5x10 Shorty Build

[hankaye]

Tx River Rat, Howdy;

Black and grey water tanks and there pipeing seem to be ok on the underside of the rvs ,I think you would be fine mounting plastic pipe underneath for water storage.
Ron

The RV tanks have some 'flex' built into them PVC pipe doesn't and is prone to shatter when struck with a sharp or any object with
some force behind it. Especially when the temps. drop, below the 50*F mark.
Just something to think about and consider is all I'm saying.

hank

[Tx River Rat]

Hank
It all depends on the pipe you use ,some of it is tough. RV tanks want take a sharp object hitting them (dont ask me how I know) and the drain lines sure want.
If you go to a hevier plastic pipe you can run over it with a truck and not hurt it. We make arrow cases out of it and ran over one with a full size truck just to see what it would hold up to. just scratched it up a little.
Ron

[hankaye]

Tx River Rat, Howdy;

Instead of a soft wide surface, shoot some PVC with a rock from a slingshot... whole
different critter. When it's warm you might not bust it but when it's cold ...
Just something to think about.

hank

[roadinspector]

I was going to consider mounting a water tank like this under the floor with some sort of protective shield around it. Putting this slightly in front of the axle might help manage the tongue weight but it certainly would free up space under the cabinets. I was thinking of cutting away a section of the plywood floor and adding a pre-built metal frame such I have seen in thus forum for batteries. Anyway, that is a decision to be made once the CT is here.


In fact I will analyse putting a spare or maybe the batteries in this same way....it all depends on the impact to structural strength and weight distribution.

Something to consider is do you need to haul water from home or can you fill your tank when you get there? If there is a place to fill up when you get there or close to it, there is really no need to haul water from home unless you want to. One location we go to does have water in the campground but not at sites. I pull up by it when we get there and fill up before we set up camp. If we need more, I have a 5 gal can I can haul with. Then I drain it before we leave. If you can do this, weight distribution is not a factor and you can put the tank where ever you want to. It is highly recommended to haul with dry tanks or have baffles in the tanks that will stop any sloshing around. Talk about a weight distribution problem!!

Earnest

[hankaye]

roadinspector, Howdy;

The small amount of water that will slosh around isn't really significant...
however 1,000 gallons of askerl PCB oil that weights in at about 26#'s per gal.
sloshing around in a smoothbore tanker going from the East coast to Al. over the mountains
... now that's a significant slosh

hank

[MtnDon]

For our CT I plan on a water tank inside and under the bed. We camp dry as a rule, so I'd rather transport some so I don't have to look along the way. Of course I also have this habit of never wanting to take a trip anywhere without a minimum of 5 or 6 gallons for the two of us. Years in the desert have convinced me of that wisdom. YMMV in other climates. Yes, I end up hauling water home too.

[Prem]

MtnDon,

Only 5 gallons of water for a dry camping trip? Do you take bottled water for drinking?

[Rainier70]

I usually carry 10 gallons unless I know I am going to be passing a couple of places that I can fill up. Sometimes one place's pump may be broken. (5 gallons in one carrier and 5- 1gal jugs)

Even when I know I can fill up, I keep the 1 gallon jugs full. They are my primary drinking water. Other places water can be pretty nasty tasting. The 5 gallon jug is mostly my wash up water. I usually camp near water and in a pinch I could refill it from a stream ---filtering and sanitizing first.

[Prem]

Rainier,

What do you use to "filter and sanitize" the water?

[MtnDon]

MtnDon,

Only 5 gallons of water for a dry camping trip? Do you take bottled water for drinking?

I wasn't very clear on that. My main point was that we dry camp most of the time. There are exceptions, like the campground in Silverton where we stayed one night, mostly because it included shower access. Then several days later we stayed again in a campground in Ouray; again for the shower. In between it was in the boonies selecting from a number of places in out of the way places where we have stayed before.

The 5 gallons mentioned was as a minimum. No matter where we go and for how long, I have 5 gallons of water along. Setting off for a week or more we start with 10 gallons of personal use. We carry some filtered home water for drinking in 2 -2.5 gallon jugs and maybe a few smaller ones, depending on where and when. For the first week or so we eat meals that are prepared and frozen ahead of time at home. At most they require warming in a pan or a single pot. So dinner cleanup is minimal. After the first week we shift to meals that include a lot of raw foods or grilled foods. Again not much cleanup. I enjoy good food but when camping I prefer simplicity. I do refuse to eat meals from cans though if at all possible.

We have a small sediment filter and a small UV light purifier for emergency use but haven't used either in years. Don't even recall the brands off hand.

[mikesova]

Nice build. Any updates?

[Glowworm]

just found your postings do you have pictures of your final build I am having trouble following the posts I want to have a back wall that I can lower move. I also wonder did you put in a air conditioner in the back wall

thanks