Basic rundown of our roof mounted gravity feed water storage system that's used with our 1988 Ford Econoline van. More information at vantasticvoyage.org
Great planning on this for my mini trailer. Only suggestion I have is to paint the PVC White... or black if you want to heat the water. The UV from sun will eat PVC up in time.
To address the concerns voiced here regarding lead in PVC, to the best of my knowledge, PVC pipe is approved safe for drinking water in the United States. It’s used to bring water into millions of homes. Safety issues are mainly a concern for PVC manufactured before 1977. If anyone has any credible information to the contrary, please point us to it. Thanks.
Like your approach man, keep thing's simple with gravity fed and I'm surprised at the quantity of water in the pipe plus looking after the environment.
Ok. Just did something similar. Put a 30Lbs blow off valve and use standard hose pressure to fill the pipe. So its already pressurised. Stick it on your roof and you have heated water!
Your water system is very kewl. How warm is the water after a day in the sun? Wondering about maybe using black ABS pipe and using the water for showers.
Cool water tank idea, however your Air Unit should have a better box for venting. You may want to look into other option too, like a small portable air conditioner with vent hose out window/door; if you have room in the back or anywhere. If you have room up top on the roof, you could drop in an small rv roof top air as well. Just a few thoughts, thanks for the water idea, love it. Do you feel any pull or difference with it filled or empty while driving? Thanks Chris
I thought about this too. A water pump is nice to have however if I can use water without cosuming electricity, that would be awesome. I have questions though. Is the roof able to take the weight? Also when you're driving and water is sloshing around the pipe does it affect the speed?
Christene Delacruz Our roof racks are rated at 1,000 lbs. The water + pvc weigh less than 200 lbs when full. By comparison, the van itself is over 7,000 lbs when fully loaded, so the movement of the water when turning/stopping is negligible. A lot of these older vans have bigger v8’s and heavy duty suspension so they can handle quite a bit.
I was thinking of setting u something similar on the roof of my van, also using 6"pipe have you experienced a "hammer" effect when braking and the tank maybe isnt full all the way i figure the water can rush forward crashing into the front cap
Moshe Spund this hasn’t been an issue. When full, the water inside the pipe only weighs roughly 130 lbs, which isn’t very much in comparison with the van itself. So as long as the piping is mounted securely, the movement of the water shouldn’t be noticeable. Also, pvc/pvc cement is pretty durable stuff, often used at high pressure. So again, by comparison, the pressure of the water sloshing against the front cap is negligible.
Moshe Spund the hammer effect you are talking about, is actually called tank surge . Any liquid will surge forward and backwards when braking and then will do the same when accelerating. I believe that baffles are not required for any liquids under 500 gallons. Baffles and bulkheads are generally the same thing the only difference is that baffles have holes in them and bulkheads don't. I hope that answers any question you have
If a plain cargo van with a water tank, solar panels, and a vent on the roof was decorated like a mobile pet grooming business, do you think someone who doesn't know better would question it?
Out of state tags might raise suspicion. Most people probably wouldn’t notice though. The more “dumb & dumber” you go with it, the better imo. If anything, people will admire your style & ingenuity.
@@kyleclark6872 lol I wouldn't go Dumb & Dumber, just like a nice, professional looking wrap. And actually, I just decided this is exactly what I'm going to do anyway, because I'm actually going to run a legitimate mobile pet grooming business out of it and use the outside to advertise it 😲. Im in my mid 30s and I just figured my life out. This is a huge moment for me. I can't even explain it. And if anyone does hassle me, I'm not doing anything illegal, so fuck em! Woo! Thank you so much for replying BTW!
Yashay Deane the ac was for the dog really but after living in the van for 6 months we are super glad we brought the fridge and super pissed we forgot the recliner.
We do have LED lights in the van. ISO was a bit low on my DSLR since it was much brighter outside than in and this was (as you can see) shot very much impromptu. Thanks for watching anyway :)
B uppy CPVC is rated to 200 degrees. Regular PVC is rated to 140. Both are commonly used with hot water heaters. Either would be suitable for this project. If heat induced chemical leaching is a concern, use CPVC. No need to assume.. This information is readily available.
B uppy as does a river bed. Minerals are chemicals as well. They’re not even innocuous all the time, for the record. Plenty of natural water sources are far more poisonous than this storage tank will ever be. Good talk.
Love this! Have been wondering why I hadn't seen anyone do I t this. I have seen showers but not looking at it for actual storage. Well done
Super effective! Way more logical than the under carriage system I was planning. Thanks a ton! Well, 13,600 lbs actually haha
Thank you for the video. Too bad I couldn't see when you went inside your vehicle. it was really dark.
At least it wasn't super dark in the van. I get the point though lol . Thanks for the information.
I love this setup
Great planning on this for my mini trailer. Only suggestion I have is to paint the PVC White... or black if you want to heat the water. The UV from sun will eat PVC up in time.
To address the concerns voiced here regarding lead in PVC, to the best of my knowledge, PVC pipe is approved safe for drinking water in the United States. It’s used to bring water into millions of homes. Safety issues are mainly a concern for PVC manufactured before 1977. If anyone has any credible information to the contrary, please point us to it. Thanks.
Kyle Clark keep in mind water flow is different than water storage. Pipes are underground not in blazing heat for the most part
Like your approach man, keep thing's simple with gravity fed and I'm surprised at the quantity of water in the pipe plus looking after the environment.
Ok. Just did something similar. Put a 30Lbs blow off valve and use standard hose pressure to fill the pipe. So its already pressurised. Stick it on your roof and you have heated water!
Your water system is very kewl. How warm is the water after a day in the sun? Wondering about maybe using black ABS pipe and using the water for showers.
Hello Kyle, how has this system been working? Have you made any changes?
Cool water tank idea, however your Air Unit should have a better box for venting. You may want to look into other option too, like a small portable air conditioner with vent hose out window/door; if you have room in the back or anywhere. If you have room up top on the roof, you could drop in an small rv roof top air as well. Just a few thoughts, thanks for the water idea, love it. Do you feel any pull or difference with it filled or empty while driving? Thanks Chris
This such a great idea. Love it, thanks for sharing :)
Add a Schrader valve and pressurize it with a bicycle pump 20-30 psi
Any issues with an extra 130# +/- up there?
I suppose you could paint it black to have hot water...
Love it. How is the pressure?
How many gallons of water can u load in it ? ☺
LIGHTS
j smith We turned them on. Go ahead and rewatch the video, should be able to see inside the van much better now. Thanks!
I thought about this too. A water pump is nice to have however if I can use water without cosuming electricity, that would be awesome. I have questions though. Is the roof able to take the weight? Also when you're driving and water is sloshing around the pipe does it affect the speed?
Christene Delacruz Our roof racks are rated at 1,000 lbs. The water + pvc weigh less than 200 lbs when full. By comparison, the van itself is over 7,000 lbs when fully loaded, so the movement of the water when turning/stopping is negligible. A lot of these older vans have bigger v8’s and heavy duty suspension so they can handle quite a bit.
Ms. Delacruz water weighs about 8.33 pounds per gallon. I hope that helps
I was thinking of setting u something similar on the roof of my van, also using 6"pipe
have you experienced a "hammer" effect when braking and the tank maybe isnt full all the way i figure the water can rush forward crashing into the front cap
Moshe Spund this hasn’t been an issue. When full, the water inside the pipe only weighs roughly 130 lbs, which isn’t very much in comparison with the van itself. So as long as the piping is mounted securely, the movement of the water shouldn’t be noticeable. Also, pvc/pvc cement is pretty durable stuff, often used at high pressure. So again, by comparison, the pressure of the water sloshing against the front cap is negligible.
I was wondering about the same thing. Didn't know if it would require some baffles. Glad to hear it OK without extra work.
Moshe Spund the hammer effect you are talking about, is actually called tank surge . Any liquid will surge forward and backwards when braking and then will do the same when accelerating. I believe that baffles are not required for any liquids under 500 gallons.
Baffles and bulkheads are generally the same thing the only difference is that baffles have holes in them and bulkheads don't. I hope that answers any question you have
what roof rack are you using. is it the VanTech ones?
If a plain cargo van with a water tank, solar panels, and a vent on the roof was decorated like a mobile pet grooming business, do you think someone who doesn't know better would question it?
Out of state tags might raise suspicion. Most people probably wouldn’t notice though. The more “dumb & dumber” you go with it, the better imo. If anything, people will admire your style & ingenuity.
@@kyleclark6872 lol I wouldn't go Dumb & Dumber, just like a nice, professional looking wrap. And actually, I just decided this is exactly what I'm going to do anyway, because I'm actually going to run a legitimate mobile pet grooming business out of it and use the outside to advertise it 😲. Im in my mid 30s and I just figured my life out. This is a huge moment for me. I can't even explain it. And if anyone does hassle me, I'm not doing anything illegal, so fuck em! Woo! Thank you so much for replying BTW!
Kudos to you, sir. I think it’s a fantastic idea.
lets bring an ac and refrigerator in a van you forgot your shag carpet and full recliner....lol.
Yashay Deane the ac was for the dog really but after living in the van for 6 months we are super glad we brought the fridge and super pissed we forgot the recliner.
Ha Ha Ha !! Nothin like a cool beer, a shower and fresh breeze to sleep in.
Led lighting would be useful
Azim Ali even a flash light lol
We do have LED lights in the van. ISO was a bit low on my DSLR since it was much brighter outside than in and this was (as you can see) shot very much impromptu. Thanks for watching anyway :)
Heat can release chemicals, don't assume there is no chemistry or physics happening...
B uppy CPVC is rated to 200 degrees. Regular PVC is rated to 140. Both are commonly used with hot water heaters. Either would be suitable for this project. If heat induced chemical leaching is a concern, use CPVC. No need to assume.. This information is readily available.
Kyle Clark
Still has leaching, however innocuous
B uppy as does a river bed. Minerals are chemicals as well. They’re not even innocuous all the time, for the record. Plenty of natural water sources are far more poisonous than this storage tank will ever be. Good talk.
Kyle Clark
Who recommended bad water sources?
You can always run it through a purifier.
What a great way to smuggle drugs!!!!
The worst Craftman workmanship..