How Much Water Does A Campervan Need For Vanlife

When converting a campervan you may wonder how much water you need for vanlife.  Running water is one feature that makes van living much more comfortable.  Using an electric or foot pump, you can have water on demand for drinking, washing, cooking, showering, and hygiene.  But how much water storage capacity do you need for vanlife?  This post identifies the important factors for determining how much water storage you need for your campervan.

This post may contain affiliate links. Disclosure policy.

---

How Much Water Is Right For You?

An average converted campervan has typically between 10 and 80 gallons of water storage.  But determining your ideal water capacity will depend on your specific needs.

Most of us have no concept of how much water we use when living in a house.  But living in a campervan forces you to be much more aware of your water usage.  You will get better at conserving water so that you can last longer between fill-ups.  I share some tips throughout this post to help you maximize your limited water supply.

The main factors for determining total water storage capacity are…

• How many people are using the water?
• What do you use water for? (drinking, washing dishes, shower, etc)
• How much space and weight can you devote to water storage?

---

How Many People Are Using The Water?

One Person / Solo

If you are living solo vanlife then you only need to account for yourself.

Two People

But if you are a couple living in a van, like Emily & I, then you should nearly double your water capacity.  And I say “nearly double”, because water for cooking and washing dishes probably isn’t doubled for two people versus one. However, drinking water and shower water cannot reasonably be shared, so you need twice as much.

More Than Two People

If you plan to live with more than two people in the van, first of all, god bless you.  Second, just plan accordingly to account for extra people using the water supply.  Which may vary whether you are including adults or children.

And lastly, don’t forget your pets.  If you’re bringing any cats, dogs, or frogs along with you, don’t forget to consider the amount of water they may need.

---

What Will You Use Water For In Your campervan?

I think it’s fair to assume that everyone will use water in their van for drinking.  Additionally, most conversions will have a sink for cooking and washing dishes.  But probably the biggest water hog in a campervan would be a shower if you include one.

However, the majority of van conversions don’t have a shower. (So how do people shower in vanlife?)

Drinking Water

It’s recommended that you drink about 3/4 gallon per day (give or take for weight and activity level).  Realistically, most people probably don’t hit that threshold.  But nonetheless, it’s not a bad baseline to start from.

And if you have pets, be sure to consider the amount they drink, especially for large breed dogs.

Cooking & Washing

The amount of water you need for cooking and doing dishes can vary greatly depending on your needs and habits.  If you are cooking and washing dishes for 3 meals a day, then that water usage will add up quickly.

It also depends on what kind of food you are making.  If you are boiling a whole pot of water for pasta or potatoes, that will use substantially more water than just pan-frying a meal.  And don’t forget that water will fill up your grey tank faster.

So it’s good to cater your meal choices or cooking techniques to use less water.  When we make pasta in our campervan, we always use less water than directed and just stir more frequently to compensate.  Or we opt for other cooking methods besides boiling whenever possible. Here’s a good resource for how vanlife changed what we eat. 

And you should consider the amount of water needed to wash dishes.  Doing dishes with limited water is probably one of the most annoying parts of vanlife.  Even though our faucet can provide a normal healthy flow of water, we almost always use barely a trickle.  And I’m sure many other vanlifers do the same.  It just helps conserve so much water.  But it makes doing dishes more of a pain.

Most vanlifers will opt for meals that can be made in just one or two pots.  The fewer items you need to clean, the less water you need.

Our go-to strategy is cooking with non-stick pots and pans because they require much less water and effort to clean.  We will also repurpose our napkins from the meal to start the cleanup.  Sometimes our pots and pans are nearly clean before the sponge and soap even get involved.

Showering

Most campervans don’t have a shower.  But it’s becoming more popular as van conversions become more elaborate.

Showering requires lots of water, and could easily double the amount of water storage you need.

Most vanlifers with a shower resort to a “military-style” shower.  That is, turning the water off and on in between lathering soap/shampoo.  Using a military-shower most people can complete their shower with about 1 gallon of water (give or take).

If you want to shower daily then the gallons will start to add up quickly.  So be mindful of how you intend to use your shower.

---

How Much Space & Weight Do You Have To Spare?

Space and weight are the other major factors when deciding how much water you need for a campervan.  A campervan has a rather limited interior space, so the size of your water tank(s) is a factor.  You will have to consider the size of your water storage tanks and strike a balance that leaves room for other things.

The most low-tech and affordable solution is to just use a couple of camping water jugs.  But this is typically not the most efficient ratio of water volume to storage space.

The better, but more expensive solution is to use a single large prefab water tank.  They come in a wide range of sizes and shapes.  Perhaps my favorite option is the wheel-well water tanks that fit perfectly over that awkward space around the wheel well.

Or you can mount your water storage tank on the underside of your van.  This won’t take up space inside the van, but undermounted water solutions tend to be more expensive to buy and install.

And if you do lots of rough, off-road travel, then an undermounted water tank may not be a good choice.

Lastly, one gallon of water weighs about 8.34 lbs.  So every additional gallon of water you carry quickly increases the total weight of your campervan.  Depending on the payload of your particular van, you may need to be mindful of the total weight of your water storage in addition to your conversion materials. (You can look up the payload of your specific van in the owner’s manual, or on a website like Autoblog.com).

Or if you have one of the vans listed below, we already did the work for you. Check out the payload for these different van makes and models. 

• What’s the difference between Chevy 1500, 2500, and 3500?
• What is the difference between Mercedes Sprinter 1500, 2500, 3500, 3500XD, and 4500?
• What’s the difference between Ford E-150, E-250, and E-350 vans?

Large Water Holding Tanks vs Portable Water Jugs

The two most common water storage methods for campervans are large plastic holding tanks or camping-style water jugs.  There are pros and cons to each style, so you will have to decide what works best for you.

Holding Tanks are typically more expensive but come in much bigger sizes. They are also often a more efficient use of space, or can be mounted under your vehicle.  However, they are harder to clean, not portable, and must be filled with a hose (like found at a typical RV dump/fill station).

Camping jugs are cheaper and easier to empty and clean.  They usually don’t hold as much water (typically 3-7 gallons each). But they can be carried outside your vehicle to water dispensing machines, which gives you more flexibility when looking for places to refill.  But they are heavy and often awkward to carry.

---

Conclusion | Our Advice For How Much Water Do You Need In A Campervan For Vanlife

We think the best amount of water storage capacity for most campervans is between 20-40 gallons.  But you may want to size up or down based on all the factors discussed above.

From our own experience, we have about 11 gallons of water storage in our campervan.  We only use that water for drinking, cooking, washing dishes, and hygiene.  (We have a separate solar shower bag that holds 5 gallons).  This post describes exactly how we built our campervan plumbing including all the products and step-by-step instructions.

For us, 11 gallons of water is totally liveable, but not quite perfect.  We could, of course, buy another water jug and increase our capacity.  But our ability to store another water jug is limited.

Water is usually the first thing we run out of when we are off-grid for extended periods.  It can sustain us for about 5 days or so, but we think a perfect amount for us would be closer to 20 gallons.  That way we could go longer between fill-ups, and stay off-grid for a week or more.

---

Help Share ‘How Much Water Do You Need In A Campervan?’ On Pinterest!