Plumbing

We have a 22 gallon fresh water tank, a 5 gallon grey water (sink) tank, a 4.5 gallon hot water heater, a kitchen sink, and an outdoor hose/ shower. We also have a water pump that takes a very minimal amount of electricity (dc power), and a compression tank that keeps the water flow constant instead of pulsing.

Here's a basic map of how everything is connected:

How it works:

When at a campsite with potable water, we connect our hose with a filter to the outside of the van. We turn the city valve on and the fill and tank valve off. We don’t need the water pump because the water is coming directly from the pressurized hose.

To prepare to go off-grid or dry camp, we fill our fresh water tank by connecting it to a potable water source (like a campground source) and then open the fill valve (city valve off) until the water reaches the full line on the freshwater tank. When it’s to the full line, we close the fill valve and disconnect our hose from the source. We also have a portable container that we can use to fill our tank from inside the van if our hose doesn’t reach the source.

Once at a remote camping spot, we turn on the tank valve and the water pump. The city and fill valves are off.

To empty our greywater tank, we open the empty valve (under the sink) and the plug (outside) once at our camp spot. We also have a bucket to catch the water and empty it in a bathroom or drain. In hindsight, the out pipe could’ve been bigger. It gets clogged easily and needs a pretty regular enema from our outdoor hose.

We will empty our plumbing lines and tanks before a big freeze. This (and the roof top tent) makes our van 3 seasons. We plan on not being below freezing temperatures for any length of time so this system works for us for now.

Overall, we’re happy with Jackie's water system. The outdoor shower is amazing when we’re off grid and in a private space. The outside hose is great for washing dogs and dirty feet. The hot water heater is such a treat for showers and a bit of hot water for dishes. It’s important to note for the health of habitat, whenever there's no drain or holding tank, we use biodegradable soap and no soap if near a body of water.

Things we would change:

I think maybe the sink is a bit small. Jackie isn’t fancy- she’s more of a camper than a house. But still, a bigger sink would be nice. Again, something to think about for the next build.

We will be adding a grey water vent to the outside soon. The grey water tank can get stinky and a vent is a pretty simple solution.

I’ll link all our tools and materials later.