Portable pump for freshwater fill-ups

[Hatchdog]

Wow, thanks for all the replies and great suggestions.

I think I will start with using the on-board pump/outdoor shower method and will experiment with it next time I pull the trailer out of the shop. (That’s a bit of a project with all the other “stuff” in there that has to be moved first). I’m wondering if the fill rate will be slow due to the shower’s low flow rate. My water pump’s winter valve is not too hard to access but I do have to unscrew a phony hinge to get to it. If I find this method to cumbersome I’ll pick-up a separate pump and go that direction.

Anything is better than the ladder/wood monster/funnel method we are currently using. Plus my wife will appreciate not getting a “shower” on a cold day as shown in the pic above.

[IsleDog]

we bought a 25 gallon sprayer tank new. sanitized the tank and pump and hose. we removed the sprayer gun and added a fitting to convert to garden hose. we fill the tank when coming back from exploring and plug it into the trucks power. attach the hose and fill your tank. this works well for both gravity feed tanks and tanks that need pressure. the pump is capable of 60psi on a closed hose.

[jimmoore13]

Great thread, and I learned from all of you.
Siphoning wouldn't work on my old highwall pop-up. The fill was pretty high up the side. My new rig's fill is lower...a blessing as I lift an pour 60 pound water jugs into the tank. I'm sure I could just siphon.

A thought on starting the siphon. Can you just put the output end of the hose near the ground to get it started? My guests might question the water quality if I started it by sucking on the end.

I'm still sold on the transfer pump option (probably 120 volt because everything runs better on 120 volts). Case for 120 volts: I have several inflatable water toys (kayak, party float, two river-tubes). I have a nice 12 volt inflator, but it's slow and doesn't make enough pressure to firm up the kayak. I previously used a hand pump to finish the job. I bought a 120 volt "Airhead Super Pump" inflator, and the difference is staggering. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Added bonus is that the Airhead is also a deflator...flattens the inflatables really well.

My generator is available, so why not use it?

But...again...I learned a lot from this thread. Thanks everyone!!

[Philkaty]

I use a 12v pump from harbor freight and a 55 gal barrel

[GalsofEscape]

I use a portable 12volt shower to transfer water from a wheeled aquatainer to the fresh tank. Just unscrew the shower head and stick the hose in the gravity fill port, pump end in the water and plug into a cigarette lighter power port in the vehicle and turn it on. Cheap and packs small.

[dbledan]

I use a shake hose. You put it in the water container and shake it to start the flow. There is a ball that acts as a one way valve to start it.

Originally Posted by jimmoore13

Great thread, and I learned from all of you.
Siphoning wouldn't work on my old highwall pop-up. The fill was pretty high up the side. My new rig's fill is lower...a blessing as I lift an pour 60 pound water jugs into the tank. I'm sure I could just siphon.

A thought on starting the siphon. Can you just put the output end of the hose near the ground to get it started? My guests might question the water quality if I started it by sucking on the end.

I'm still sold on the transfer pump option (probably 120 volt because everything runs better on 120 volts). Case for 120 volts: I have several inflatable water toys (kayak, party float, two river-tubes). I have a nice 12 volt inflator, but it's slow and doesn't make enough pressure to firm up the kayak. I previously used a hand pump to finish the job. I bought a 120 volt "Airhead Super Pump" inflator, and the difference is staggering. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Added bonus is that the Airhead is also a deflator...flattens the inflatables really well.

My generator is available, so why not use it?

But...again...I learned a lot from this thread. Thanks everyone!!

[dbledan]

Originally Posted by Hatchdog

Wow, thanks for all the replies and great suggestions.

I think I will start with using the on-board pump/outdoor shower method and will experiment with it next time I pull the trailer out of the shop. (That’s a bit of a project with all the other “stuff” in there that has to be moved first). I’m wondering if the fill rate will be slow due to the shower’s low flow rate. My water pump’s winter valve is not too hard to access but I do have to unscrew a phony hinge to get to it. If I find this method to cumbersome I’ll pick-up a separate pump and go that direction.

Anything is better than the ladder/wood monster/funnel method we are currently using. Plus my wife will appreciate not getting a “shower” on a cold day as shown in the pic above.

You will do better if you unscrew the shower head first and remove the flow restrictor on the outdoor shower. It will still be limited by the flow of your pump at about 3-4 gallons per minute usually at best.

[Theo]

My setup:

https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...ml#post2346716

[5picker]

Originally Posted by jimmoore13

Great thread, and I learned from all of you.
Siphoning wouldn't work on my old highwall pop-up. The fill was pretty high up the side. My new rig's fill is lower...a blessing as I lift an pour 60 pound water jugs into the tank. I'm sure I could just siphon.

A thought on starting the siphon. Can you just put the output end of the hose near the ground to get it started? My guests might question the water quality if I started it by sucking on the end.

I'm still sold on the transfer pump option (probably 120 volt because everything runs better on 120 volts). Case for 120 volts: I have several inflatable water toys (kayak, party float, two river-tubes). I have a nice 12 volt inflator, but it's slow and doesn't make enough pressure to firm up the kayak. I previously used a hand pump to finish the job. I bought a 120 volt "Airhead Super Pump" inflator, and the difference is staggering. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Added bonus is that the Airhead is also a deflator...flattens the inflatables really well.

My generator is available, so why not use it?

But...again...I learned a lot from this thread. Thanks everyone!!

Originally Posted by dbledan

I use a shake hose. You put it in the water container and shake it to start the flow. There is a ball that acts as a one way valve to start it.

A shake hose works well as dbledan said.

For just a regular hose, siphoning won't take place just by lowering the end of the hose towards ground level... UNLESS... you put water in the hose first!

Fill your siphon hose with water and put your fingers over each end. Slip one end of the hose into the jug while still holding your finger over the opposite end. Now, while still holding your finger over the remaining end, lower the hose towards the ground (or lower than the jug) and remove your finger. The water in the hose will then begin the siphoning process of pulling the water out of the jug.

I know you're concerned about contamination so maybe gargle with a big swig of moonshine before sucking on the hose! LOL!

[BriaBeck]

Originally Posted by dmdomokos

I use this from 5 gal collapsible jugs.

https://www.harborfreight.com/12v-dc...gph-63324.html

We do the exact same thing except I have the 120V model. Works great!

[Chuck_S]

Similar to Charlie (Falconer) I replaced the noisy Shurflo pump that came with the trailer with a "Whisper" pump and use the original pump with a power cord that plugs into the trailer's umbilical cord for 12v power and some lengths of white hose for connections. All fits in a plastic Group 24 battery box I had laying around.

I can carry a 35 gallon fresh water tank in the back of my Expedition and fill it at the water site. Then pump it into the trailer back at the camp site. Any "farm supply" store will have the tanks.

-- Chuck

[S Spackler]

We primarily boondock, I obtained a 50gallon milk pasteurization plastic barrel, purchased a little giant 120v transfer pump, I’ve used others from harbor freight and craftsman which end up failing, but the little giant is stainless steel and you can replace the impellers because they do wet out. I’ve had mine for about 6 years now, I made a pvc pickup that goes down to the bottom of the barrel with a 90 fitting that just clears the top of the barrel and connects to the inlet of the pump, I then use a garden hose on the outlet to fill the trailer. 12v or 120v doesn’t matter, I like my 120v because I just plug it into my generator and it sucks down the barrel pretty quick.

[frankhaas]

Originally Posted by Hatchdog

Greetings all,

I did a search and was not able to find any info specifically answering my question. Which is:

We dry camp quite a bit and have to haul extra water with us in order to last past four nights. I’m looking for a pump to use to pump water from portable tanks up the the gravity fill for my fresh water tank. Please give me some suggestions on a 12v or 120v pump that would be considered food safe. I see lots of pumps for sale but they seem to be pumps for pumping sump type of applications.

I have read many posts about placing a short hose in the water jug and attaching it to the city water inlet and using the water directly from the jug. While that would certainly work for me I would prefer to just refill my FW tank and do the task only once.

Here is how we do it when we are at our property but I’m not going to haul that 8’ ladder and that wood monstrosity I cobbled together on a road trip.

Thanks for your suggestions.

A brass transfer pump is safe..

[mlmay12]

Originally Posted by Hatchdog

Greetings all,

I did a search and was not able to find any info specifically answering my question. Which is:

We dry camp quite a bit and have to haul extra water with us in order to last past four nights. I’m looking for a pump to use to pump water from portable tanks up the the gravity fill for my fresh water tank. Please give me some suggestions on a 12v or 120v pump that would be considered food safe. I see lots of pumps for sale but they seem to be pumps for pumping sump type of applications.

I have read many posts about placing a short hose in the water jug and attaching it to the city water inlet and using the water directly from the jug. While that would certainly work for me I would prefer to just refill my FW tank and do the task only once.

Here is how we do it when we are at our property but I’m not going to haul that 8’ ladder and that wood monstrosity I cobbled together on a road trip.

Thanks for your suggestions.

I almost exclusively dry camp so had to solve this problem long ago. I had a 12V water pump from a previous project but you could get one on Amazon. I wired a 12V plug to it on a long cord and put a 12V Utility outlet in one of my equipment bays. I also put a small circuit breaker inline with it to turn it on/off. I mounted all this in a small Rubbermaid container that holds everything including the short inlet and outlet hoses. I cut two small holes to run the hoses through. I carry two to four 7 gallon containers with me for fresh water runs. It takes about 5 minutes each to empty these in my gravity fill port and is very easily done. I used to lift and pour in my younger days. Here are some pictures.

[mlmay12]

Originally Posted by mlmay12

I almost exclusively dry camp so had to solve this problem long ago. I had a 12V water pump from a previous project but you could get one on Amazon. I wired a 12V plug to it on a long cord and put a 12V Utility outlet in one of my equipment bays. I also put a small circuit breaker inline with it to turn it on/off. I mounted all this in a small Rubbermaid container that holds everything including the short inlet and outlet hoses. I cut two small holes to run the hoses through. I carry two to four 7 gallon containers with me for fresh water runs. It takes about 5 minutes each to empty these in my gravity fill port and is very easily done. I used to lift and pour in my younger days. Here are some pictures.

Hmmm, pictures didn't upload.

[Camper Al]

We use a 12 v pump from harbor freight plus a water bladder that can be boxed up for storage under our bed. We use our existing water hoses and filter to fill the bladder then pump the water into our fresh tank.
Here's the link to the bladder: https://www.campingworld.com/portabl...llon-1605.html

[jeffnick]

Maybe you could connect your Airhead to the portable container and use air pressure to move water (uphill) into the RV tank?

[Camper Al]

Originally Posted by jeffnick

Maybe you could connect your Airhead to the portable container and use air pressure to move water (uphill) into the RV tank?

Yes. that's what we do.

[JoeCampsNE]

Here's my setup. 21 gallon RV tank in the back of my pickup with a small pump.

[LynnAllen02]

We use a Zodi pump for the Zodi Shower and a Thermos Beverage Container.

6 Volt Battery-Powered Pump with battery case | Zodi.com

And

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Igloo-5-G...hoCkQ0QAvD_BwE

We drop the battery operated pump end into the container Filled with water and the black hose into the container, have been using this method for twenty some years.

We like it...

Lynn