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Service Areas/Aires in Ireland

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  • 18-03-2021 1:17pm
    #1
    Potis 2020
    Registered Users Posts: 27 ✭


    I hope you fine folks could advise/assist!

    We are due to pick up our newly purchased campervan on the 1st April and are very excited at the prospect of heading away for a night or two wild camping if restrictions ease to County travel after Easter. We have never owned a camper before but have hired one on three separate occasions previously (twice in Ireland and once in France).

    We are living in a fairly urban area in Dublin with a steep enough driveway so filling the freshwater tank and emptying the grey water tank could be a bit of an issue for us. I am however considering purchasing a Fiamma Roll Tank so that we can drain the grey water into it and then pour into our sewage manhole at the rear of the house). I trust this would be a safe way to dispose of grey water?

    We spent two weeks in France in 2019 in a hired camper and availed of numerus Aires De Service to fill our freshwater tank and to empty the grey, however I am finding it difficult to find similar sites in Ireland.

    Do any of you know of places in County Dublin and around Ireland in general to fill fresh water tanks and empty the grey water safely and legally? I don't want to let grey water drain anywhere i'm not supposed to!

    We plan to do a mixture of wild camping and campsites in future so the above won't be as much of an issue, just would like to know my options before embarking on our maiden voyage wild camping!

    Thanks in advance.


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    #2
    niloc1951
    Registered Users Posts: 2,037 ✭✭✭niloc1951


    Potis 2020 wrote: »
    I hope you fine folks could advise/assist!

    We are due to pick up our newly purchased campervan on the 1st April and are very excited at the prospect of heading away for a night or two wild camping if restrictions ease to County travel after Easter. We have never owned a camper before but have hired one on three separate occasions previously (twice in Ireland and once in France).

    We are living in a fairly urban area in Dublin with a steep enough driveway so filling the freshwater tank and emptying the grey water tank could be a bit of an issue for us. I am however considering purchasing a Fiamma Roll Tank so that we can drain the grey water into it and then pour into our sewage manhole at the rear of the house). I trust this would be a safe way to dispose of grey water?

    We spent two weeks in France in 2019 in a hired camper and availed of numerus Aires De Service to fill our freshwater tank and to empty the grey, however I am finding it difficult to find similar sites in Ireland.

    Do any of you know of places in County Dublin and around Ireland in general to fill fresh water tanks and empty the grey water safely and legally? I don't want to let grey water drain anywhere i'm not supposed to!

    We plan to do a mixture of wild camping and campsites in future so the above won't be as much of an issue, just would like to know my options before embarking on our maiden voyage wild camping!

    Thanks in advance.

    This is exactly qhat you need to enjoy Ireland, but download it to your phone or tablet https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.motorhomeparking.map&hl=en&gl=US


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    #3
    Potis 2020
    Registered Users Posts: 27 ✭Potis 2020


    niloc1951 wrote: »
    This is exactly qhat you need to enjoy Ireland, but download it to your phone or tablet

    Thanks Niloc1951. I already had that app downloaded but when I filter for 'Aires' the only result for County Dublin is 'Camper Park' near Dublin Airport. It appears to be closed at the moment and I can't see any mention of whether we would be able to drain greywater there. Perhaps i'm missing something!


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    #4
    spaceHopper
    Registered Users Posts: 3,970 ✭✭✭spaceHopper


    Buy a longer hose and park the camper on the flat to fill. Even so it doesn't overflow if you drive up a steep hill so you may be overthinking it. As regards the grey water, buy a large bucket that still fits under the camper and empty it that way.


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    #5
    Potis 2020
    Registered Users Posts: 27 ✭Potis 2020


    spaceHopper wrote: »
    Buy a longer hose and park the camper on the flat to fill. Even so it doesn't overflow if you drive up a steep hill so you may be overthinking it. As regards the grey water, buy a large bucket that still fits under the camper and empty it that way.

    A longer hose might be a good idea alright. It's not so much that I was afraid of overfilling the fresh water, more that I was afraid i'd underfill it as the water would sit at one end of the tank and might register as full.


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    #6
    thos
    Registered Users Posts: 574 ✭✭✭thos


    Related question, I assume garages with water are fair game for a refill? On the basis that it's not drinking water but fine for boiling and washing?


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    #7
    sumo12
    Registered Users Posts: 584 ✭✭✭sumo12


    Potis 2020 wrote: »
    Thanks Niloc1951. I already had that app downloaded but when I filter for 'Aires' the only result for County Dublin is 'Camper Park' near Dublin Airport. It appears to be closed at the moment and I can't see any mention of whether we would be able to drain greywater there. Perhaps i'm missing something!

    I don't think the search for Aires or similar will yield anything. The app is brilliant, pay the fiver or whatever it is for the full access. Search where you want to go and click into the comments on each place - people will tell you whether there is water/grey waste etc and whether there is a charge etc.


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    #8
    niloc1951
    Registered Users Posts: 2,037 ✭✭✭niloc1951


    Potis 2020 wrote: »
    Thanks Niloc1951. I already had that app downloaded but when I filter for 'Aires' the only result for County Dublin is 'Camper Park' near Dublin Airport. It appears to be closed at the moment and I can't see any mention of whether we would be able to drain greywater there. Perhaps i'm missing something!

    There are currently 60 'Aires' listed in the App. In the App 'Aires' will give you public and private official European style stopovers, usually with services and a charge which generally is about €10 per 24 hours, but some are free if you spend in the providers business. As in Europe, they will be of different standards so checking the user reviews is important before you go.

    The 'Parking' POI's are places where parking is tolerated but not officially provided and most likely will not have any services.

    In the absence of an official greywater drain, it is best to discretely use a roadside stormwater drain or one in a general parking area. It is not recommended to just let the greywater run into the ditch or along the road, in fact doing so could get you prosecuted under the Litter Pollution Act of 1977.

    For the toilet cassette, again if there is no official place to empty it it is best to discretely empty it a convenient public toilet, just don't leave any sign of your activity after you. NEVER empty it anywhere else.

    For freshwater, if there is none provided where you park up consider asking a garage to help when buying a few goodies or fuel.


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    #9
    Del2005
    Registered Users Posts: 18,907 ✭✭✭✭Del2005


    thos wrote: »
    Related question, I assume garages with water are fair game for a refill? On the basis that it's not drinking water but fine for boiling and washing?

    Water cost businesses money so I'd be asking before using their water. But most water available to the public in garages would take ages to fill a camper, it's for filling a few litres into the windscreen washer tank not filling a camper water tank.


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    #10
    niloc1951
    Registered Users Posts: 2,037 ✭✭✭niloc1951


    Del2005 wrote: »
    Water cost businesses money so I'd be asking before using their water. But most water available to the public in garages would take ages to fill a camper, it's for filling a few litres into the windscreen washer tank not filling a camper water tank.

    Ask when making a purchase, most will oblige and there is usually a tap connected to the mains which will fill a motorhome 100-litre tank in a few minutes.
    It's a good idea to carry a long hose THESE are convenient, light and tidy.


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    #11
    CJhaughey
    Registered Users Posts: 14,906 ✭✭✭✭CJhaughey


    You don't need to run around the country with 100 litres of water, how much does washing use? I carry a 8l watering can and fill it as needed with 20-30 litres any more than that is just extra weight and not needed.
    Grey water is then minimal to drain as well.


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    #12
    killalanerr
    Registered Users Posts: 1,322 ✭✭✭killalanerr


    CJhaughey wrote: »
    You don't need to run around the country with 100 litres of water, how much does washing use? I carry a 8l watering can and fill it as needed with 20-30 litres any more than that is just extra weight and not needed.
    Grey water is then minimal to drain as well.

    Couldn't agree more, you don't need every thing full to overflowing for a few days away and if your going to a camp site you don't even need that just a container for your drinking water every thing eles is on site, same with the solar fad at the moment if you mostly do sites why would you want a solar array if the first thing you do on site is plug in,


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    #13
    niloc1951
    Registered Users Posts: 2,037 ✭✭✭niloc1951


    CJhaughey wrote: »
    You don't need to run around the country with 100 litres of water, how much does washing use? I carry a 8l watering can and fill it as needed with 20-30 litres any more than that is just extra weight and not needed.
    Grey water is then minimal to drain as well.

    I always fill when water is available, 100L versus 30L represents 70kg and that's not a hill of beans in a vehicle weighing 3.5t.
    We have always used our onboard tank for all our water needs from showering to cooking to making tea. The only time we use bottled water is for direct drinking.
    Also, you never know when you will find the next place to fill up and when you will find good water.
    As the old saying goes it's better to be looking at it than looking for it


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    #14
    sumo12
    Registered Users Posts: 584 ✭✭✭sumo12


    niloc1951 wrote: »
    As the old saying goes it's better to be looking at it than looking for it

    Agree!!!


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