Actually, there is hardly anything better on earth than being able to quench your thirst. Three days in the desert without a drink and then a bucket of water - that's heaven on earth.

T. E. Lawrence - "Lawrence of Arabia"

Freedom through self-sufficiency?

Independence on tour is largely defined by the availability of electricity and water. - No electricity means that neither the cool box, nor the heating, nor the cell phone, nor the computer, nor... will work. - If necessary, you can bridge a few days without this "luxury". But who wants that? - We often met campers on the road who had neither a heater nor a cool box on board. Vegans and vegetarians in particular seem to have it easier. - Ideologically sound, but I'm not quite there yet. The little animals just taste too good. There still seems to be a little bit of Neanderthal in me. (Note from Torgit: I don't eat meat and still don't want to do without our fridge)

In everyday life, we were used to having an almost unlimited supply of water. On tour, water, especially drinking water, takes on a completely different significance. - The odd shower may be a luxury. But for us, it's a very pleasant luxury that we don't want to do without too often. And when he gets thirsty, it drives even the toughest vegan to the nearest watering hole. 

The solution to these issues is firstly solar self-generation and additional water tanks. Today it's about the second. We are dealing with our camper energy management here.

Underfloor tank:

Our SpaceCamper is already equipped with an optional underfloor tank. 70 liters of hot water are then available. This is more than double the capacity of the VW California. Another advantage is that no space is lost in the interior. The boiler is simply heated while driving using the engine heat or when stationary using external power. 

Road Shower:

But even 70 liters are quickly used up. So we want more. - The whole thing was inspired by the US manufacturer Road Shower, which is now part of the Yakima Group. An aluminum tube is equipped with a durable powder coating and supplemented with a water connection and a brass car valve. This construction is attached to the car like an awning. - Unfortunately, as far as I know, there is no shipping to Germany. So the idea is good, but could it be better? On the road, we came across several vehicles that had replicated such a system with a KG pipe. But the water in these plastic pipes heats up much worse than in a black aluminum pipe. So do it yourself? DIY, i.e. do it yourself?

Competence in steel:

We prefer to rely on expertise in steel - DHM steel - my older brother's steel construction.  

A 3 meter long aluminum tube is the base. With a diameter of 10 cm and a material thickness of 2 mm, this tube holds approx. 22 liters. Its own weight is approx. 6 kg. The total weight is therefore a little under 30 kilograms and corresponds approximately to the weight of the Thule Omnistor awning installed on the other side.

Roof rack as water tank:

Our SCA pop-up roof is already prepared for the installation of a roof rack. However, according to the manufacturer, this roof load should not exceed 50 kg. As we don't necessarily need to transport loads on the roof, we decided to use a multifunctional roof rack. You don't know what that means? Why should you, it didn't exist before. We simply combine a roof rack with a water tank. Empty, it can serve as a roof rack. When full, it holds around 38 liters of water. With a tare weight of 12 kg, it is no lightweight, but it is about as heavy as a comparable luggage carrier. See FrontRunner, for example. The material used is also a 2mm aluminum tube. In this case a square tube, 5x10cm.

Both tanks are supplied and drained via brass couplings, which we ordered from SpaceCamper so that they fit the shower connection already installed in the bus. To ensure that the water pressure also fits, we have fitted the pipes with a Speck air tap  equipped. This 1/4 inch ventilation valve is equipped with an auto valve and an air valve. This allows air to be supplied and released.

Powder coating:

The aluminum tanks and our rear carrier are manufactured by the company Pajak powder coatingin Würselen, near Aachen, matt black powder-coated. A quick, good service for little money. - Do you know those Bullis where the awning looks like it has been tacked on? That's why we decided to wrap both the awning and the water tank on the other side as well. This wrapping was also carried out by the Film center NRW in Haan. We are quite happy with the result. What do you think?

Thanks to the additional water tanks, we now have 130 liters of water. We also have two drinking water bags from the Swiss army, each with a volume of 20 liters. 170 liters should give us the independence we need.

Pressure test:

But before we can enjoy the cool water, everything has to be assembled. Better safe than sorry, so we carry out a pressure and leak test at 2 bar. Everything seems to be working as planned. I agree with Colonel John Smith, alias Hannibal from the A-Team. "I love it when a plan works."

PS: Here you can find our SpaceCampers Equipment details, our SpaceCamper Expansion, the SpaceCamper Detail equipment "Last Call, as well as SpaceCamper Insider tips.

Here our TERRANGER Offroad modifications, information on the topics, Terranger off-road driving training, Energy management, DIY Rear carrier system, Vehicle Security & Anti-Theft, pit stop at delta4x4, Sand sheets, Vehicle foiling and Ceramic sealing.

To round off the topic Product piracy with offroad tuners.

The topics Packing list, Tips & Tricks, BUTCH & Friends, Home port, the Travel blogs, the subject HAPPINESS MUSCLE as well as About us we have dedicated separate sections. You can contact us here.

And last but not least here is our link overview "Follow the Sun". So you know where you can still follow us. 

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