Tiny Water Tools You Should Have While Boondocking
If you camp off-grid often, you know the water struggle. Where can I get it in this town? What kind of connection do they have? We’ve already covered the basics in this article (like bladders, hoses, jugs, etc…), but here are a few more indispensable tools to help you level up your water quest.
Water Bandit
If you need to fill up your tank or bladder with a hose, but the water spigot you’re trying to use doesn’t have a threaded connection, you’ll find the water bandit to be super handy.
It’s basically a rubber funnel with a threaded connection the end that you can jam onto the spigot and fill up without any muss or fuss. I definitely could have used this over the years and I’m glad I have it in my arsenal now.
Hose Coil Spring Coupler + Shutoff Valve
Many times I find myself filling up and transporting water by myself, and having a shutoff valve makes it so much easier to fill various containers without making a mess and wasting a bunch of water. Just combine a coil spring coupler hose and a shut-off valve and you’ll have a magical little tool that lets you stop the flow without running all the way back to the spigot.
Pro-Tip: Combine this with a drill pump (see below) and water bladder to transfer water from the bed of your truck to your fresh tank all by yourself.
Water Key (Sillcock Key)
Many commercial buildings or gas stations will have water faucets on the exterior, but no knob or handle to turn it on. This makes sense, they don’t want a bunch of people stealing their water and running up the bill.
That’s why a water key (or sillcock key) is more of an emergency or last ditch effort kind of thing. We always want you to ask permission before filling up your water jugs, and stealing isn’t cool. That being said, this is a good tool to have at your disposal for weird situations like a zombie apocalypse.
Extra Rubber Gaskets
I know, these little guys aren’t an earth-shattering revelation. But we’ve found that having a few extras of the mundane things that are prone to breaking or getting lost can be the key to enjoying your time camping instead of heading to the hardware store.
Yes, these little hose washers get lost all the time. They fall out. They fail. They stretch. Then you’ve got stuff leaking all over the place and making a mess. Grab yourself 6-pack and never worry about it again.
Drill Pump
Have a big bladder full of water and need to transfer it to your fresh tank? Have a cordless drill? Then grab yourself one of these bad boys. This little $12 self-priming transfer drill pump has been a game changer for transporting water. Before we just had to let gravity do the work and it took forever!
Now we hook it up to a hose, connect our drill, and pump the water right out in no time flat. It’s pretty amazing little gadget, and totally worth it if you find yourself transporting water a lot like we do.
Pro Tip: Combine with a hose to hose connector (pictured), and a coil spring coupler hose to pump it by yourself without needing an extra set of hands.
And now, my friend - you are equipped to be a fresh water ninja. Go forth, obtain your water, and flourish!
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About the Author
Jonathan Longnecker is the strongly opinionated tattooed and bearded half of Tiny Shiny Home. He loves making music, figuring out nerdy solutions, exploring the outdoors, and living off-grid.
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