Water transfer pump

[Dvan]

So I leave my 5th wheel up at my property for the summer. I have a 40 gal water tank that I fill at home and take up with us when we go. I bought a pump to transfer the water from the portable tank to the tank on the 5th wheel,  but it burned up after about 10 uses, it was kind of a cheapo, so I?m not real surprised, but I?m asking if anyone else does this, and if so, what kind of pump are you using? Checking amazon and reading reviews, but I?d like to hear recommendations if anyone has any, thanks in advance!

 

[Back2PA]

I would use the same pump as the one you have on the fifth wheel. They are meant for continuous use, and if your onboard pump fails you'll have a spare.


I used to carry a bladder tank in my pickup toad behind my motorhome, worked great. I made a long cord out of heavy wire with clips on the end that I could clip to either the toad or motorhome battery.

 

[lynnmor]

I just made some simple alterations to the plumbing so that the onboard pump draws the water in and on to the tank.  No extra pump, wiring and switch.

 

[Dvan]

Both great ideas, never thought of that

 

[NY_Dutch]

When I relocated the water pump in our motorhome from a bedside cabinet (!), I added a three-way valve and hose that makes it easy to transfer water or anti-freeze into the plumbing. Whether it goes in the fresh tank or just feeds the "house" pipes is controlled by an existing valve.

 

[Kevin Means]

We have a 25 gallon auxiliary fresh water tank, and I use a Shurflow RV water pump to transfer the water into the main tank, for exactly the reason Scott mentioned. It's held up well.

Kev

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The choice of pump depends mostly on the budget vs how fast you want to transfer the water.  You can get a 35-40 psi, 1.2 gpm pump for around $25, or a 70 psi, 5.5 gpm pump for around $100.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076XTLTXR/
https://www.amazon.com/Seaflo-Washdown-Caravan-Marine-Yacht/dp/B00K9I9IYW/

I used to use a submersible bilge pump with a 10-16 gpm rating (flow depends on the amount of "head" needed). I think I paid around $30 for the pump and fittings needed for a 3/4" hose connection. A submersible pump works nicely if you have an open barrel to drop it in, but an external pump is handier if the tank is closed and has a water outlet valve.    Hint: if you have a submersible ump but the tank isn't an open type, let the tank drain into a pail and submerge the pump in the water in the pail. It transfers water out as it runs in from the source tank. The trick is to keep the two flow rates in sync. 

 

[Dvan]

Thanks a lot for all your replies, I think I will go ahead and get a water pump that could be a replacement for the onboard pump if needed, and eventually add some valves to the existing waterlines. Never even considered that but what a great idea, thanks again

 

[Jkoht]

At one point we thought our water pump burned up so we replaced it with a new. After some tinkering I found that a seal wasn't set right on the old one and that it still worked. I just made up some hoses and a battery connection for a small sealed 12v battery and use the pump to transfer from a 30 gallon tank on my truck into the trailer.

 

[MEL T]

I used a 12 volt pump like this harbor freight one. I changed the clips for an rv plug. I carried extra water to deer camp in 35 gallon drums back then.
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