Water is a must-have for any campervan adventure, whether it’s a quick weekend getaway or traveling full-time. Having a properly sized water tank means not having to worry about running out of water while you are camped in the woods or in the middle of the desert. With the abundance of options on the market, choosing the right water tank for your campervan can be a daunting task. In this blog post, we’ll help you make an informed decision by breaking down the different types of water tanks and highlighting their pros and cons.
Three Different Types Of Water Tanks
- Black Water Tank: A tank that holds solid and liquid waste usually stored under the RV, skoolie, or campervan.
- Gray Water Tank: This is a tank for the wastewater that comes from your sinks and shower. You often see these under the vehicle or as a jerry can under the sink.
- Fresh Water Tank: Holds your fresh water for drinking and washing. The tank can be mounted inside or to the van or buses undercarriage.
What Size Water Tank Do You Need For Your Camper
Setting out on a cross-country adventure in your campervan is thrilling – but it can be daunting when you start thinking about all the supplies and necessities. One of those important needs? Water! We had to ensure we stocked up enough for our entire crew, which meant asking ourselves some key questions before picking out that water tank.
How many people and pets will be traveling with us? Will we have a shower in our campervan, and how often do we plan to shower? And lastly, what kind of water tank best fits our campervans layout?
How Many People/Animals Are You Traveling With?
When planning a road trip in your campervan, it’s important to remember that you and your family’s furry members need an adequate water supply. On average, people drink about 1 gallon a day. More if you’re active during the day or during summer. Dogs weighing 10 pounds typically drink around a gallon and a half daily – always provide them with more than enough! As for cats, they typically drink a quarter of a gallon every day.
So if two people and one 20-pound pup accompanied by their feline friend are in the van at any given time, then 3 gallons of water a day is required solely for drinking – and that is not taking into account other water needs like showering and washing dishes. In our experience, we use around 4 gallons of water daily to wash dishes and drink for the two of us, our pup, and our cat.
Are You Going To Have A Shower?
When sizing a water tank for a campervan with a shower, it’s important to consider several factors. First, calculate the amount of water you will need for each shower. A typical person uses about 10 gallons of water per shower, depending on your showerhead and how long of a shower you take.
You also need to consider what kind of travel you will be doing. Do you plan on traveling full-time in your campervan, or will you be traveling in short bursts? The length of your trips and the number of showers you want to take without finding a place to fill your water tank will be a huge deciding factor.
You don’t need an indoor shower in your campervan to stay clean while on the road. We have a portable shower pressurized by a hand pump and a collapsible shower tent. The shower can hold 3 gallons, and we carry an extra 5-gallon jerry can to refill the shower. That can get us about 5 showers. We fill our 33-gallon water tank about once a week. We always make sure to refill the shower and the shower jerry can when we do. If we had an indoor shower, we would want a 75-gallon water tank in our campervan.
If none of those shower options appeals to you, there is always to option of getting a Planet Fitness membership that allows you to use their showers anywhere in the country. Infinite hot water is the biggest advantage of going that route.
What Kind Of Water Tank Works For Your Layout?
To answer this question, you will need to think about your floor plan and the amount of water you need. Depending on your floor plan, your campervan water tank may be different from other people’s.
Wheel Well-Shaped Tank
The first type of water tank to consider is the wheel well-shaped tank. These tanks are designed to slide overtop the wheel wells on your van and can hold anywhere between 20 to 36 gallons. The only real disadvantage of a wheel well tank is that the size depends on what kind of van you have, as the wheel well size varies across makes and models.
The advantage of going with a wheel-well water tank is that they are a great space-saving solution. Most of the time, the area around a campervan’s wheel well cannot be used to its fullest potential due to its irregular shape. Most people simply box in the wheel well to make building around them easier. With a wheel well tank, you can slide the tank over the wheel well and then build off the rectangular tank, making far better use of the space.
Unfortunately, wheel well tanks generally do not work that great in extended-length campervans as the rear wheel wells are more towards the center of your living space, and having a water tank there may not work for your layout. But for mid-sized and short wheel base vans, they are a great option.
Spare Tire Campervan Water Tank
A spare tire water tank is another option for your campervan. These tanks can hold anywhere from 18 to 25 gallons of water and are mounted underneath the van where your spare tire would normally be. Spare tire tanks mount using the existing hardware that holds the spare tire in place, making for easy insulation.
The advantage of a spare tire tank is that it’s easy to install and doesn’t take up any interior space in your van. However, you lose the option of having your spare mounted underneath, which may not be an issue if you plan on moving your spare tire to a rear bumper mount. Additionally, if you plan on traveling in colder climates, keep in mind that water stored in a spare tire tank is vulnerable to freezing.
Jerry Can
Jerry cans are a popular choice for campervan owners as they can be used for both freshwater and gray water tanks. Plus, jerry cans are cheap compared to the higher costs of a full-sized water tank. Depending on the brand of jerry you can go with, they can hold anywhere from 5 to 7 gallons of water.
The added benefit of using jerry cans is their portability, allowing you to fill them up at any location. However, one major downside is the limited capacity, which means you’ll have to refill them more frequently during your travels. So, if you opt for a jerry, be prepared to keep a close eye on your water levels.
In our campervan, we used two 6 gallon jerry cans for our grey water tanks and have a 33 gallon standard water tank for all our water needs.
Rectangular Shaped Campervan Water Tank
The most common option for your campervan’s water tank is the classic rectangular tank. These tanks offer the greatest flexibility in terms of size and capacity. Rectangular water tanks come is sizes from 10 gallons all the way up to 150 gallons. If you opt for a rectangular tank, you have the opportunity to go as big as your van allows, providing ample water storage for extended trips.
We went with a rectangular water tank in our campervan and installed it under our bed for convenient access. Overall, a rectangular tank is a great option for those who prioritize a large water supply during their travels.
What We Did For Our Campervan Water Tank
In our campervan, we decided on a 33-gallon rectangular water tank. This water was only for drinking and doing the dishes. This setup gave us about a week’s worth of water between the 2 of us, our dog and cat. To help save on our water usage we installed a foot pump for our sink instead of a 12v water pump. Having a foot pump allows us to control the amount of water we are using far better than if we had a powered pump.
For our shower, we used a 3-gallon pump spray bottle. We spliced a showerhead to the end of the sprayer hose and painted the bottle black to heat the water in sunlight. We also carried an extra 6 gallon jerry can of water for refilling our shower, we can get approximately 5 showers before we need to refill our shower setup.
TLDR
Adequate water storage is crucial for a smooth and enjoyable vanlife experience. When selecting a water tank, it’s important to consider both the layout of your van and how much water you’ll need. Making sure you have enough water to last at least a week will give you peace of mind and allow you to focus on your travels, rather than worrying about running out of water. So, take the time to carefully consider your water storage needs and choose a tank that meets those requirements.
Things to keep in mind when calculating how much water you’ll need:
- Humans need at least 1 gallon of water per day for drinking on the low end.
- A 10-pound dog drinks about 1.5 gallons of water a day
- A cat drinks about 1/4 a gallon a day
Note: Showering and washing dishes is going to use more than you think.
