Onboard Water

I'm getting into an onboard water build and would love to see where others have gone before. My wife and I do some over-landing trips; mostly to places where we might need 3 days of water onboard. Typically we can get water for purchase or filter beyond 3 days. Normally we are packing a 5 gallon container with 2 extra 1-gallon bottles on board. We aim for 2.5 gallons per day for drinking, food prep and a few drops for cleaning.

I would like to do this build with the ability to store more water for extended trips and not have to worry about getting lean on water. I have looked at a few products but most take up space in the bed or in the cab. I am going to another spot.

My plan is to go in the spare tire location under the bed. Spare will be going on a Wilco Solo. I decided on a RV fresh water tank from National Tank Outlet and am going big with 18 gallons. It seems as though the space allows for it and it is a fairly slim tank. I upped it to 5/16" thickness to help protect the tank.



I ordered the DIY fittings for specific placement when I get this thing temped and figure my plumbing. Also just found this water fill hatch for RV's for a large fill, hose fill and vent. Amazingly the dimensions say they will fit in the small storage bin in the bed. I'll be updating if that works when it arrives.




Still need to figure out the supply side connection. I think I want it to be quick connect and am thinking about a flex hose and a faucet option.

I started looking for hose and connectors at the Home Depot. Found that clear flex hose and although it will be easy to work with, it stinks! I imagine it will foul up the taste of the water. So I'm going PEX.

Got a little 3 GPM SeaFlo DC pump to run the system.

I'll update as the build goes. Let know about suggestions and other builds for reference.

 

Just got the water fill hatch. Perfect fit in the small storage box next to the inverter.

 

Where did you get that Watch fill hatch from?

 

Bought it from Amazon. Product is from JR Products. They are a RV Part supplier.

 

You wouldn't happen to have a link to the actual item?

 

I think it's this, but correct me if I'm wrong
Correction*
JR Products (497-AB-3P-A) Black City/Gravity Water Hatch

$40 JR Products (497-AB-3P-A Black City/Gravity Water Hatch

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OI6KY7G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_oT9-AbKPS516Q

 

That’s the one.

 

Got the tank mounted. Here are the steps.

1. Remove spare tire.
2. Remove spare tire holder


3. Remove spare tire tabs. It looked like the tabs would be in the way of the placement of the tank. I use a disk grinder and cut-off wheel.


4. Set the mounting brackets. I used Unistrut with 1/2" bolts with square washers. 2 bars have the main support and are held by 2 bolts each. An additional bar is ran perpendicular and is used to lock the tank from side to side movement.


5. Dry-fit tank and plan all fitting locations.


6. Place 2 Unistruts in parallel with above and through bolt. Place 2 bolts through each side of the perpendicular Unistrut and attach to skid plate. I used a 12 gauge stainless plate I have been saving for future use. The tank is 5/16" thick so it is pretty stout. We get in some hairy conditions from time to time so the plate is peace of mind for me.


7. Set DC pump and plumbing. I stacked 2 pieces of Superstrut and mounted to 3 bolts on the side of the trailer hitch for the pump. That brought me in line with my quick release garden hose attachment in my bed. Pump is controlled by a SwitchPro panel in cab.

8. Hose - I send in other post. Working on a method of filtering water in and or out of tank.

 

Got the water fill and supply hose working well.

Mainly I wanted to eliminate the hose favored water going into the tank. I’m using a house washing machine supply line from the house hose bib to the RV style water fill receiver in the truck bed. That works great but I wanted to go one more step.

I recently installed a filter in our house sink for drinking water. Works well so we trashed the Brita.

I found that the GE filter I got from the Home Depot also had a 3/4” housing. You need to use some adapters to get to garden hose 3/4” but it works pretty simply.

It turns out that I can filter going into the tank and filter going out if I wish.

Water In

Water Out

 

Neat

 

This is awesome!!!!

 

Digging around and found this old gem. I was wondering how it held up and if you would have changed anything with 3 years of use.

 

Still running great. The pump solenoid stuck a couple of time but a light tap on it got it working. I run bleach in it to clean but a port hole access might be nice. Only place for it would be on a side but I was concerned about it being water tight because it is a different type of fitting than the others I used. The line has frozen on a cold night but thawed after a bit. Really pleased with the performance and storage.

 

I was curious how you secured the water fill hatch in the cubby? I recently purchased the same fill hatch for my on board water project and am trying to figure out how to mount it as the holes don't quite line up.