We boondock a lot, and occasionally run out of fresh water in the tank. I don't always want to break camp and drive to a hydrant, so I bought 2 collapsible 5 gallon water carriers. Now, 4 trips to the hydrant will completely fill my 40 gallon tank.HOWEVER, holding a 40 pound 5 gallon jug of water high enough to pour it into my tank is tough. I came up with a solution.My rig came with a Shurflo 2.8 GPM pump #2088-422-144 (OEM version). I bought a Shurflo 2.8 GPM pump #2088-422-444 (after market version, but identical). I now have a drop in replacement spare pump, in case mine fails. I also put long hoses on it and a plug that plugs into a 12v connector I have near the water port. I put the hose on the input side into the 5 gallon water jug, the hose on the output side into the water inlet, and plug it in. No more lifting the water jugs.EDITED TO ADD PICTURE OF PUMP:

did similar years ago and it works great. mounted pump in pass through with a switch. works great. Use the blue 7 gallon water jugs. One of the best mods I've done!!

Have a 12v pony pump and blue jugs too and pretty much the same setup. Where I boondock I only need about 150 ft of garden hose to reach the hydrant so I just hook up, fill my tank and then unhook.

My Coachmen "Water Works" panel has valve settings that let me use the existing onboard pump to fill the fresh tank from portable containers without having to lift them up. I carry a couple of collapsible 5 gal. jugs for that purpose also.

I have 4 6gal jugs i take with us and still able to lift and pour them. I have only used all 4 one time. My problem is we camp alot in the cold and the jugs freeze. Kind of a pain leaving them inside but sometimes have to.

we do a lot of boondocking also, in fact I carried about 6, 5 gallon jugs and a three step ladder to raise the height of the jug , then I used a boat bilge pump with a wire running to the TT batteries with an on off switch inline. worked so well, everyone used it I camped with. any one making a trip to town or the corner gas station hauled the jugs to refill them.

Ever run out of fresh water while boondocking?

Dutch_12078
Explorer II
Oct 12, 2013
alliemac9 wrote:
Dutch_12078 wrote:
Do you have a 4 valve, or a 5 valve Water Works panel. As I recall, the 4 valve cannot be configured to pull from a jug into the the fresh tank, only into the piping for winterizing. The 5 valve panel that I have will do both, although filling the fresh tank from the pump is not shown on the panel diagrams. All it takes is switching one valve from "Winterize" to "Suction Fill" with the others in the "Winterize" configuration depicted on the panel.

Thanks for the response! So I don't "over" hijack this thread with random pics, here's a URL to a photo of my panel. Not sure how to tell if it is 4 or 5 valve? Water Works Panel Image

Edited to update link to hopefully work based on comment below...

Oops! I forgot about the small 2-valve panel version. Yep, doesn't work with that one either. There may be a way to add a valve or two to accomplish it though. I'd need to see a plumbing diagram of your panel to be sure.
tred0956
Explorer
Oct 12, 2013
Dutch_12078 wrote:
alliemac9 wrote:
Dutch_12078 wrote:
Do you have a 4 valve, or a 5 valve Water Works panel. As I recall, the 4 valve cannot be configured to pull from a jug into the the fresh tank, only into the piping for winterizing. The 5 valve panel that I have will do both, although filling the fresh tank from the pump is not shown on the panel diagrams. All it takes is switching one valve from "Winterize" to "Suction Fill" with the others in the "Winterize" configuration depicted on the panel.

Thanks for the response! So I don't "over" hijack this thread with random pics, here's a URL to a photo of my panel. Not sure how to tell if it is 4 or 5 valve? Water Works Panel Image

Edited to update link to hopefully work based on comment below...

Oops! I forgot about the small 2-valve panel version. Yep, doesn't work with that one either. There may be a way to add a valve or two to accomplish it though. I'd need to see a plumbing diagram of your panel to be sure.

Actually, I think you can with the 2 valve model. I'm going out tomorrow, I'll check it out, I think I start it on winterize and then switch to fill and leave the pump on. I'll try it again and let you know.
mobeewan
Explorer
Oct 14, 2013
Bobbo wrote:
OP here. Here is a photo of the finished pump. Just add a pair of 10 foot water hoses, one into the water container and the other into the fresh water tank inlet.

Great minds think alike. I did the same thing. I mounted my spare pump on a small (6? x 10?) cut plastic cutting board. Kind of hard to lift a 50 gallon water tank. I got tired of lifting the 15 gallon barrels on my old TT and setting them on the spare tire to drain into the 18 gallon FW tank. Not getting any younger myself. My newer TT has a thirsty 36 gallon tank. I carry the 50 gallon tank and 3 - 15 gallon barrels in the truck bed when boondocking.
Lynnmor
Explorer
Oct 14, 2013
My trailer came with a water pump already equipped with wiring and a switch. I just altered the plumbing so that the pump can pull the water in thru the city water inlet.
tred0956
Explorer
Oct 15, 2013
tred0956 wrote:
Dutch_12078 wrote:
alliemac9 wrote:
Dutch_12078 wrote:
Do you have a 4 valve, or a 5 valve Water Works panel. As I recall, the 4 valve cannot be configured to pull from a jug into the the fresh tank, only into the piping for winterizing. The 5 valve panel that I have will do both, although filling the fresh tank from the pump is not shown on the panel diagrams. All it takes is switching one valve from "Winterize" to "Suction Fill" with the others in the "Winterize" configuration depicted on the panel.

Thanks for the response! So I don't "over" hijack this thread with random pics, here's a URL to a photo of my panel. Not sure how to tell if it is 4 or 5 valve? Water Works Panel Image

Edited to update link to hopefully work based on comment below...

Oops! I forgot about the small 2-valve panel version. Yep, doesn't work with that one either. There may be a way to add a valve or two to accomplish it though. I'd need to see a plumbing diagram of your panel to be sure.

Actually, I think you can with the 2 valve model. I'm going out tomorrow, I'll check it out, I think I start it on winterize and then switch to fill and leave the pump on. I'll try it again and let you know.

OK, just got back from a beautiful sunny long weekend and tested filling tank with the built in water pump. I have the 2 valve panel; I set it to Fill Tank but instead of connecting a regular garden hose to the city water inlet like you normally would, I connect a hose to the Winterize connection, and then turn on the water pump. Sucks water out of a bucket or whatever and pumps it directly to the water tank. Works great!
69_Avion
Explorer
Oct 15, 2013
I like to bring my water from home because I know it is clean. We can carry 80 gallons of fresh water with our 19.5' trailer. Two pumps provide the flow. 40 gallons are in the camper plus 6 gallons in the water heater. The rest is under the trailer.
Gottahaveit
Moderator
Oct 15, 2013
We dry camp in Quartzite AZ every year in Jan. Had A 50gal old water tank that we hauled in the back of the truck with a pump from Harbor Freight. Since we bought the MH we purchased the Water Belly (40 gallons) from Camping world and use the pump from Harbor freight or wherever. About $35 for the pump. The Water Belly folds up into the size of a small mattress. Needless to say we fill all our friends when dry camping as well. We have 120 gal. of fresh water as do most of our friends but after 10 days...well we don't want to rough it that much :W

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