Water supply when there's no water supply

[Dave M]

We currently only have a faucet which allows us to hookup to water at campgrounds. But, what to do about campsites with no water supply? I have seen the Valterra Rocket in popups before. Is that a good option? What about the tank? We are just weekenders, so we don't need a huge water supply.

[CarolnJim]

Our 17' Casita has a 25 gallon water tank.. We usually don't fill it unless we are dry camping. By the time we get to camp, it's usually lost about 3 or 4 gallons. This water is for doing dishes, quick bathing etc. We carry 5 gallons of bottled water for cooking and drinking. We figure 1 gallon for 1 day of camping. Works for us.

[Gina D.]

Hi Dave,

For quick trips, I have one of THESE and a 2 gallon water bottle, standard water cooler bluish ones.

It fits nicely on the seat right next to the sink and I put bottle/pump on a cutting board there for stability.

If this isn't too rustic for you.. it works great! I used this in 2 pop ups and now my Burro for quick trips.

I also don't see why you couldn't use a 5 gallon jug, I only use 2 because it's easier for me to carry.

[Penny Taylor]

I used to carry those square collapsable plastic water jugs, that have a spigot on them. Then when they are empty, they fold up, and don't take up space. They are also handy for solar showers, at the beach, to get the sand, and salt, off kids, before they track it in !
Now, I freeze 2 litre pop bottles of drinking water, and keep them in fridge, or ice chest, when travelling, as I don't like to run with fridge on propane.
Then for 'everyday' water for dishes, toilet, etc., the little square jugs that 7 lb. or 14 lb. of cat litter comes in, about a gallon, or two, fit neatly in all kinds of little spaces, and can be thrown away when no longer needed.
I don't like to pick anything too heavy either, and 5 gallons would be too heavy. Also I wouldn't want that cluttering up my small counter space ! To each his own !!

[Dave M]

The pump idea is kind of interesting (and economical), but I was looking for something that would be a little more of a permanent solution. Anyone have experience with "the Rocket" or something like it? Is water pressure necessary for this to work, or does it "pull" water from a tank? Other solutions?

[Gina D.]

Dave, is that a flying monkey you have as an avatar?

What is this "The Rocket" you speak of? Never heard of it. (I am a dope)

I suppose an RV place could install a tank for you. The plumbing bit is easy. I have done some of mine myself. I want to redo the filler line and drain, just haven't gotten 'round to it yet.

[KenReiss]

I believe he is talking about a rocker pump and not a rocket.

Dave, it pulls water from the tank (not pressured). It works kind of like a hand pump would work on the end of a point well. They prime themselves automatically, so just rock a few times and you'll have water come up and out.

Here's one on ebay for less than $30US.

Good luck!

[Byron Kinnaman]

I believe he is talking about a rocker pump and not a rocket.

Dave, it pulls water from the tank (not pressured). It works kind of like a hand pump would work on the end of a point well. They prime themselves automatically, so just rock a few times and you'll have water come up and out.

Here's one on ebay for less than $30US.

Good luck!

I think he's talking about a "Rocket Hand Pump"

[Frederick L. Simson]

We currently only have a faucet which allows us to hookup to water at campgrounds. But, what to do about campsites with no water supply? I have seen the Valterra Rocket in popups before. Is that a good option? What about the tank? We are just weekenders, so we don't need a huge water supply.

I used a "Rocket Hand Pump" in my Compact Junior and it worked well, when I used it. But Robert preferred using bottled water for everything, even for washing, back then. I've seen many 13' trailers with 2 faucets, One for "City Water" and one that manually pumped from a tank. As long as you have room on the counter,at the right corner of the sink, I think it will work. My "Rocket" had the pump handle on the right side.

[KenReiss]

That rocker pump is an even better deal that the ebay one I posted.

Looks like rvpart.com is a pretty good site, I'll be busy tonight seeing what they have.

[Gina D.]

That still doesn't solve the source issue. The pump will only be as good as the pool it's pumping from.

[Suz]

I have a small ten gallon holding tank under one of my rear benches. I do keep it sterilized and use it for washing, etc. I still carry bottled water for drinking. It could easily be hooked up to a hand pump.

[KenReiss]

If you are worried about unsterilized water, mix in 1/4tsp of chlorine bleach per gallon of water. It should be safe to drink within 30 minutes.

[Suz]

Thanks for the formula. That's good to know.

Actually, I'm not really worried about mine because I do keep it sterilzed. It's just that I drink a lot of water so bringing that in gallon jugs extends my water supply.

[Charlie C]

The e-bay site with the rocker pump also has polyethelene tank kits.

[Benny K]

We use our fresh water tank for washing, etc.,and bring 5 one gallon jugs for cooking and drinking.....on longer trips, 4-6 weeks, we just refill or replace the water jugs in Walmarts or where ever....when we are hooked up to water source, we`ll use that water for washing instead of the onboard tank.......Benny

[Dave M]

Dave, is that a flying monkey you have as an avatar?

What is this "The Rocket" you speak of? Never heard of it. (I am a dope)

I suppose an RV place could install a tank for you. The plumbing bit is easy. I have done some of mine myself. I want to redo the filler line and drain, just haven't gotten 'round to it yet.

Since I'm a relative newcomer to this site, it's a rocking baby monkey. I'm still in search of the perfect avatar, so this was something to get started with.

[Dave M]

Anybody have any experience with one of these??

[Mike Taylor]

Anybody have any experience with one of these??

I replaced my hand pump with one of those combos from JC Whitney. Mounted the pump right by the water tank under seat. It's very quiet and hardly takes any power to run.