camper trailers tech tips

DIY water carrier

 

 

 

 

 

DIY WATER CARRIER

 

 

 

    The idea behind this design was to be able to carry a relatively small amount of water (about 5 litres) on the vehicle with easy access. This particular design may not be appropriate to all vehicles with a rear mounted wheel and dimensions will need to change dependant on your set-up.

     'Pipe details' diagram shows the different bits of plastic pipe and fittings. I used ordinary plumbers pipe as we did not intend using it for drinking water. If you want to use it as drinking water see your plumbing supplier to get the right pipe. I used 90mm pipe as I was cautious about carrying too much water/weight on the wheel carrier.

    I drilled a small hole in the plastic filler cap to prevent air lock and secured the cap with a retaining wire so it did not get lost. I put a circle of rubber from an old inner tube in the cap to prevent spillage but someone said you can get these caps with a waterproof seal now. I fitted a metal screw cap on the threaded end of the outlet tap and drilled some small holes in it to reduce the flow of water out of the tap and avoid wastage.

     The 'Bracket details' diagram illustrates how the pipe assembly is attached to the vehicle. I used a strip of steel at the ‘back’ and secured two lengths of threaded rod so that they  pass through the spare two holes in the wheel rim when it is mounted on the wheel carrier. You could weld the threaded rod but I drilled two holes in the plate and secure the threaded rod with nuts on either side of the plate. This back bracket is put behind the spare wheel before it is attached to the carrier.

    The ‘front’ bracket is made of angle, I used aluminium. It has two holes corresponding to the bolts on the back plate. I glued rubber on the back of this so it did not mark the wheel rim. The tube assembly is simply bolted onto this angle along the top edge, I used 4 of the circular tube clamps. The whole assembly is then mounted onto the bolts on the back plate and held in place with two nyloc nuts and washers.

    I painted mine black to help protect the pipe which can become brittle over time in the sun. The soap dish was a joke I added because my wife Christine said that was all it  needed to make it complete!

    Even though it is only a small amount of water we find this most useful for camping, picnics, rinsing hands after fitting on the trailer, etc.

 

Thanks to Mike Sargeant for sharing this idea with us