THE WATERPORT PORTABLE DAY TANK
Having a sufficient water supply on the road to clean or rinse gear, and even wash off the day’s dirt and grime is challenging for most off-roaders. In efforts to solve this problem, we got our hands on the WaterPORT, a 14.4 l (3.8 gal) self-pressurized water tank that attaches to a vehicle and provides a constant source of H20 for many outdoor applications.
We purchased the WaterPORT prior to a trip in the Canadian Maritimes and have been using it on the road ever since. As we often overland in remote areas with no services, it provides us with pressurized water for a couple of quick showers (per filling) to freshen up with still enough capacity to wash our muddy dog after nature walks. We also use it to quickly rinse dishes or wash snorkelling equipment. It’s even handy to use around the house.
The WaterPORT is self-pressurizing. This means it absorbs water pressure from a standard garden hose
(fill it before you leave for a trip at home or from a water source at a campground or elsewhere). If you need to fill it while in the wilderness, simply use the hand pump that replaces the filler cap (that’s available at an extra cost) and pump the pressure manually. You can also use an onboard air pump with the featured Schrader valve for another means of pressurizing.
The unit is very adaptable with multiple vehicle mounting options. You can rig it on a bar mount, trailer hitch mount and there’s even a truck bed mounting option. We installed ours on a roof rack bar so when we travel - and it’s nice and sunny - the water gets warm in no time. Plus, it’s always ready to use at our next camp. The initial installation is quite easy and took us less than 15 minutes. Once it’s installed, you can easily remove the tank from the mount with the quick release system.
The WaterPORT comes with a 1.8 m (6 ft) hose, a spray nozzle and large filler cap to easily add water in instances when hoses can’t be used. When using a garden hose with normal pressure, the unit fills in about 60 seconds when completely empty.
The company states that it has a handle to make it easy to carry. However, given the shape and size, I would beg to differ as it’s rather cumbersome and quite heavy once filled. When on the road, we try to leave it on our roof rack and simply fill it while mounted with a hose. Although, there have been a few occasions where we had to remove it to accommodate various water supplies.
For us, the WaterPORT is now a necessary part of our everyday overland gear. We really enjoy access to quick, well-pressurized warm showers, which is basically why we purchased it in the first place.
The WaterPORT is available at www.thewaterPORT.com or through www.amazon.ca.