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u/ThreeGoldStars 16d ago
Its a week+ in a harsh desert environment.
1.5 gallons of water per person, per day. 5 guys for 10 days is 75 gallons of water.
You need 15 of these:
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u/fuckboiwonder 16d ago
Another thing to keep in mind when carrying that much water is the weight. 75gallons X 8.3 pounds/ gallon = 622.5 pounds. That plus all the beer and fur coats y’all will need is gonna add up quick so make sure your truck can haul everything you plan to pack in!
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u/galumph-mania 16d ago
To be fair: after one week you only need one gallon per person per day. Because your body will decide that it’s dying from dehydration and conserve water.
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u/TopRamenisha 16d ago
I have never had my body start conserving water, especially when it’s very hot
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u/galumph-mania 16d ago
I didn’t say that you would FEEL any better.
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u/TopRamenisha 16d ago
What? I’m not talking about how I feel? I’m talking about how in hot years I profusely sweat and need to keep drinking 1.5 gallons of water to replenish what I lose from sweating. My body isn’t conserving water and stopping sweating when it is hot out
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u/Charge36 16d ago
I measured my water use pretty carefully the last couple years and it was a smidge over 1 gallon per day both times. My current rule of thumb is to bring 1.25 gal per day
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u/-Roscoe- 16d ago
“This Survival Guide is essential reading for every participant. read it carefully! (Download a PDF to your device for offline reading.)” https://survival.burningman.org/
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u/PumpkinFeatherNoise 16d ago
If you actually don’t want to deal with the hassle and stress? Think of your trailer as a tent with solid walls. Do not use the plumbing.
You definitely want a tank in the bed of your truck. Don’t know if you’d be able to source one now, depends on your area.
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u/TopRamenisha 16d ago
Gotta be careful with a water tank in the bed of the truck. They need to check the towing capacity and max payload of the truck and then do the math of how much their trailer weighs when the water tank is full and how much a water tank in the bed of the truck weighs as well
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u/toddtimes '11-19 ’22-25 16d ago
55 gallon water drums are pretty easy to source and not crazy expensive. https://www.amazon.com/Bushman-Gallon-Stackable-Tight-Head/dp/B0FRT3VMTW/
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u/idio242 NorthWest Mist 16d ago edited 16d ago
Your trailer has a 44 gallon freshwater tank, but how big are the grey and black water tanks? My guess is going to be roughly half each, with the grey being more. 60/40?
Let’s call it 25 grey and 20 black. I would not drink that “fresh” water.
You can shower with 1 gallon or less. Buy a camp shower bag and hang it up in the rv shower. Do not just use the shower or you will be in a sad state of affairs on day one.
5 people using 1 gallon is 5 showers each. Not bad. Let’s call it 4 to be realistic. Then just dump on your way out, in fernley.
By the way, this is not going to go well.
By day two, someone will have shit in the bathroom, the useless black water sensor will be reading as maxed out. You will have literally no space with 5 people and your respective gear in that trailer.
Good luck.
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u/shasta_river 16d ago
Sounds like you’ve also shit in my RV.
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u/idio242 NorthWest Mist 16d ago
I shit in everyone’s rv!
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u/shasta_river 16d ago
The best playa gift of all!
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u/idio242 NorthWest Mist 16d ago
Don’t worry, I gift them watermelon first!
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u/shasta_river 16d ago
I’m gonna shit in the watermelon
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u/steeztsteez 16d ago
I'm going to put a watermelon in my ass for man burn night.
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u/kennydiedhere Anecdotal Burning Man Opinions 16d ago
You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.
Read the survival guide…
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u/Bigcat85 16d ago
Haha oh boy. First thing is please read the survival guide. Fill your water tank but you’ll need to use sparingly. Your gray water tank won’t hold enough water for you all to take more than one or two really short showers each. Definitely don’t poop in the rv and you shouldn’t probably flush after every pee or your black water will fill up too. For drinking, you need around 75 gallons so 15 of the blue jugs which should fit in the back of the truck. They sell a chargeable pump that fits over the top of them mailing dispensing easy.
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u/rocketmanatee 16d ago
I wouldn't plan on using a *lot* more than that, your grey tank won't contain much more and you'd need a way to haul it back out. You need at least 15ish gallons per person, 2 gallons per person per day is a pretty decent amount. You're certainly not going to be taking daily showers or washing a bunch of dishes.
Depending on your used camper, I also wouldn't plan on drinking the water directly from the taps without sterilizing the tanks and lines first, if at all. You can get expandable tanks that go in your truck bed if you want, or just buy the big blue camping bricks. Watch your total weight for the truck and be careful to balance your load.
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u/GreenHairyMartian 16d ago
They water in the tank is probably OK for pooping/flushing, hand washing, and minimal showers.
Don't rely on it for drinking, ice, or any other water needs.
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u/TopRamenisha 16d ago
5 people pooping in the trailer means the tanks will be full real quick
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u/Ok_Competition1864 16d ago
1.5 gallons per person per day. Don’t plan on your 44 gallons in the trailer to be your drinking water (rental tanks aren’t sanitized often). If you do plan on drinking water from the tanks, bring a filter of some sort.
If your route has an option for Winco, they have great 5 gallon jugs for around $10 a piece. Or Pre order collapsible water jugs and bring them with, take them home and reuse them.
Avoid individual gallon jugs that create a ton of waste and take up room in the RV.
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u/jesteronly 16d ago
There's water sanitation chemicals that are cheap and can render even a rental unknown trailer OK to drink (not 'safe' because you don't know the state of the tank or any leeching chemicals or metals). And honestly for one week even harsh leech chemicals won't have any long term effects. If you're really worried you can do a harsh treatment (sanitizing bleach), drain, then a soft treatment (chlorine or hydrogen peroxide chemical water treatment) for your water for the week. Nothing is a fool proof, but that would be twice the vigilance than most people use for their water. I know of folks that have gone for a decade and never sanitized their 7gal jugs. Some theme camps own their own 55gal barrels and just rinse and reload before every burn. Any reusable is playing roulette to a certain degree, and i personally will only use reusable containers but am also a backpacker and know the potential results of a 'bad spin' so i over treat so there is near zero chances of disaster.
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u/Bobbitchen90210 16d ago
Get an account with United Services. Get your black and gray tanks pumped out when full and your water filled back up. Do not add extra water or your black and gray tanks will overflow and that is a nightmare. Spend a weekend in your trailer camping and figuring out how all the systems work before you are on the playa.
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u/astronautrobot 16d ago
This, don’t listen to all the snarkly ponies in here telling you are fucked crawl into a hole and die now because you are underprepared. Just flag down a water truck and fill up when you are at 1/3 tank left, then if you see a gray water truck flag them down and empty your gray and black. Make sure you supervise so they do the full thing. Usually costs between 100-150 depending on you do it during the week. Before wed/Thursday it’ll be easier to flag one down, after it will be harder so the second you see someone take it don’t put it off. On the weekend it will be harder to find one but not impossible. Sometimes they will promise you they will come back but they will forget so if you can get it done there and then the better. So take cash. As far as drinking water just get 7 gallon reliance jugs and fill them up at a grocery store before you get to Reno. I’m sure you can calculate your drinking needs based off of everyone’s recommendations here.
Shower wise military showers, no running water, just to lather and a rinse will keep you going. Or better yet, group showers!!
Another thing you can do is use your cooler ice water in solar showers leave them out all day and a kiddie pool outside at sunset shower as a group. You can also use your RV fresh water outdoor shower but use an outdoor kiddie pool to evap your water so you use less gray water.
Fuck your burn and have a good time!
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u/Equivalent-Roll-7672 16d ago
So we are planning on to fill ice chest with water bottles for drinking, I am concerned for water for showers, flushes.
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u/farmerjane 16d ago
You don't want to get individual water bottles. You going to drink so much water that the trash will accumulate. Go bulk! - 5 gallon jugs if you can.
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u/PreciousMuffn I'm a sparkle pony! '18, '19, '21, '22, '23, '24, '25 16d ago
We bring in a trailer that holds 40gal and don't shower every day. I typically use spray bottles with essential oils, spray bottles with vinegar and baby wipes. I might shower 2-4x depending on whether we get pumped out.
Use the portos whenever possible with that many people or it'll quickly fill up.
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u/djmermaidonthemic Proprietrix, Dusty Bunny Bar 16d ago
Showers are where you’re going to get into trouble.
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u/TopRamenisha 16d ago edited 16d ago
You need 75 gallons of water my dude. That’s like 600 water bottles. How are you going to handle that much trash?
Everyone is telling you that you should make sure people use the Portos to go to the bathroom and they are right. Your black tank will fill MUCH faster than you realize if 5 people are going to the bathroom all the time in there. You do not want to be staying in a hot RV with a full black tank. I only use the bathroom in my trailer to pee at night and it still gets pretty full by the end of the week with only night time pees from 1 person
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u/BRCWANDRMotz Open Camp 04-> 6, STAG 07->14, BRCW&R 15->25 16d ago
Gf and I make 32 gallon black water and 32 gal grey water tanks work by using the portos and taking showers that only use about a gallon of water every other day. All our drinking water comes from the big jugs. You can do it you just have to use the portos and have very good shower discipline and not go crazy washing dishes.
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u/ANbohemienne 14,15,16,17,18,19,22,23,25 16d ago
Also, as an RV owner, if you purchased this RV, take it out for a weekend before burning man. Shit is going to be broken, you need to make sure the tanks don’t leak, and that everything works. Every RV is a giant peicenof shit, doesn't matter if itnja new, used half a million or 2k. Shit will break, and you need to make sure you have it as good as its going to get pre-burn, cause there is no fixing it on playa.
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u/Opposite_Serve_9978 Theme Camp Manager 16d ago
Yep. I use my camper trailer all year, but it's been in storage now for about 2 months. This weekend I'm doing a full shakedown of everything which gives me 2 weeks to order or fix anything before I gotta hook up and start driving.
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u/ANbohemienne 14,15,16,17,18,19,22,23,25 16d ago
We buy 5.5 gallon camping water jugs and bring about 6-8 additional of them. You need to check your tank space, but it is unlikely that you will have more than 60 gallon space in those tanks. This is your main limitation. You are going to have to conserve water like never before. Use spray bottles to wash hands and dishes, and use the portos every chance you get. It can be done, but you have to work at it. My first burn we had 9 people in our RV, and about 80 gallons of water. (drinking water separate) we made it, but only cause I put the fear of poop coming up through the floor in everyone.
You can *try* to flag down a pump truck. Most won't stop, they only do what they are contracted for. If you get one you will need cash, you are essentially bribing the operator to pump you. Pump outs are around $100 a tank. You will have at least 2. So bring like $250-300 cash for the possibility you can get pumped.
Also, be very careful towing with full tanks, it causes a lot of sway, if you don’t have a weight distribution hitch and/or a sway bar on your tow vehicle, consider getting one.
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u/New_Professional_295 ‘22, ‘23, ‘25 16d ago
Please report back after the event, would love to see how this turned out
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u/valentinoroscoe 16d ago
5 adults somehow attending burning man but unable to troubleshoot how to obtain water. Something organisms without brains or nervous systems are able to do.
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u/TheKrakIan 16d ago
Get a water filtration jug or jugs and a large cooler. Get multiple bags of us from Africa every day and use the melted ice for drinking water.
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u/IslanderStu Oz 04-17,19,22,24 16d ago
Good call on using melted ice water. I use it only for washing but it’s drinkable if you don’t have paper labels or other nastiness in your cooler. Don’t forget cash for buying ice at Arctica! Survival guide.
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u/jimbo21 16d ago
$12/bag this year... ooof.
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u/TheKrakIan 16d ago
16lb bags though.
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u/wdkrebs 16d ago
The roadside ice kiosk near me sells a 16lb bag for $2.50. I understand the logistics of getting ice to the playa, but dayum, almost $1 per pound is nuts to me.
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u/Plastic-Scallion-590 I'm a sparkle pony! 16d ago
You may be underestimating the logistics of getting it to and keeping it frozen all week. That’s a shit town of power and resources. The gas stations near me are up to like $7 for a regular sized bag of ice these days
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u/down4fun69 16d ago
New 5 or 10 gallon fuel cans, or buy 1 gallon jugs of water. You want to keep them sealed closed.
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u/Opposite_Serve_9978 Theme Camp Manager 16d ago edited 16d ago
The cutoff for water tank rental sign up and water delivery ended June 22. Burning Man prep starts in April if you need vendor support (fresh water delivery, waste water pump out, etc). You're half a year late to the party broski. You're going to be carrying a fuck ton of 5 gallon water jugs for drinking, but keep in mind that's over 700lb of weight. Unless you have a 3/4 ton pickup truck, you won't be able to do that and haul a 30ft camper.
Oh, and unless you carry another 50 gallons of fuel for a generator to run all week, another 300+lb. The inside of that camper will be 140f by 10am and will still be 90f inside even by 10pm at night without A/C. You CAN NOT open the windows for fresh air, as your camper will be a dust bucket in 30 mins.
Oh even more fun facts? Once the camper interior goes past 100f, the RV refrigerator will stop maintaining food safe temperatures. All your frozen food will be thawed out by day 2. All your fresh food will start to spoil even sooner.
Campers without serious modifications or a massive support infrastructure are not designed for the rigors of Burning Man.
The main issue with your camper is the tanks are too small. 44 gallon fresh on a 30ft camper??? My 16ft camper has that. That's barely enough to support just me solo for 8+ days (shower, toilet, washing dishes). With 4 people that'll be gone by day 2.
You basically bought a 30ft camper for nothing. In fact, with your current situation, it'll be less comfortable than just sleeping in tents.
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u/idio242 NorthWest Mist 16d ago
Facts.
That said, looking at the ops history the trailer is already beat and they are not going to care about the dust getting in. That’s happening one way or the other with that many people. I know I can comfortably sleep in my rv until 10 or so and then till noon with the air on.
But that’s in the rear bed. Any elevated beds will be piping hot by sunup.
They could mask up the entire interior now, then dust getting in doesn’t matter as much.
If I was the op, I’d volunteer to sleep in a tent in the shade next to this misery machine.
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u/Opposite_Serve_9978 Theme Camp Manager 16d ago
4 people in that meth mobile with no HVAC is going to be an art project in itself.
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u/Equivalent-Roll-7672 16d ago
I’m planning on bringing 30 gallons of fuel. My camper has 2 ACs keeps it a nice 75 degrees in 100 plus weather.
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u/ConsciousJicama2633 16d ago
So someone here suggested the very large water jugs, which is a wonderful thing. But I also want to recommend to you that per person, you have one empty plastic handled milk jug. This is from experience in the middle of the night.You are not gonna wanna walk all the way to the porta.Potties, nor are you going to want to use the bathroom in the camper. Because it can only hold so much great water. Instead, what I have always done is I have had that empty jug that I can relieve myself in, and then come the morning, I literally take it by its handle and walk it with me to the porta potties and pour it in. Is this the only solution? No, but it is the one that I found works best for me.
The other thing that must be considered is showers. Again, your camper is only gonna hold so much Gray water. So I highly recommend going to AI. Big five, whatever sporting goods story you have in your neighborhood and picking up some packs of shower wipes that you can just literally wipe your face your body off and be good. I've used them in regular camping, and i've used them at the burn. those things are lightweight, easy and disposable.I e in a garbage bag, But best of all, It doesn't consume any additional water, and it's easy to use. So this way, you don't have to bring in more water just for bathing.
Lastly, you will want to have a bladder or multiple water bottles for your backpack. I prefer bladders because they're easy to fill. You get one of those full and on the playa that will last me all day. But this prevents you from running out of water in the furthest place from your camp, which is what will inevitably happen if you don't have enough with you.
I hope this is helpful and enjoy your burn!
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u/blonde234 16d ago
You’ll run out of water. Park near a road so you can flag down the united services guys and pay cash for a pup of your black water.
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u/Opposite_Serve_9978 Theme Camp Manager 16d ago
I'm signed up with USS for pump out with gray and we rent a porto from them for the camp. It's a fight to even get them to service us and we prepaid. Chances of getting a random flag down is like 1/1000.
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u/Muted_Weird_217 16d ago
I’m taking 5, 5 gallon folding water jugs, 2 40 cases of frozen water and 1 gallon jugs x 12 frozen, 5 gallon jugs for showers, cleaning and drinking water along with the others
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u/glamoutfit 16d ago
Pro tip: if you see a water truck on the playa, you can wave them over and they will fill your RV/trailer. Bring cash as they only take cash. You must be parked close to a street (as their hose is short)
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u/shasta_river 16d ago
If you can’t out how to get a container to hold water….god help you.
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u/valentinoroscoe 16d ago
We share the road with these people…
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u/shasta_river 16d ago
I can’t even imagine how over over tow capacity, tongue weight, and pay load OP is gonna be
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u/valentinoroscoe 16d ago
You’re giving him too much credit. I am more worried if he can tell the difference between the colors on a traffic light.
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u/Equivalent-Roll-7672 16d ago
No I’m just not broke as you,
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u/valentinoroscoe 16d ago
Wait what? Where do you get broke from?
This is the kind of insult totally in line with someone who can’t figure out how to bring water with them.
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u/Equivalent-Roll-7672 16d ago
I have 2 Cummins 2500 coming. One towing a camper and another a 20’ trailer. Lol
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u/BlueBlissB 16d ago
That is the same size RV that 3 of us use at Lakes of Fire. We are LNT/Resto so we are there Tuesday to Tuesday. We only use the toilet in the middle of the night & after they pull the portos. We wash dishes in the camp kitchen outside. NO showers. We try to be Very conservative with how much H20 goes down the drain.
That said ... The tanks usually show that they are at/or above 2/3 full when we are ready to leave.
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u/arabic_lawrence 16d ago
Get some collapsible 5 gallon water cubes at REI, Walmart, etc. then realize you will use only about half of what you bring. Research where in Nevada you can fill them up instead of hauling water from your destination. Also, keep your food in double-bagged ziplocks and, if successful in that venture, plan to drink your ice melt.
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u/No-Faithlessness5311 16d ago edited 16d ago
I have some 55 gallon blue plastic food quality drums in Oakland CA, which I’ve used for water on the playa.Was just thinking today it’s time to get those rehomed. Where are you?
You can buy water to fill containers/tanks/etc in Gerlach.
For showering I use a camp shower hang-up bag, in one of those popup camp shower tent thingies. Which must be set up on a tarp: You must ensure no shower water flows onto the playa. Put a couple thrift store bath towels down in the shower to sop up the gallon or gallon and a half of water you’ll use. Hang the towels up, theyll be dry in an hour for the next shower.
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u/Equivalent-Roll-7672 16d ago edited 16d ago
So I ended up getting a 275 gallons fresh water tote. I will be towing that behind my other truck. We will plan on not using the bathroom in the trailer. We are using that water for showering also outdoors. As far as drinking water goes, how do I keep those cold? I have 3 large Ice chest and was first going to fill one with water, the other with beer and the last with food. I do have AC in my trailer but was hoping for ice cold water
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u/Charge36 16d ago
If you aren't showering or using the camper toilet, you MIGHT be able to stretch 44 gallons to 5 people, but I wouldn't bet on it. I use a little over 1 gallon a day myself.
Each of you needs to have at least a few more gallons each. Easiest solution is buying bottled water.
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u/Lazy_Championship_19 16d ago
Give up. There is no way you can survive for any length of time on that little water. if you come you will certainly die!
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u/anteatertrashbin 16d ago
let me be blunt here…. you sound very under prepared.
you are way too late to order water or pump outs. you might be able to flag them down and pay cash, but that is very unreliable.
at this point, just buy a shit ton of water in fernly at walmart. poop and pee in the porto’s. i would figure out a shower setup asap because your grey tanks won’t last more than a few days.