Two of the most time-limiting systems in any conversion are the water supply and the wastewater holding capacity. Many people have to break camp to go somewhere to empty their tanks and get fresh water every few days. Or carry a freshwater tank and sewer tank in their pickup and pump fluids back and forth.

Some people believe that they are living green or off-grid if they do without a water system in their conversion. The problem is that they are using other systems at truck stops or gyms, which is more wasteful than an off-grid RV system.

Here at Big Dog RV Services, we have developed a water purification system that can bring any water that’s not chemically contaminated up to drinking water standards. Our system reduces the time it takes to fill the fresh water tank to once a week or never, depending on what water resource is nearby. 

We designed a system that will pump water up to 500 feet to the bus and then into the water storage tank(s). If you are within 500 feet of a water source, you simply take the pump down to the river with your hose, put the intake hose into the river, and connect the discharge hose to the water city fill inlet port. 

Then you turn on the remote self-powered pump-in-a-box, and it pushes water into the bus. Through a series of valves, you can let the bus’s internal system, pump water from the city fill port and redirect it to the holding tank. You can fill the tank and then disconnect everything for storage. 

If you are remote, you can leave the remote pump connected and divert the water to the filtration system to supply the coach directly instead of filling the tank, so you have an endless water supply for your bus.  This way, you can take longer showers, and you will never have to go out in the rain to fill your empty tanks. 

You simply use water straight from the water source to the coach instead of your holding tank. The advantage here is that both pumps cycle on and off as needed, and you aren’t relying on a limited tank volume. The water goes through the purification system before it goes to the coach, so you have clean, unlimited, drinkable water regardless of the source. 

This system filters the water based on its designated use. The washing machine water is filtered to 5 microns, which is what most city water is filtered to. The shower and dishwasher water are filtered down to 1 micron and then to 0.35 microns for drinking water. 

We have other filters that remove taste and odor from water. We also have a citrus-based water softener for hard water locations. These filters can be bypassed if they are not needed where you are. A water test kit will indicate which water softener to use. 

This system kills bacteria and viruses in the drinking water with UV light and is then filtered out. The advantages of this system are far-reaching, but what led me to develop it was my dogs getting sick every time we changed the water. No matter where we are or what water source we have, the water is the same quality and taste.  

You can test how pure your water is by freezing it.  Only perfectly pure water will freeze clear.  If your ice is opaque or cloudy, it’s not pure. You can see this in ice sculptures; they are so clear because the water they use to make the ice blocks is pure. 

Black and Gray Water 

We use a composting toilet we designed and built in-house. We have two options: an all-in-one toilet and an RV toilet with a composting canister. The compost toilet does just that: It composts the solids and diverts the urine to the greywater system or to the ground. The compost canister will handle both liquid and solids. 

The canister is mounted under the bus, and the all-in-one toilet is inside the bus. The canister is larger and needs emptying less frequently. It also has a greywater washout system and a hydronic heat loop to reduce composting time. With a composting toilet, there is no need for a blackwater tank, saving you space and having to travel to a dump station.

Greywater can be filtered and then returned to the holding tank for reuse. This process requires some changes in the products you use. The soaps and cleaning chemicals you use need to be such that they can be filtered out. Most of the time, what the manufacturer calls organic or natural isn’t. Some research on your part may be needed. 

Once you know what you put in the water besides your body oils and waste, you can filter the grey water and return it to the ground or the holding tank for further filtering and purification. 

NASA uses a system like ours on the space station. Carrying water to space is very expensive, so they recycle every drop they can. This does a lot more than conserve water while being green, truly green. It eliminates the need for plastic tanks and reduces water usage. It opens up floor plans, so you don’t have to work around tank placement. This product also reduces plumbing lines and weight.  

In summary, reducing water usage in a converted vehicle saves weight, time, and space required for additional holding tank capacities.  This results in more free time for you, better fuel mileage due to carrying less weight, and the freedom to boondock for longer periods of time, rather than having to travel to city water sources, and to dump your holding tanks.