Water System Ideas Thread

[DJG]

I'm trying to come up with an optimal water system solution, namely a system with either pressurized or pump powered water for showering, washing off sand/dirt/mud, dishes. As part of that, the considerations I've come up with are the following:

1. Pressurized vs. 12v Pump - pressurized has pros of not needing power and easy to do with onboard air, and cons of pressure drops through use. Pump has pro of consistent flow/pressure, but needs power (specifically 12v, but would likely need converter to 110 so I can use while truck is off).
2. Tank storage location
3. Tank size - smaller with more refilling vs. larger tank and less refilling. Considerations for the latter would be "sloshing" (though perhaps not discernable from driver seat), and loss of pressure if a pressurized system is used (can somewhat easily repressurize, but it's an added step).
4. If Pump solution, where/how to mount/secure it.

I've already researched the following, with my initial thoughts:

• Yakima Road Shower - solid metal tank that will last; easily pressurized via Schrader valve; water heats up through sun exposure with included temp strip; water can NOT be used for drinking; rated to 65 PSI but that would drop with use; included hose and fittings are notably cheap and would likely need to add my own; can be mounted to rails or also kept in gear tunnel (loses heating capability); medium capacity is 7 gallons; $550
• Big Kahuna shower - integrated pump into squareish bucket; small size is 4.7 gallons; available separate heater element with temp sensor that auto shuts off at 104 degrees; small size I think might fit in gear tunnel (12x12x9.5); polyethelyne, drinkable; $145 for base, extra $145 for heating accessory
• Front Runner foot well tank - made to span 2nd row foot well with cutout for transmission tunnel; 10 gal; valve/outlets on both ends; flat top that can support other stored items; fit in foot well, gear tunnel or in bed/rails; transmission tunnel cut out may help with sloshing; would need 12v pump kit; it probably heats up to some degree if exposed to sun, not sure; polyethelyne, drinkable; $200 plus perhaps $75-$150 for pump and hose kit
  • they also have other form factor tanks that could be options as well, both smaller and larger capacity
• Ironman 4x4 - similar to Front Runner, multiple sizes and form factors; Many of theirs have baffles though to reduce sloshing; Little cheaper than FR at around $150 vs. $200 for similar tank.

Hopefully this is a thread applicable to a lot of folks and it will be helpful. What are others doing for this? Thoughts on ideal placement for a pump system?

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[MountainBikeDude]

You could mitigate any pressure loss by hooking up the air hose to the tank while in use and setting the desired pressure.
But...
Not sure how the air compressor works on the Rivian, if you can set it to say 60psi, and it just keeps trying to top things up to the desired pressure, or if it stops and you have to keep pressing the start button to get it to run to pressure again.

 

[DJG]

You could mitigate any pressure loss by hooking up the air hose to the tank while in use and setting the desired pressure.
But...
Not sure how the air compressor works on the Rivian, if you can set it to say 60psi, and it just keeps trying to top things up to the desired pressure, or if it stops and you have to keep pressing the start button to get it to run to pressure again.

Well, I know it does a stop start as it measures/remeasures/reaches the desired pressure, so perhaps it would just stay in that state while using the hose. Dunno. I did use it to fill a tire with a slow leak on it, but the air going out wasn't enough to keep it on. It's a 7 day to flat type of leak.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I never took photos of my first setup. I used a 12V pump with an accumulator, drawing out of a 5 gallon tank, 12V LFP battery to run it. Whole setup fit under the tonneau cover. It worked, but wasn't optimal. Main problem was too much pressure.

 

[DJG]

I never took photos of my first setup. I used a 12V pump with an accumulator, drawing out of a 5 gallon tank, 12V LFP battery to run it. Whole setup fit under the tonneau cover. It worked, but wasn't optimal. Main problem was too much pressure.

I've come across this pump through a company called HydroTank, which makes kits for Jeep and Toyota rigs. They use a Shurflo pump that is low flow (1.8 gal/min), but 100PSI (high pressure reduces usage). It's pricey at $135, but seems to be a good reliable and sound dampened model. With a versatile garden hose nozzle on the end, I think you could find the setting with the right pressure (in addition to modulating through the trigger).

https://www.hydrotank.us/product-page/shurflo-high-pressure-pump

How did you store/secure the pump in the bed?

 

[Dark-Fx]

I've come across this pump through a company called HydroTank, which makes kits for Jeep and Toyota rigs. They use a Shurflo pump that is low flow (1.8 gal/min), but 100PSI (high pressure reduces usage). It's pricey at $135, but seems to be a good reliable and sound dampened model. With a versatile garden hose nozzle on the end, I think you could find the setting with the right pressure (in addition to modulating through the trigger).

https://www.hydrotank.us/product-page/shurflo-high-pressure-pump

How did you store/secure the pump in the bed?

3/4 plywood for the back and floor, stacked 2x4 against the back wall so I could use cinch straps to keep it in place, plywood had tiedowns for the battery and the tank. Stayed in place really well.

I'm pretty sure I have a shurflo pump. I bought a regulator for my next revision of the plan since even turning down the pump a whole bunch still made it too much pressure. Run through water too quick.

 

[PastyPilgrim]

I've been looking at this recently since it seems like with access to both tons of power and a compressor that it should be possible to have a good water system with the R1T.

The RoadShower seems like a decent fit with the main issues being low quality components, inability to drink the water, price, and maybe water temp (with the available power, heated water shouldn't be out of the question).

I did come across the Weekender system which seems to be a bit better in that you can drink the water and the components look a bit better, along with a few other upsides (e.g. larger tank for the same price): https://thewaterport.com/product/weekender-8-0-gallon-water-tank/

 

[PastyPilgrim]

After further consideration and research, I've decided to go with WaterPort but instead of the large, 8gal tank, I'm going to get their smaller 4gal tank. When deciding between WaterPort, RoadShower, and other alternatives, I decided on WaterPort because the components seem higher quality (everything is quick release) and WaterPort confirmed for me that it's safe to drink the water it stores (so also good for dogs/cooking/etc.) (assuming of course that you start with potable water).

Despite 4gal not being a ton of water, I decided to go with that over the 8gal tank because:

• It's super easy to fill/transport/carry/etc. (i.e. if you don't have access to a spigot to refill that way, you can just carry it to a sink or something)
• It's more modular so you can add more tanks as/when needed.
  • It's cheaper to get 2x4gal tanks than 1x8gal tank (you could also get some $30 coleman water vessel that you carry reserve water in and only have one expensive, pressurized vessel).
  • While not something I would think would be a problem, multiple compartmentalized containers v. one large container would limit sloshing forces
  • While I think it could be interesting to try wiring multiple tanks together (such that you could fill, drain, and pressurize them together), even if that doesn't work out, multiple tanks has the advantage of being usable in parallel (e.g. you and a partner could use them to shower at the same time).
  • There's more options for storage and mounting with smaller tanks.

 

[Hopper]

Going diy with a 5 gallon rooftop tank made from pvc and pressurized using the compressor.

 

[domoplaytime]

Going diy with a 5 gallon rooftop tank made from pvc and pressurized using the compressor.

I vaguely recall some discussions about the compressor overheating with too much use. But I'd love to see a homemade super-soaker, so please do post pics and experiences with it. I might just do the same. Gotta get the truck first though.

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