Water for dry camping

rmcarthur

I have a 2016 T@B 320 CS-S and tow it with a Ford F-150. When dry camping is there a way to store a water tank in the bed of the truck that has a water pump hooked to the tank and feed the water into the CITY WATER connection? Let's say the water tank held a minimum of 50 gallons? I want a way to supplement the fresh water tank and the water supply in general when dry camping. Weight from the extra water will not be an issue for towing purposes. Thoughts?

DougH

Not precisely what you we're looking for, but half way there...

https://youtu.be/PuN9WvyOt_0

Denny16

You can also get bladder tank to put in the back,of the truck bed.
cheers

jkjenn

rmcarthur said:

I have a 2016 T@B 320 CS-S and tow it with a Ford F-150. When dry camping is there a way to store a water tank in the bed of the truck that has a water pump hooked to the tank and feed the water into the CITY WATER connection? Let's say the water tank held a minimum of 50 gallons? I want a way to supplement the fresh water tank and the water supply in general when dry camping. Weight from the extra water will not be an issue for towing purposes. Thoughts?

Bear in mind the impact on your GVWR. 50 gallons of water weighs over 400 lbs! That would also cause your TV rear end to sag in all liklihood.

Denny16

If the water is at the front of the bed next to the cab, the weight will be distributed between both axles, adding 1/4 of the load to each wheel, well within the capacity of a F150 truck.  With 400+ lbs in the front of the bed should not drop significantly if at all.
cheers

jkjenn

Denny16 said:

If the water is at the front of the bed next to the cab, the weight will be distributed between both axles, adding 1/4 of the load to each wheel, well within the capacity of a F150 truck.  With 400+ lbs in the front of the bed should not drop significantly if at all.
cheers

It's the 400lbs + T@b + other geat that would likely cause a sag. 

It could be alleviated by unhooking and then going to fill the bladder.

Or, just trade up to a 2021 T@b that has an 18 gallon water tank. 😁

Denny16

A Ford F-150 has a cargo Payload capacity of 1250-2300 lbs, so even 600 lbs of water is not an issue, still have capacity for trailer tongue weight.  Hauling 400 lbs of water will add to the load, but well within its capability.  Now a mid-size truck would be a horse of a different color!

Cheers

nhmike

I'd set the auxiliary water tank up with a gravity feed line into the t@b's on board fresh water tank from the back of the truck.  Put a shutoff valve in the line and fill as needed.  Eliminates the second pump.   

Denny16

Also, the new TaBs with the Nautilus system can pump the water directly from an aux water tank into the TaB’s tank.
cheere

rmcarthur

Thanks everyone. I'm still looking for a response about hooking into the city water. How would that look?

Sharon_is_SAM

The city water connection supplies a higher flow via a constant, sustained pressure.  Not sure of what you gain by using a pump to deliver water through the city connection.  The pressure at the faucet will be limited by the pumps output pressure.  Why not fill the fresh water tank and use the TaB water pump?  Do you think that the fresh water tank fills via the city water connection?

ScottG

The city water port is just a common female garden hose connection. As long as you have the matching male end on the outflow from your pump, this doesn't seem like it would pose any particular challenge.

rmcarthur

Sharon, I dry camped for several weeks this summer and am trying to avoid having to frequently refill the freshwater tank. In my mind, if I have a pump with a pressure sensor that can sustain constant pressure to the city water line in my T@B I can avoid filling my freshwater tank every other day.

jkjenn

rmcarthur said:

Sharon, I dry camped for several weeks this summer and am trying to avoid having to frequently refill the freshwater tank. In my mind, if I have a pump with a pressure sensor that can sustain constant pressure to the city water line in my T@B I can avoid filling my freshwater tank every other day.

I hope you are using overstatement. If you are needing to fill every other day, perhaps some water conservation tips would help. 

I can make an 18 gallon freshwater tank last a week, with zero effort at conservation and lived for 3 months with a 5 gallon freshwater tank, refilling with a spare freshwater tank 1-2 times a week.

Sharon_is_SAM

Yes, I see where that would save you the effort.  If you leave your truck parked and leave the pump connected that would work.  Would you hook the pump up to the TaB battery?  

I guess we find it very easy to siphon water into the tank - especially if the truck water tank was elevated higher than the TaB tank.  With a large enough siphon tube, water tank and pressure, it would take all of 3 minutes!

DougH

@rmcarthur Even this very inexpensive pump:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0863WL6FG

... has a 85psi automatic cutoff and could be used with a 40psi regulator on the hose to go into the city water supply.  But I'd find a better one...  this is just an example that there's plenty of pressure regulating water pumps, some at 35psi, some 85psi, some 100psi.  Most are self-priming.

Even a 45psi 3.5gpm Shureflo like the default T@B water pump could work?  Though if you have updated your shower head to a 1.5gpm like the awesome Niagara Conservation head, the above that rate may be overkill.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Shurflo-2088-554-144-Fresh-Water-Pump-12-Volts-3-5-Gallons-Per-Minute-45-Psi/538069243?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=8755

Denny16

That 85 psi pump is overkill and was designed as a washdown pump, not a domestic water supply pump.  The regular Sureflow pump, with a air pressure tank would work best, but the pump and filter kit could be used alone also.
cheers

rmcarthur

Jenn, I camp to enjoy adventures while not having to pay mind to water usage. Thats the goal.

ScottG

It makes no difference to the distribution system whether you are filling and pressurizing it from the pump connection or the city water connection a few inches away. If the stock T@B pump works well enough to draw water from the built-in tank, a similar pump should work just as well to draw from an external tank. 

rmcarthur

Thanks, Scott. Makes sense.