Upgrading – New leisure batteries and submersible water pump

When I bought the motorhome it came with a single 75Ah leisure battery which is very limiting when you do as much wild camping as I do. Whilst I’ve upgraded some of the interior lights to LED, the ones above the dinette which are the ones I use the most are still halogen. Using these along with the laptop means I sometimes have to run the engine if I wild camp in one location for a few nights.

The location of the leisure battery was in a recess to the right of the driver’s seat. As all the wiring was already there I decided I wanted the new leisure batteries to stay there and based on the limited space available this meant installing two 80Ah low top batteries. I’m not a heavy user of electricity so I’ll be interested to see what difference this makes before deciding on whether to also fit a solar panel.

The other recent upgrade made was to change my submersible water pump. I’ve never been happy with the water pressure since I’ve owned the Hymer, especially from the shower. It’s not been a major issue since I use campsite showers or the shower at work but when touring Europe I will not always have access to a shower so it needed fixing.

I discovered my current pump, a Comet VIP plus, was not an original Hymer fit. The specification seemed good, 20 litres per minute and a bar rating of 1.1. After looking on the internet and getting some advice from other motorhomers on forums I decided to purchase a Reich twin submersible which has a rate of 19 litres per minute and a bar of 1.4. To install the pump I needed to buy a crimper and some spade connectors from Halfords and within 15 minutes the job was done. When I arrived at a campsite I filled up with fresh water, bled the system and was delighted to find a much improved shower pressure.

There are still a few things I need to do to make the motorhome perfect for touring but I feel like I’m getting close.