Desert water bag

L

Louis

Well-known member
The last three days here in Marietta Ga. the temp. has been 104 to 105 so I thought I would get out my old desert water bag, Any of you ever use one ?...I know they were used in the 1940's-1960's for people crossing the desert, But were they used as far back as the 1930's ?
Anyway Im sure their were still a lot of A models on the road in to the 1950's, They were used for drinking water and to add water to your rad.
I thought I would put some water in it and let it drip the next time I go to the next car show. ;)
 

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I thought they were just used to cool the radiator, like a swamp cooler.
 

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Cooling the radiator may or may not have been a side benefit. My parents "didn't leave home without one" when driving between LA & Texas in the early 40's. I typically carried one when on the Arizona highways in the late 50's. Basically for drinking water and extra water for the radiator -- just in case!
 
I bought a "like new" one (about 40 years old, but hardly ever, if ever, used) at a garage sale a couple years ago. The lady didn't have any idea what it was or what it was used for. :rolleyes: And even when I told her I don't think she believed me.
 
I may be wrong, But I think it was used for an [emer.] break down in the desert for drinking water or to add to the rad. due to the hot weather, I woulden't think that blocking off 40% of your rad. in the desert heat would help in cooling, esp. on a "A" model rad, maybe on a car that had a hood orniment but would not block the air flow thru. the rad.,...On an "A" model I would think it would be carried on the bumper But Im just gusssing, I don't know, Maybe some one here can explane it.
 
While visiting relatives in Denver,back in the 60's,they had one hanging on the door mirror anytime we took a trip. the water was always nice and cool for drinking. I think they had a lot fewer big bugs there than in the south.
 
For some reason this thread reminds me of the Alfred Hitchcock presents episode : Escape to Sonoita


Bill and Andy Davis are driving an old tanker truck across the desert when, 85 miles from their destination, they truck develops engine problems. A passing car gets stuck in the sand and it turns out the occupants have kidnapped a young woman in Phoenix and are on the run with the $100,000 ransom they've collected. They decide to take the truck to continue their escape but fight over the limited water available. One kidnapper shoots the other, but he eventually dies of thirst. Turns out he was much closer to water than he thought.
 
As a kid in the 1950's we would travel desert highways from Los Angeles to Miami, Oklahoma etc and always had a desert water bag. It was hung below the bumper and the water was always cool to drink in 95 degree weather. But I will say this, the water always tasted like you were drinking it out of a burlap sack. (which I guess we were).
 
NBill and Andy Davis are driving an old tanker truck across the desert when, 85 miles from their destination, they truck develops engine problems. A passing car gets stuck in the sand and it turns out the occupants have kidnapped a young woman in Phoenix and are on the run with the $100,000 ransom they've collected. They decide to take the truck to continue their escape but fight over the limited water available. One kidnapper shoots the other, but he eventually dies of thirst. Turns out he was much closer to water than he thought. o,

It was a WATER TANKER that went UNSAID in your story .:D
 
Bruce!!! I didn't want to give it away in case someone had not seen it!

OK, now tell me how many other 30 year olds besides me know their hitchcock. :)
 
I saw an old sign on ebay the other day that said Route 66, last stop to buy a desert water bag for the next 300 miles,
Wow!...Can you img. driving in an A model in the desert with no stop's for the next 300 miles :eek:.
Im just glad I have a desert water bag, Just in case :rolleyes:.
 
glenn in camino said:
No water for 300 miles? Probably no gas either. You'd have to bring 15-20 gallons of gas to make it.
Click to expand...

The sign just said last chance to buy a desert bag for the next 300 miles.
not gas :p.

But if an A model got 20 mpg, and you carried two five gallon cans of gas in the trunk ,running board's, or in the back of your pickum-truck you could expect to go 400 miles, or about :cool:.

That would be one hell of a trip with the wife and a couple of kid's,
But back then people were a lot tougher then they are now ;).
 
What a memory jogger! Our family used to take vacations in the summer on the
"Mother Highway" (Route 66) and always with the bag tied onto the radiator. As
far as using any of the water is concerned, I don't ever recall dad pouring a drop
of water out of the bag----ever.

Jack
 
Jack '29 Sport Coupe said:
"Mother Highway" (Route 66) and always with the bag tied onto the radiator. As
far as using any of the water is concerned, I don't ever recall dad pouring a drop of water out of the bag----ever.

Jack
Click to expand...

That's because he was prepared. Now if you didn't have the bag...... Oh boy!
 
I think the bags are made from flax. My dad used to hang one on the front bumper of his 1954 Ford Country Squire when we made long trips in the 50's. He said the evaporating water would help cool the radiator.

I remember that Hitchcock movie and a local TV station just started showing Hitchcock and other good 50's and early 60's programs. That's why I'm up all hours of the night!
 
I have an old Desert water Bag hanging from my bumper of my Model A. Before I take a drive or display my car at a car show, I pour a half to one gallon of water into it. It drips a little until the flax fiber expands and stops leaking. Most people at the car shows have never seen one and ask what it is and what it was used for?
Once in a while I see one displayed on the front of an old car at a show, but never have one with water in it.
I explain that the water bags were used from the 1920's through the 1950's. Water bags are made from flax fiber because it expanded when wet and held the water.
I have a small sign next to my water bag that says:
Desert water Bag
The desert water bag not only held water, but cooled water at the same time. On hot days, water would condense on the outside of the bag and cool the contents through evaporation. People often draped their bags on the front of the car to ensure the cooling action of moving air.
Someone once asked me if I ever drank from the bag?
I replied no, but just the other day I took a sip from the bag and to my surprise, it wasn't as bad as the bag looks from the outside. The printing on my bag is mostly faded off from the sun and saturated water. I keep my nice water bags with many different graphics on display in my garage.
 
We used these bags for drinking water when out working on the old farm in the 50's. They kept the water cool and made a great drink.
 
My dad put one on the bumper of our brand-new '56 Fairlane on a trip from So California to Colorado. He was pumping gas at a station in the middle of New Mexico and one of the local urchins waited until his back was turned and swiped it from the front bumper. We never needed it for the radiator, but I remember drinking from it.... and learning to stand just so--- so it didn't get my front all wet. :)
 
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