Water, power and waste in a campervan don't look after themselves

On the outside a campervan is a holiday. On the inside it's a tiny town council. Water comes in, power is distributed, waste is collected. When one of the three goes wrong, so does the holiday. In this post we take the three systems in turn: how much water you need, where you get power from and where the used water goes. We've added gas and carbon monoxide safety along the way, because that's where the most serious risks in a campervan lie.

Fresh water: how many litres, how many days?

How much water one person needs per day depends mostly on the shower. HYMER's help pages reckon one person uses about 42 litres a day in a motorhome, 25 of which go on showering and personal care. CMCA, the Australian motorhome club, gives 5 litres per person per day as the absolute minimum and 20 litres as a comfortable amount.

A simple calculation:

If you're staying at a campsite, showering in the facilities leaves the tank almost entirely for the kitchen. If you're staying somewhere without hook-ups, add a 10-20 litre margin to your tank volume and set the number of days accordingly.

Keep drinking water separate. The water in the tank is only as clean as the tank and hoses. In a hired vehicle you can't know when the tank was last disinfected. Carrying a large water bottle or bottled water for drinking and cooking is the easiest way. When you fill the tank, ask the campsite whether the water is drinkable.

Three small habits to save water: wash up in a bowl and use the rinse water separately, turn the tap off while you brush your teeth, and turn the shower off while you soap up. It sounds childish, but that's where the extra day in the tank comes from.

Electricity: mains, battery, solar panel and inverter

There are two separate electrical worlds in a campervan.

• The 12 V system: lights, water pump, fan, often the fridge and the USB sockets, all fed by the leisure battery. It works even without a hook-up.
• The 230 V system: sockets like the ones at home. The power comes either from the campsite's mains (external hook-up) or from the battery through an inverter.

Mains hook-up is the easiest option. The cable plugs into the campervan's external inlet, and the battery charges at the same time. The campsite's socket and your plug may not match. Ask about the socket type before you go and buy an adapter if needed. A long cable (25 metres, say) often saves the day.

A solar panel tops up the battery on days without a hook-up. What a panel produces depends on the season, shade and the angle of the panel. On long, clear summer days it does a lot, and in winter or under trees it does less. If you park in the shade on a wooded pitch, lower your expectations of the panel.

Think of battery capacity in Wh. A 12 V 100 Ah battery holds roughly 1,200 Wh of energy on paper. The usual advice is not to use more than half of a lead-acid or gel battery. Lithium (LiFePO4) batteries can be discharged more deeply. Ask what type of battery your vehicle has at the handover.

An inverter converts the battery's 12 V to 230 V, but it loses energy doing so. The rule is simple: appliances that make heat (kettles, hairdryers, electric heaters, toastie makers) drain the battery very fast. Only use them on mains hook-up. Charging phones, laptops and cameras are reasonable jobs for an inverter. Where you can, charge devices from a USB or 12 V outlet, which avoids the conversion loss.

Gas and carbon monoxide: the real risk in a campervan

The hob, the heater and some fridges run on gas. Gas isn't dangerous. Carelessness is.

• Fit a carbon monoxide detector. Portable battery-powered models are cheap and take up no space. Because the gas has no smell and no colour, it's almost impossible to notice while you're asleep. Caravan industry bodies in the UK recommend having an audible CO alarm in caravans and motorhomes.
• A gas leak detector is a separate device and doesn't replace a CO detector.
• Don't use a fuel-burning heater or a barbecue in an enclosed space. The carbon monoxide information note from Hacettepe University's Department of Public Health also says fuel-burning heaters and lamps should not be used in enclosed sleeping spaces such as tents and campervans. The campervan's own flued heater is different in this respect, but the flue must not be blocked.
• Don't block the vents. It's tempting in cold weather. Don't.
• Keep the gas off while driving, unless your vehicle manual says otherwise.

If headache, dizziness, nausea and weakness come together, especially in the morning, open the door, get outside, turn off the gas and call 112. The symptoms of CO poisoning can be mistaken for flu.

Grey water and black water: where and how?

• Grey water: water from the sink, washing-up and shower. It collects in the tank under the campervan.
• Black water: toilet waste. In most campervans it's collected in a removable cassette.

Both go only to a campsite's disposal point. The Caravan and Motorhome Club's guide says toilet waste should only be emptied at a chemical waste disposal point (also called an Elsan point). Most sites have a separate grid or channel for grey water. Emptying the toilet cassette into the grey water grid is a classic beginner's mistake. If you're not sure, ask at reception.

Why not onto the ground? Grey water looks like "just soapy water", but it contains grease, food scraps and detergent. On the ground it smells, attracts flies and can get into a nearby water source. Toilet waste is a straightforward health issue. At the time of writing we couldn't find a Turkish regulation specifically on disposing of campervan waste water. But Article 8 of Çevre Kanunu (the Environment Law, No. 2872) bans releasing any kind of waste or residue into the receiving environment (air, water, soil) in a way that harms it, and municipalities apply their own rules too. For the current text and penalties, see the legislation pages of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change and the municipality where you're going.

Greener chemicals

The fluids that go into a toilet cassette come in two groups. According to the Caravan and Motorhome Club, some blue fluids may contain formaldehyde, while green fluids are formaldehyde-free but can be a little slower at breaking down the waste in the tank. Formaldehyde-free products are better both for the disposal point's treatment system and for you. When choosing one, look for "formaldehyde free" on the label. Use biodegradable detergent for washing-up and the shower too, as it's easier on wherever the grey water ends up.

Frequently asked questions

How long does 100 litres of water last in a campervan? For two people, a few days if you shower at the campsite, about one day if you shower in the campervan every day.

Can a campervan battery run a kettle? Even if the inverter is powerful enough, it drains the battery very fast. Leave the kettle and heater for mains hook-up and boil water on the hob.

Can you pour grey water on the ground? No. Use the campsite's disposal point. Leaving waste in the environment can, at the time of writing, fall under the Environment Law's general ban on pollution.

Do you need a carbon monoxide detector in a campervan? Whether it's a legal requirement depends on the vehicle and the country, but it's a cheap safety device every campervan that uses gas should have.

If it's your first trip, have a look at our first campervan trip checklist. If you're setting off in winter, we cover condensation and heating separately in our post on winter campervan trips in the Aegean and Mediterranean. You can search for sites with disposal points on the campsite list.

Sources

• HYMER Help Centre: How long does 100 liters of water last in a motorhome
• CMCA The Wanderer: on water systems and consumption
• Caravan and Motorhome Club: Toilets for caravans
• Hacettepe University Public Health: carbon monoxide information note (2026)
• National Caravan Council: Carbon monoxide booklet
• Environment Law No. 2872 (iklim.gov.tr)

Image credits

Photos illustrate the region; they are not photos of the campsites themselves.

• Bozcaada (Geyikli karşısı): Gargarapalvin, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
• Kemer sahili: Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons