Number of water tanks?

[ReluctantTraveler]

I'm trying to get to somewhere between 80 and 100 gallons of fresh and gray capacity in a DIY rig with am ~10" basement, and had a few questions...

I'm torn between 1 giant tank for each (fresh/gray), and several smaller ones. Once I get into smaller tanks, I'm looking at 3 tanks for fresh and 3 for gray to find tanks that are short enough to fit in the basement. Is that absurd?

I'd planned to have equal quantities of fresh and gray. I notice that some expedition trucks have less gray capacity, under the assumption that you can "just dump anywhere," which I don't think is necessarily true. Any guidance there?

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

Our new build "under construction".
Multiple tanks will provide better security, with great attention to ensure the security of the "reserve" tanks, even if the vehicle falls over.
Where we travel, we would always expect that we can dispose of grey water within 24 hours.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

Our new build "under construction".
Multiple tanks will provide better security, with great attention to ensure the security of the "reserve" tanks, even if the vehicle falls over.
Where we travel, we would always expect that we can dispose of grey water within 24 hours.
View attachment 772763
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

I’m so exited to see how this rig shapes up. That’s a good water setup!

do you connect all the tanks, or switch from one to the other?

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

I switch from one to the other for both use and filling. All have level gauges.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

I switch from one to the other for both use and filling. All have level gauges.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

I am assuming that is so that if one of them fails, you don’t lose water in all of them?

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

Correct. It also allows you to be judgmental with water of different quality to keep it separate from other sources.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

Correct. It also allows you to be judgmental with water of different quality to keep it separate from other sources.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

That makes sense! Having a system that let's me fill from a stream or river (or other dodgy source), treat it, and let it sit for a while has been on mind.

Thanks Peter!

 

[DiploStrat]

I would love a larger grey water capacity as it is ever harder to dump, especially in more urban environments.

Do make sure that your fresh water tanks, at least, all have clean out ports. Makes it much easier to, well, clean, add water treatment, etc.

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

We find that in urban areas there are dumping places available, but if space permits a larger grey tank is always useful.
I found these... excellent for adding chlorine to a tank while filling via a hose.
1/2" 3/4" 1" Irrigation Venturi Fertilizer Mixer Injectors Garden Water TubeJC | eBay

This is the water filling and tank usage control on the new build. I can also choose settings to draw water from a ground source using the onboard pump.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

Do make sure that your fresh water tanks, at least, all have clean out ports. Makes it much easier to, well, clean, add water treatment, etc.

By cleanout port, do you mean a large opening at the top we can access, drains to dump the tanks out, both, or something else entirely?

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

We find that in urban areas there are dumping places available, but if space permits a larger grey tank is always useful.
I found these... excellent for adding chlorine to a tank while filling via a hose.
1/2" 3/4" 1" Irrigation Venturi Fertilizer Mixer Injectors Garden Water TubeJC | eBay

This is the water filling and tank usage control on the new build. I can also choose settings to draw water from a ground source using the onboard pump.
View attachment 772810View attachment 772811
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

This is REALLY helpful! I was actually just logging into to ask about ground fill when I saw this.

Have you considered using a separate pump for ground fill? I'd be concerned about contaminating the pump I use to supply clean fresh water with whatever nasty stuff is in the ground source (pre-treatment).

 

[DiploStrat]

By cleanout port, do you mean a large opening at the top we can access, drains to dump the tanks out, both, or something else entirely?

This is what I just bought. Had something similar on our previous truck.

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

Have you considered using a separate pump for ground fill? I'd be concerned about contaminating the pump I use to supply clean fresh water with whatever nasty stuff is in the ground source (pre-treatment).

The current vehicle uses a separate pump for ground fill, but the new one will use the normal one to save the weight. The "F" box in the schematic is a crude filter just to protect the pump.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome