Filling tank with five gallon tote?

Get a Pony pump and a couple of hoses and pump away.They are available in 12V and 120V take your pick of which power style works best for you. I am always plugged in or have my genny so 120V is in my box. I carry 4 square 5 gal and then just run my hose from the front of the truck where they are stored and into the trailer it goes. Pumps around 300 gal hour I believe so only a few minutes per. One of the best investments I have made over the years. No lifting or any work involved.

rhagfo wrote:
I am just old school!! I have a 6 gal blue plastic jerrican with a spout I I fill and lift it up to the fill tube, only about 50# for about 2 minutes.

Me too....by the time you get the pump out, hook it up and start pumping, you can already have one or two jugs already emptied.

Now if you are too weak or lazy to do it, then by all means go another route. If it becomes a concern on how you are going to do all this then there are some other options to help you out.

- start being more frugal with the water.
- use the bath house whenever possible (if one is available). or use a pit toilet/outhouse.
- just hook it up and go empty/refill more often.
- carry more containers of smaller size (gallon).
- purchase another 12 volt pump and hook it up and use it.
- get a water bladder and let gravity do it's thing. you will need to be able to get the bladder somewhat near the fresh tank and have it slightly higher to allow that gravity to work. or other suction devices.

Personally...I like keeping it simple when camping.

pfidahospud wrote:
For me, it's pretty easy when using a good funnel. I made my own out of some PVC pieces from the local hardware store for a few bucks. Finished PVC funnel pic here. Pieces to make the are here. It stays in place while pouring, making it a pretty simple process. Hope that helps.

What prevents it turning upside down?

I fill the tank via the winterization hose from a 5 gallon collapsible container.

I use a couple Reliance water carriers that have a spigot that screws into the cap. Took the cap to the hardware store and in the plumbing section, found a threaded brass fitting and barbed nipple that fit, also 4 feet of plastic tubing.

So I don't have to hold the jug, I use whatever will get it above the gravity fill. Usually a camp table with a chair on top is just right. The long hose lets you stick it in the fill before you tip the jug.

For storage, I drop the hose and fittings in the container. Stays clean and doesn't get lost.

Norm

I am just old school!! I have a 6 gal blue plastic jerrican with a spout I I fill and lift it up to the fill tube, only about 50# for about 2 minutes.

My travel trailer actually came with a water pump. I made some minor changes to the plumbing to allow the pump to draw water in. No extra pump, wires, batteries, alligator clips or switches. Search my posts for a diagram and photos.

A member posted a while back that he bought one of those big ice chests with the spigot at the bottom for draining. He fills it with water, hooks a hose to the spigot and uses a small pump to get the water into the rig. The ice chest water carrier can even do double duty as an ice chest when necessary. Nice idea.

We and a couple other members here use the "Water Boy" 60 gallon bladder with pump attached. Pricy, but gets the job done.

WATER BOY

We dry camp a lot and can run low on water. I have a few suggestions. In our Outback TT, it take forever to get hot water in the kitchen sink and a little less time in the shower. We started capturing that water for the dogs, hiking water for us and water for coffee and drinking. That save a number of gallons per day. Also installed a new shower head.

However, for extended boondocking, the ultimate solution was to buy a 35 gallon water tank and a Shurflow 12V pump. When we run low I can transfer the water from the tank to the TT. You learn to gauge the amount needed by the number of nights out so you don't have to carry the full 35 gallon. Of course this only works if you have the cargo capacity left over after adding generators, gas, etc. in the back of the truck.

We are back from seven nights out. Only I showered the rest used the lake since just camping. Didn't need to refill the tank. I wash dishes in batches and use paper plates. Grey got to 2/3 just today before we headed home. Black tank got close to full with two days left so we used camp facilities except for nighttime. Had a fantastic time! Colonial campground off hwy 20 in WA. Cold lake but beautiful.