Adding water from container to RV boon docking

Jimkuy

Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2013
Posts
15
Location
Conroe Texas
I am going to take my RV hunting and there is no water, except what we bring in. I plan on taking an IBC container with 150 + gallons of water. My question is "how can I get water from the container to the RV. Do I pump it into the fresh water tank using an external pump? Can I use the RV pump to add water from container to the RV system going directly into the city water outlet?

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Have never done this before
 
I used plastic 55 gallon barrels with a fitting to attach a garden hose and one to add compressed air. Pressured the barrel just enough so the water would flow into the RV tank.
 
Do you have a winterizing port? You can use that to draw water into the system.

But adding water is one thing, do you have a place to dump the waste water?
 
Moved thread from the Tips and Tricks sub-forum to the Plumbing, Water Systems and Fixtures sub-forum since the OP's questions are specific to that particular sub-forum.
 
Do you have shore power?
Pumping water from the vessel to the on-board tank and then re-pumping to use it, eats up battery if you don't have a shore hook-up.

As mentioned in post #3, If you have a winterizing port (or stub hose) you can connect a hose from the port to the portable tank and draw directly from the tank. The pump doesn't care what the source is, on-board water tank... antifreeze jug... or portable tank, it doesn't matter.
 
AA or D size battery pump. I used to fill up my big ice chest from spigot and roll it to my rv. Obviously, bring lots of batteries.
 
I bought a 12v pump to attach to my extra / standby house battery. I keep a foldable and boxed water bladder in the camper with appropriate hoses to pump in and out. (I should mention that I have solar panels and always carry an extra 12 volt battery.)
 
Last edited:
how long you going hunting and will the trailer be parked there permanently?

If you are setting up a permanent site
look to see if you can add some solar and a battery
then you can use a 12v transfer pump and keep the house batteries topped up

it would be fairly simple to wire up a pump to the 120g container
and either use it to move water to the fresh water tank OR
connect via a hose to the citywater inlet

don't turn on the power to the original water pump if you use a external pump to city hookup... obviously you would need to "park" the IBC fairly close to the trailer

IF you are in a spot where the water may freeze ... filling the TANK would be better
--------------------------------------------------------------

If you carry the IBC in truck bed

you may be able to simply siphon the water to the RV tank
snake hose as low as possible INTO the tank so the outlet end is as low as possible

IF the IBC has a bottom drain port simply attach a faucet and hose to it and let gravity do the work
 
Thanks for the reply and the info. The camper will be parked out there and used for a week at a time for two months. I have a small small pump that I was planning on pumping water from the IBC into the field tank. However, your comment made me think that if there’s some way, I can attach that IBC to the city Water connection on the RV, can I then use the pump I have to keep the water going from the IBC to the RV as needed? Thoughts on this???
Thanks again.
Jim K
 
The camper will be attached to 30 amp power supply. We will not have water or sewer hook ups. Not sure what shore power is.
 
Never thought about winterizing - I live in Houston area where we have 2 days of winter!!!! Is there somewhere I get find instructions on getting water from IBC container to RV this way??
Thanks
Jim K
 
See reply comments between quotes...

Thanks for the reply and the info. The camper will be parked out there and used for a week at a time for two months. I have a small small pump that I was planning on pumping water from the IBC into the field tank. However, your comment made me think that if there’s some way, I can attach that IBC to the city Water connection on the RV, can I then use the pump I have to keep the water going from the IBC to the RV as needed? Thoughts on this???
Thanks again.
Jim K

Yes, you could use the pump you have. (provided it is a standard R/V type/similar pump) Connect the inlet side of the pump to your tank/bladder and the outlet side of the pump to your city water connection and turn the external pump on. In this scenario, you will not use the R/V's on-board pump. We'll also assume the water you put into the tank/bladder is clean and filtered. If not, use a filter inline.

The camper will be attached to 30 amp power supply. We will not have water or sewer hook ups. Not sure what shore power is.

Your 1st sentence in this paragraph is what shore power is.

Never thought about winterizing - I live in Houston area where we have 2 days of winter!!!! Is there somewhere I get find instructions on getting water from IBC container to RV this way??
Thanks
Jim K

Several folks (including me) have given you this advice.
 
if you use external pump to city water ...
same pump can be used to send some antifreeze into the water pipes

open each faucet (including toilet ) until you see antifreeze

IF camping in cold weather .... fill the RV water tank
it wont freeze up like the city water hose would


---------------------------------------
shorepower is the 30amp electrical connection to the power pole

----------------------------------------------------------------

IBC tank pump can be a rv style pressure pump
it will detect pressure drop and turn itself ON when you turn a faucet

Most rv type pumps are self priming
 
IBC tote will have a drain connection and it's simple to attach a suitable hose and pump to it and pump into the fresh water system of the camper. I use a 35 gallon farm tank and a standard 12v water pump like what's in the trailer. With enough ingenuity the winterization port may be able to pump directly into the water system (I don't have this port so don't know how it works.)

Not sure how or where you're going to haul 1,500 pounds of water (including the container) or why you need so much on hand.

-- Chuck
 
You've gotten some great responses here (it's actually a question that shows up with some regularity). You've got some decisions ahead, and need to consider what will be most important to you and your set up.

Much of what we're providing is information, though it seems like you're also looking for advice and a recommendation. Likewise, there's some thinking that I hope doesn't get lost:

1. You've got to decide if you want (a) your water to stay confined within the IBC container, or (b) if you want to migrate it to the fresh water tank (and how much you want to bring along). There are ways to do both, and advantages/disadvantages to both. Likewise, you can always travel to your site with your RV's fresh tank full, which would take a bit out of PART of the water supply question (I like to travel with dry tanks for reasons, and fill closer to my destination, but that's me).

2. Following #1 - and with no hookups - you've got to decide how you're going to (a) dump the waste tanks and (b) get rid of unused fresh water in the IBC and/or in the fresh tank. If the fresh water/field tank is full, you can either pump its contents into the waste tank(s) and get rid of it the same way you're getting rid of your waste, or dump it straight out using your rig's tank dump valve... but that migh drop a lot of water where you don't want it - directly under your RV.

3. Since you're not going to be permanently onsite (save for a week at a time over the course of two months), AND you don't have hookups to dump water easily, it sounds like the water supply (with 150gal) won't be the limiting factor, but your waste tankage will be (like it is for most of us). So you're going to have to solve for waste, and that might help you work backwards and decide how to best deal with water source.

4. You're either going to have to deal with waste by (a) dumping gray and black into a waste tote and moving that; (b) moving the trailer to a dump site; and/or (c) potentially a hybrid solution of using a hose and hosecap to migrate your gray waste tank away from your campsite and dumping that on the ground safely (only if legal and viable in the state/on the property you will be on. Texas does makes some provision for dumping graywater to ground.). This would help take one of the larger limiting factors (that of gray waste water) out of the equation. Now you've only to deal with the black tank, which will either need to be emptied to a tote, or emptied when you move your RV offsite to a proper disposal facility/dumpsite.

So, it you want to keep the water in the IBC rather than putting it into the field tank, though that will mean that the IBC will likely have to stay in your truck (since offloading a full 150 gal water tank can be a LOT of weight), and your truck close enough to the trailer to be able to draw from it. This means if you want to take your truck offsite, the water supply goes with it. Will there be a second vehicle there such that you can leave the IBC tank in the back of your truck and leave the truck in one spot for your week-long stay?

If you've decided that you want the water to stay in the IBC container, you have to decide if you want to use (a) an external pump (you'll go in through the city water supply, as it's usually tied in AFTER the onboard pump) or (b) the onboard port (and you'll go in through the antifreeze port - if your rig is equipped with one). If you're going this rout, I'd suggest that you go in through the antifreeze port, use the trailers internal pump, and simply run a fresh water hose to the IBC - then you don't have to worry about your external pump being (1) plugged in/connects and (2) set at an on-demand setting that your RV's plumbing can happily handle.

If you've decided you want to want to use the fresh water/field tank, you've got to get water from the IBC to the fresh tank. Depending on your specific rig and plumbing setup, the simplest (and only guaranteed direct) way to get water into the fresh tank is via the gravity fill on the side of the rig. (Note: not all rigs are alike, there are some plumbing systems have a fresh water source to tank fill selection). There are also some workarounds (like (a) use of the showermiser, if equipped, to get water from the IBC to the fresh tank in through either the city water or antifreeze ports; or (b) use of an outdoor shower that can reach to the gravity fill; or (c) use a siphon with the IBC being higher than the gravid fill), but what's likely the easiest and most reliable for you would be to use your external pump to pump water from the IBC to the fresh tank via the gravity fill.

If you travel with a full fresh tank, you won't need to add any till later. But until you figure out how you're going to deal with waste, you don't have to worry about how to deal with fresh. Since waste tanks can be a limiting factor (and you might not have 150 gallons of combined waste storage), you probably ought to start there.

For what it's worth, I sorta like taking bits and pieces of the best aspects of solutions and building something that works for me.

Last thoughts:

1. Having 30amp power on site makes a big difference here. Means you can pump to your heart's content without worrying about impact on battery.

2. Love the use of the IBC container! (I assume you have an IBC-to-garden hose cap). If filled to capacity, that's a lot of weight to have to deal with (can your tow vehicle handle this weight AND tow your trailer if going out in ONE trip?). If you can get the tank out of the truck and leave it onsite, your truck gets freed up and your site layout easier to manage. If you leave it in the back of a pickup truck, it might be high enough such that you can just siphon right into the fresh water tank via the side/gravity fill.

3. Lastly, what's your RV year/make/model (always helpful to be able to provide model-specific help from owners)?

----------------------------------------------

Sorry, this is a lot. I get pretty long-winded.

Executive Summary:

"How can I get water from the container to the RV? Do I pump it into the fresh water tank using an external pump?"
Yes, you can go IBC to gravity/side fill using an external pump. Depending on your setup, you may also be able to use the siphon method

"Can I use the RV pump to add water from container to the RV system going directly into the city water outlet?"
NO, if you go in through the city water outlet you need to use an external pump. If you use this method, water won't go to the tank, but it will be available to the RV using pressure supplied by your external pump.

However, if you go in through the antifreeze inlet (if equipped), you CAN use the onboard pump. If you use this method, water won't go to the tank, but it will be available to the RV using pressure supplied by your onboard pump.

There are some potential, indirect ways to use the onboard pump to get water into the fresh tank, but - if you have an external pump - you are likely better off using that to get water from the IBC to the fresh tank via the side fill port.

Lastly, dealing with waste will be an important consideration. If you have to move your trailer to dump, then you likely can fill the fresh tank at/near your selected dump site.

----------------------------------------------

Lastly, here's a non-specific, fairly common plumbing diagram for some FR towables. Might help you suss out a solution that works for you.

Just my .02. Hope this helps.
 

Attachments

  • water.jpg
    water.jpg
    180.2 KB · Views: 87
Last edited:
I am going to take my RV hunting and there is no water, except what we bring in. I plan on taking an IBC container with 150 + gallons of water. My question is "how can I get water from the container to the RV. Do I pump it into the fresh water tank using an external pump? Can I use the RV pump to add water from container to the RV system going directly into the city water outlet?

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Have never done this before

I made a little 12V Pump box from an old RV water pump. It works very well for transferring water to the Fresh Water Tank from portable Water Cans or a Bladder If you have a gravity fill inlet. Here is a picture of it.
 

Attachments

  • Water Pump_1.jpg
    Water Pump_1.jpg
    260 KB · Views: 38

New posts

Try RV LIFE Pro Free for 7 Days

  • New Ad-Free experience on this RV LIFE Community.
  • Plan the best RV Safe travel with RV LIFE Trip Wizard.
  • Navigate with our RV Safe GPS mobile app.
  • and much more...
Try RV LIFE Pro Today
Back
Top Bottom