TERRA GOES

The Complete Parts, Pipe & Product List for My DIY Van Water System (+ Diagrams!)

Here’s the best news: if you’re building out a van, I promise plumbing is less of a life event than electrical. It’s actually a little fun, and spraying water from your faucet or shower for the first time is just as invigorating as turning on that first light.

Also, building out your plumbing systems is much, much less expensive than your electrical build.

Frankly, it’s all good news, so let’s get into it. When I started my plumbing, I figured the best place to start was at the beginning, which, I reasoned, was where the water entered my system.

A disclaimer: I’m not a professional; I’m just another lunatic with an internet connection. This is what worked for me, and I’ve organized this in the same order I installed each portion of my system, mostly because that’s how it made the most sense to me.

Table of Contents
  1. Fresh Water Fill
  2. Water Pump + Accumulator
  3. Running Water Lines
  4. Hot Water Heater
  5. Rear Shower
  6. Kitchen Sink + Gray Water System
  7. Electrical Components

1. The Fresh Water Fill

Components:

2. The Water Pump & Accumulator

Components:

3. The Water Lines

Components:

  • 1/2″ PEX-A – blue + red – 10′ of each color should be more than enough for most compact systems. There are different types of PEX pipe, but PEX-A is the most flexible option, making it the right fit for a van build where things are often in motion.
  • 1/2″ PEX-A Expansion Sleeves – You can connect your fittings to your PEX-A tubing via crimping, clamping, expansion, or push-to-connect fittings. The first three options require special tools and the last – push-to-connect – tend to be expensive ($10-20+ per fitting). My research ultimately led me to the conclusion that expansion is generally the most durable and reliable connection.
  • PEX Pipe Expander Tool Kit – Using expansion fittings requires a special tool to expand both the sleeve and the PEX pipe itself, allowing you to slip the fitting over your connection point. The automatic options are very expensive ($350+), but I bought this manual option for about $75. It does require some muscle, but for a small project with mostly 1/2″ connections, it worked.
  • 1/2″ PEX Expansion Ball Valves – Installing ball valves allows you to isolate individual parts of your water system for maintenance, etc. I put one at the start of the cold and hot water lines, and along the lines running to the rear shower.
  • 1/2″ PEX Expansion Elbows & Tees – To help with the twists and bends of your piping.
  • 1/2″ PEX Push-to-Connect Check Valve – Works to prevent hot water from flowing back into the cold water lines.
  • 1/2″ PEX Expansion TO 3/8″ Quarter Turn Stop Valve
  • 1/2″ MNPT to 1/2″ PEX Expansion – Connects PEX to Shurflo Silencer.

4. The Hot Water Heater (Optional)

Whenever I’m out camping, sleeping on the ground or just being a feral animal, what I tend to miss is the ability to wash my hands with hot water. I can go unshowered for an extended period of time, I can wander through mountains with spiders and leaves in my hair, but I love a good hand wash, and that’s why I wanted hot water in the van.

The thing about hot water heaters is that they tend to be energy-intensive. With limited energy, I wanted an option that wouldn’t rapidly deplete my energy stores, and settled on the Isotemp Spa 15L Water Heater. The Isotemp can either be plugged into a regular 120 VAC outlet, or – and this is what sold me – it can heat water through your van’s coolant lines, essentially creating energy-free (piping!) hot water just by driving the van.

The installation was a little bit terrifying – cutting into my van’s coolant lines was one of the most insane things I’ve done during this build. After much research, I purchased an Isotemp Water Heater Installation Kit from Vanlife Outfitters with all the parts needed for the installation, plus a guide. It’s priced pretty much the same as if I had sourced all the parts myself, but it saved me a ton of time, provided examples of what works, and ultimately gave me the confidence to do the damn thing.

Components:

5. Shower Installation (Optional)

My Ford Transit has a long body, but not an extended body, so I didn’t want to take up space inside the van with a full-size shower. But, I still wanted the option to rinse myself, my dog or my gear, which led me to install a shower in the very back of the van.

Components:

6. The Kitchen Sink + Gray Water System

I overcomplicated this of course, but I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out.

I knew I needed a gray tank to capture gray water from my sink, but I also wanted the option to drain the sink by bypassing the gray tank for instances when that option made sense, AND, I wanted to be able to drain my gray water tank from inside the van, without taking it out. So, that’s one drain port through the floor of the van, a split drain from the sink going into both the gray water tank and the floor drain, plus a drain on the gray water tank leading to the floor drain. Oh and also, I needed to connect the hot water heater’s pressure release drain to the floor drain as well.

Components:

7. Electrical Wiring for Plumbing Components

Before I filled my tank, I wired all the electrical components that support my water system. This included running the lines for the water pump, running a 120 VAC line for the hot water heater as a backup option, and two water sensor levels and corresponding gauges.

Components:

Helpful Tools

I amassed so many small tools during my electrical build, but this wasn’t like that at all. My plumbing tool kit includes the following:

And that’s it, that’s the complete breakdown of every single piece, part and component I used in my van’s plumbing system. To see my van build and van life in real time, follow me on Instagram and TikTok, and – if you have them – drop your lessons learning below.

DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.