water bags for dry camping
Printed From: R-pod Owners Forum
Category: R-pod Discussion Forums
Forum Name: I need HELP!!!
Forum Discription: Perplexed/need help with a problem - ask here
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=14570
Printed Date: 01 Jun 2025 at 10:10pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.64 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: water bags for dry camping
Posted By: campingtrio
Subject: water bags for dry camping
Date Posted: 20 Apr 2021 at 6:02am
|
Hi folks. Just completed our first dry camping trip in the rpod. Since we weren't sure what we were going to encounter, we brought two kinds of water carriers - a 5.3g smart bottle water bag (good) and a 5g Coleman water carrier (bad). ((The Coleman had a poorly designed cap/spout threading that led to the cap popping off unexpectedly more than once, sloshing huge quantities of water everywhere...would not recommend). The smart bottle water bag was nice in that it folded down completely (unlike the Coleman), the cap that came with it fit properly and we also had the option to buy accessory fittings available for hose connections (which came in handy when emptying the bag into the storage tank). However, this thing is HEAVY when full of water. And our tank holds ~30g, so need to fill up about 6 times, which meant just manually holding the thing up over the tank while it drained six times...exhausting. I was wondering if anyone has figured out a way to hang a water bag on the side of the rpod? I was even thinking about pulling the car up alongside to sit it on top of that for additional height, but the configuration of this campsite made that impossible. Like I said, it's heavy, so I wouldn't want to just drill some holes in the side of the rpod for hooks as I'd worry that would tear the side open. But maybe some kind of counterbalance thing across the roof? Curious as to what others may have jerry rigged for this purpose. (Also I looked into using a drill pump...there are NO potable water friendly ones I could find on the market. There is one sold by the smart bottle people for $400 (!) that all they've said is that the original manufacturer grease was changed out for FDA food grade grease...but they still won't warrant it's for potable use because the original manufacturer won't warrant as such, so not really sure what that gets you, for an expensive price). Same with a jiggler pump...they're all for gasoline, none for water I could find (and anyway the one we experimented with was far more difficult to use than just holding the water bag up). I'm happy with the water bags, just not happy serving as Charles Atlas beneath them. Any thoughts/suggestions on how to rig a hanging setup? |
Replies:
Posted By: GlibGuy
Date Posted: 20 Apr 2021 at 6:36am
|
At a recent dry camping event in South Texas one of my neighbors had mounted a water pump (just like the ones in the rPod) on a short piece of wood. He ran it off the battery to pump water out of 5 gal containers. No lifting. Worked well. ------------- MICK |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 20 Apr 2021 at 7:05am
|
Where is all the extra water you are putting in the fresh water tank going after you use it? Are you using a blueboy to empty the gray water tank? All 3 tanks are 30 gallons but not much water goes into the black tank usually so your gray tank should be filling up before you need much extra fresh water.
Don't try to tow with more than one tank full at a time. If two tanks are full thats 500 lbs of water, 3 tanks is 750 lbs. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 20 Apr 2021 at 7:32am
+1 We go 10 days at a time boondocking before having to think about getting additional water but also carry a couple of 5 gallon Coleman jugs. We have had them for 8 years now and have never had a problem with them leaking or having any issues with them, except for the fact that indeed they are heavy when full. At the end of 10 days or longer when we get low on FW it is S.O.P. for us just to dump both tanks. AS OG wisely states, you don't want to be carrying 2 or 3 30 gallon tanks around that are full, it could prove to be a potentially disastrous situation. ------------- God's pod '11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free." |
Posted By: Olddawgsrule
Date Posted: 20 Apr 2021 at 8:41am
|
The water bandit and 2 collapsible hoses. Best buys I made! Some areas I found water just didn't have the hose connection and the water bandit worked great! https://www.hardwarestore.com/brands/camco-22484-water-bandit.html?ps=175&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9_mDBhCGARIsAN3PaFPTSmXktokX9kpC6B3_fdEh1TF5Jd0Q8HAkQArF47154lokCKzo2FkaAqRtEALw_wcB - https://www.hardwarestore.com/brands/camco-22484-water-bandit.html?ps=175&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9_mDBhCGARIsAN3PaFPTSmXktokX9kpC6B3_fdEh1TF5Jd0Q8HAkQArF47154lokCKzo2FkaAqRtEALw_wcB ------------- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJduGeZNFgtptH67leItRFQ - Byways no Highways 2017 Tacoma http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=72408 - Truck Camper Build 2004 F150 My Overlander |
Posted By: podwerkz
Date Posted: 20 Apr 2021 at 9:18am
|
Just use a cheap freshwater RV water pump you can buy on Amazon or ebay....less than $20. Mount it to a board and attach some tubing and a couple of 12v battery clips....and carry a motorcycle battery.... Or just transfer the 5 gallons once per day instead of all at once. And as OG mentioned, you don't want TWO full water tanks on an r-pod anyway. ------------- r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten! |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 20 Apr 2021 at 10:57am
|
If you can figure out a way to put a valve and hose connector on your water jug, you could place it up on a high enough surface and use a hose to transfer water from the jug to the tank by taking advantage of gravity feed. You would not need a pump. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: Colt
Date Posted: 20 Apr 2021 at 3:54pm
|
While in E KY last month, I was unable to get to a potable water faucet, for several days. I went to a store and bought 1 gallon jugs of water and poured them into the fresh tank. The tall square jugs work well, those shaped like milk jugs spill the last few ounces. They were 78 cents each. Cheap to get coffee and a shower after a while. Since my Coleman jugs were such a failure pouring into the fresh tank, I bought 2 blue kerosene jugs and an old style gasoline can spout. After a washing, that worked well, but you can't get around 5 gallons of water weighing 42 pounds. ------------- John '16 R-Pod 180 |
Posted By: campingtrio
Date Posted: 20 Apr 2021 at 9:07pm
|
Yes, a poop truck for the waste. Not towing with the water. Driving to site empty, then filling it there (with a hose attach if available, or by water bandit).
|
Posted By: campingtrio
Date Posted: 20 Apr 2021 at 9:10pm
|
That's exactly what we did. The water bag has an optional hose connector, which we bought, then a short length of water hose, and the Coleman water intake valve thingie that goes into the tank. That was all good. But standing there for 10 minutes x 6 bags at 42 lbs got to be unfun. These bags have heavy duty grommets so they look like they are meant to be hung. I'm thinking of thowing some line over the roof and tying it to the steps on the other side so I don't have to hold them up the whole time.
|
Posted By: campingtrio
Date Posted: 20 Apr 2021 at 9:12pm
| That's all good, but the gravity emptying is the issue I'm trying to solve. |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 21 Apr 2021 at 7:49am
|
How about this? Get 6 of these rigid stackable water containers. Fill. Stack them next to your trailer fill port. Siphon the top one in, then swap a full one to the top. repeat.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087VT897F/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_50NSZX92N67VQ5CAXVDG?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 - stacjabkes Or, just tow your pod to the dump station, drain and refill. By the time you're done with the gray water draining, toting, draining again, and all the water jug filling, carrying, stacking, and siphoning you could probably have towed the trailer over and back 3x. Just sayin'... ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: Olddawgsrule
Date Posted: 21 Apr 2021 at 8:48am
|
How long do you stay in a spot? We rarely stayed put more that 3-4 days and typically had enough water. Now rationing was used and we carried 7.5 gallons of drinking water in the truck (3- 2.5 gallon carboys) and usually the typical water bottles (dozen or so). Only once did I find myself pouring water into the tanks, because I forgot to fill before reaching the site and didn't wish to break camp... Lesson learned and yes it was a PITA! If you really require a pump, then how about the small DC types. I have one running on my raised garden for watering. Just 3.6w to run and 240L/hr capacity. https://www.amazon.com/LEDGLE-Submersible-Ultra-Quiet-Dual-Purpose-Hydroponics/dp/B085NQ5VVJ/ref=sr_1_24?crid=1U7ZRPCT2DB9T&dchild=1&keywords=12v+water+pump&qid=1619012619&sprefix=12v+water+pump%2Caps%2C298&sr=8-24 - https://www.amazon.com/LEDGLE-Submersible-Ultra-Quiet-Dual-Purpose-Hydroponics/dp/B085NQ5VVJ/ref=sr_1_24?crid=1U7ZRPCT2DB9T&dchild=1&keywords=12v+water+pump&qid=1619012619&sprefix=12v+water+pump%2Caps%2C298&sr=8-24 ------------- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJduGeZNFgtptH67leItRFQ - Byways no Highways 2017 Tacoma http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=72408 - Truck Camper Build 2004 F150 My Overlander |
Posted By: fwunder
Date Posted: 21 Apr 2021 at 11:11am
|
This has worked very well for me for a number of years. Two Aqua-Tainer 7 gallon jugs. One 260 gph transfer pump w/switch 25 foot hose cut into two lengths Various 12v power extensions from battery bank SAE connector used for solar or aux. Water transfers very fast. Extensions long enough so I really don't have to remove jugs from TV. Two trips to water source = 28 gal. Jugs slide perfectly under dinette table while traveling.   ------------- 2014 RPod 178 => https://goo.gl/CV446f - MyMods and Buying Habits 2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6 Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks! |
Posted By: podwerkz
Date Posted: 21 Apr 2021 at 4:02pm
|
Water jugs, and wood. Both commodities are expensive now. ------------- r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten! |
Posted By: campingtrio
Date Posted: 22 Apr 2021 at 5:54am
I like the flat bags because they don't take up space when empty. However...this does give me another idea...the dinette table is movable. Some folks have told me they take it outside to do meal prep. Maybe I can take it around the corner, and put the bags on that. Might need a little more height still, have to measure it, but it might get me a good way there.
Reference earlier post about r-dome.
 |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 22 Apr 2021 at 6:13am
Rdome problem is easily solved. There are generally ready buyers on this forum. Sell it and get a Clam or other pop-up tent.😀 The table might work. Or, get a 4-6 ft stepladder if you don't already have one. It's very handy to clear debris from the slide and for other odds and ends around camp, like putting up that pesky rdome. Put the floppy water bag on a piece of plywood on top of the ladder. Maybe make a "socket" out of 2x2s on the bottom of the plywood so it stays on the ladder. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: David and Danette
Date Posted: 22 Apr 2021 at 1:54pm
|
I don't if these jugs would be helpful but they have held up well for us and not that heavy when filled. I have bought several from Walmart they are the "Arrow 2.5 gal Slim Line beverage dispenser blue" and they are only $7.26 each. ------------- 2018 Vista Cruiser 19BFD (2018- 2012 Vibe 6503 (2014-2019) 2009 r-pod 171 (2009-2014) Middle Tn 2014 Ram 1500 Quad cab |