Carrying extra water for boondocking

[Lexx]

We still haven't decided on a trailer yet. I'm leaning towards a Grand Design Momentum toy hauler 351M. It carries 157 gal of water.

We have 3 kids and 2 adults. Because of my psoriasis, I need at least 10 min of hot water. So I figure 2 gal/min x 30 = 60 gal just for showering. That means we can go 2 plus days boondocking. If I could get another 100+ gal of water, we could go another day at least. That gives us 3 - 4 days, which should be enough.

Do any of you carry an extra water tank in the bed? If so what kind? I've seen water bladders but I think it would roll around or slosh. Do I need a dedicated water tank like an auxillary diesel tank with baffles?

I also realize the gray tank only has so much capacity. What's the general rule with gray water in areas you can boondock? If biodegradeable soaps are used with this water, is it ever acceptable to dump the water in the bushy areas or is this verbotten?
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[Lexx]

I'm coming to the conclusion that I'll be fine with the 157 gal on board with the big grey tank. Any more and we can just bring water in for drinking. We can always pull up camp and run to the dump.

[4x4van]

And carrying it and transferring it is only half of the equation. Disposing of it once used is the other half.

[Lantley]

Grit dog wrote:
Theres glamping and camping. But who cares?? Guy didn’t ask for a b!tch fest about how much water he’s trying to haul.... almost think he came on here asking some of you to haul it for him!

And no need to engineer anything. There are enough ways to haul water with commercially available items. Plug n play.

Tell us about these commercially available items that the OP can just leisurely toss in his truck and carry an additional 100 gallons of water.
There needs to be a tank that will fit in his bed while towing.
There will be additional payload to carry. There will need to be a method to transfer the water.
I know it can be done however it will take some effort on the OP's part. It is not a effortless plug and play endeavor.
Many are trying to enlighten the OP that carrying an additional 100 gallons of water is not a plug and play task.
The OP needs to consider if it's worthwhile especially when the OP already has 157 gallons available.

[Grit_dog]

Theres glamping and camping. But who cares?? Guy didn’t ask for a b!tch fest about how much water he’s trying to haul.... almost think he came on here asking some of you to haul it for him!

And no need to engineer anything. There are enough ways to haul water with commercially available items. Plug n play.

[DutchmenSport]

When I was a kid, my parents got a travel trailer. They parked it seasonally at a primative campground that had only a single hand pump water supply for the entire campground, and absolutely NO dump station or sewage of any type. No running water, only a couple plugs for the entire campground for electricity. They had a pit toilet for the entire campground. We virtually lived there all Summer.

How did we kids wash? There were about 6 of us boys, about the same age, that ran wild in the campground all Summer. We were always into something mischievous. We never had a shower or bath of any type. Our bathtub was the river that ran through the campground. Swimming all the time! We'd also just jump in the rive with our cloths on and that's how they got washed. They'd air dry on our bodies as we wore them, then after dark we'd all go skinny dipping.

Those were the days! Never had a shower! Do kids really need a bathtub?


Edit:
Looking at some of my mothers old photos, turns out she doesn't have a single photo of us boys with shirts on, no shoes, and cut-off blue jeans. As I remember back, I don't remember underware at all. I suppose we ran around like heathens or barbarians or something. I do remember running through the mud barefoot. No wonder there was no laundry! Wow! Those were the days!

[Lexx]

DrewE wrote:
For your medical needs, does it have to be flowing water, or just warm/hot water? Might a tub of some sort work?

I think I'll be ok as long as I get about a 10 min hot shower. Sometimes I can do it in less. With 157 gal fresh water, we should be able to last at least 3 days, which probably is enough for us. Then we'll just have to find the nearest dump, and refill.

We're not full timers anyway. This is for the summer months when the kids are out of school for summer vacation. The sun's out and my skin is better during the summer.

[DrewE]

For your medical needs, does it have to be flowing water, or just warm/hot water? Might a tub of some sort work?

[down_home]

See no reason you can't. Engineer a pump and hose to your fill port, on the RV.
Just pull up beside it and pump it in.
A good clean aluminum tank with baffles for fuel, might do the trick.
Putting a pump and pickup for water is easily engineered. Don't know the cost.
Just be sure to keep the nasties out of your tank and line, with fresh water chlorine.
Maybe shade the tank from the sun with a cover deigned with air space and that won't blow away.
Our fresh water pumps in our RVs usually pull about 10 amps. The power charging line from our F350 to Fifth wheel was fused with a 20 amp, large fuse under the hood.
Take extra fuses of all sizes anyway.
Just be careful with the electric load.
There may be some reason not to use an aluminum fuel tank I don't know. Some here know?

[4x4van]

6 year olds could care less if they shower every day while camping. Your wife really needs to learn how to conserve while camping. Sorry, but that's what "camping" requires. If you can't make it for more than 2 days on 157 gallons of water (that's significantly more than most RVs can carry), then I don't think boondocking is for you. You need to stay at full hookup campsites.

With my last RV, wife & I could go 4+ days/nights in the desert on 36 gallons. At least 2 days/nights if our 3 kids and their significant others came along; we all took "sponge baths" to conserve, and washed our hair outdoors once or twice per trip, along with 1 "navy shower" per trip. Now, we're in a class A with 84 gallons; but still have to conserve. Camping doesn't require "squeeky clean" (think of those in tents!). Perhaps you could go every other trip to the "Four Seasons" to keep DW happy, and then "rough it" while camping.

Bottom line is that, yes, you could potentially carry enough water. But (and this is the big hurdle) storing all that used water is going to be nearly impossible. Most areas won't allow you to dump gray water, even in the CA desert (and a ticket for dumping is not cheap!). So your only option would be a bladder or barrels for fresh water, AND multiple baker tanks for waste water. Wow, way too much hassles, IMHO.

Oh, and BTW; if you do it right, in another 10 years your kids WILL want to keep camping with you. Mine are now 28 (married with 1 son), 25 (engaged) and 23 (also engaged). Thay ALL still go camping with us.

[Lantley]

Lexx wrote:

BizmarksMom wrote:
You need the 10 minute shower for your skin issues, but does everybody else really need that? I'm a woman with thick, medium length hair and I wash it with a Navy style shower. (Get wet all over. Turn water off. Soap up all over. Turn water on and rinse off.) Takes 5 minutes, tops. I do not wash my hair every day, especially while camping.

You haven't met my wife lol. She's OCD when it comes to cleanliness. If it were up to her, we'd be staying at the Four Seasons every trip and having afternoon tea. I want our family to spend quality time together. The kids are 6 yrs old. In another 10 years, they're not going to want to spend time with us as much. Now is the time to bond and enjoy them.

I hear you but at some point you have to be practical and rational.
257 gallons is a lot of water.
As you are finding out carrying that much water will present its own set of challenges.
As long as you are willing to deal with and overcome those challenges it should not be a problem.

[Grit_dog]

Lexx wrote:

Grit dog wrote:


Look at wakeboard or wake surf ballast bags. You could get 1500 lbs of ballat sacks that sit in front of a bed divider. Ballast pump with longer hose to xfer to camper. Find a package on close out. Couple handled for 2 bomb proof ballast sacks and a 12v pump. Fold up and store when not in use.

When we go out for long boonie trips, I'll stop n fill a 450 lb sac on the back seat floor (truck camper) and 3-4 days later when our 50 gal runs out, drain gray back into the woods and refil FW.

Look at wakemakers.com for ideas.

Wow, thanks for the idea. Those bags are a good price. I guess my only concern is they're not meant for drinking water so they're not listed as BPA free. But for showering - hey why not? I guess we could just store the potable water in jugs.

Yes, idk. I use them primarily for wake surfing in the boat and just rinsed the lake water out with some chlorine solution. We don't drink exclusively out of the FW tank but it does get drank and used for cooking. For me it was a free solution that works well for the infrequent need and you can get more "upright" shapes that take up less floor space.

[Lexx]

BizmarksMom wrote:
You need the 10 minute shower for your skin issues, but does everybody else really need that? I'm a woman with thick, medium length hair and I wash it with a Navy style shower. (Get wet all over. Turn water off. Soap up all over. Turn water on and rinse off.) Takes 5 minutes, tops. I do not wash my hair every day, especially while camping.

You haven't met my wife lol. She's OCD when it comes to cleanliness. If it were up to her, we'd be staying at the Four Seasons every trip and having afternoon tea. I want our family to spend quality time together. The kids are 6 yrs old. In another 10 years, they're not going to want to spend time with us as much. Now is the time to bond and enjoy them.

[Lexx]

Grit dog wrote:


Look at wakeboard or wake surf ballast bags. You could get 1500 lbs of ballat sacks that sit in front of a bed divider. Ballast pump with longer hose to xfer to camper. Find a package on close out. Couple handled for 2 bomb proof ballast sacks and a 12v pump. Fold up and store when not in use.

When we go out for long boonie trips, I'll stop n fill a 450 lb sac on the back seat floor (truck camper) and 3-4 days later when our 50 gal runs out, drain gray back into the woods and refil FW.

Look at wakemakers.com for ideas.

Wow, thanks for the idea. Those bags are a good price. I guess my only concern is they're not meant for drinking water so they're not listed as BPA free. But for showering - hey why not? I guess we could just store the potable water in jugs.

[Lexx]

DutchmenSport wrote:
What size is the water heater? If you are using "hot" water, you'll rip through 6 gallons of water in that heater in a heartbeat. If it's a 10 gallon, you'll still use up that 10 gallons (@ 2 gallons a minute?) in only 5 minutes, if you really need it hot. Not to mention, the close that (10 gallons) is used, cold water is replacing it. It doesn't take very long for HOT water to become cool water.

It's a 12 gal water heater. If I need to I'd swap it out with something even better. Tankless with a recirc system?