All You Need to Know About Camper Van Water Systems

The Campervan water system pipes the water from the attached storage container to the shower or tap. A simpler water system might have the foot pip and cold water running out to the tap, whereas a more complex system will come with a diaphragm pump that feeds cold and hot water to the sink and shower. The complexity you want to add, including the RV kitchen sink, is up to you to decide.
Here are some water types you should know if you are about to embark on a journey in your camper.

Camper Van Water Types

Fresh Water

The freshwater is portable and clean, so you can use and drink it as you please. This water can also be filtered before or after storing it inside your tank.

Wheel-well water tanks are also important to talk about now. The wheel well water tanks have this shape to embed over the wheel well. They offer space optimization, reduce the center of gravity, and offer simple installation.

Grey Water

Grey water is a byproduct of fresh water usage. After fresh water is used in the shower or sink, it becomes grey. This is stored in the tank and disposed of in RV dumps or other facilities.

Black Water

Black water contains contamination like human waste. It is rarely found in camper vans, as most people use sporting toilets, but it is still found in RVs. Most RVs and camper vans have fresh water in them, which is discussed to share information about the water system in RVs.

Camper Van Water Tanks

How to Store Water in Your Campervan

Water in your campervan is as important as fuel in your fuel tank. You should have enough storage of clean, fresh water that can be used for different purposes along your journey on the road. If you are completely living in a camper van, here are some options to store fresh water around you for use in camper sinks and faucets.

• The first option is to use water containers or jugs designed to store potable water. A few portable jugs are specially designed to be used along a water pump, whereas others come with a spigot or a tap for easier access to a water supply.
• The other option is to use a built-in tank for water storage. These tanks are designed to be fixed inside or outside the camper van and can hold around 10 to 30 gallons of water

Most RV owners prefer having water tanks using integrated pumps instead of simple jugs to store water. This helps with the installation and usage of water.

What Size Fresh Water Tank Do You Need for Your Camper Van?

Your RV water supply is based on the number of people traveling and the water they use daily. This can be your ruler to measure how much water you will store in your vehicle. You will also get refills for this water storage along the way from outlets made especially for RVs.

Camper Van Water Tank Examples

Many camper van water tank types are made to suit the needs of different people and their various destinations and routes. If you have a suitable budget, you can choose the over-wheel well water tanks as they hold the space estimation option and can disperse and save weight best.

Standard Shaped Camper Van Water Tanks

The standard camper van water tanks come with different water storage ranges. From only 4 to 300 liters of space, these tanks are manufactured with WRAS-approved plastics and offer a great solution to other water storage requirements. Tanks come in various orientations that suit the build or layout of the RV. You can have additional inlets or outlets offering different water reservoir usage methods.

The Wheel Well Water Tanks in Camper Van

These water tanks are tailored to fit the RVs’ specific details and shapes. They can fit the sprinter’s wheel wells precisely and help save space. These tanks are also certified food grade and BPA free and meet CA and US standards for safety. The symmetrical design helps accommodate the driver and passengers as well. It offers ease of use in a comprehensive fittings kit for freshwater that eliminates the need to make multiple visits to the plumber’s stores.

What Size Grey Water Tank Do You Need for Your Van?

Only some of the freshwater supply in your RV will end up in the grey water tank; hence, your great water tank must be smaller than the freshwater reservoir. Most people living in vans have greywater tanks that are half the total size or even less than freshwater tanks. The grey water tank sections shouldn’t include water you use in cooking, drinking, or other activities that don’t go down the drain.  Grey water tanks can be removable jugs or fixed tanks under your vehicle storing water from the van sink.

Camper Van Grey Water Tank Examples

Some of the top examples of these camper vans include:

• 11 gallons under carriage water tank for Mercedes Sprinter
• 16-gallon carriage water tank for Ford Transit
• 28-gallon spare tire water tank for Mercedes Sprinter

Pressurizing Your Water System

You cannot simply start using the water once you attach the tank to your vehicle. You must move it through the water system to reach your end through the taps and outlets. How do you do that? You will need a 12 V water pump to pressurize the water system. This water pump should be put in an on or off switch, and you should leave your system non-pressurized when you are not using it.

You can also use the inline accumulator to smooth out the inconsistencies present in water pressure. These inconsistencies are when the water pump kicks on over one PSU and off on the other. This results in water flow being uneven. Using an accumulator can help smoothen the flow out.

What size water pump do you need in your camper van?

Water is mostly used sparsely in the vans, so there is no need for a high-volume pump. Three gallons per minute is enough for all camper vans. There is a self-priming 12V water pump, and you won’t have any issues using this pump in your RVs.

Why should you put your water pump on a switch?

The water system in camper vans is designed to be pressurized, and this is because you remove water at the points of usage. But this only sometimes means you must have the water system left pressurized, mainly when driving the rough forest roads. You can leave the water systems unpressurized even when not in use.

This will reduce the chances of leaks. This may also help in preserving the lifetime of the water pump. You can use the water pump on a 12V on-and-off switch to get this. We suggest you install the switch elsewhere. You may use the main faucet. Using an over-the-wheel well water tank is ideal.

Assembling your Camper Van Water System

Once you have selected a proper way to store water and pressurize it in your camper vans, connect the tanks and create a final water system. In our usual houses, copper pipes are used for plumbing. However, this is a rigid system in an RV or a camper van and can also have risks of bursting during winter. The best option for flexible water piping is to use braided vinyl tubing. This is easier to work with and is also highly adaptable for getting around the funky curves of the camper van builds. Pex A and Pex B are sued for camper van water systems.

Layout Considerations

Arranging and assembling the water system in your camper can be easier if it is isolated to only half of your van, either the driver’s side or the passengers. This means the ideal scenario would be for your water tank and all the points of use to be on one side of the van. Crossing the center line of this van using piping may or may not work along with the layout. Of course, there are many ways to do this, for example, to run pipes under the bed area, but if you can avoid it totally, then you must.

This will help you have less piping and fittings, fewer points of potential failures, and less heat in the lines if you use hot water.

Using Water in your Camper Van

Using water in your camper van is a facility, but it also demands care to use it properly. After establishing where you will keep the water tanks and the piping and fitting you require, you can move to the fun parts of the system and the outlets.

These outlets include the RV sinks and faucets, shower, UV faucet, and garage sprayer. All of these are optional except for a basic faucet, which is necessary to retain water from the storage.

Van Life Sink Considerations

This is another part of the whole van life water system that needs special attention from your end. If you want a house-sized sink, you can use those as well. However, most vans have a tiny space that will suit only the airplane bathroom sink size. And this surely is wild if you like having larger sinks.

You can choose a workspace-styled sink with a drying grate and a cutting board that can sit inside it, just like those offered by Torva Sinks. Once you start your van life, you will start learning that you will have to shove many dirty dishes in the sink to drive somewhere, and for this, you will need larger RV sinks.

Van Life Faucet Considerations

Washing the dishes will be the main water usage in the camper van. Selecting many water-efficient faucets and using the best one will help extend the lifespan of your water tank. Water efficiency is measured by its flow and ability to control it.

Using Torva camper sinks and faucets in your RVs can be your best decision for long, happy trips nationwide. This can be your chance to bring the best memories to your rescue and make the most out of the time on your trips.

If you want to learn more about camper van water systems, follow TORVA, the expert in mobile space water treatment systems. TORVA offers a wide range of sinks, faucets, and water tanks specifically designed for various camper van models, ensuring you have the best experience on the road. Stay connected for more tips and guides to enhance your camper van adventures.