Water tank location

[Da'engineer]

Ive been gathering some last pieces of information for my standy build. And looking for some advice where is the best place to mount a water tank.

I plan on building a 9×6 foot trailer single axle. I will be utilizing a shower and sink I have estimated that i need 35-50 gallons of water at any given moment.

Any input on the best location?

[Socal Tom]

Centered Over the axle or as close as possible. Then it will have less impact on tongue weight when the level changes. 50 gallons is a lot. That's 400lbs of water. My family of 5 would camp in an RV with 40 gallons for a week. Can I ask why so much?
Tom

[Da'engineer]

I was estimating based off of my wife's length of shower standard gpms which is 2.0 times ten is 20 gallons enough for 2 days atleast is 40 then a misc amount for handwashing unless I am wrong.

[MtnDon]

Generally it is better to conserve water than to tote hundreds of pounds of extra weight. There is no real good reason to use more than a few gallons of water for a shower. IMO.

[Da'engineer]

I understand not wanting to. I was thinking that just for PCSing that I just place and strap down an external tank because we will be traveling from Alaska to where ever we are based next. We are hoping to make as few stops as possible and will be traveling through Canada

[Socal Tom]

I was estimating based off of my wife's length of shower standard gpms which is 2.0 times ten is 20 gallons enough for 2 days atleast is 40 then a misc amount for handwashing unless I am wrong.

If you take normal showers, you will be out of water pretty quick. Don't forget you also have to haul that gray water out too, so you would need to put 100 gallons worth of tank under your rig.
"Navy" showers should take less than 3 gallons per shower. Rinse ( turn off water), Lather up, Rinse again. You are done. If you could rig up a system that will allow you to use RV park water, then you don't need a big holding tank for that. Another option is to install a 20 gallon tank, and carry a couple of spare water cans for refills .
Tom

[Da'engineer]

I was thinking about doing something like that or carrying a large tank in the bed of my truck while we PCS because that would be the only reason we ever would need that much water.

[Socal Tom]

The large tank in your truck is probably the safest and best option. Put a small tank in the trailer, and a matching Gray water tank. I still recommend trying to stay at places with full hookups if you want long showers. You may also want to invest in a portable tank for extra gray water.
Tom

[lrrowe]

That is what I am planning on doing. Only a 10 gal. tank in the CT and more water in the truck bed (either 5 gal containers or larger ones). I could use a 12V pump to transfer the water from the truck bed to the trailer when needed. Also we will use the Navy shower technique as any water we use has to be captured and disposed of which in many cases might be inconvenient at times.

[Socal Tom]

That is what I am planning on doing. Only a 10 gal. tank in the CT and more water in the truck bed (either 5 gal containers or larger ones). I could use a 12V pump to transfer the water from the truck bed to the trailer when needed. Also we will use the Navy shower technique as any water we use has to be captured and disposed of which in many cases might be inconvenient at times.

Over the axle is still the best location for the water and gray water tanks. You will want to put the gray water tank close ( probably directly under) the shower.
Tom

[lrrowe]

Don't disagree all other things being equal.

[Da'engineer]

That is what I am planning on doing. Only a 10 gal. tank in the CT and more water in the truck bed (either 5 gal containers or larger ones). I could use a 12V pump to transfer the water from the truck bed to the trailer when needed. Also we will use the Navy shower technique as any water we use has to be captured and disposed of which in many cases might be inconvenient at times.

I was thinking of using a 20 gallon on mine. And to limit the waste of water I am going to purchase a shower head with a push to spray button. So that way she can lather up when the shower isn't running.


The only issue I have currently with storing the water in the truck is since we will be traveling in the winter.. freezing. So I was mulling over the possibility of attaching this: http://www.amazon.com/Watt-Submersible- ... ql_qh_dp_t to a tank in the bed of the truck with its own small 12v battery power supply with it running just high enough to keep it from freezing.

[lrrowe]

Yes freezing is a concern. Last fall in the mountains of VA during hunting season, my 5 gal of water froze solid. It went down to 8 degrees the night before. That is when we said, "enough". The heater element is another interesting idea for we idiots that venture out in those extremes.

[48Rob]

on average i use 5-7 gallons per day for a shower, cooking, and cleanup.
My 21 gallon tank, located over the axle, which holds 19-20 gallons lasts for 3 days.
We usually fill up at camp, but have pulled the trailer with full tanks.
for trips where water isn't available we carry 7 gallon containers in the truck.

rob

[daveesl77]

My truck camper had a 10 gallon tank. My 25' travel trailer had 25 gallons. My RV was idiotic. My last sailboat, a 48' Petersen that I put tens of thousands of miles on had 50 gallons, seldom doing a trip under 700 miles point to point, normally double that or more. On long trips I did carry another 25-50 gallons. Yes, we had the ability to use buckets of sea water and Joy to do the initial "shower" and then had a 1 gallon jug with holes punched in to do a freshwater rinse off. It worked fine.

This camper will have 10 gals. I do carry 15 gals of collapsible "fill tanks" in the truck and I have an on demand propane water heater. I set all of my outflow to be about 1 gal per minute max. It works very well. I have one of those portable waste tanks that you tow behind and it holds about 30 gals. I'd rather not be dumping it every day. Taking a 20 minute shower, leaving water running while washing dishes or brushing teeth is just additional work (and wasteful). Some places, such as Chaco, limit you to 5 gals per day fill up per person. Other places we go, water doesn't exist for 50 miles. We try, not always successfully, to be able to run 3-5 days without any hookups or replenishment if needed.

dave