Water refill when dry camping

[EagleScout-USA]

We are finding ourselves camping without water hookups often due to the increase in camping families in our area. After an initial fill at the potable water spigot, we have been "topping off" the freshwater tanks by using 6-gallon potable water jugs and a funnel system. These water jugs are heavy and the funnel-holder member of the family is often getting wet due to splashes. Any suggestions for pumping water from our 6-gallon potable water storage containers into the freshwater holding tank of our RV, as opposed to just dumping it in the traditional way we have? Looked online for liquid transfer system, but finding mostly things rated for automotive fluid transfer and not potable water. Thanks for any suggestions.

[CavemanCharlie]

I have a funnel that I bought years ago that screws onto the fresh water threads and that way I don't need help holding the funnel. Unfortunately, I just did a quick search for it and I can't fund out who made it. Maybe that don't make it anymore. You could build something like it yourself though. You would still be stuck lifting up the heavy jugs though. You would have to do this less often if you used less water and then didn't have to top off the tank as much.

[wanderingbob]

We have a 35 gallon Tractor Supply tank in back of pickup , $109 , will gravity flow into TT tank .

[dedmiston]

ppine wrote:
I m getting tired of having my posts deleted for suggesting that water conservation can solve a lot of your water supply problems.

Ya better get used to it.

Don't be a troll, and ya won't get your posts deleted.

I saw a quote the other day: "Don't start any {trouble}, and you won't get any {trouble}". Wise words, in my opinion.



(Typo fixed. Thanks for the heads up.)

[Lynnmor]

skipnchar wrote:
Lots of good ideas here. I always took the simple route. My 6 gallon cans (I carried 6 of them) all have built in pour spouts and are vented so YES they are a PITA but at least it becomes a one person job.

But that is where the OP started this thread, he didn't want to do that.

[ppine]

I m getting tired of having my posts deleted for suggesting that water conservation can solve a lot of your water supply problems.

[skipnchar]

Lots of good ideas here. I always took the simple route. My 6 gallon cans (I carried 6 of them) all have built in pour spouts and are vented so YES they are a PITA but at least it becomes a one person job.

[Sjm9911]

wnjj wrote:

Lynnmor wrote:
I can't understand why folks won't use a pump that is already there. A check valve, clamps and a tee were the only purchased items.

While your setup is slick how it's self-contained, an additional pump serves as a spare and can shared by the other family members we almost always camp with. It can move to a new RV without doing anything. Also, some people just aren't comfortable with cutting into factory plumbing when you can get by without.

I use a spare (given to me free) pump wired with a 2-pin SAE connector. This plugs nicely into the spare set of battery clamps that came with my multi-station battery tender. It also plugs into a 4-pin trailer adapter and allows it to be powered from any trailer socket's tail lights pin. I added a short piece of tubing for intake and a garden hose thread for the output.

The benefit of a portable pump is you can bring it to the source, for example a water tank in a cargo trailer, truck bed, etc. It can push water through as much hose as you have more readily than pulling using the built-in RV pump. You can use it to pump water to put out the campfire or whatever else you may need.

Just to add for some its not an option. My TT is set up like that from the factory. To fill the fresh water tank you have to use the interior pump if you are not on city water. I have no gravity fill. The problem is the pump is under the couch. The couch is under the rear bed slide. It works if im allready set up. But it make it impossible to fill on the road or when pulling in. ( yes it will fill on city water if i remember to set the shutoffs to the correct position to divert the water, but they are located with the pump and inaccessible). I would like another option, be it hand held drill, or pump. Lots of ways to do it.

[ivbinconned]

It’s a metal 5 gal pail cut down with some cooking oil in it.
A barrier to help prevent mice and bugs from getting in.

[mr_andyj]

cougar28 wrote:
What's the bucket looking thing on the ground around the landing gear foot for?

haha, that looks like a cut out milk jug or something to keep his stabilazation foot from getting icky in the mud

[cougar28]

ivbinconned wrote:

What's the bucket looking thing on the ground around the landing gear foot for?

[ivbinconned]

[howardwheeler]

Just as someone mentioned earlier that they did, I, too, have water bladders (two 45 gallon ones) that I will put in the back of the pickup and go somewhere with water pressure to fill. I then have my old water pump (it came with the trailer but was replaced with one of more power) to pump the water from the bladders into the freshwater tank. I went ahead and permanently installed my extra pump and hardwired it in just for ease. I open my water compartment, hook the hose from the bladder to the pump and stick the outlet hose into my freshwater fill. Then I just flip a switch, and it fills in about ten minutes for each bladder, but you don't have to watch it since the pump can run dry without harm.

[wnjj]

Lynnmor wrote:
I can't understand why folks won't use a pump that is already there. A check valve, clamps and a tee were the only purchased items.

While your setup is slick how it's self-contained, an additional pump serves as a spare and can shared by the other family members we almost always camp with. It can move to a new RV without doing anything. Also, some people just aren't comfortable with cutting into factory plumbing when you can get by without.

I use a spare (given to me free) pump wired with a 2-pin SAE connector. This plugs nicely into the spare set of battery clamps that came with my multi-station battery tender. It also plugs into a 4-pin trailer adapter and allows it to be powered from any trailer socket's tail lights pin. I added a short piece of tubing for intake and a garden hose thread for the output.

The benefit of a portable pump is you can bring it to the source, for example a water tank in a cargo trailer, truck bed, etc. It can push water through as much hose as you have more readily than pulling using the built-in RV pump. You can use it to pump water to put out the campfire or whatever else you may need.

[ajriding]

My solution is those 5 gallon jugs that have a tube that can draw water off the bottom of the jug. It has a garden hose thread as a cap and you can attach a hose, or make one out of vinyl tubing and hose end repair pieces (so you dont get that hose taste).
A water bag with any way to attach a hose to it will work too as bags do not need gravity to empty.

To do this I had to splice in a 3-way "T" upstream from the water pump, thats between the pump and the RV water tank. This can be a "selector" valve, or what I ended up with is two ball valves, one on each pipe, one pipe from the RV tank and one pipe from the portable jug.

I jut put the jug on the floor near the RV pump and pull from the jug. My vinyl hose can just be pulled out when needed, or coiled back up when not. The ball valve is at the very end, so it does not lose water when detached.

The ball valve I used is from HD and in the PEX isle. Probably 3/8 pipe size. Brass. You can get a selector valve from RV supply also that are made for hot water heater bypass so should let you chose which pipe to open, but the PEX ball valve let me close the end of the hose so worked for me, and also made it easy to slide a vinyl tube over the valve conncetion.

I close or open these valves depending which source I need to pull water from.

I pull from the portable first before using the RV tanks.

This is similar to the solution of the diagram above, but is a little more closed-system, and I can always have a full RV tank if I am able to keep filling the jug. This is nice for boondocking as you always know you have a full tank when the water spigot runs dry or you don't have access to one...