travelling w/out water system

[maznblu]

Hi all.
The thread about grey water tanks and conservation made me think about my solutions for water use on my cross-country trip this Summer. I had bought my "new" '77 Sovereign in mid-June and set out for Arizona at the end of that month.

The trailer had not been properly winterized, so had some major ruptures in the city water line, as well as some problems with the water pump. Therefore, no onboard fresh water capacity. What to do?

First, I bought several collapsible 2.5 gal water jugs fitted with spigots. These I filled with fresh water and placed in the galley and head for sink use. Then I got a backpacker's eight-gal solar water shower. After a day in the back of the pickup, the water in it was too hot to use right off. These nifty devices have a thermometer right on them and the water always registered at +128 degrees.

For the toilet I took a five-gal pail, drilled a hole about an inch from the bottom and fitted it with a kitchen sink sprayer. I placed it on the cabinet next to the toilet and gravity allowed spraying and filling the toilet for flushing.

Fortunately, both the grey and black water tanks worked fine, although I grew to HATE to stinky slinky and am so glad to learn about alternatives. That was the one part of travelling with the A/S that was distinctly not appealing.

Because America's roads are so terrible, it was necessary to stow all the jugs and pail in the tub before setting out, then set them up again at each stop. All in all, though, it wasn't a bad solution, and I sure remembered to conserve on water use!

What has anyone else done in similar situations? I'm always looking for clever ideas to use when I go horse-camping.

Of course, I still plan to fix the plumbing problems. After reading these forums, I'll probably install all new lines using Pex tubing. But even if I can't get to it as soon as I'd like, I know I can continue to travel with my A/S (that I LOVE!!) in relative comfort. Sure beats a tent at my advanced age!

Eugenie

[davidz71]

EAP,
Where I deer hunt, water is available although is questionable. There are about 6 other TT that hook up to the same line so I use a filter. I do not drink this water but use it to take a shower if I spend more than 2 days at a time hunting. I use a hard plastic 5 gallon container for my fresh water and pour it into a smaller 1.25 gallon container which sits on top of the counter, valve hanging over the sink. I do not fill my fresh water tank because the TT may sit for 6-12 wks. before I bring it home. Another reason is that I do not have access to electricity so I rely on a 5 watt solar panel to keep a maintenance charge on the 2 batteries after running lights or the furnace on cold nights (supplemented with a catalytic heater of course to save the 12 volts.)
This has worked for me but I am bringing my water containers home each week for fresh water.

[60stradewind]

Hello EAP I had been using those five gal collapsable
water containers set 'em up where I was camping in the sun to heat up
during the day and then discovered the backpackers shower kit! These
are great are they not? You have a lot of great suggestions for water
source - I wanted to ask about the Pex tubing you talked about?
The only other offer of water heating source is that I bought some
copper pipe at a yard sale and I ran it on the outside of my kitchen/roadside
of my AS and use it with one of my 5 gals to heat up extra water for dishes adn
and a quik cuppa java. Works really well in very hot weather!

[60stradewind]

Hello EAP I had been using those five gal collapsable
water containers set 'em up where I was camping in the sun to heat up
during the day and then discovered the backpackers shower kit! These
are great are they not? You have a lot of great suggestions for water
source - I wanted to ask about the Pex tubing you talked about?
The only other offer of water heating source is that I bought some
copper pipe at a yard sale and I ran it on the outside of my kitchen/roadside
of my AS and use it with one of my 5 gals to heat up extra water for dishes adn
and a quik cuppa java. Works really well in very hot weather!


Hello Craig/David

Was curious where you attained your 5 watt solar panel?
Thank you

[Pahaska]

Camping World and Pep Boys both carry the panel that I use. About $65. I had one on my last trailer for several years and it kept the battery in top condition. I have a new one in the shop ready to mount on my AS.

[60stradewind]

Thank you Pahaska! I used to shop at Pep Boys They are not so close
now so will try Camping World. Tho I think Pep Boys has a
web site hmmmm will check on that too!
I really appreciate your quik response!
Have a great rest of your week end,
sincerely
60stradewind

[davidz71]

60stradewin,
I bought my Solargizer off ebay. I really like this model because it has more than a charger/maintainer built into it. It has a desulfation mode that sends pulses to the battery plates to help shake them of deposited material so that it will dissolve back into the battery acid solution. Do an engine search for Solargizer battery chargers and you should hit their website. There have been times that I felt that more is better i.e. maybe another 5 watt panel attached to the other battery or maybe a 10 watt version of the Solargizer. The 5 watt has worked for me so far. Unisolar has flexible solar panels which fit curves of boats, etc. Camping World, Northern Hydraulic and numerous other sites sell the ICB Global (I think that is correct) solar systems ranging from an auto battery maintainer to 100 watt panels with 21 amp controllers. I talked a friend into the 5 watt ICB that was on sale for $69 and he has been happy with it. He though it had failed after leaving the trailer for several days. He found that he turned his gas system off but left the electric fan system on. When the temps got down, the fan ran all the time and the poor battery never could catch up. He took the battery home, charged it up and it has been fine since. Lucky him.
Also check www.rvsolarelectric.com for good info on solar systems and a great catalog.