Water Bladder Bags?

[KarenLukens]

We will be traveling in the desert this winter and I want to get a bladder bag, what have you guys found to work best?

 

Here's a couple from online -

 

https://www.bayteccontainers.com/30-gal-aquatank-2-water-bag.html?utm_source=googlepepla&utm_medium=adwords&id=333531148496&gclid=CjwKCAjwssvPBRBBEiwASFoVd9bIOLc3pXPjOgBxJ9wyQqt6NHzSgI1yQ2b4lR4bNVRlNXj9nfoXDhoC4GoQAvD_BwE#gsc.tab=0

 

https://www.amazon.com/Wheelbarrow-Equestrian-Container-80L-Simple-Transporting/dp/B071VX6Q3D/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1509124640&sr=8-12&keywords=Water+Storage+Bag

 

I would like it to carry 30+ gallons and ride safely in the back of the truck in the bed. Do I need to put a blanket or foam pad under it when full?

[John E Davies]

Reed, I have never used a bladder, but I think it would be awkward at best, I assume they have tie-down grommets? How hard is it to clean out and dry off-season? I was considering something like this, and then my pickup truck went away. I think they are available in smaller capacities. This one is 48 gallons:

 

 

“It's a little hard to get totally empty, but excellent for those horses who won't drink anything but home water. The shut off valves that come with are plastic- probably want to pick up metal ones from a local home improvement store for $5 and then this thing is bullet proof. Functionally everything you need, lightweight to mount on top of the trailer in the hay rack, and has indentions where it's easy to use ratchet straps to lock it in place. Overall very pleased with the tank after upgrading the plastic valves for metal.”

 

https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=59683DCB-1ED0-47C7-B732-D487536EF290

 

You could go by an equestrian/ ranch supply house and talk to the folks there. LOTS of extra water is a really common need for horsemen.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

 

[Mike and Carol]

I just bought one of these:

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009MU64Y0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I got the 30 gallon.  It has standard hose attachments, one on top and one on bottom of the other side. Folded it is the size of a small shoe box. I haven’t used it yet. It will primarily be used to transport water from a source back to the trailer to fill the fresh tank when we’re boondocking. Mike

[KarenLukens]

I just bought one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009MU64Y0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I got the 30 gallon. It has standard hose attachments, one on top and one on bottom of the other side. Folded it is the size of a small shoe box. I haven’t used it yet. It will primarily be used to transport water from a source back to the trailer to fill the fresh tank when we’re boondocking. Mike

 

Thanks Mike, that's the same tank that I'm looking at also, we'll be spending most of the winter in Arizona and New Mexico and plan on carrying as much as I can when boondocking. Did you think about the 60 at all?

[John E Davies]

Mike, have you a plan for securing that bladder during transport? It will roll around like a hyper excited puppy otherwise. It is not really designed for transport.

 

Keep in mind, these tanks are made and warrantied for a static environment so if you're going to use it some other way, please make sure to secure it tightly and keep it away from sharp objects.

 

30 gallons leaking out into the bed of your truck might be bothersome....

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[Mike and Carol]

 

Thanks Mike, that’s the same tank that I’m looking at also, we’ll be spending most of the winter in Arizona and New Mexico and plan on carrying as much as I can when boondocking. Did you think about the 60 at all?

 

I did think about the larger ones but went with the 30 gallon because my intent is to use it just to replenish my fresh tank.

 

Mike, have you a plan for securing that bladder during transport? It will roll around like a hyper excited puppy otherwise. It is not really designed for transport. Keep in mind, these tanks are made and warrantied for a static environment so if you’re going to use it some other way, please make sure to secure it tightly and keep it away from sharp objects. 30 gallons leaking out into the bed of your truck might be bothersome…. John Davies Spokane WA

 

My thought was to put it behind the wheel well and in front of the tailgate and use my (heavy) toolbox with bungee’s to hold it against the side of the bed to prevent rolling around. I don’t plan on traveling with it full, just transporting water between the source and the trailer. I may be surprised the first time I use it!  I was surprised at how small it is empty. Mike

[donthompson]

I really like my Scepter Military Water Canisters.  http://civ.sceptermilitary.com/water_containers  I have two 20 liter containers.  That's 10 gallons total of extra water.  They are easy to fill.  I can transport them easily in the cargo area of my SUV and they are very easy to sanitize using a bleach solution.  I can carry a full 20-liter container which is a big plus.  You could buy 4 and have 20 gallons.  I looked at bladders but they seemed impractical given my needs.  Biggest drawbacks are transport and cleaning/sanitizing.  The Scepters are very high quality and should last as long as the Oliver!

[SeaDawg]

We carry drinking water in rectangular, stackable five gallon jugs.

 

We also have had a bladder since 2008. It's about 40 gallons, about the size of a crib mattress full, and folds up to shoe box size.  If not used frequently, we sanitize it. It's clunky, but a great way to transport water for 2 to say 20 miles. I wouldn't want to haul it around full for great distance, as it takes a lot of room in the truck bed, but it's really useful in campsites without a water source at the site.

 

To transfer to our tank, we hook the freshwater hose to the bladder, drain to a bucket, and put the intake hose from the tank into the bucket. Like I said, it's a bit clunky, but it works. Sometimes we have a number of tent campers with us, using our shower, and this really extends our water range.

 

Sherry

 

 

[ScottRicki]

In researching options, my plan is to utilize a Valterra Rocket ABS tank sitting under the cross bed toolbox in back of truck. The model R8060 30 gal. fits perfectly in the space. Since it is a rigid RV water tank it can be used to haul extra water while traveling to site as well as for refills. The bladder tanks do not appear to be designed for road travel.

[KarenLukens]

I've pumped from the bed of the truck, 30' away with no problem with the onboard pump with 30 gallons of water parked at the front of the trailer. I put a brass hose Y at the water inlet hose connection on the back of the trailer, opened both valves, then started a siphon from the back of the truck. It took a few seconds for the water to get to the Y and start coming out, but then I closed the top valve on the Y that I was using to prime the line with water and get the air out, then went inside and turned on the pump and it worked fine pulling all of the water from the tanks, thru the 30' of hose and filling the onboard tank.

 

I was thinking bladder because I want to be able to roll it up and store it when it's not needed, leaving more room for gear, but the RV tank under the front tonneau cover mount is a great idea also because I could just fill it and take it from the beginning...

 

Thanks everyone :) you have my wheels spinning now :)

 

Reed

[Overland]

I'm a fan of using multiple smaller containers for water.  It's more of a pain to fill and transfer, but far less likely that you'll get to your destination to find that all your water has leaked out.  If you're going to be far away from a water source, at least keep one container separate with enough water to get you out from where you've gone.

 

That said, we use the Reliance 7 gallon containers as they seem to be the best compromise for us between size vs weight and storability.  We also have one of the 8 gallon wheeled versions, which I believe I've seen that you carry as well.  That's a really nice container for getting water from the central campsite spigots.

 

We're thinking about getting a set of storage drawers made for our truck from Ainley Kennels.  They'll add a 20 gallon water tank to the drawer set for a small fee - that plus a few Reliance containers would give you what you need, plus you get some nice storage drawers to boot.

 

We also decided to carry separate drinking water since I found that the plastic taste from Oliver's tank is more than I can bear.  The $1 jugs from Walmart taste fine and are easy to stow.

 

 

[KarenLukens]

I’m a fan of using multiple smaller containers for water. It’s more of a pain to fill and transfer, but far less likely that you’ll get to your destination to find that all your water has leaked out. If you’re going to be far away from a water source, at least keep one container separate with enough water to get you out from where you’ve gone. That said, we use the Reliance 7 gallon containers as they seem to be the best compromise for us between size vs weight and storability. We also have one of the 8 gallon wheeled versions, which I believe I’ve seen that you carry as well. That’s a really nice container for getting water from the central campsite spigots. We’re thinking about getting a set of storage drawers made for our truck from Ainley Kennels. They’ll add a 20 gallon water tank to the drawer set for a small fee – that plus a few Reliance containers would give you what you need, plus you get some nice storage drawers to boot. We also decided to carry separate drinking water since I found that the plastic taste from Oliver’s tank is more than I can bear. The $1 jugs from Walmart taste fine and are easy to stow.

Did you clean out and disinfect the water tank? We drink water from the tap now but it took a few tanks to clean it up to where it tastes good and there hasn't been any aftertaste for months now. We have the 8 gallon wheeled tank and we bought a 45 gallon bladder tank from Camping World for our Arizona trip this year. We've even bought and filled the trailer with the Glacier Water that you see in front of grocery stores for the taste. I always taste first at campgrounds and if it doesn't taste great, it doesn't go into the tank. I will hook up bad tasting water thru the filter to the city water connection but I won't fill the tank with it unless we have no other choice. I'd rather buy Glacier Water at the store then put bad tasting water into our tank.

 

Reed

[Overland]

We had to fill up with Glacier water while in Cloudcroft because the Forest Service closed down the campsites early and cut off the water.  Not an ideal solution but we're glad to have had the option.

 

I'm sure part of it is the new tank.  We didn't have time to do many things, and one of those was to flush out the tank.  Regardless, I'm thinking about installing a carbon filter at the sink, which should take care of the taste problem.

[KarenLukens]

Today, we used the new 45 gallon bladder tank to fill the trailers for the first time. I took the boxes in my truck and made a little storage area to hold it in place, then went down to the water company and filled it up with nice, clean, great tasting water. It drove just fine and with all of the containers and the bladder full we were hauling 80 gallons. It's designed to be used over the cab for the best pressure for gravity feeding but we re-filled the canisters from the back of the truck to top off Marks Bigfoot also. It was a simple hook up, prime, change the valves, turn on the pump and then watch the SeeLevel go up from 6% to 100%. All in all it took around 25 minutes to fill up Goldilocks. I just used my 25' Valtera hose with a "Y" on it. Hooked it all up, bled out the air in the line with the "Y" and then made sure everything was open and went inside. Then I changed the valves, turned on the pump and just waited...

 

It worked great :)

 

Reed

 

 

 

 

The tank was still around 2/3rds full in the picture and with the built in baffles, it didn't move at all.

[SeaDawg]

The photo in 2008 (when we bought ours) showed the bladder on the cab in the website, but I wouldn't travel outside the campground with 40 gallons of water on the cab...Like you, ee've always carried the bladder in the truck bed.

Thanks for the update.

Sherry