Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

sorry in advance if this is a question asked often but search did not find what i was looking for.

we added a rack to top of our cargo trailer (vinyl coated steel pipe) and want to add 2 pvc pipes for water storage to top of it. I've seen them on posts with mounting on the side but curious on a few things from those that have done\researched\mulled this over already. I've done the weight calcs and appears we can do two 6" pipes prob about 10' long and should be about 240lbs. We will prob reduce this down from 6" to 4" for weight reasons. any words of wisdom on why some mounted to side? what about pressurization? (we plan to use a mini air compressor via schrader valve). any sites that you have come across for layout that were helpful? we are in Colorado and wondering how hot black pvc actually gets vs white if anyone has done this at higher elevations?

Better IMO for anything heavy to be as low as possible.

Center of gravity

X2.

But if you wanted hot water, not holding tank. Just mount black PVC and pump water up to heat by the sun. Then you'd have hot water.


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trying to convince hubs to keep it low - no fun trying to fix at campsite and no access to ladder. def dont want to tote one either and I want to be able to access it for filling\easy access. thought is to use gravity to help with flow if not able to pressurize and full access to sun for warming. not sure how hot black pvc will get but thinking we may go one white pvc and one black and hook up together somehow to balance out for showers? we may be overthinking it - just know that nights are cool at night in CO so heating process will start over next day and heard black pvc can be too hot.

Is your tow vehicle a truck with roof racks? If so, would not the added weight be better on the truck? On the CT, the center of gravity is higher with that weight all the way up on top. While probably not a deal breaker, I,would think for overall road worthiness, it would be better if it was lower. No facts to base this on, just IMHO.

meltonfam, Howdy;

meltonfam wrote:sorry in advance if this is a question asked often but search did not find what i was looking for.

we added a rack to top of our cargo trailer (vinyl coated steel pipe) and want to add 2 pvc pipes for water storage to top of it. I've seen them on posts with mounting on the side but curious on a few things from those that have done\researched\mulled this over already. I've done the weight calcs and appears we can do two 6" pipes prob about 10' long and should be about 240lbs. We will prob reduce this down from 6" to 4" for weight reasons. any words of wisdom on why some mounted to side? what about pressurization? (we plan to use a mini air compressor via schrader valve). any sites that you have come across for layout that were helpful? we are in Colorado and wondering how hot black pvc actually gets vs white if anyone has done this at higher elevations?

Here's a page with a calculator for figuring out the volume. For figuring the weight water is 8.3Lbs/gal, sooooo
your 14.694 gal. X2 = 29.384 gal X 8.3 = 243.8872 call it 244 lbs. plus the weight of the pipe and fittings lookin' at 250 + lbs
For a 4" pipe same length it would be 6.531 gal X2 = 13.062gal. X 8.3 = 108.4146#s or 108.5 rounded up and 113.?? with fittings.
attached to some smallish rafters and 0.030" metal roofing material. Ok, it will be spread out over the length of 10'
folks have attached more to less and gotten away with it for years. 13 gal of hot water won't last to awful long during a
sweaty weekend even if it does get cool at night.You could also use a dark colored 30 or 55 gal. drum with an elect pump
for the same thing and just leave it in the truck's bed. You have a pick-up don't ya???
http://www.rhomarwater.com/calculators/ ... calculator
Not trying to say what you should do, far from that ... just trying to give you some information and a possible alternative.

hank

Since I ran out of water (once) after 2 nights 3 days (25) gallon tank. I'm thinking of a 15 gallon portable sprayer it the back of my PU. They have a pump already and hose. And under 100$ for 15 gallon.


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meltonfam wrote: we are in Colorado and wondering how hot black pvc actually gets vs white if anyone has done this at higher elevations?

I'm in Montana and have experimented with solar for swimming pool. It is amazingly effective. I used 1"id black poly coiled and laid flat on roof, about 5' diam coil. If you just wanted a few gals. of HOT water, Navy shower etc. This could work but timing is everything. Do you want hot water at 1:00pm-6:pm ? If you can recirculate and store say 5-10 gal with timer/pump, may work for a.m./evening showers. Coils worked best when in a frame, black backing and plexiglass cover.
Good Luck,

McDave

PS. Elevation is not a concern and may work to advantage. Less atmosphere = More UV It's all about exposure. Angle, hrs etc.

What is the water for? Showers? Drinking? Just general use water? Is the goal to get hot water or do you want the water not to get hot or warm?

Is your CT just for paved roads to campgrounds, or is going off-road to Remote dispersed camping sites? If just paved roads and campgrounds go ahead and put them up top knowing it's not the best spot. And if you are in a campground how much water do you need to bring. If going off-road you don't want that weight up there.
I wouldn't mess with the air compressor unless you already carry a good one. If it's just a small compressor it will work fine when the two pipes are full of water but as you start to use water you need more air volume to get the same water pressure. For $25-100 you can get a good 12v water pump, much easier than messing with compressed air.

The sun will warm the water in the mountains no problem, black pipe will help. As you know at elevation even in summer the nights can get in the 30's. that will suck any heat gain you had during the day, and you will be starting the next day with cold water. If you need hot water you can get a tankless propane water heater for $125. Then you can have hot water when you need it. Have a look on Amazon.

I am in the planning stages for an off road teardrop. I am trying to figure how much water storage we need. Being that we live in the desert I'm think 25 gallons plus. But we just took a week trip to Death Valley and every day as we were out I was looking for places to fill our trailer to be with water and it was no problem finding it, campgrounds, gas stations, ranger stations, some rest areas. We never camp in the same place more than two nights so we can alway top up the tank.

One last thing big sizes of pvc pipe is not made for potable water and can give it a funny taste. Fine for bathing and washing dishes, maybe not for drinking and cooking.

Good luck
Todd


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thanks for all the replies. a lot of things to consider that we missed

have Nissan Frontier truck to haul
rack was mounted on top of 6x12 6ft tall trailer to haul canoe.
thanks for calc links. similar to what I used but did forget to add weight for actual pvc and items.
reason for water is to carry water in general - showers\dishes\general use (do carry a brita water pitcher so will test the taste)
not necessary to have heated but prefer it to be for showers.
not planning to off road with it.
wanted on top to take advantage of sun for heating\retention and general 'out of the way'
taking portable compressor\power station but can see that being a pain to get put up there at campsite. I have seen the 12v pumps and think we may go that route instead.

we hadn't considered it being top heavy as it currently hauls 6-800 lb atv and trailer is 1200lb but atv will not always be with us so will be a concern. keeping lower does make sense just not able to locate info on how to mount on sides? have seen a post about it but cannot locate again. seems like a bracket was welded to the side just not sure where\how on a CT.

meltonfam, Howdy;

I tried looking at your build pix, ya did a great job there, but couldn't see enough to
tell if your ribs are hat _/\_ shape or some thing else. Reason is if hat shaped then you
could bolt some small square stock inside it with bolts (acting as a reinforcement), that
hold some E-track to the exterior that you could then hang a variety of things from,
including your water tubes. Just a stray thought I caught while it was low crawlin' on
through here tryin' to be sneaky.

hank

I guess I misunderstood the solar question. If you just want a fresh tank and pump, solar heating aside, I would try to put under floor. Lower center of gravity, weight concerns, PITA factor etc. It's like choosing where to locate your laundry equipment. Many folks want it upstairs with bedrooms/bath. It only takes a short time to regret that. Keep all that failure prone, HEAVY equipment in the basement, where it belongs. Wanna guess where all the water leaked is going anyway? No reason to take out the 2nd and main floors when the damage could be contained with concrete and a floor drain/sump.
Now, if you want to try to harness some solar for H2o heating, that is a separate issue.

McDave

I assumed it because of the "full access to sun...black PVC/ white -
So I added to the confusion.



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