Water container suggestions?

[wspohn]

Thanks,Dsrtrat. I'll be talking with them tomorrow. I need something to occasionally fill my holding tank in out of the way places. At some point I may fabricate a filter for potable water. Currently using an old Katadyn ceramic filter.

 

[Bwht4x4]

On my last elk hunt I filled my camper and took an additional 36 gallons of water in 6 gallon VP cans. My Dodge Ram is pretty tall, which makes the water fill port above eye level. The thought of trying to pour 4 of the 6 gallon cans of water into the camper didn't sound fun and the extension tube on the VP cans is slow.

So, to get the water into the camper I made a simple electric pump. First I took a small Rule bilge pump for a boat and attached a hose long enough to reach from the ground to the fill location. I then attached 20 feet of wire to the pump and terminated it into a male cigarette plug. To fill the camper's tank I take a 2.5 gallon bucket, sit it on the ground under the fill, fill with water, route the hose to the fill opening and then plug the pump into my truck or camper. As the water goes down in the bucket I add more from my VP can. It works perfect and the pump is super small and takes up hardly any room. No spilled water or sore backs!

 

[PaulT]

I assume you are hunting in an area with fresh water available rather than, say. Death Valley. Instead of carrying almost 300 pounds of water in containers, carry a Sawyer water filter installed in a food grade bucket along with your Rule bilge pump.

Place the empty filter bucket above the water fill on the camper and run the pump outlet hose up into the bucket. Run the pump to fill the bucket and allow gravity to filter your water directly into the camper tank. You could probably cobble together a float switch and relay to automate the process

The Sawyer is good for 1 million gallons of water so it is a one time purchase. You would likely want to sediment filter the water you are pumping first but there are easy ways to do that.

Thanks to your post, I'm adding a Rule bilge pump to go with my filter bucket. Easier than carrying buckets of water, lifting them and dumping into the filter bucket.

Paul

 

[Bwht4x4]

I actually bring all of my water in when I hunt versus pumping water locally. If I know there's going to be good clean water around I'll bring my filter just in case I need a few gallons of water. Most of the time it's unknown if there's going to be water close to the road where we hunt and if there is, many of the times it's too turbid to run through a filter. It'd clog it in a matter of gallons. Plus I don't want to spend the time to deal with finding water when hunting and then filtering it and then pumping it into the camper. That means I have to come back to camp during the day to do this and I'm generally not too willing to do this since I'm so far from camp each day. With my set up I can pump 20 gallons of water in less than 10 minutes when I get back to camp, if I need it.

On last year's elk hunt I brought in a bit over 60 gallons of water, split between my camper tanks and my portable cans. We filled the camper's tank and cans at the last town before we headed out so that we didn't have to haul 480+ lbs of water more than about 40 miles. This amount of water allowed me to sit in one spot for over two weeks and be able to shower and wash a load of clothes in a bucket. I dumped a lot of water when I left too.

If you want a pict of my Rule pump set up let me know.

 

[100acrehuphalump]

I actually bring all of my water in when I hunt versus pumping water locally. If I know there's going to be good clean water around I'll bring my filter just in case I need a few gallons of water. Most of the time it's unknown if there's going to be water close to the road where we hunt and if there is, many of the times it's too turbid to run through a filter. It'd clog it in a matter of gallons. Plus I don't want to spend the time to deal with finding water when hunting and then filtering it and then pumping it into the camper. That means I have to come back to camp during the day to do this and I'm generally not too willing to do this since I'm so far from camp each day. With my set up I can pump 20 gallons of water in less than 10 minutes when I get back to camp, if I need it.

On last year's elk hunt I brought in a bit over 60 gallons of water, split between my camper tanks and my portable cans. We filled the camper's tank and cans at the last town before we headed out so that we didn't have to haul 480+ lbs of water more than about 40 miles. This amount of water allowed me to sit in one spot for over two weeks and be able to shower and wash a load of clothes in a bucket. I dumped a lot of water when I left too.


If you want a pict of my Rule pump set up let me know.

I'd like to a picture of your rule pump and filter setup please.

 

[Bwht4x4]

Sorry for the delay. Here's a couple of picts of the pump. I also have a small bucket the pump sets in and that I pour water into to pump it up and into the camper.

This system works great. My truck is factory height but is pretty tall and is even taller when I have to chock the rear tires to get it level. Without the pump I'd have to hold 50 lbs of water over my head while it drained painfully slow.

This is a much better way of doing this!

 

[wspohn]

The Whale submersible fits into the opening on an Aqua-Tainer.

 

[PaulT]

My thanks for your post are even slower. I stopped by Fisherman's Marine and picked up all the parts. Rule pump and some plastic tube. Works well. I need to add a momentary switch as it will overflow the bucket in short order at 500 gph if left hooked up to power. The Whale looks good also. I have used both brands on the boat.

BTW, If you ever have a washing machine, dishwasher, or hot tub that needs emptied, the Rule is a quick way of emptying it with less mess than trying to dip it out into a bucket. I have an old one from the boat I have used for that.

Paul

 

[snuffy]

I like that bilge pump setup bwh4x4, i have a ram powerwagon and i need that setup! thanks

 

[Malamute]

I used to use the Reliance Desert Patrol 6 gallon jugs, similar to the 3 gallon one shown in post 18. The spout worked OK, but wouldnt be as nice as the pump idea. Holding a 6 gal jug at shoulder level wasnt much fun. I had about 8 of the jugs, and hauled all my water for about 2 years while living in an older Winnebago while building houses.

It was a happy day when I got the well in on my own place and could run a hose to the Winny. It was better yet when the cabin was functional and I didnt even have to do that.

 

[Bseek]

For less than 20$ I bought a kerosene siphon pump that is battery operated and fits in the top of aquatainers or Reliance jugs. Works for me.
It doesn't seal the opening though so you either pull it out or create some kind of cork around it.

 

[Oly Bill]

I retired my one gallon "Langer Juice" Jugs that I bought at Costco because after a few years some of them developed a "petroleum" smell. I switched to one gallon GLASS jugs w/a handle because glass is less porous than plastic & keeps cleaner. I also use 1.75 Liter Crown Royal Whiskey glass "empty" bottles that have a handle. I only use about one gallon of water per day for cooking & cleaning.

When traveling, I place two glass jugs in the kitchen sink protected by foams pads or computer mouse pads. It is comforting to me to view very clear water enclosed in clear glass jugs. However, it is difficult to find clear glass jugs. You might have to use colored one liter wine glass jugs.

I do not use the "about" 40 gallon water reservoir provided in my FWC Grandby Popup Camper. I wish I did not choose this water reservoir & the propane heater. Instead, I would have rather used that empty space for a storage area for tire chains, boots, etc.

However, glass jugs are prone to break & my suggestion will probably not work for you.