Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Truck Campers: Bringing extra fresh water.

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Topic: Bringing extra fresh water.

Posted By: specta on 11/14/19 07:41am

I bought an inexpensive submersible pump, attached a piece of PVC and about 25 ft of hose to the PVC.

I have two of these 15 gallon barrels and carry them on my ATV trailer.

I bought this $10 12v battery off eBay to run the pump.

Fresh water transfer pump.

If I take both barrels with me plus what the FW tank holds it gives me 70 gallons of fresh water.

Kenny
1996 Jayco 376FB Eagle Series TT
1997 Jayco 246FB Eagle Series TT
1976 Ford F-250 4wd Mercury Marauder 410 - 4V
Regular cabs. The best looking trucks.

Posted By: specta on 11/14/19 08:23am

Kayteg1 wrote:

Looks like potential for lot of contamination.
Those batteries cost $15 new at Walmart. Free delivery.

March 2006

I've been doing this for years.
I guess if you're sloppy or an idiot there would be a risk for contamination.

Posted By: jimh406 on 11/14/19 08:39am

What do you do with the extra water or is your freshwatr tank small? I’m lucky. My tank is 60 gallons.

'10 Ford F-450, 6.4, 4.30, 4x4, 14,500 GVWR, '06 Host Rainer 950 DS, Torklift Talon tiedowns, Glow Steps, and Fastguns. Bilstein 4600s, Firestone Bags, Toyo M655 Gs, Curt front hitch, Energy Suspension bump stops.

NRA Life Member, CCA Life Member

Posted By: jaycocreek on 11/14/19 08:57am

I have several of these 25 and 50 gallon barrels I use for extra water with whatever RV I have at the time and extended stays..I use one at home also for that, oops the water went out moment..

I always do a bleach rinse before filling for use..

[image]

Lance 9.6
400 watts solar mounted/200 watts portable
500ah Lifep04

Posted By: specta on 11/14/19 08:58am

jimh425 wrote:

What do you do with the extra water or is your freshwatr tank small? I’m lucky. My tank is 60 gallons.

My FW tank is 40 gallons. That lasts me a few days, maybe 4 days at the most.

Posted By: specta on 11/14/19 09:05am

jaycocreek wrote:

I went with the two 15s because they fit in the bed of my older truck with my ATV in the bed too.

My old TT had a 40 gallon FW tank and my EX went thru water like we had an endless supply of it. She never did understand "conserve".

But I fixed that problem. [emoticon]

I bleach mine in the spring and don't store them in the sun.

Posted By: Jayco-noslide on 11/14/19 09:11am

Some RVs wouldn't handle that extra 600 lbs. very well.

Jayco-noslide

Posted By: jaycocreek on 11/14/19 09:20am

Quote:

When I got these the local Primeland co-op had a few of them they had put nozzles on the bottom to sell..They didn't sell well so they made me an offer for all of them I couldn't refuse..

At the time I had a 30ft TT we spent months in at a time and putting 100 gallons in the pickup was not a big thing..I also have the two 25 gallon bottles I used,plummed into the front propane setup of the TT..

Now with a truck camper,I am always on the move never staying long anywhere so the water barrels hardly get used other than hunting season..One reason I went back to another truck camper was to drive and explore wherever I want without worry of turning around with a TT on a dead end road...

We use backcountry water filters(Sawyer) for fresh drinking water and coffee if we run low in the TC..

Posted By: discovery4us on 11/14/19 09:21am

Great way of getting extra water. I like the 15 gal. size as you can still move them when full.

I have a 55 gal. barrel that we use on long boondocking trips and a standard RV shurflo pump. The pump gets carried as a backup for the RV and also to pump out of the barrel.

Posted By: Bedlam on 11/14/19 10:03am

I have two RV 42 gallon fresh water tanks in my my enclosed trailer and a transfer pump so I can wash off my toys and refill the the RV. With this type of camping, we use the exterior shower and a shower tent which keeps the gray tank level under control. My trailer also carries a 30 gallon waste tote if either RV waste tank starts to get full.

Chevy Sonic 1.8-Honda Passport C70B-Host Mammoth 11.5-Interstate Car Carrier 20-Joyner SandViper 250-Kawasaki Concours ZG1000-Paros 8' flatbed-Pelican Decker DLX 8.75-Ram 5500 HD

Posted By: Grit dog on 11/14/19 10:16am

Another idea, because I have them laying around, is ballast bags for the boat (water bladders) and the ballast pump.
For extended trips into the woods I can put a 40 gal fat sack on the floor in the back seat of the truck. Or a run to civilization without the camper can bring back 80 gal, either in the truck bed or the back seat floor with both bags.
Advantage is the bag(s) and pumps are easily stowable under the seat or in a cabinet when not in use.

2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

Posted By: Kayteg1 on 11/14/19 11:47am

There are also Plastimo bladder tanks who are rated for drinking water.
Lot of options depends what fits your needs.

Posted By: jaycocreek on 11/14/19 12:20pm

Kayteg1 wrote:

There are also Plastimo bladder tanks who are rated for drinking water.
Lot of options depends what fits your needs.

Years ago we bought one of those 40 gallon water bladders from Camping world..Goes on your roof type of deal..Works okay but a pre-bleach rinse is necessary unless you like a rubber taste..Folds up and stores nicely..

Looks like a water bed full of water..

Posted By: towpro on 11/14/19 03:17pm

Tractor Supply 35 gallon water tank with standard hose bib fitting.
fits on the rack I carry on back of my Toad.

1/10th 120V AC harbor freight water pump

Than I use what ever generator I brought with me to run the pump. since filling water is a daytime activity why waist battery power on it, fire up the generator.

I would put water tank inside back of my Jeep liberty toad, and blue tank on the rear carrier. Carry sewer to station, and come back with fresh water (did not fill fresh water from sewer station)

2022 Ford F150
Sold: 2016 Arctic Fox 990, 2018 Ram 3500, 2011 Open Range
Sold Forest River Forester 2401R Mercedes Benz. when campsites went from $90 to $190 per night.

Posted By: mountainkowboy on 11/14/19 03:48pm

The 'ol S&S carries 30 gallons, and we've figured out how to go 7-8 days on that if we bring drinking water also. I will outfit the enclosed trailer that I get for the Harley with an under floor fresh and grey tank, along with the giant solar array that will be on the roof and able to plug into the TC that we end up with in retirement.

Chuck & Ruth with 4-legged Molly
2007 Tiffin Allegro 30DA
2011 Ford Ranger
1987 HD FLHTP

Posted By: JimK-NY on 11/14/19 04:11pm

I you are going to tow a trailer then toting extra water might make sense. Personally I have learned how to camp and use minimal water. My typical camping trip involves hiking often in the heat. I take a daily hot shower. I manage that with about 1 gallon of water: wet down, soap up, rinse off. I use 2 more gallons a day for drinking, cooking and dish washing. I could probably cut back a tad with disposable plates and plastic ware but I rarely bother. Three gallons a day will get me about 10 days of camping. If my wife is along, we use another 2 gallons a day bringing the 30 gallon tank down to 5-6 days of camping.

Posted By: Lwiddis on 11/14/19 05:36pm

Possibly not environmentally favorable and taking time to refill, why not use one gallon store bought jugs to refill the freshwater tank as needed when other safe sources aren’t available at a buck a gallon?

Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad

Posted By: Bedlam on 11/14/19 06:22pm

towpro wrote:

I use an older version of this 12v pump https://www.harborfreight.com/12v-dc-transfer-pump-63324.html

It has sufficient pressure to run a hose nozzle and wash off my toys or sufficient volume to transfer water to the truck camper. It is better than a RV pump for our use but does not have a pressure switch.

I plan for 5 gallons per person per day which allows us cross the US without stopping at a campground with our current 65 gallon fresh tank. We were spoiled with our 150 gallon fresh water capacity toy hauler, so we adapted equipment rather than our camping.

Posted By: specta on 11/14/19 06:37pm

Jayco-noslide wrote:

Some RVs wouldn't handle that extra 600 lbs. very well.

600 lbs??

30 gallons X 8.34 = 250 lbs.

Not sure where the 600 lbs comes from unless you're including the 40 gallons in the camper FW tank.

I always leave home with a full FW tank.

Posted By: specta on 11/14/19 06:44pm

discovery4us wrote:

I like the idea of carrying an extra water pump.

This is how I did it in my vintage TT.

Posted By: frankgibbons1947 on 11/23/19 09:47pm

That's a great gear you've got there. It's good to have a way with you to carry extra water on the go.

Posted By: specta on 11/24/19 06:25am

frankgibbons1947 wrote:

That's a great gear you've got there. It's good to have a way with you to carry extra water on the go.

Thanks. I haven't needed it yet but hope to soon.

Posted By: mi.drew on 11/24/19 06:36am

If you are worried about contamination, add one capful of bleach to each 20 gallons of water. Not enough to affect the taste, but enough to kill bacteria.

Posted By: lc0338 on 11/24/19 07:23am

I just carry empty tubs that have lids. They stack inside each other and don't take up as much room as a regular water barrel. I put inside them large trash bags and after filling with water I tie a knot in the top so water doesn't splash out. I have a spare 12 volt water pump that I use to transfer the water into my fresh water tank. The spare tubs can be used for other purposes while camping. Also have a 30 gal water bladder but have not used it yet. I use bottle water for drinking and cooking while camping.

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