Our DIY Van Plumbing System
Design Criteria
Before we dive into our plumbing system, let's start out with the key components we wanted to have when we designed our van:
Shower with hot and cold water
Sink with hot and cold water
An outside dog wash station
Water filter
Toilet
Opportunity to hook up to standard campground connections
Ability to last three to four days off grid
These seven items comprised our "wish list" for van plumbing. Now let's talk about what we needed in order to make our camper van plumbing system dreams come true.
Camper Van Water System: Choosing What To Include
Hot Water
Our van plumbing system may have been straightforward, but it played a crucial role in our off-grid adventures. With just a shower, sink, and dog wash connection to supply water for, we still needed to make every drop count. Hot showers were non-negotiable, so we installed a compact 4 gallon hot water heater. We looked at using a tankless water heater but decided against it. We wanted to keep our propane system simple, and adding a tankless water heater would have required us to run multiple propane lines. Despite the water heaters small size, it efficiently heated water to the perfect temperature within 10 minutes, saving power by only running when necessary. This meant we didn't have to leave it on all the time. We could wake up in the morning, turn it on/wait for 10 minutes, take a shower and turn it back off. This greatly reduced the power load on our Tesla battery module and saved power for other appliances in the van.
Water Storage and Our Water Tanks
To sustain our off-grid adventures, we made sure to have enough water storage on board. With careful water usage, we could stretch our supply for 3-4 days before needing to refill the fresh water tank and empty the grey water tanks. When we weren't off the grid, we could connect to city water for a continuous supply. However, it was crucial to install a check valve to prevent any mishaps like tank overfilling. When available, we also had the option to hook our grey water tank up to drain lines that would discharge into sewer hookups.
For all of our water tanks we went with rectangular plastic tanks. We mounted the fresh water tank in the garage space of the van. It did cut into our storage space, but we wanted to make sure that it would be protected from freezing weather. We also aimed for rear-door accessibility, making it a breeze to reach the fill port for easy topping off. Wheel well water tanks were researched but decided against due to size constraints. The fresh water tank we chose could hold 20 gallons of potable water and like we mentioned above, would last us 3-4 days if we were careful with water usage. The grey water tanks were mounted underneath the van. We recognized the importance of easy tank drainage, particularly in freezing conditions, ensuring peace of mind without fretting over potential freezing issues. We went with two 7 gallon grey water tanks. The sink drain connected to one tank, and the shower drain connected to the other tank. The two tanks were tied together so if we used the shower or sink more it had the opportunity to balance out. In order to dump our grey water, we had an electric ball valve on one tank and a garden hose fitting on the other. This gave us two options to dump grey water.
Pressurizing the Water System
Another important part of the camper van water system that allowed us to use it off grid was the 12 volt water pump that pressurized the entire water system. Some people choose to use a manual pump, but the size of our van electrical system allowed us to use an electric diaphragm pump. Electric water pumps don't consume much electricity and decrease the chance of pressure drops. The pump that we chose shut off automatically when the system reaches the appropriate pressure. Therefore, making the load on our electrical system even lower because the water pump hardly ever ran.
Including our Toilet
Now, let's talk about the toilet. We opted for a stand-alone Thetford Porta-Potti to keep things simple. We chose not to plumb it into the water system because it would have required a black water tank to be mounted under the van. We didn't have the space under the van for a black water tank and we felt it would be much easier to just take the toilet out of the van and dump the tank when the time came. While it was convenient overall, we encountered some unexpected challenges, such as pressure changes at higher elevations—definitely a lesson learned! Just imagine leaning down to flush and having your pee explode back up into your face.
Creating the Dog Wash Station
The dog wash station was a simple addition to our plumbing system. Instead of using a shower head, we used a traditional hose connection that we mounted under our sink faucet. We debated just using the sink faucet as the wash sprayer, but the hose on it was not long enough to reach the ground. We ran hot and cold water lines to the hose connection under the sink tap and put valves on them. This allowed us to control the water temperature at the dog wash station. Most camper vans don't have a need for dog wash stations, but we also used this sprayer to wash our feet and shoes off when returning from adventures. The hose connection was easily accessible from our sliding door which made it a convenient cleaning station.
Filtered Water and Its Importance
Water quality is one thing that we didn't want to compromise in our camper van water system. One of our friends who built out a camper van and lived out of it had a bad experience with a terrible stomach bug. He learned the hard way that bacteria had gotten into his fresh water tank and caused him to become very sick. We did some research and found that this is actually pretty common with fresh water tanks. After all, you're often refilling your water tank from a garden hose and don't know how clean it is. We installed a water filter that filtered the water from our fresh water tank, as well as our city water connection. The water filter was not a guarantee against bacteria so every now and then we ran a bleach solution through our water supply in order to clean out all of our water tanks and lines.
Process of Connecting the Camper Van Water System
We used a mixture of pex pipe and braided vinyl tubing to connect everything together in the van. We chose these materials because unlike copper pipe, they are freeze resistant to a certain extent. During our camper van conversion, we were wary of potential issues like pipe bursts during long-term storage. As a result, we opted against using copper pipes. The metal fittings that are used with the pex pipe system make installing pex pipe a breeze, which is a plus. We were able to get everything connected on the pressurized side of the system in a matter of hours.
Another vital aspect of our pressurized system was our choice to use liquid pipe thread sealer for all connections, opting for it over traditional Teflon tape. We tried teflon tape first, but unfortunately had more leaks than we could count. After that experience, we disassembled the entire system and put it back together with liquid pipe thread sealer. Once it was re-assembled, we pressure tested the system and had no leaks on the first try.
We used the braided vinyl tubing on the drains running to the grey water tanks. The sink drain connected to one 7 gallon grey water tank, and the shower drain connected to the other holding tank. Each grey water tank had a pee trap to keep smells from lingering in our van living space. Pee traps allow water flow into the grey tanks but prevent smells from leaving by always keeping a small amount of water in the pipe.
Setting Up Your Camper Van Water System: Step-by-Step
We’ve summed up all of the major parts of our plumbing system now let’s dive into the finer details that made it all function. The diagram below shows how the components are arranged within the system.
If you’d like to hit the easy button on plumbing your van, the full version of this diagram is available for purchase here. The full diagram includes links to each component we used.
Disclaimer: We are not professional plumbers. This system is what worked in our van. Use at your own risk and always do your own research.
