WFP Realistic With A Small Car?

I'm currently planning my route into wfp.

My tap water has a TDS reading of 370, so I'll need an RO + DI system. I also have limited vehicle space (Skoda Citigo). I have some space in the garden/driveway for things such as an IBC and I have an outside tap too. I'm on a water meter.

So with that in mind I was planning on purifying my water at home into an IBC, and then distribute that into 20L tanks and throw them in the car along with a backpack and pole. Has anybody been in similar circumstances that can offer any advice?

I've found this system on ebay. Would this be suitable for my needs or can anybody recommend something better?

Thanks.

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Lemming said:

I'm currently planning my route into wfp.

My tap water has a TDS reading of 370, so I'll need an RO + DI system. I also have limited vehicle space (Skoda Citigo). I have some space in the garden/driveway for things such as an IBC and I have an outside tap too. I'm on a water meter.

So with that in mind I was planning on purifying my water at home into an IBC, and then distribute that into 20L tanks and throw them in the car along with a backpack and pole. Has anybody been in similar circumstances that can offer any advice?

I've found this system on ebay. Would this be suitable for my needs or can anybody recommend something better?

Thanks.

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I started with Barrels I'm back pack only but now have a tank in the van, don't know much about RO but isn't that going to cost you a fortune as you throw most of the water away I believe

Poles Apart said:

I started with Barrels I'm back pack only but now have a tank in the van, don't know much about RO but isn't that going to cost you a fortune as you throw most of the water away I believe

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I'm not sure to be honest.

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I started off working out of a back of a car and got by ok. My advice would not to buy a Ro unit from ebay as you could just end up wasting your money. Go to a firm like Daqua who specialise in these products and will always give advice. Do you have good water pressure ? I started off with a 350 GPD from RO MAN this was slow and in the winter months was even slower I also found the RO was very wasteful with water. I currently run a 4021 that produces 2litres of water in around 90 seconds with a pure to waste ratio of 50/50 my mains water pressure is around 60 psi. Always go for the best you can afford. Remember to insulate your RO well in the winter to stop it from freezing

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marc674 said:

I started off working out of a back of a car and got by ok. My advice would not to buy a Ro unit from ebay as you could just end up wasting your money. Go to a firm like Daqua who specialise in these products and will always give advice. Do you have good water pressure ? I started off with a 350 GPD from RO MAN this was slow and in the winter months was even slower I also found the RO was very wasteful with water. I currently run a 4021 that produces 2litres of water in around 90 seconds with a pure to waste ratio of 50/50 my mains water pressure is around 60 psi. Always go for the best you can afford. Remember to insulate your RO well in the winter to stop it from freezing

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I'll contact Daqua then and see what they suggest. I'm not sure what psi my water is, it does come out if the tap fairly powerful though. I'm not sure what 4021 is? To insulate I was thinking of fitting a tubular heater next to the system.

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You can buy a gauge that screws onto the outside tap that will show what your pressure is they are around £10. A 4021 is just a type of RO see pic

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As far as insulation go,s I have put my RO in a small storage shed and insulated the inside with 1" polystyrene sheeting. I have a small tubular heater from screwfix in there and that kept the temp inside to around 6 when it was below 0 outside

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I am currently running out of my car.   I don’t have kids so don’t need the back seat space.   I have a 175l tank, 7l Di vessel, pump and battery.

pole sits on top the tank bungied to the belt buckle.   Hose reel sits in front the tank on the back of the dropped seat.  

I get on fine with this.  And weight isn’t and issue as a full tank is equivalent to 2 13 stone blokes.    Well within weight limit 

I can't advise on the RO since I'm DI only.

I have to say you'll probably get fed up of working from a Skoda Citigo with the lack of space and the high boot lip - a small tank is a good idea but you will spill water & the car will get damp from dripping brushes/hoses etc... If you don't need the extra seats I'd suggest you swap your car for a small van or even an old estate car where you don't mind ruining the interior.

Cookie said:

I can't advise on the RO since I'm DI only.
 
I have to say you'll probably get fed up of working from a Skoda Citigo with the lack of space and the high boot lip - a small tank is a good idea but you will spill water & the car will get damp from dripping brushes/hoses etc... If you don't need the extra seats I'd suggest you swap your car for a small van or even an old estate car where you don't mind ruining the interior.

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I can't change my car yet as I'm only 1 year into a 3 year PCP contract. I can forsee it being frustrating working from a small car but needs must. I've just measured the height of the boot lip and it's roughly 30cm. I was thinking of putting a few Samla storage boxes from IKEA, the 14cm deep ones, upside down, either side of each other to act as a base. Then put the larger 78x56cm box on top, which is 18cm in height. I can then put a few 25L containers in the larger box. I've not worked out where the backpack will go yet [emoji1]

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Can you not attach a small trailer on the back of it. I appreciate this will attract a penalty at the end of it but personally would prefer to pay that than f@rt around for 2 years 

Part Timer said:

Can you not attach a small trailer on the back of it. I appreciate this will attract a penalty at the end of it but personally would prefer to pay that than f@rt around for 2 years 

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Potentially, I'd just be worried about security issues with using one and also driving with it, like reversing for instance.

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I've just bought this which will hopefully help with any spills

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XX3S5XM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_2cn2BbX6KNJ3F

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I started working out of my car. It worked fine, but water will end up everywhere no matter what you do. Wfp will wear a car down super fast.

Not to mention the smell of wet cloths, constant repacking the car for private use. Passengers getting wet behinds because I didn't notice a 25l barrel had leaked. Etc etc.

Going to a dedicated work vehicle was the best thing I did. You don't have to start out with a van.

Bigger car I know, but I’ve worked out of a Nissan Primera for eleven years.

As I live so close to all my work and it’s been such a reliable car I’ve never considered seriously switching to a small van as it suits my needs perfectly. It even seems to have been designed around my tools. It holds 6x 25ltr barrels and the standard Pure Freedom trolley (fold down handle version) inside the boot space. I can put a seventh barrel in the front footwell if needed.

For water proofing the boot space I use green tarps folded into a large rectangle and turned up at the edges (the blue ones were too thin and wear through too easily). I’ve made a pole/brush rack for two poles and spare brushes that slots into the headrest holes on the front passenger seat. I use the tubeless system on my poles that makes carrying them in the car easy as there is no hose to worry about getting tangled in the car. Hoses are stored on the back seat with my other tools. Again you can use a green tarp here to protect against damp from dripping hoses if necessary. Highly recommended as dampness in the car furniture will quickly make your car smell very unpleasant.

Marko067 said:

Bigger car I know, but I’ve worked out of a Nissan Primera for eleven years.
As I live so close to all my work and it’s been such a reliable car I’ve never considered seriously switching to a small van as it suits my needs perfectly. It even seems to have been designed around my tools. It holds 6x 25ltr barrels and the standard Pure Freedom trolley (fold down handle version) inside the boot space. I can put a seventh barrel in the front footwell if needed.
For water proofing the boot space I use green tarps folded into a large rectangle and turned up at the edges (the blue ones were too thin and wear through too easily). I’ve made a pole/brush rack for two poles and spare brushes that slots into the headrest holes on the front passenger seat. I use the tubeless system on my poles that makes carrying them in the car easy as there is no hose to worry about getting tangled in the car. Hoses are stored on the back seat with my other tools. Again you can use a green tarp here to protect against damp from dripping hoses if necessary. Highly recommended as dampness in the car furniture will quickly make your car smell very unpleasant.

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I've just cancelled that cover from Amazon and I'll look into a suitable tarpaulin instead then. Thanks for your advice.

I recorded my PSI from the garden tap and it gave a reading of around 40. So does this mean I'll need a pump to boost it?

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Here's a few pictures. I've posted these before but they will give you an idea of what I've done and may be helpful to you now even if later you move to a van mount.

Great pics mate thanks

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Kleenwell said:

I am currently running out of my car. I don’t have kids so don’t need the back seat space. I have a 175l tank, 7l Di vessel, pump and battery.

pole sits on top the tank bungied to the belt buckle. Hose reel sits in front the tank on the back of the dropped seat.

I get on fine with this. And weight isn’t and issue as a full tank is equivalent to 2 13 stone blokes. Well within weight limit

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hi m8 do you still run that?

Kleenwell said:

I am currently running out of my car. I don’t have kids so don’t need the back seat space. I have a 175l tank, 7l Di vessel, pump and battery.

pole sits on top the tank bungied to the belt buckle. Hose reel sits in front the tank on the back of the dropped seat.

I get on fine with this. And weight isn’t and issue as a full tank is equivalent to 2 13 stone blokes. Well within weight limit

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are you still running this?

James102 said:

are you still running this?

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You might get a better response by tagging the op @Marko067

Pjj said:

You might get a better response by tagging the op @Marko067

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ye?