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NW Conversions 33 Gallon Wheel Well Water Tank - Right (SP-R-33)
$299.00
Reliable shipping
Flexible returns
The largest interior tank in the NW Conversions wheel-well range, for builders who want a full week of water without giving up the space between the wheel wells.
At 33 gallons this is the tank you choose when you are building for two people full-time, or when you are running an indoor shower and do not want to be hunting for a fill point every third day. It is tall rather than wide — 20" of height across a 48" length — so it climbs the wall above the passenger-side wheel well instead of eating into the aisle.
The trade-off is worth understanding before you buy. Thirty-three gallons of water is roughly 275 lb sitting at hip height on one side of the van. In our shop we only spec the 33 when there is real ballast on the opposite side — a battery bank, a galley, a bench. Without it the van leans noticeably on a full tank and the rear suspension knows about it.
Should you buy this tank, or a different one in the range?
- Buy the SP-R-33 if you want maximum interior capacity on the passenger side and you have 20" of vertical wall available above the wheel well.
- Buy the SP-L-33 instead if your galley is going on the passenger side and the tank has to live on the driver side. Same shape, mirrored.
- Step down to the SP-C-24 or SP-C-20 if your bed platform sits low and you cannot give up 20" of wall height.
- Look at the SP-DU-19 if you refuse to lose any width between the wheel wells at all — it is the slim version of this idea.
Confirmed fitment
| Primary fit | Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 |
| Also fits | Sprinter T1N; Ford Transit single-rear-wheel |
| Ram ProMaster | Fits, but the tank must be elevated 3.5" to clear the larger ProMaster wheel housing |
| Side | Passenger side (right). Sits ahead of the wheel well on the passenger side. |
| Manufacturer note | Listed as compatible with all Sprinters, 1997–present |
| Other platforms | May fit other makes and models — measure first |
Transit wheel wells are slightly smaller than Sprinter wheel wells, which means a Transit install leaves a little more room around the well. That extra gap is a good place for closed-cell foam rather than dead air.
Specifications
| Capacity | 33 gallons |
| Dimensions | 48" L × 20" H × 13" D (manufacturer also lists 12.5" wide, ± tolerance) |
| Dry weight | 25 lb |
| Weight full | Approx. 300 lb including water |
| Material | Rotomolded in the USA from BPA-free, food-grade polyethylene |
| Ports — rectangular end | (2) 1.5" NPT (spun closed, drill to use) + (2) 1/2" NPT |
| Ports — opposite end | (2) 1.5" NPT (spun closed, drill to use) + (1) 1/2" NPT |
| Ports — top | (1) 1.5" NPT (spun closed) for gravity fill or level sender |
| Pressurization | Unpressurized — must be vented |
These tanks are not pressure vessels. They must be vented to atmosphere — a sealed tank will balloon on a hot day and collapse inward when the pump draws it down.
What ships to you
- (1) SP-R-33 33 gallon rotomolded tank
- Ports as listed above. Fittings, hose and strapping are not included.
Installing it: what actually happens
Budget an afternoon, not an hour. The tank itself drops into place quickly; the time goes into deciding port locations and building a cradle that will hold 300 lb of moving water through a pothole.
Our sequence: dry-fit the tank against the bare wheel well, mark the port faces with tape, pull it back out, drill only the ports you need on the bench, deburr, rinse, then build the cradle and strap it in. Do not drill inside the van.
- Tools we use: 2-1/8" hole saw for the 1.5" NPT ports, a deburring tool, thread sealant rated for potable water, and ratchet straps for the dry fit.
- Support the full footprint. A tank this tall wants to rock; two straps over the top into floor anchors or wall ribs is the minimum we will sign off on.
- Leave service access to the top port. You will be back in there for a level sender or a vent line sooner than you think.
- On a ProMaster, build the 3.5" riser into the subfloor rather than shimming it later.
Questions we get asked about this part
Do I have to drill the ports myself?
On the wheel-well tanks the 1/2" NPT ports arrive open and ready to thread. The 1.5" ports are spun closed at the factory so you only open the ones your plumbing actually uses. Open them with a hole saw on the bench, before the tank goes anywhere near the van, and vacuum the shavings out. Plastic chips inside a fresh water tank are a mistake you only make once.
Does the tank need a vent?
Yes. It is designed to run unpressurized. Run a vent line from the top 1.5" port up above the maximum fill level and out through the floor or a body vent. Skip it and the tank will deform on a hot day, then pull its walls in when the pump runs.
How much weight am I adding to the van?
Water weighs roughly 8.34 lb per gallon, so 33 gallons is about 275 lb of payload once full, on top of the dry weight of the tank. Put that number in your build budget before you order rather than after — it is the most commonly forgotten figure in a van conversion.
Can I drink out of it?
The vessel itself is BPA-free food-grade polyethylene, so the tank is potable-rated. What actually determines whether your water is safe to drink is everything downstream of it: the fill port, the hose, the pump and the filtration. We plumb potable systems with NSF-61 rated hose and a carbon block at the tap.
Can I use it for grey water instead of fresh?
Yes — the material and port layout work either way. If it is going to be grey, plumb the outlet at the lowest point you can reach and add a clean-out, because grey tanks need rinsing and fresh tanks generally do not.
Pairs well with
- Van water tanks and plumbing — the rest of the NW Conversions range
Sold and shipped by Campervan Parts R Us, the parts counter of Noke Van Co. — a working van conversion shop in Roanoke, Virginia. If you are unsure whether this fits your van, email us the year, model and wheelbase and we will check it against a build sheet before you order.