up a plastic taste and smell, and Australian summers make that worse. A caravan's fresh-water tank holds what you drink for days at a time, so the hose that fills it should be one made for drinking water.
That is why most caravanners carry two hoses:
- A drinking-water hose that only ever touches the tap and the tank inlet.
- A washing hose for the van, the car, the boat and muddy boots.
Keep them apart, ideally in different colours, so nobody grabs the wrong one. Washing hoses get dropped in dirt, sit in puddles and carry detergent from the soap mixer, none of which you want in your tank.
What makes a hose drinking-water safe?
A drinking-water hose uses an inner core material chosen so it does not pass taste, smell or chemicals into the water. Hoselink's Drinking Water Hose is:
- Made in Australia, with a high-quality inner core engineered to impart no plastic taste, smell or toxins.
- BPA and lead free, like all Hoselink garden hoses.
- Kink resistant, with a kink-resistance rating of 8, so it does not fold shut when it is laid across a campsite.
- Standard 12mm, so it takes Hoselink's no-burst hose fittings.
The hose is also handy for filling rainwater tanks and boats, and for organic gardeners who want to keep plastic taste out of the veggie patch.
Note: fittings are not included with the hose. You need a Hose End Connector on each end (two in total), which clamp onto the hose and are guaranteed never to burst off. If you already use Hoselink fittings at home, your existing tap connectors will fit.
How long a hose do you need for a caravan?
A 10m hose covers most powered sites in caravan parks, where the tap sits beside the slab. A 20m hose covers free camps with a shared tap, showgrounds, farm stays and long driveways at friends' places.
| Where you stay | Hose length |
|---|---|
| Powered sites in caravan parks | 10m |
| Showgrounds and bush camps with a shared tap | 20m |
| Farm stays, driveways, station stays | 20m |
| Not sure yet | 20m |
If you are not sure, take the 20m. A hose that is a metre too short means re-parking the van.
What fitting does a caravan water inlet need?
Caravan water inlets are not all the same. Find the inlet on your van and check two things: whether the thread is on the inside (female) or outside (male), and whether it is an Australian BSP thread or a US NPT thread. Your caravan manufacturer or the van's manual can confirm the thread type.
| If your caravan inlet has | You need |
|---|---|
| A female thread (internal thread) | Accessory Connector |
| A male thread (external thread) | Universal Tap Connector |
| A US female thread (US internal thread) | US Thread Caravan Connector |
| A moulded-in click-on fitting you can't unscrew | Click-on Adapter |
| A plain gravity-fill spout | No inlet fitting. Rest the hose end in the spout while you fill. |
The US Thread Caravan Connector has a US male thread that screws directly into the US female-thread water inlet found on some caravans. It only suits vans with a female US-thread inlet, so check yours first. Once fitted, your hose connects to it with a quick point and twist.
The Click-on Adapter is not Hoselink designed, so it is not covered by the no-burst guarantee. Every other fitting in the table is.
Still unsure? The caravan compatibility guide walks through each inlet type, or call the Hoselink team on 1300 900 617.
How to connect your caravan to a campsite tap, step by step
- Run the tap for a few seconds before you connect anything, to clear any grit or stale water in the tap.
- Screw the tap connector onto the tap. Fit the In-line Water Filter first if the supply looks dirty or comes from a bore.
- Flush the drinking-water hose. Click the hose on at the tap and run water through it for a few seconds to clear anything that settled while it was stored.
- Connect the hose to the van's inlet with a point and twist, or rest it in the gravity-fill spout.
- Turn the tap on slowly and check both ends for leaks.
- Turn the tap off when the tank is full, or when you disconnect if you are on mains water. Don't leave a pressurised hose unattended while you are away from the site.
Filling the tank or connecting to mains: what's the difference?
Most caravans can take water two ways:
- Filling the tank: you fill the fresh-water tank, disconnect, and your 12-volt pump supplies the taps inside. This works anywhere with a tap, and you take your water with you when you leave.
- Connecting to mains (sometimes called city water): the hose stays connected, and the site's water pressure feeds the van's taps directly. This saves your pump and tank, and suits longer stays at powered sites.
Check your van's manual to see which inlet does which job, because some vans have a separate inlet for each.
Do you need a pressure limiting valve for a caravan?
If you connect directly to mains, consider one. Water pressure at campsite taps varies, and some sites run higher pressure than caravan plumbing is built for. A pressure limiting valve fitted at the tap keeps the pressure reaching your van within a safe range. Check your van's manual for its maximum inlet pressure. If you only fill the tank and then disconnect, the pump sets the pressure inside the van and a valve matters less.
What about grit, sediment and bore water?
Country taps and bore supplies can carry sand, grit and sediment. An In-line Water Filter attaches directly to the tap, and your hose fitting clicks on underneath. Water passes through a mesh section that captures the larger particles before they reach your hose, your tank and your pump. The filter comes with a size reducer to fit either standard Australian tap size, and the mesh lifts out for rinsing.
Important: a sediment filter improves clarity. It does not treat water or make untreated water safe to drink. Follow local signage and advice on water quality, and treat or boil bore and tank water you are unsure of.
Sharing a single tap?
At free camps and showgrounds one tap often serves several sites, and you may want to run the drinking-water hose and the washing hose at once. An Easy Turn 2-Way Tap Adapter screws onto the tap and gives you two outlets, each with its own on/off lever. It includes a size reducer so it fits any standard Australian tap. Fit a Hoselink tap connector to each outlet and switch hoses with a point and twist.
How to store and clean a drinking-water hose
- Drain it fully after every use. Standing water is where taste and smell problems start.
- Cap or join the ends so dust, insects and spiders stay out.
- Coil it loosely and store it in its own tub or bag, away from the sullage hose and the washing hose.
- Keep it out of direct sun when you can. Heat speeds up taste problems in any hose.
- Flush it for a few seconds before you fill the tank at each new site.
Caravan water checklist: what to pack
- Drinking-water hose (10m or 20m)
- Two Hose End Connectors for the drinking-water hose
- Universal Tap Connector
- Caravan inlet connector to suit your van
- In-line Water Filter for gritty supplies
- 2-way tap adapter for shared taps
- Pressure limiting valve if you connect to mains
- A second hose for washing, kept separate
- A compact hose reel to keep the washing hose tidy in the boot
Caravan water kit: products and prices
| Item | What it does | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Drinking Water Hose 10m | Fills the tank at most caravan park sites | $44.90 |
| Drinking Water Hose 20m | Free camps, shared taps and long runs | $87.90 |
| Hose End Connector | Fits each end of the hose (you need two) | $7.20 each |
| Universal Tap Connector | Screws onto any size Australian tap | $7.20 |
| US Thread Caravan Connector | Screws into a US female-thread inlet | $7.20 |
| Accessory Connector | Screws into a female-thread inlet | $7.20 |
| In-line Water Filter | Catches grit and sediment at the tap | $29.50 |
| Easy Turn 2-Way Tap Adapter | Runs two hoses from one tap | $20.90 |
| 10m Compact Portable Hose Reel | Stores the washing hose in the van | $79.90 |
Prices correct at the time of writing. See the full caravan and camping range for more.
Ready to set up your van? Browse the caravan and camping range, or check the caravan compatibility guide to find the right inlet fitting.
