6 Best Trailer Mounted Water Tanks For Irrigation That Beat Summer Drought
Combat drought with portable irrigation. This guide reviews the 6 best trailer-mounted water tanks, comparing capacity, durability, and key features.
That mid-July heat hits different when it hasn’t rained in three weeks and your well is struggling to keep up. You see the stress in your tomato plants, the slight curl in the corn leaves, and you know you’re losing yield every day. A trailer-mounted water tank isn’t just a piece of equipment; it’s your farm’s emergency fund, giving you the power to move water where it’s needed most, right when it matters.
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Why a Trailer Tank is Your Drought Insurance
A water trailer is about control. It decouples your irrigation from the length of your hose, letting you deliver water to that far pasture, the new block of fruit trees, or a remote high tunnel without running hundreds of feet of pipe. It’s the difference between watching a crop suffer and intervening decisively.
This isn’t just about watering plants. A good trailer tank becomes a multi-tool for the property. Use it for filling remote livestock troughs, controlling dust on the driveway, spraying down equipment, or even as a critical fire-suppression tool during the dry season. Instead of a single-purpose item, think of it as a mobile water utility for your entire operation.
The core value is resilience. When the summer drought settles in, your options narrow quickly. A trailer tank broadens them again. You can haul water from a pond, a creek, or a neighbor’s high-capacity well (with permission, of course), giving you a buffer when your primary source is taxed. It’s proactive insurance against the whims of weather.
Norwesco 500-Gallon: The All-Round Workhorse
When you picture a water trailer, you’re probably picturing something built around a Norwesco leg tank. The 500-gallon model is the sweet spot for most small farms. It’s enough water to make a real difference in a single trip, but not so heavy that you need a one-ton truck to move it.
This tank is the definition of a workhorse. Made from rugged, UV-resistant polyethylene, it’s designed to live outside and take a beating. The molded-in legs make it incredibly easy and safe to strap down to a utility trailer. You’re buying a blank canvas, which is both its greatest strength and its primary consideration.
You will need to supply the trailer, a pump, and the plumbing. This DIY approach lets you build the exact system you need—a high-flow transfer pump for flood irrigation or a smaller pump with a hose for spot watering. For a 1- to 5-acre hobby farm, this size provides the perfect balance of capacity, cost, and maneuverability.
ABI Water Trailer: The Ultimate Turnkey Solution
If you value your time more than a weekend DIY project, the ABI Water Trailer is your answer. These aren’t kits; they are fully engineered, road-legal trailers that arrive ready to work. They come with everything integrated: the tank, a DOT-approved trailer, a reliable pump, hoses, and a spray bar.
The real benefit here is the lack of guesswork. The pump is matched to the tank, the trailer is rated for the load, and the plumbing is professionally installed. This is a huge advantage if you need to haul water on public roads or simply don’t have the time or expertise to piece a system together safely. This is the "buy it once, cry once" option.
Of course, convenience comes at a premium. A turnkey solution like this costs significantly more than a DIY build. But for those running a business like a market garden or a small horse operation, the immediate productivity and reliability can easily justify the expense. It’s a professional-grade tool for people who need professional-grade results right out of the box.
Enduraplas 200-Gallon: For ATV & UTV Hauling
Not every watering task requires a truck and a 500-gallon tank. For getting water into tight spaces—navigating between greenhouse rows, watering remote raised beds, or tending to newly planted windbreaks—a smaller, UTV-mounted system is unbeatable. The Enduraplas 200-gallon sprayer is a prime example of this specialized approach.
These units are designed with a low center of gravity for stability on uneven terrain, which is critical when you’re hauling sloshing water behind a light vehicle. They often come equipped with a boomless nozzle or a handgun sprayer, making them perfect for targeted applications rather than bulk transport. It’s about precision over volume.
The tradeoff is obvious: capacity. You’ll be making more trips to water the same area compared to a larger trailer. But this isn’t for irrigating a two-acre field. It’s for the jobs where a big trailer is simply too clumsy or would cause too much soil compaction. This is the right tool for surgical watering strikes.
Ace Roto-Mold Leg Tank: Top DIY Trailer Build
For the farmer who already has a sturdy utility trailer and isn’t afraid of a little plumbing, an Ace Roto-Mold leg tank is the heart of a budget-friendly water hauler. These tanks are known for their durability and thoughtful design, with features like molded-in gallon markers and multiple fitting locations.
The "leg tank" design is key. The legs create a wide, stable base and provide a flat surface for mounting, making it far safer and easier to secure than a round-bottom tank. You can confidently strap it to a flatbed and know it’s not going to shift or roll. This is the foundation for a reliable, no-frills system that you build to your own specs.
This path offers the most control and the lowest cost. You choose the pump, you run the hoses, you pick the fittings. If you want a simple gravity-feed system with a 2-inch ball valve, you can build it. If you need a gas-powered pump for more pressure, you can do that too. It’s the ultimate expression of farmer ingenuity.
Dura-Tech Sprayer Trailer: High-Pressure Option
Sometimes you need to do more than just dump water on the ground. A sprayer trailer, like those from Dura-Tech, is built for application, not just transportation. The key difference is the pump—these units use diaphragm or roller pumps to generate high pressure.
This pressure changes the game. It allows you to use a spray gun to reach the tops of mature fruit trees, apply foliar feeds or organic pesticides evenly, or power-wash equipment in the field. While you can certainly use it for watering, its real strength lies in its versatility for plant health management and other high-pressure tasks.
The compromise is usually capacity and cost. A 100-gallon sprayer trailer can cost as much as a 500-gallon tank setup because the pump, hose reel, and pressure-rated components are more expensive. Don’t buy a sprayer if all you need is a water hauler. But if you need to do both, this type of trailer can save you from having to buy two separate pieces of equipment.
CountyLine 1000-Gallon: For Maximum Capacity
When you move from a large garden to small-scale commercial production, your water needs explode. Making ten trips with a 100-gallon tank isn’t efficient; it’s a full-time job. The 1000-gallon tank, like those sold by CountyLine at Tractor Supply, is for when you need to move serious water.
Before you even consider this size, look at your tow vehicle. A full 1000-gallon tank is carrying over 8,300 pounds of water, plus the weight of the tank and trailer. You are firmly in three-quarter-ton truck or 50+ horsepower tractor territory. Safety is paramount, and being under-equipped for this much weight is not an option.
This is a tool for scale. It allows you to deep-water a half-acre of sweet corn in a single trip or fill several large livestock waterers without running back to the well. If watering during a drought takes up hours of your day with a smaller tank, upgrading to this capacity can turn a major chore into a manageable task. It’s about maximizing the impact of every trip.
Final Checks: What to Look for Before You Buy
Getting the right tank is about matching the tool to your farm’s specific needs. A mismatched setup is either frustratingly inadequate or dangerously oversized. Before you pull the trigger, run through this final checklist.
First, be brutally honest about your towing capacity. Calculate the total weight: (Gallons x 8.34 lbs) + Tank Weight + Trailer Weight. Your tow vehicle and trailer must be rated to handle this, especially the trailer’s axles and tires. Sloshing water is an unforgiving load, and you need a healthy safety margin.
Next, consider the practical details.
- Baffles: Internal baffles are non-negotiable for tanks over 300 gallons. They disrupt the wave motion of sloshing water, making the trailer dramatically more stable and safe to tow.
- Material: Ensure the tank is made from UV-stabilized, virgin polyethylene. If you’ll use it for livestock, confirm it’s rated as food-grade or safe for potable water.
- Pump & Plumbing: Decide if you need a low-pressure/high-volume transfer pump or a high-pressure/low-volume sprayer pump. A 2-inch outlet is ideal for fast draining and filling.
- Turnkey vs. DIY: Your budget is a factor, but so are your time and mechanical skills. A pre-built trailer gets you working tomorrow; a DIY project might save you 50% but take two weekends to complete.
Finally, think about how you’ll fill it. Do you have a pump and intake hose to draw from a pond, or will you be filling from a well hydrant? Make sure your plan includes the necessary hoses and fittings to get water into the tank, not just out of it.
Ultimately, the best water trailer is the one that fits your scale, your property, and your tow vehicle. It’s a powerful tool for building resilience, giving you the ability to fight back against a dry summer and protect the investment you’ve made in your soil and your crops. Choosing wisely means buying yourself peace of mind, one gallon at a time.
