Water Carrier Solved

written by Butch Goodwin
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Northern Flight Retrievers  

All the materials: PVC pipe (4" or 6" diameter), end caps, a "breather" of some sort, faucet, PVC glue, epoxy, and a drill with a hole saw.

Hole drilled for breather.

Breather glued in place with PVC glue.

End cap glued in place with PVC glue.

Little did I expect that on a chukar-hunting trip in the fall of 2004, I would suddenly be slapped in the face by a rather simple solution to a dilemma long plaguing trainers and hunters: How to carry enough fresh water to keep dogs hydrated in the field.

Up to that point, I had always carried a five-gallon water container, shoved wherever it would fit. But, a sizeable water carrier is difficult to handle and heavy to lug around, and mine had to be lifted out to pour into the bowls, usually spilling and creating a mess.

A hunting partner and I were driving the back roads of southeastern Oregon looking for some new chukar-hunting territory when we noticed a pickup towing a monster 10-dog trailer parked just off the road. No one was around, so we drove on, but I wondered why there was a carrying tube for fishing rods mounted on top of his trailer in the Oregon desert. I assumed they must have planned on heading to Owyhee Reservoir or the Snake River.

After a day with rather abysmal hunting results, we stopped on the way home for fuel and pulled up behind the same dog trailer we’d seen earlier. Figuring that they likely had better luck than we did finding birds, I struck up a conversation, primarily to pick their brains about where to hunt. But my focus instantly switched from bird hunting to the curious fishing rod carrier.., with the faucet on the end, where one of the hunters was filling dog bowls with water! To hell with chukars, I thought. This was truly a revelation, and I quickly switched the subject to the water carrier.

The PVC water pipe was strapped to the rack on top of the dog trailer with several large-diameter hose clamps. They had a piece of duct tape covering a hole on top of the pipe on the end opposite the faucet to keep water from sloshing out when they were driving; but. when the tape was removed, air could flow into the tube so that the water would run out. Other than that, it was a simple six-inch-diameter plastic PVC pipe about eight feet long, capped on each end, with a faucet in one of the end caps. Hallelujah! This was simple and precisely the answer I had been searching for. I had no doubt I could build one and was certain I’d be able to find something better than duct tape to cover the "breather" hole.

Hole drilled in second end cap for faucet. Faucet is not threaded, so it must be attached with epoxy (because it is metal).

When faucet end cap is attached with PVC glue, a double-ended, female fitting serves to attach a hose and fill the pipe.

When I had some free time over the next couple of weeks, I began searching out the materials. Here’s how it went:

My pickup has a standard eight-foot bed with a topper for carrying eight dogs. I wanted a pipe that was somewhat shorter than the length of the bed, so I settled on a six-foot-long PVC pipe. Because of space limitations under the topper, I opted for six-inch-diameter pipe. I learned from the supplier that a six-inch-diameter pipe will hold roughly one-and-a-half gallons per foot, so a six-foot-long pipe will carry about nine gallons of water. The pipe and the caps for the ends cost around $25. I already had the PVC glue necessary for attaching the ends, but I don’t imagine that’s too expensive.

In place of duct tape for covering the hole in the upper end of the pipe, I found a plastic breather at Home Depot - it is actually called a "plastic automatic drain valve" for a sprinkler system. This is a plastic, threaded fitting with small holes in the base and more holes in the top to allow water to drain out of underground sprinklers. The holes also allow air to freely pass through - however, I did eventually find that I wasn’t satisfied with the volume of air that passed through it, and I drilled a quarter-inch hole in the top, leaving the holes in the bottom intact. This allowed the pipe to fill more quickly and water to freely flow out when the faucet is opened.

Unable to find a satisfactory plastic faucet, I found a brass one at Home Depot; it wasn’t threaded so if had to be glued in place with epoxy (PVC glue will not work when gluing metal to plastic). The breather valve, faucet, and epoxy cost under $10 total.

It is necessary to have a "hole saw that fits on a power drill or another way to drill holes in the PVC pipe for the breather and in the end cap for the faucet. Both the breather valve and the faucet could be inserted through a one-inch hole.

Breather allows air to pass through and water to flow out.

Assembling the water pipe takes under two hours. PVC glue dries within minutes, but, as per the instructions, I allowed the epoxy to dry for 24 hours - it has remained solid as a rock for more than a year.

The water carrier is filled by attaching a garden hose to the faucet. For this you will need a fitting that can attach both to the end of the hose and to the faucet - a double female fitting. You can buy one for a couple of bucks, and I just leave it attached to the faucet since I have no need for it anywhere else and don’t want to lose it.

The only other items that are necessary depend on how you will be carrying the water pipe in or on the vehicle. I made a big mistake and tried to hang it under my dog topper by using pipe strapping (which is commonly called "plumber’s tape"). This is a galvanized strapping with holes in it, but it’s much too brittle and breaks quite easily if it is flexed. Because the normal vibration and bouncing from driving caused the pipe to swing slightly, the pipe straps broke loose.

The secret to hanging the pipe is using flexible material. Here I have used hose clamps and pieces of old dog collars to hang them under the topper on my truck.

Fill 'er up!

So I purchased three large hose clamps to tighten around the six-inch- diameter pipe, and inserted loops of old dog-collar material through them. By punching holes in the ends of the collar material and inserting bolts with nuts and lock washers, I was able to attach them directly through the bottom of the dog kennels in the topper - this has now lasted for more than a year with no problems whatsoever. If you are going to attach the wter carrier to a rack on the top of your UV or trailer, large hose clamps should suffice. If you have another kind of truck, with a little imagination and innovation you should be able to find a way to hang or attach the pipe.

One last suggestion: This water carrier is so simple that you can modify it to fit your particular needs and size of vehicle. Smaller diameter or shorter pipe might serve you better. Remember, water weighs about eight pounds per gallon. My six-foot-long, six-inch-diameter water pipe weighs in at more than 70 pounds when full. And when a pipe isn't full and water sloshes from end to end, it can be quite unwieldy to handle - so plan ahead.

A note: just after I wrote this and submitted it to RJ, a client of mine visiting from Michigan was looking at my truck and remarked that he had seen a similar water pipe for sale in one of the dog supply catalogs. When I checked, I found that Lion Country Supply in Pennsylvania has four-inch and six-inch-diameter pipes for sale. So if you aren't mechanically inclined or simply don't want to mess with building one - they are available from Lion Country.