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Places to fill with fresh water and clever ways to fill ..

wildwind_creati
Explorer
Explorer
I will soon own a 22 ft converted school bus. I wild camp so am never in a camp ground. I haven't seen too many places to fill with water. Gas stations have them less and less. My water tanks are small portables, but I'd be inclined to install a large tank if I felt sure I can keep it full.

A clever way to fill jerry cans is with simple clear drinking water hose from home depot. Have two different diameters. they are so pliable they can slip over a faucet in any restroom. I searched on amazon for such a connector, but could not find and realized I was overthinking it and just use the home depot hoses.

Looking for ideas of where to look for outdoor water faucets.
28 REPLIES 28

Gjac
Explorer III
Explorer III
JimK-NY wrote:
Gjac wrote:
...... After a week laundry has to be done bedding changed etc. Batteries are at 50%......


I have solar and if absolutely necessary a generator to take care of charging. I would never want to stop at campgrounds with hook ups just to charge batteries.

I cheat on the bedding and use sheets for a couple of weeks. We have a spare set so that puts us at 1 month. Laundry is even easier. I have 30 pairs of socks, underwear and T shirts. They really don't occupy much space and allow us to avoid Laundromat stops except for once a month.
You must have trained your wife better than me, she would never let me go more than a week without changing the bedding. Water is my limiting factor not battery power.

JimK-NY
Explorer II
Explorer II
Gjac wrote:
...... After a week laundry has to be done bedding changed etc. Batteries are at 50%......


I have solar and if absolutely necessary a generator to take care of charging. I would never want to stop at campgrounds with hook ups just to charge batteries.

I cheat on the bedding and use sheets for a couple of weeks. We have a spare set so that puts us at 1 month. Laundry is even easier. I have 30 pairs of socks, underwear and T shirts. They really don't occupy much space and allow us to avoid Laundromat stops except for once a month.

Grit_dog
Nomad III
Nomad III
Op has been out doing hippie things for 2 weeks now. Should be about time for a shower, probably be back to respond in the near future!
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5โ€ turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

Gjac
Explorer III
Explorer III
Not mentioned yet is Flying J, when I get gas I check air pressure and get water and propane if needed. Another thing to think about is battery power and waste tank sizes. Two GC batteries and 60 gals of FW are good for 7 days of dry camping with showers everyday. After a week laundry has to be done bedding changed etc. Batteries are at 50% SOC and need to be fully charged so we stop at a FHU CG with electric and a laundrymat, dump fill and ready to go again. Most NFS CG's also have water and with a senior pass are half price. Rest areas are harder to find that still have dump and fill but are still there if your google sanidumps. In over 100,000 miles and and 17 years of travel I have always been able to find water somewhere when needed. How big are your waste tanks? That may be your limiting factor.

mr_andyj
Explorer
Explorer
Makes a difference on where you are in the country. SW, esp CA, forget finding water, SE, hoses are everywhere and the term "wasting water" is not a thing because water comes out of a river or lake, then goes back into the same river or watershed further downstream... lol.
NE area I find fewer outdoor spigots due to harsh cold winters.
WI is nasty water that will ruin your tanks.

Fill up where you find water. You really do need a much, much bigger fresh tank if living off grid like this. A bus will handle the weight and you likely have lots of room under the floor for giant tanks.

A Jerrycan filter like this Jerrycan Lifesaver will let you get water from any source, lake, river, sketchy tap, but it is 5 gallons at a time. You can use out of the can or drain it into your fresh water tanks and repeat as needed.

For a bus and your situation I would have a 100 gallon capacity at least. I had a class-c with 65 gal tank, and could go a long time between fills.

Dutch_12078
Explorer
Explorer
Years ago we had a small Class C with a 28 gallon fresh tank. We sometimes asked at small town convenient or mom & pop stores if we could pay to fill our water tank from their outside faucet. Only a few said no, and even fewer accepted any payment. Of those that did accept payment, $5 was typical. My favorite was a store manager that requested $5, and when I handed it to him promptly stuffed it into a collection jar for a local family that has been burned out.
Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F53 chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
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ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/Blue Ox baseplate

JimK-NY
Explorer II
Explorer II
mobeewan wrote:
....

Wow $1/gal just for water. How much do they charge for dumping tanks, electricity, restrooms, camp site, etc.


The $1/gallon cost is based on paying roughly $30/night to stay in a campground in order to fill a 30 gallon tank. This procedure was suggested by another post.

mobeewan
Explorer
Explorer
JimK-NY wrote:
naturist wrote:
Just a suggestion: install a large tank, large enough you can go for a week on one fill, then spend one night a week in a campground where you can refill it and dump holding tanks.

I have a 30 gallon tank so a typical campground fee would cost me about a $1/gallon. Not only is that steep but that would only work if there is a campground available.


Wow $1/gal just for water. How much do they charge for dumping tanks, electricity, restrooms, camp site, etc.

JimK-NY
Explorer II
Explorer II
mobeewan wrote:
Bob Wells video from his YouTube channel CheapRVliving

How a nomad gets water on the road.
....


Using a Glacier coin op sounds feasible, except:

I checked in my area and the only station would require about an hour round trip drive.

I checked two areas where I often camp and they had no stations available anywhere within a reasonable driving distance.

JimK-NY
Explorer II
Explorer II
naturist wrote:
Just a suggestion: install a large tank, large enough you can go for a week on one fill, then spend one night a week in a campground where you can refill it and dump holding tanks.

I have a 30 gallon tank so a typical campground fee would cost me about a $1/gallon. Not only is that steep but that would only work if there is a campground available.

mobeewan
Explorer
Explorer
Bob Wells video from his YouTube channel CheapRVliving

How a nomad gets water on the road.


I plan to supplement finding water by catching rain water and melting snow. I have caught rain water off of my awning and tarps to use to wash with or rinse off gear. In the future I will have a pump with a trash filter and carbon filter to pump rain water or melted snow into a water tank where I can treat it and then pump it to or gravity fill my fresh water tank.

naturist
Nomad
Nomad
Just a suggestion: install a large tank, large enough you can go for a week on one fill, then spend one night a week in a campground where you can refill it and dump holding tanks.

Lwiddis
Explorer
Explorer
The Bandit is a nice tool. You should get one. If you add a water tank, think carefully about where to place it. Don't forget to make it easy to drain too...reachable valve. Water is heavy.
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad

n0arp
Explorer
Explorer
Horsedoc wrote:
dccamper wrote:
I don't own one but here is a thought for you,
https://www.amazon.com/WaterBasics-Emergency-Storage-Filter-RED-II-120/dp/B00P8EBDB8/ref=sr_1_18?cri...


That 30 gallons of water is going to weigh 250 pounds. Going to take some serious manhandling to get it up the steps of the bus, when you do find a place to obtain the water


We use a Milwaukee M18 transfer pump and a couple lengths of hose... One of our bladders is 95 gallons and when filled, sits in the back of the pickup. We carry a 45 gallon one that we fill in the back seat of our Jeep.
2000 Country Coach Magna 40',
4380W solar, 22.8kWh LiFePO4@48V, 450AH AGM@12V
2020 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 2.0T, cloaked on 37x13.5s