RoadShower vs WaterPort ??

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Camping water - Waterport or Roadshower?


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    18

K1mj

Rank IV
Launch Member

Advocate III

1,183
Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Kayvan
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Zadeh
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KM6YEB
So I have some bad news regarding my Waterport. It cracked the night prior to my first trip with it !!! I went on a weeklong overlanding trip that included 5 days in the Mojave and I was really looking forward to use this thing. The night before setting off, I filled it with my garden hose and to my amazement it started leaking from the base. There are tiny cracks on the base of the tank along the mounting rail and it cannot hold any pressure. Even the water pressure from my garden hose is too much for it. It will hold water if I fill it from the top but will start leaking again as soon as I give it a few pumps via the built in hand pump. I really like the form factor and I have spent a lot on mounting it correctly (the plastic clamps that come with it are only good for one inch tubing and don't fit my roof rack). So I am going to return and replace the tank and give it another shot. I will update again and let you all know if it works.

**UPDATE**
Waterport sent me a free replacement tank and I have been using it for the past six months. It has been holding up well so far.
 

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Guadamuz_j

Rank VI
Launch Member

Creator III

3,568
Bay Area, CA, USA
First Name
Jose
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Guadamuz
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17610

I preferred a shower, however the cost of a Road shower was not justifiable in my opinion . I did a little research and made a road shower that can be pressurised. There is a tutorial on youtube and the cost of material is around 1/4 the cost of the Roadshower.
 

Lou Skannon

Rank III

Enthusiast III

830
Winnipeg, MB, Canada
First Name
Lou
Last Name
Skannon
I purchased a 15 gallon tank and 2 gpm pump from Northern Tool for just over $100. It is supposed to be used on the back of an ATV for spraying fruit trees. It came with hose and wiring. Just put in about 7 gallons of water and stand in the Sun; if its not hot enough then pump the water through a copper pipe that is sitting in a campfire.
 

Medic16

Rank III
Launch Member

Enthusiast II

509
La Grande, OR, USA
Member #

15997

I preferred a shower, however the cost of a Road shower was not justifiable in my opinion . I did a little research and made a road shower that can be pressurised. There is a tutorial on youtube and the cost of material is around 1/4 the cost of the Roadshower.
Just bought all the parts to build this same shower system. Hopefully this weekend I can get it built.
 
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John s

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Contributor I

233
Pine Hill, NJ 08021, USA
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16802

The water warms up with the sun so it will only be slightly warmer then ambient temperature on a sunny day. I bought the Costco deal and I need to install it now. The included hardware is not sufficient to mount it on my OEM Nissan Xterra roof rack but I think I can make it work with longer bolts. We'll see how it goes and I will update here.
I looked In to a road shower cost was too much I found a zodi shower at Cabela's it works great and doubles as a burner for cooking I'm all about duel purpose items in my rig
 

Stickman

Rank V
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Off-Road Ranger I

2,097
Eads, TN
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Craig
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Treanor
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So I have some bad news regarding my Waterport. It cracked the night prior to my first trip with it !!! I went on a weeklong overlanding trip that included 5 days in the Mojave and I was really looking forward to use this thing. The night before setting off, I filled it with my garden hose and to my amazement it started leaking from the base. There are tiny cracks on the base of the tank along the mounting rail and it cannot hold any pressure. Even the water pressure from my garden hose is too much for it. It will hold water if I fill it from the top but will start leaking again as soon as I give it a few pumps via the built in hand pump. I really like the form factor and I have spent a lot on mounting it correctly (the plastic clamps that come with it are only good for one inch tubing and don't fit my roof rack). So I am going to return and replace the tank and give it another shot. I will update again and let you all know if it works.
Have you contacted waterport? I bet they will make it right.
 

K1mj

Rank IV
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Advocate III

1,183
Los Angeles, CA, USA
First Name
Kayvan
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Zadeh
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KM6YEB
Have you contacted waterport? I bet they will make it right.
Yes, I did call them to see if this cracking thing is a common issue or not and they said they have seen it happen before but not very common. They said they can replace it for me. I bought mine from Costco so I contacted Costco and they are sending me a replacement tank. So we'll see how the next one performs. I really like to be able to depend on it, so I will definitely test this one at home prior to putting it on the truck.
 

Stickman

Rank V
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Off-Road Ranger I

2,097
Eads, TN
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Treanor
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Yes, I did call them to see if this cracking thing is a common issue or not and they said they have seen it happen before but not very common. They said they can replace it for me. I bought mine from Costco so I contacted Costco and they are sending me a replacement tank. So we'll see how the next one performs. I really like to be able to depend on it, so I will definitely test this one at home prior to putting it on the truck.
Don't overfill. Leave room for air to pressurize. Never let freeze with water in tank. Should last a long time.

Enjoy
 
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K1mj

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Advocate III

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Don't overfill. Leave room for air to pressurize. Never let freeze with water in tank. Should last a long time.

Enjoy
Sure. Just to clarify, mine cracked under garden hose water pressure. I never even got to attaching my air compressor. I just filled it with the garden hose through the lower valve and it started leaking after it was filled.
 
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Stickman

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Off-Road Ranger I

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Eads, TN
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Treanor
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Great info on here as I am considering the road shower or other options.
Waterport all the way! Easy to remove and fill from any water source. I welded the mounting bracket onto my Gobi rack. Works great!
 
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donkability

Rank II

Enthusiast III

473
Ohio
what about propane heated hot water, anything good like that out there with real hot water??? thinking about hauling the tank out for the grill as we have a big party this year camping, would like a way to get the hot water so i dont have to depending on only having warm water when the suns hot.