Tragedy at a tidy German stellplatz this morning, where a man, 52, was soaked for the fourth time this season while attempting a routine fresh-water fill. Witnesses report the hose "fought back". His wife has issued a statement: "Every. Single. Trip."
The scene was familiar to everyone present. Feet apart, hose at arm's length, confidence unearned. One hand wrestling the hose, one steadying the cap — and the moment the water turned on, it went the way it always goes: a splash off the rim, a dribble down the bodywork, that cold splat across the shoes. The stellplatz pretended not to look. The stellplatz looked.
Here's the unfunny part — every motorhomer has been this man. The fill cap sits at an awkward angle, the hose has opinions, and your shoes take the hit. In front of the whole stellplatz, every time. It's a small thing. It's also every single refill.
And the obvious fixes don't fix it. The €5 floppy funnel off a marketplace sags off the inlet under the weight of the water, leaks down the van wall, and gives up after about three fills. Pouring slower just prolongs the ceremony. Doing nothing is how our man ended up on the front page.
The fix he eventually foundA €20,99 Romanian part that ends the splashing
It's a rigid PETG funnel — EU-made, in Romania — sized to clip onto the standard 78mm fresh-water inlet. It locks on, you pour one-handed from your canister or hose, and the water finally goes where water was always supposed to go: into the tank. Not over your shoes, not down the bodywork. About 30 seconds, no tools, no drilling, and it comes off just as fast. Palm-sized, so it lives in the door pocket between fills.
Straight talk, because this is still technically a newspaper: it guides the bulk of the water straight in — dramatically less mess, not a sealed pipe. Your shoes stay dry. Your audience disperses, disappointed.
