Flo-w
15th September 2012, 01:13 PM
I've used water canisters in a number of cars. Their problem is a very inflexible shape. While planing the setup for my long distance tourer space became a bigger and bigger problem. Also being able to stay away from new resources for up to two weeks requires a fair amount of supplies.
How much water?
You read anything from 2l - 6l per person per day. That's 28l - 84l per person for 2 weeks. My setup is for two which doubles that again to 56l - 168l. Usually you can pick up some water on the way through rain water tanks or bores which will be good enough for washing yourself or for cooking. I therefore aimed for somewhere in the middle: 100l plus some.
Water bladders:
I went for water bladders because they have a flexible shape making it easy to fit them into otherwise hard to access spots.
http://fleximake.com.au was very helpful in putting my custom design into practice. They also sell standard designs via eBay. 40l 99$, 60l 109$, 80l 119$ (as of September 2012). Custom is a bit dearer but not all that much (312$ incl GST and shipping). They produce locally in Dandenong, Vic. The products feels heavy duty and very reliable.
Location:
I have a storage system in the boot of my GQ which leaves space to the right and left (over the wheel arches). It's easy access from both locations and I can get the water out by gravity alone. Also I will have the water where I need it: close to the kitchen. I've attached a board to the storage system to create a level surface for the bladder and to allow the fridge to draw some air from the side. This gives me a space 90 x 45 x 18. That's about 72l.
But there's another spot which is even better: between the storage system and the cargo barrier. A triangle shaped space which is hard to use, low down and between the axis. My storage system is 60cm high where it's almost touching the cargo barrier. At the bottom I've almost 30cm. My width is limited by a subwoofer and is 65cm. It could be over 100cm without. That makes 58l in my case (and could be over 90l at full width).
In total that's 130l for the cargo barrier bladder + one rear bladder. 4.6l per person per day for 2 weeks or 3l for 3 weeks respectively.
Access:
Or how to get the water out. The rear bladder is simply gravity fead. The cargo barrier bladder is a bit trickier. I went for a water transfer pump from ProPumps (http://www.gtmall.com.au/review/product/list/id/470/) for 49$ to pump water from the cargo barrier bladder into the rear bladder. It's self priming which means it can work without water for a while to suck water towards it. I installed it on the floor next to the water bladder and under the subwoofer. There're two unused screws in the floor which were perfect. I mounted the pump on a pice of 12mm outdoor ply. All connected with hoses, secured by clamps. I've a half meter hose connected to the inlet of the cargo barrier bladder which I can easily fill through the rear sliding window using a funnel. Plumbing is ~25$. The pump is connected to my fuse block and draws less than 10amp. I didn't want it to accidentally get switched on while driving so I used a key-operated switch instead of a rocker switch (10$). A "missile type" switch with cover would work as well.
Price: 400$
Custom water bladders: 312$
Transfer pump: 49$
Plumbing: 25$
Electric: 14$
Lessons learned:
I'd place the outlet of the cargo barrier bladder to the side facing the pump.
I'd place the inlet of the rear bladder towards the cargo barrier.
Always make sure to send them a diagram if you want a custom design. Things which seem logical to you to the point where you don't even think about them might be seen different by another person (for example: what's the hight, what's the width).
How much water?
You read anything from 2l - 6l per person per day. That's 28l - 84l per person for 2 weeks. My setup is for two which doubles that again to 56l - 168l. Usually you can pick up some water on the way through rain water tanks or bores which will be good enough for washing yourself or for cooking. I therefore aimed for somewhere in the middle: 100l plus some.
Water bladders:
I went for water bladders because they have a flexible shape making it easy to fit them into otherwise hard to access spots.
http://fleximake.com.au was very helpful in putting my custom design into practice. They also sell standard designs via eBay. 40l 99$, 60l 109$, 80l 119$ (as of September 2012). Custom is a bit dearer but not all that much (312$ incl GST and shipping). They produce locally in Dandenong, Vic. The products feels heavy duty and very reliable.
Location:
I have a storage system in the boot of my GQ which leaves space to the right and left (over the wheel arches). It's easy access from both locations and I can get the water out by gravity alone. Also I will have the water where I need it: close to the kitchen. I've attached a board to the storage system to create a level surface for the bladder and to allow the fridge to draw some air from the side. This gives me a space 90 x 45 x 18. That's about 72l.
But there's another spot which is even better: between the storage system and the cargo barrier. A triangle shaped space which is hard to use, low down and between the axis. My storage system is 60cm high where it's almost touching the cargo barrier. At the bottom I've almost 30cm. My width is limited by a subwoofer and is 65cm. It could be over 100cm without. That makes 58l in my case (and could be over 90l at full width).
In total that's 130l for the cargo barrier bladder + one rear bladder. 4.6l per person per day for 2 weeks or 3l for 3 weeks respectively.
Access:
Or how to get the water out. The rear bladder is simply gravity fead. The cargo barrier bladder is a bit trickier. I went for a water transfer pump from ProPumps (http://www.gtmall.com.au/review/product/list/id/470/) for 49$ to pump water from the cargo barrier bladder into the rear bladder. It's self priming which means it can work without water for a while to suck water towards it. I installed it on the floor next to the water bladder and under the subwoofer. There're two unused screws in the floor which were perfect. I mounted the pump on a pice of 12mm outdoor ply. All connected with hoses, secured by clamps. I've a half meter hose connected to the inlet of the cargo barrier bladder which I can easily fill through the rear sliding window using a funnel. Plumbing is ~25$. The pump is connected to my fuse block and draws less than 10amp. I didn't want it to accidentally get switched on while driving so I used a key-operated switch instead of a rocker switch (10$). A "missile type" switch with cover would work as well.
Price: 400$
Custom water bladders: 312$
Transfer pump: 49$
Plumbing: 25$
Electric: 14$
Lessons learned:
I'd place the outlet of the cargo barrier bladder to the side facing the pump.
I'd place the inlet of the rear bladder towards the cargo barrier.
Always make sure to send them a diagram if you want a custom design. Things which seem logical to you to the point where you don't even think about them might be seen different by another person (for example: what's the hight, what's the width).