Water Tank

D

Ducky's Dad

Explorer
If you use PVC, be sure to paint it for UV protection. Home Depot sells a primer called BONDZ (online only now, it seems) that actually sticks to PVC. I have big PVC tanks on my roof rack, primered with white Bondz, and the finish is in perfect condition after thousands of miles of desert travel. Even in white, the water gets pretty warm in the AZ summer. It's difficult to get paint to stick to most plastics, so plan to scrub the PVC down with acetone and then spray it immediately to get a good bond.

PVC tanks are very heavy for the volume they hold. Do the math and you will find that a single larger diameter tube will usually hold more than twice as much as a smaller tube (six feet of 8" holds more than 12 feet of 6", depending on your fittings). But, as you increase tubing diameter, fittings get a lot harder to find and they are very expensive in larger diameters.
 
H

harbinger808

Adventurer
any pictures of your setup on roof rack?... thanks

Ducky's Dad said:
If you use PVC, be sure to paint it for UV protection. Home Depot sells a primer called BONDZ (online only now, it seems) that actually sticks to PVC. I have big PVC tanks on my roof rack, primered with white Bondz, and the finish is in perfect condition after thousands of miles of desert travel. Even in white, the water gets pretty warm in the AZ summer. It's difficult to get paint to stick to most plastics, so plan to scrub the PVC down with acetone and then spray it immediately to get a good bond.

PVC tanks are very heavy for the volume they hold. Do the math and you will find that a single larger diameter tube will usually hold more than twice as much as a smaller tube (six feet of 8" holds more than 12 feet of 6", depending on your fittings). But, as you increase tubing diameter, fittings get a lot harder to find and they are very expensive in larger diameters.
Click to expand...
 
D

Ducky's Dad

Explorer
any pictures of your setup on roof rack?... thanks
Click to expand...
file.php


Yes the truck is stuck in the AZ desert. Water tank is a pair of 6" Sch-40 PVC tubes, connected with strategically placed Ts so that the tank assembly can be slid over the crossbars of my Yakima rack system. The tank assembly is held to my Con-Ferr basket with stainless U-bolts, so it can't move up/down, fore/aft, or laterally, and it leaves the whole roof basket open for gear. The front of each tube has threaded caps so that I can thoroughly clean out the tanks, and the two angles at the back allow filling from a bucket or a pump through the 4" threaded plug in the top and draining through the boiler drain on the bottom section. When I have access to a garden hose, I just connect the hose to the boiler drain with a quick-connect and turn on the hose until water oozes out around the fill plug. I leave that plug just loose enough to allow the tank to drain slowly when I'm using it. Since others also use the tank, I don't want too much flow because others waste my water. I can speed up the flow by loosening the fill plug to relieve vacuum. This tank setup is about six feet OAL and holds about 18.3 gallons of potable water. But it is heavy and was expensive and time consuming to build, with lots of fancy cutting on the fittings to get everything to go together. I may build a new tank to reduce weight and increase capacity, using a length of 8" Class 200 PVC pipe that I sourced from a landscape supply. Will be much simpler and a bit lighter, will hold more water, but I need to figure out a secure mounting system for my rack. You can control sloshing by filling the tank with clean wiffle balls, a variation on what's done in larger tanker trucks.

That silver/black thing on the other side of the rack is my EZ-Awn.
 
Luinil Explorations

Luinil Explorations

Adventurer
Have been thinking about PVC pipes for tanks as well. Did some math and came up with the following.

6" pipe holds 1.5 gallons per foot and the water will weigh 12.5 pounds per foot. Six foot will hold 9 gallons and weigh 75 pounds plus the weight of the PVC.

4" pipe holds 0.65 gallons per foot and the water will weigh 5.4 pounds per foot. Six foot will hold 4 gallons and weigh 32 pounds plus the weight of the PVC.

Am reluctant to start the peoject because a couple of six inch pipes on the roof rack can eat into the allowable load very quickly. Also mounting them up high really plays havoc with the vehicle center of gravity.
 
rayra

rayra

Expedition Leader
Ducky's Dad said:
...But, as you increase tubing diameter, fittings get a lot harder to find and they are very expensive in larger diameters.
Click to expand...

Yep. The end caps in the design sketch I posted will cost more than all the rest of the PVC parts.
 
Semi-Hex

Semi-Hex

Enfant Terrible
Even as a plumbing contractor with a 70% discount on fittings, they do cost quite a bit. The whiffle ball idea is a great one.
 
L

Lynnrb

Observer
M

mataylor1

New member
Have you looked at Front Runner products (They sponsor this thread)? I will probably go to them when it is time for water storage in my rig.
 
Semi-Hex

Semi-Hex

Enfant Terrible
Ducky's Dad said:
Those translucent PE tanks let in enough light to grow things inside the tank if it's mounted on the outside of the truck, so probably not good for potable water on longer trips, unless you drop in purification tabs or a bit of chlorine. An advantage of PVC and ABS is that they are opaque and keep light out.
Click to expand...
This should be a true concern for people with larger tanks. When I had my tank built with food grade plastic roto welded with two baffles, one of my concerns was keeping it clean. I had a drain installed so I could flush it out easily. The plastic food grade material is 1/4 inch thick and black. It does not let any light in, so I shouldn't have the problem of anything growing inside.
I carry a water filter and do use it all the time.
 
PPCLI_Jim

PPCLI_Jim

Adventurer
with the simple pvc type if your worried about the growth of funky stuff , what i have done is fill it partially then add some bleach run it around allowing to slosh around . drain the water refill and let run for a few minutes to flush the system then . drain then refill and go .
 
D

Ducky's Dad

Explorer
with the simple pvc type if your worried about the growth of funky stuff , what i have done is fill it partially then add some bleach run it around allowing to slosh around . drain the water refill and let run for a few minutes to flush the system then . drain then refill and go .
Click to expand...
I do that before the season, and then we go through water fast enough that crud is not a problem as long as we refill from a known source. If it sits for a month of more, I flush and clean it again.
 
C

cwvandy

Adventurer
Custom water tank

I did a build last year of a '13 Tundra. I looked everywhere for a custom tank builder and decided to go with the tanks built by Adventure Trailers. I wanted a large tank---at least 35 gallons---and I wanted it mounted in the center of the truck and of a size that took up minimum space. AT nailed it. They built me a baffled, drinking water safe, black, with all the custom fittings I needed. I am extremely pleased. Many thousand of miles off road without a single issue. Take a look at:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/136352-Custom-Tundra-Bed-Storage-Phase-1
 
P

pcut

Adventurer
I went to a plastics guy in Salt Lake- Beehive Plastics, I think. He made a custom tank to fit in the rear floor well that cost about $150.00. It holds about 16 gallons and I just strap it down. Works great for 5-6 day trips with me, my SO and the dog. I keep a 2.5 gallon container with a spigot that I can refill and that goes on the kitchen table at camp. I like it because it keeps the center of gravity lower.
 
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