Water capacity?

[STANG23L]

Just spent the last four day's dry camping in northern MN at a ATV/UTV event. Where we where camping in an open field. And between two guys and one Gal my water tank lasted two days. With one shower each half way through. My buddy and I are use to conserving water in an RV during a shower. His girlfriend did not seem to get the concept!

Which got me to thinking watching and talking to nearby campers. That did not seem to have any problems with running of water while taking showers every night.

Is my water tank to small (20-25 gal)?
What is the average tank capacity?

[rockhillmanor]

Along with watching how much water you use for a shower you also need to consider how much water is 'used' when everyone was brushing their teeth, and washing their hands and rinsing dishes.

Many of us are used to letting the water run when brushing teeth at home. Hard habit to break, but when in an RV you can't let it run.

Doesn't sound like you are using that much water but it does.

I had the same problem you did because my sporting events also do not have hookups.

I also stopped washing my hands and brushing my teeth in the bathroom sink because the water from that sink dumps into my black tank. Which was causing my black tank to fill up too fast also. So yes the water used for brushing teeth and washing hands often in an RV does make a difference!

[SoundGuy]

bukhrn wrote:
25 gal. is pretty small, mine is 35 & we have to be conservative on usage, those that are showering every night, obviously have a MUCH bigger tank ...

We have a 30 gal fresh water tank and do shower each night ... the trick isn't tank size but having a means to retrieve more fresh water as you need it and get into the trailer's tank. For me, that's a set of fresh water Aquatainers and a 12 vdc pump to effortlessly transfer the water from the 'Tainers to the trailer. We haven't seen a campground shower house in years. :B

... but remember, what ever your capacity is, you also have to have enough waste tank capacity, to store all that water, unless you're in a state that allows you to dump your grey water on the ground, Not all states do.

Again, it's not necessary to have large tanks and in the case of grey water one only needs the means to easily off load it for later disposal. It's also not necessary to completely empty the GW tank, only off load enough that the system becomes usable again. Rather than use a heavy, expensive wheeled tote tank that's a pain to deal with, a pain to store, I instead use a couple of Aquatainers labeled for the purpose. For grey water gravity feed works just fine ...



... but because I have a FloJet Waste Macerator I can also use those same GW Aquatainers for off loading macerated black water with no effort at all. Whether we're talking fresh water, grey water, or black water it's not tank size that's the limiting factor but not having the means to retrieve more fresh water and efficiently off load grey & black.

[STANG23L]

djgarcia wrote:
Water capacity-----
25 gal to 30 gal. tanks are small. My 5th wheel has a 75 gal. tank and with 2 of us we can last 10 to 12 days with 1 shower a day BUT---- You and your friends have to start using what they call "NAVY" SHOWERS. Turn off the water as soon as you get yourself wet, then soap up your whole body including your hair, now turn the water back on to rinse then turn the water off. You should be able to do this in less than 5 min. :):)

Ya, she did not understand the concept of the "NAVY" shower!

Mainly curious as to how large of tanks are in similar rigs these days. Our 80's vintage 23.5' Coachman bunk house is still kicking and until something go's majorly wrong we'll keep it around for the few times a year it gets used.

This year I had to do some repairs: toilet & shower valves and a roof vent lid that shattered.

I've always thought the tank looked a bit small under the front couch. But could not tell you if it was original or not. I'm guessing not. May have to run some weight calculations and see how big of a tank we could swap in before tongue weight becomes an issue.

[ReneeG]

STANG23L wrote:
Agreed that water usage can be subjective. And the Gal that was with has zero RV experience. And we tried to instruct her how to conserve water so that we could have a second round of showers before we left. Which she chose to ignore and proceeded to get grumpy on the last day that she felt dirty!

We do keep a six gallon water jug with the old camper for refill purposes. Took me a while of running around but was able to find a campground down the road that allowed me to fill the jug a couple times to finish out the weekend.

I do like the idea of carrying multiple extra water jugs or maybe an additional large tank in the truck?

Clearly she didn't understand the concept of a "Navy Shower". We have 75 gallon capacity and can camp four days with 4 adults and 3 kids and still come home with water. Navy showers, wet wipes, waterless shampoo, and rinseless body wash at night for the kids.

[bukhrn]

25 gal. is pretty small, mine is 35 & we have to be conservative on usage, those that are showering every night, obviously have a MUCH bigger tank, but remember, what ever your capacity is, you also have to have enough waste tank capacity, to store all that water, unless you're in a state that allows you to dump your grey water on the ground, Not all states do.

[MarkTwain]

Water capacity-----
25 gal to 30 gal. tanks are small. My 5th wheel has a 75 gal. tank and with 2 of us we can last 10 to 12 days with 1 shower a day BUT---- You and your friends have to start using what they call "NAVY" SHOWERS. Turn off the water as soon as you get yourself wet, then soap up your whole body including your hair, now turn the water back on to rinse then turn the water off. You should be able to do this in less than 5 min. :):)

[downtheroad]

20-25 gal. fresh water tank is pretty small
and this is also probably part of the problem....:E

[SoundGuy]

Sandia Man wrote:
Bringing extra water containers is a hassle ...

Really? :h

Been doin' it myself for years. 🙂

[SoundGuy]

STANG23L wrote:
I do like the idea of carrying multiple extra water jugs or maybe an additional large tank in the truck?

Either solution will work fine but I chose to stay away from one large tank as I'd have nowhere to store it when we're not camping and I don't want it in the truck. With the Aquatainers I just hang 'em on the wall in the garage - too easy. 🙂

[Sandia_Man]

There isn't any standard size for freshwater tanks. The atv/utv event you attended more than likely had many toyhauler RVs and they can carry at least 100 gallons or more of freshwater but most RVs range from 30-60 gallons. The 20-25 gallon tank you stated you have is not going to last 4 days unless you shower and use the toilet provided at the campground. Bringing extra water containers is a hassle but under these camping scenarios there is not much else you can do.

[STANG23L]

Agreed that water usage can be subjective. And the Gal that was with has zero RV experience. And we tried to instruct her how to conserve water so that we could have a second round of showers before we left. Which she chose to ignore and proceeded to get grumpy on the last day that she felt dirty!

We do keep a six gallon water jug with the old camper for refill purposes. Took me a while of running around but was able to find a campground down the road that allowed me to fill the jug a couple times to finish out the weekend.

I do like the idea of carrying multiple extra water jugs or maybe an additional large tank in the truck?

[SoundGuy]

STANG23L wrote:
Is my water tank to small (20-25 gal)?
What is the average tank capacity?

There is no "average" tank size - some have as little as 10 - 15 gals, many mid size trailer tanks are often in the 30 - 40 gal range but it's not uncommon that some trailers may have as much as a 100 gal tank. That said, you'll run out eventually regardless of tank size so the trick IMO isn't to have a larger tank but to instead have a means to collect or take along more fresh water with you. In my case I toss four 7 gal Aquatainers into the back of my truck anytime we're camping and although I don't normally fill them before we leave I do have that option if where we're going doesn't offer potable water. It's enough for us but if I needed even more I could easily double that by tossing in a few more 'Tainers. 😄

[wing_zealot]

Apparently; seeing as you ran out of water I would say your water tank is too small for the amount of water you and the rest of the occupants "choose" to use. Either figure out how to get more water or change how y'all use the water you have. Average means nothing to you, the only thing that matters is "what you have".