Potable water bladders?

[idontknowwhatimdoing]

I've been looking online and haven't found what I'm looking for. Does anybody have any experience with these? Everything I've found is thicker than I'd like, 8" being the thinnest. Would like to find something that's ~ full size mattress dimensions, or slightly narrower, no more than 4" tall when full ideally. Any suggestions? Want to build a platform and have my water underneath, instead of the 7G cubes I have now.

 

[Josh B]

Try a homesteading site or something like that. I don't know where the bladders come from, maybe gov surplus?

 

[2011Supercab]

Just because it's 8 inches thick when full, doesn't mean you have to fill it.

 

[idontknowwhatimdoing]

Very true 2011sc. I just get obsessive over things sometimes.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I didn't even know I wanted one of these... until I started looking.

I would probably settle for one with a good footprint for my needs. Then regulate fill levels to desired height.

I can only guess something of custom size would get pricey having it made.

 

[idontknowwhatimdoing]

True. I think I'll probably go with aquatank2, They seem to have lowest profile when full. Just fill in to level that fits under my platform and get as many as I need for my purpose.

Maybe even get a basket on top of my cab, keep a full one there. Maybe be able to take a shower! Just gotta keep my load capacity in mind, as always.

 

[Curious Hound]

Sounds like a decent plan. In case you haven't looked it up, 1gal water = 8.34lbs, depending on temperature.

 

[pjtoledo]

agriculture supply???

 

[Roert42]

May have an issue getting the water out of the bladder with it being that shallow, unless you plan on removing the bladder from the truck.

 

[idontknowwhatimdoing]

RV Fresh Water Tanks

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Bingo. Would need to drill for and attach fittings for fill and drain, but bingo.

 

[idontknowwhatimdoing]

For anyone interested, found this too. Seems great for shorter stints, up to a week depending upon person count.

50L Roof Rack Water Tank with Barbed Outlet - 13 Gal

Water in the backcountry is liquid gold, so set up your vehicle with an IRONMAN 4X4 Water Tank. The IRONMAN 4X4 50L Roof Tank Water Tank is built tough from food grade, BPA free, UV Stabilized Polyethylene ensures you can enjoy clean, taste free water. Ideal for under mounting on a trailer, in...

ironman4x4america.com

 

[sgtsandman]

Careful on mounting things on the roof rack. Anything mounted on the roof raises the center of gravity of the vehicle and if you are going to off road, you have to pay attention to the off road rating of a roof rack. That number will be significantly lower than the on road rating. That rating is to prevent the roof rack from getting ripped off your roof, damaging whatever was loaded on it and possibly damaging your vehicle. Water is about 8.4 pounds per gallon. Gasoline is about 6.1 pounds per gallon.

Here is an in bed solution: https://titanfueltanks.com/catalog/...-gal-portable-liquid-tank-5040015/category/2/

I found this for behind the seat. It might work: https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.com/en/us/front-runner-upright-water-tank-flat.html

Another option to keep the tank low is to mount it to the frame between the frame and the bed skin. Most solutions out there are for full size trucks and Jeeps. So, it's going to take some customization and creativity. There isn't much room under the bed otherwise. You could mount the tank where the spare goes but there isn't a lot of room. I think the once offered, factory second fuel tank that went there was 13 gallons.

 

[idontknowwhatimdoing]

Thanks sarge, always appreciate info.
Been steering clear of putting a rack on the roof. The drag (probably minimal?) and as you said, center of gravity, both have been dissuading factors.
Would put this in the bed under a platform. And would have to think about how I'd fill and drain, of course, as well as stability. Don't want things sliding around unsecured. Especially when they are heavy or critical.

 

[Josh B]

Study into waterbeds
A cousin and I got onto an 800 number to work offshore in the oilfield, and who-ever answered the phone (in New Orleans) said to come on down. My van broke down and we wound up on side the interstate south loop outside of Dallas, and had to change transmissions there, and there went my C-6 for a C-4 :/ At the time I didn't know the difference
In New Orleans we went to the address and went inside with a "We're here! Let's get to work"
To which we got a blunt "We're not hiring". After mulling that over a bit I called the 800 number again and they said Come on down! Bingo, I got their name, and we got there, went to 8th floor and they said, we suppose you have your passports and shots? Nope! We wound up beating the pavement a month or so.

There was a lot of activity around the Superdome one weekend and we checked it out, and wound up working at a waterbed extravaganza. Took the entire Superdome tour while looking for one crate, all the way to the main suites at the very top, played around in their helmet mobile, found our way back to the main deck and almost stumbled over the crate they needed.

It was really a cool waterbed convention, or whatever their purpose was.
A lot of them were clear and had goldfish inside.

If you ever sat on one that didn't bounce you right back off, it had built in BAFFLES

 

[sgtsandman]

Thanks sarge, always appreciate info.
Been steering clear of putting a rack on the roof. The drag (probably minimal?) and as you said, center of gravity, both have been dissuading factors.
Would put this in the bed under a platform. And would have to think about how I'd fill and drain, of course, as well as stability. Don't want things sliding around unsecured. Especially when they are heavy or critical.

Depending on the design of the roof rack, the hit in gas mileage is going to vary. Speed comes into play as well. The bars on the 2019 are airfoil shaped and are more efficient than the rectangular bars on my 2011. If you leave them as is without an air dam, the hit isn't too bad as long as you can put up with the whine/whistle that the air moving around them generates. If memory serves, the aero bars put a 1 mpg penalty and the rectangular bars were more like 2 - 3 mpg. I couldn't stand the noise, which starts at about 35 mph and installed air dams. So, the aero bars are more like a 2 mpg hit now and the the rectangular bars more like 3-4 mpg.

As far as mounting the tank and the platform goes, use or make brackets that line up with the bed bolts. They are already there. Take advantage of them. You could mount the platform to the bed bolts and everything else to the platform structure. Just make sure you spray the bed bolts down pretty good with PB Blaster or something similar and give it time to soak into everything well. From there, a 1/2 impact driver will remove them with little fuss.

Now, one caution, with an older truck, especially in the rust belt, some of those bed bolts are probably so corroded that you will need to replace them. Assuming you don't snap them off in the process. The nuts they screw into are on clips that clip onto the frame. So, replacement for a snapped bolt will take some work but doable for the shade tree mechanic. The front ones are more prone to being a problem than the middle or back ones if you have a six bolt bed. Pay attention to bolt lengths. They are different. The long ones are in the front. I think the are two sets are both shorter ones.