That would absolutely be my preference as well. That space above it is hard to do much with
Promaster Wheel Well Water Tank - Custom Built
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Good point. The only issue is from a production standpoint we would have to create two more moulds (driver, pass) whereas the bigger tank is symmetrical so it can fit on both wheel wells. The moulds are very expensive to get made so I'd like to see what the demand is for a bigger tank before investing too much into it.
That makes sense. Though a complicating factor might be that there's demand for a bigger tank, but not demand for one that uses up so much space behind the wheel-well. People seem to think that running a business is easy, until they try it!
FYI, we're really looking for 60 to 70 gallons, so even getting two of the 22's doesn't do it. So then two of the NWconversions 30-gallon asymetrical SP-R-30 ones might do the job, except they're not compatible with promaster wheelwells. And we'd need a complicated system for connecting the two tanks so we can draw from one and have it drain the other. Maybe simpler just to put something like this 58-gallon under one of the kitchen cabinets: 58 Gallon Rv Water Tank R-RV63W | Plastic-Mart
Nick
FYI, we're really looking for 60 to 70 gallons, so even getting two of the 22's doesn't do it. So then two of the NWconversions 30-gallon asymetrical SP-R-30 ones might do the job, except they're not compatible with promaster wheelwells. And we'd need a complicated system for connecting the two tanks so we can draw from one and have it drain the other. Maybe simpler just to put something like this 58-gallon under one of the kitchen cabinets: 58 Gallon Rv Water Tank R-RV63W | Plastic-Mart
Nick
I'm not an engineer so I don't know if this is structurally feasible or not... But how about making a really tall tank and then giving customers the option of specifying how tall they want it? When the order goes through, put the tank in a band saw and lop off what the customer doesn't need. Then plastic-weld a lid on top.
To me, the tricky part is getting the complicated bends that allow the tank to fit around the wheel well--which you've done already. How tall it is after that is a much simpler matter. The lids would all be the same size.
The lid won't need to hold much weight. It just needs to contain water sloshing around, though you do want it to be strong in case of a crash. I don't know how strong plastic-welding is but with other materials, e.g. many metals, I'm told the weld can be stronger than the metal being welded. Maybe plastic welding is the same.
Because of the shape of these wheel well tanks, one that is just a little taller has dramatically greater capacity. And it could be very worthwhile for a customer to pay a bit extra for this type of "customized" tank.
To extrapolate this idea (and go really nuts), you might want to investigate making a longer tank and doing the custom "lop-off thing" when it comes to length. ...maybe even "width"... However, the strain on the welds would be much stronger in this case and the force would be constant. I wouldn't want 30 gallons of water to leak (or gush...!) out.
If this idea has merit @Curious Campervans and you end up making lots of money from it--you can reward me with a free (custom) tank!
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When do you think the 22 gallon tank will be back in stock?
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We have more passenger side tanks now in stock (as of today). More driver tanks coming mid-Oct.
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Pretty bummed I was excited to get this but UPS lost my package!
Hopefully it turns up, but in case it doesnt, when do you guys estimate you’ll have more passenger side 22g tanks?
much appreciated!
Josh
Hopefully it turns up, but in case it doesnt, when do you guys estimate you’ll have more passenger side 22g tanks?
much appreciated!
Josh
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58 Posts
mold for the 40 gallon tank is still in production - we hope to have these tanks in hand by mid/end of November, but we can't guarantee any specific timeline at this point.
we will post on the forum once they are ready for sale!
we will post on the forum once they are ready for sale!
I'm having trouble understanding how people need so much water. We were just out for a week. We hiked about five miles a day, and did one two-hour bike ride. Weather was crisp (28-55 degrees F) and sometimes rainy, so it was not the kind of weather you sweat a lot in. Total water use was about 14 gallons, plus maybe another gallon for the occasional flush in our porta-potti (which we only urinate in). This covered our drinking/food prep and cleanup, one "navy shower" for each of us, and one hair wash for my wife. Since most water was shut off at campgrounds, we did not consume any drinking fountain water, and only needed to refill one of our jugs once. We travel with 2 5-gallon jugs and carry a couple of 4.5 gal. collapsible jugs for those times when we think we're going to be away from water. I emptied our porta-potti when we got home, thus avoiding the potential germ bath at the dump stations. Gray water was dumped as needed in safe spots. For us, the pleasure of van travel is the simplicity, and this is why we avoided the commercially-made vans with their attempt to be mobile studio apartments. It would seem to me cheaper and safer to downsize and simplify the systems and offer a few short videos on living with less while traveling.
I have zero experience in an RV or camper van, but like planning for "just in case". I doubt we will be camped in one spot without water that long, but IF we do... when we backpack we use ~2.5 gallons per day drinking, cooking, and drinking the small amount of water I wash dishes with. So ~18 gallons should be fine for a week only if none of it goes into the gray tank - no washing dishes the normal way, no handwashing, no face washing. And a couple minutes of shower water once or twice a week is necessary for hair.
Plus the point of the van isn't recreation, it's non-permanent living, and I hate chores. I'm willing to get a big water tank to save on frequency of fills, and a dry toilet to save the hassle of dealing with black water.
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Frequency of fills, and availability.
We did a 6 week trip in my tacoma prior to van ownership, used a 7 gallon tank. Usually there was an opportunity to find water, and we got nice camp/RV hosts, or random spigots, but every once in awhile, none of the campgrounds have water, there are no RV sites at all, and no random spigots to be found...plus, for full time living, you don’t really want to be hitting up campsites or places like that really at all.
Agreed. My van was not intended to be a boondocking vehicle but I'm changing my mind with Covid. I used to use public washrooms for nearly everything, fast food restaurants with water dispensers to supplement my drinking. But now I want to avoid them if possible (aiming to be altogether more self-reliant) and this means increased water usage. I'm rebuilding now and am figuring out out to add more water.
The big problem I see is how to replenish large tanks of water. Even if you have access to free water, it could be quite a process to get it.
I have a 50-foot garden hose and I've needed to use it to extend a friend's garden hose to fill my tanks. But another time, I was at a gas station where the spigot was too far away. I had to fill 5-gal jugs of water and trundle them back to my van and then hoist them up to gravity-fill my tanks. That was not fun. I'm not looking forward to that with double or triple my original capacity.
We used to have a Roadtrek with 2 large tanks, one 11, the other something like 20. After our first trip, I never used more than that 11 and drained the big tank so as not to use it. Still, filling the Roadtrek internal tank required carrying a big hose, because sometimes when we were out, we'd have to water up at a motel spigot or something. It was, at times, frustrating. This is why when we went with a built camper van (we hired someone to do 80% of the work to our specs), we went with removable water jugs. We use the ULINE 5 gallon jugs. I have found that the 5 gallon jugs are easier to fill and maintain, and either my wife or I (both seniors) can lift the 42 lbs of water. But again, we are using our van for trips of 1 - 7 weeks, not living. Many of the state forest, national forest, or other public campgrounds (including county and city campgrounds) have water. When we camp in areas out west that are very arid, we carry extra jugs of water (hence the collapsibles). We still carry a hose--a 10 foot slinky shower hose that we use for showering AND for attaching to a filter when we fill our water bottles. This works for us, but it certainly isn't to everyone's preference and I could well imagine that for someone living in a van, the entire setup may need to be different. For us, it is much easier to bring the jugs in and bleach them where we can see that they're clean than to try to clean, bleach, and trouble shoot a fixed internal tank. Winterizing, fixing things, etc--it is all easier when the system itself is easy to access, remove, and replace. Less plumbing, fewer places that can leak, etc. I even bring the pump in in winter when we're not traveling, to avoid freezing issues.
There are pros and cons to both approaches, but having had vans with both approaches, I much prefer the simpler one.
There are pros and cons to both approaches, but having had vans with both approaches, I much prefer the simpler one.
Do you have any of these left?
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I wish these tanks weren't square on the inside bottom corners. By making a diagonal section there, they could take advantage of available space and make that a 22 or 23-gallon tank instead of only 20, without even taking up any more space. But then again, I also wish they weren't $400!Have you seen this?
WHEEL WELL WATER TANK
20 Gallon Capacity BPA-Free Reversible: For both driver and passenger sides. Fits Mercedes Sprinters, Ram Promasters, Ford Transits & more!titanvans.com
@Steve Mac
I went to a local shop “Industrial Plastics & Paint” & purchased a tank then marked the fittings I needed to have them “spinweld” these where I needed them (my under-mount grey water tank(
More Photos on my build thread (page 5);
Interested in the 40 gallon tank. I would prefer a taller tank with keeping the width the same as the 22 gal or even smaller if possible. 24-25" height would work for my current setup.
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