How much water is enough?

[6btEX]

I am currently building an off road camper. Designed for two, planning on stand alone trips of 5-7 days without supplies.
Our trips our mostly west side of Rockies, hiking and such. A daily shower is the norm. We share a Zodi extreme shower, so usage is low.
I am trying to decide on water tank size. Drinking water will be from other sources, so mostly for cooking, cleaning, etc. Seems a lot of trailers run 20-25 gallons.
Is that good without refills for a week or so?

 

[elcoyote]

We recommend budgeting 1 to 1.5 gallons per day per person. Hot desert environments, 2 gallons per day.

 

[rcharrette]

Everyone is so different in there usage. We have a 50 Gal fresh tank on our camper. We as a family of 4 can go for 5 days on it MAX. This includes one short shower each, dishes, drinking water, etc. We also carry (3) 6 gallon jerry cans on the roof to add to the tank when going longer. I'd say 20-25 is pretty safe and again you could always carry a bit more in jerry can's to add.

 

[mep1811]

I plan on two gallons a day for everything. Shower days days use more as do laundry days . Better to have more than not enough.

 

[6btEX]

That's what I was thinking. In the space I have for the tank, my options are an easy to fit 24 gallons or a 34 gallon with a few mods.
Just not sure if its worth the extra effort and weight

 

[6btEX]

Anyone had problems with standard RV water tanks? I see the marine water tanks are beefier

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Everyone needs differ Im good with 1.5gal a day solo/dog travel. Im set up and carry 13.5 gals and also carry a water purifier.

 

[TwinStick]

As much as you can fit/store & comfortably tow. If you run out, one of these could save the day, if you can fit one in your vehicle/trailer/gear. http://www.berkeyfilters.com/?gclid=CLfA0J-5ncwCFcNkhgodwEUPpA

 

[toymaster]

As much as you can fit/store & comfortably tow. If you run out, one of these could save the day, if you can fit one in your vehicle/trailer/gear.

^^^^This.

I do not know your trailer size or tow vic however, I assume a dodge cummins just from your forum name (6bt and all...). Water is heavy and moves a lot if the tank is not baffled. Personally from your description I'd take between 10 and 20 gallons and a filter. Water for showers or dishes does not have to be filtered. Your in the PNW so water should not be hard to find and lighter is better almost 100% of the time.

 

[Semi-Hex]

We have 32 gallons of drinking water, 4 gallons in our shower system and 7 gallons for cleaning. We spend up to 9 days in Utah without a refill. We hike, backpack or just camp. We don't drink anything extra like whiskey, beer or soda.

 

[Robert Bills]

7 days @ 1 gal per person per day x 2 people = 14 gallons. Add 1/2 gallon per person per day for reserve = 7 gallons. 14 + 7 = 21 gallons.

If you follow the more generous 2 gal./day per person formula the total for 7 days would be 24 gallons. Thus, the 24 gallon tank you are contemplating should be plenty.

I have a 16 gallon tank permanently mounted in my Bantam trailer. I typically carry another 5 gallons in a jerry can. The guideline I generally use is 1/2 gal. per person per day for drinking, 1/2 gal. per person per day for cooking, 1/2 gal. per person per day for cleaning. + 1/2-1 gal. per day for the group "just in case." Bottled water, if any, is factored into the drinking water category for calculating total water needs. I have never come close to running out of water using this formula.

 

[lqdchkn]

I believe 1 gallon per person per day is the absolute minimum recommended, just for drinking water.

 

[Robert Bills]

I believe 1 gallon per person per day is the absolute minimum recommended, just for drinking water.

From the Interweb:

1. There are many different opinions on how much water we should be drinking every day. The health authorities commonly recommend eight 8-ounce glasses, which equals about 2 liters, or half a gallon. This is called the 8×8 rule and is very easy to remember.
   
   [h=3]How Much Water Should You Drink Per Day?[/h]https://authoritynutrition.com/how-much-water-should-you-drink-per-day/
   
   
   

 

[goodtimes]

I don't like hard and fast rules for how much you should carry. Too many variables in play to find a realistic and reasonable one-size-fits-all number.

Take what you can comfortably carry & be prepared to fill up along the way as needed. Play it safe on your first couple trips until you get a feel for what you/your family uses, & adjust accordingly.

When I had the capacity, I carried 30 gallons for 2 of us, & we were rarely away from a water source for more than a few days. Any time we got below about 10 gallons available & we weren't on our way home - I started looking for some place to fill up.

Now that I'm traveling solo in a much smaller vehicle - typically 10 gallons & I start looking when I'm down to 5 gallons.

 

[Septu]

7 days @ 1 gal per person per day x 2 people = 14 gallons. Add 1/2 gallon per person per day for reserve = 7 gallons. 14 + 7 = 21 gallons.

If you follow the more generous 2 gal./day per person formula the total for 7 days would be 24 gallons. Thus, the 24 gallon tank you are contemplating should be plenty.

I have a 16 gallon tank permanently mounted in my Bantam trailer. I typically carry another 5 gallons in a jerry can. The guideline I generally use is 1/2 gal. per person per day for drinking, 1/2 gal. per person per day for cooking, 1/2 gal. per person per day for cleaning. + 1/2-1 gal. per day for the group "just in case." Bottled water, if any, is factored into the drinking water category for calculating total water needs. I have never come close to running out of water using this formula.

Especially if he's not drinking from that water.