Whether you are touring in a caravan, enjoying a camping trip or spending time on a seasonal pitch, access to fresh drinking water is essential. While most caravans have onboard water storage, many owners still prefer to collect fresh water directly from the site tap for drinking and cooking.
This is where a good-quality water carrier comes into its own. Modern collapsible water carriers offer several advantages over traditional rigid containers, helping to save space without compromising on convenience.
Water carriers
When you are on a camping trip or outing in your caravan, you will need plentiful supplies of drinking water. According to the NHS, adults are generally advised to drink around six to eight glasses of fluid a day – and maybe even more in hot and sticky weather or if you are exerting yourself.
Your caravan is undoubtedly fitted with its own water tank and, provided you are scrupulously careful in keeping the tank clean and fill it only with fresh water, there should be no problem drinking water from it, suggests the Camping and Caravanning Club.
Many people may prefer to drink water that has been drawn from the tap more recently, however, and that means using a water carrier to get it from the onsite tap to your caravan.
Collapsible water carriers
However big your caravan, carrying extra drinking water takes up valuable storage space. This is where collapsible water carriers come into their own, providing additional capacity when needed while folding away neatly when empty.
There are further benefits as well:
Durability
- one of the reasons why you probably never gave your old water carrier a second thought is because it is so durable – it can seem as though it will last forever;
- a collapsible water carrier remains just as durable and will serve you well for many years;
Portability
- a collapsible water carrier is portable – simply pick it up if it’s empty;
- typical sizes range between five litres and twenty litres and you might want to weigh the advantages of having several smaller water carriers rather than one big one;
- a 20-litre water carrier is very heavy when it’s filled, of course – but carriers of this size may also have inbuilt wheels to make getting back from the tap to your caravan so much easier;
Storable
- when it’s not in use, your collapsible water carrier will take up precious little space – whether that’s in your garage or stowed in your caravan when you’re ready to roll;
- as you fill it, the carrier simply expands to occupy the same space as the volume of water itself;
Eco-friendly
- its durability and long-term reusability mean a collapsible water carrier may help reduce waste compared with repeatedly purchasing disposable water containers;
- those eco-friendly credentials are enhanced still further since a water carrier you can fill straight from the tap may reduce the need to buy and dispose of multiple single-use plastic water bottles.
BPA-free materials
If you are buying a collapsible water carrier, it is worth checking whether it is made from BPA-free materials.
BPA (Bisphenol A) is a chemical that has historically been used in the manufacture of some plastics. Although regulatory authorities continue to assess its safety, many consumers prefer BPA-free products for storing food and drinking water. Choosing a BPA-free water carrier may provide additional peace of mind when carrying water intended for consumption.