It should have been my first clue. As we walked around our latest campground, I noted that several RVers had oversized, blue water containers sitting at their campsite. I also saw picnic tables with cases of bottled water sitting atop them. The more we walked, the more concerned I became. What’s with the drinking water at the campground?
Note: A water testing kit can put many worries to rest when it comes to the safety of a campground’s drinking water. Many kits like this one are available on Amazon or your local Lowe’s or Home Depot stores.
Options
Cloudy, sediments, and “funny” taste. We’ve experienced all kinds of drinking water while traveling the country in our RV. Water is essential, so it’s good to know that RVers have options when it comes to drinking water. Here they are:
- Campground water. Our first go-to for drinking water is the campground water. Most times, the water coming from the campground faucet is great! Yes, the taste of water can vary a bit from place to place, but for the most part, we’ve had great campground drinking water.
- Fresh water tank. Some RVers choose to drink water from their freshwater tank. They prefer drinking water that comes from home or a trusted source while camping.
- Bottled water. Another water option for RVers is to drink bottled water, either in individual bottles or bulk jugs.
Poll
Take the following poll. Then explain the reasoning behind your decision in the comments below.
Please note: This poll is asking where you most often get your drinking water from.
We usually drink the Campground Water. We have a Filtration system, as well as a countertop Filter System. We have never had any problems with water in any Campground we stay at! We use Bottled water for just drinking water, but for cooking, Coffee, ect, we use the Campground water!
Bottled water only. You never know what is growing in your holding tank.
“You never know what is growing in your holding tank.” very true…a big reason to clean and sanitize your RV water tank before using it. What grows in bottled water?
You left out another possible option in the drinking water question. I use a Brita Filter system for drinking water. The water for that does come out of my water tank.
We drink campground water but we have a cheap Camco online water filter, a 2-stage Clear Source water filter, and lastly we filter our drinking water through a table top Berkey.
Filters have their place, however changing them often is mandatory. I have seen people feel safe because they have a filter you open up the filter case and it is like Jell-O inside from the mass of bacteria and crap that has been growing in the filter.
So far, we have only camped for a week or so at a time. I have 4 2.5-gallon containers that I fill with home water.
When I start snowbirding, I plan to buy a filter.
We “usually drink campground water” while we’re connected, but when on the road or otherwise not connected, we drink bottled water.
Like others said, we use a Berkey® but that is true with the tap water in our stick-n-bricks as well. We even filter the dogs water when on the road. We had an incident years ago with them and the vet advised filtering their water when traveling and we have since then.
As a retired water professional and laboratory director. I feel the worst thing you can do is buy bottled water. There is no way that you know where it came from how it was delivered. The plastic is also suspect to get in the water. There is no regulation or testing. I feel it is one of the biggest shams that has been put on the public. Water is tested in water supplies across the country. Yes I know it isn’t perfect, but I would trust it rather than I would a corporate entity, putting what they put in a bottle some companies like Nestlé uses lot of water and waste a lot just to get it into your bottle, it is time this has to stop.
I respect your professional opinion but your blanket statement has come back to bite you. We buy gallon jugs of distilled water. Distilled water. Did I mention DISTILLED WATER? Nothing purer available.
But you’re still drinking the micro plastic even in distilled water
I agree with Elaine, plus without minerals, which distilled is, it lacks taste. See Bill’s comment above. I support his statement.
With respect to your profession, this is your feeling, not an absolute right? Since you didn’t state that you actually did any testing, it’s only your opinion. Since you were a “director”, why didn’t you bring this issue up, like with the FDA where regulations could be initiated. So, you’ve never drank from any bottled water ever?
I did a lot of testing, I am also aware of other professionals work. Yes, I drank a bottle of water once at a Kiosk back in 1999 when I was thirsty in Custer State Park in South Dakota. I was extremely thirsty.I also met with a Professional from Canada doing steins in Paris on plastics in water. I have no reason to change my stance on bottled water. I have met with EPA on several occasions however, this was not one of what my meetings were about at the time. It does need to be brought up again and we need to rethink our water systems and supply for many reasons I do not have all the answers, I don’t claim to. I just don’t think bottled water is a good thing for the country as a whole .
Totally agree. Most of these water companies use regular city water that they get on a lease from local governments. Everything you say is fact that I have seen for myself. Then you have the primarily single use plastic bottles that harm the environment and over time leach the chemicals used to make them into the water they hold and back into the aquifer the water originally came from. The whole process needs to stop or at least be limited and better regulated.
Actually, Bob is correct. Recent studies have shown high levels of nanoplastics in bottled water, probably coming from the bottles themselves or the filters. The effects on health from nanoplastics isn’t clear, but there may be a link to Parkinsons disease. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/are-plastic-particles-in-bottled-water-harmful-to-health
We use the built in water tank. I sanitize every spring and fill it with Soft Water from our well. It will last us two weeks and that is the longest we stay at any one place. That is also how long the holding tanks will last.
I either fill a jug at home, refill a jug at our local grocery store, or buy jugs of water along the way.
In the store by the case. I won’t drink any water from any camp ground. Just won’t do it.
A better answer is all of the above, done on a case by case basis.
At home, we fill 5 gal bottles at the Pure Water (Primo) Machines. We use that to fill 1 gal jugs we bring with us. When we leave, we have 7 gals in the RV. On the trips, we just refill those 1 gal jugs. We use empty Arizona Tea Jugs (they are heftier than most milk cartons).
We’ve always used campground water with 2 filter firewalls. When boondocking, we filter and sanitize the tank water too and have added filtration at the kitchen sink. We use that water until the tank is empty, regularly changing it out. We also have 2 big blue water tanks for long boondocking stays. That is also filtered and sanitized.
I could not vote, as we bring jugs of water from home. If we run out, we refill the jugs at a grocery store. If I don’t see a water station at the store, I’ll ask an employee if they have one. Some stores have allowed me to refill from their break room kitchen.
All of the above.
We use the campground water for everything, including coffee. No matter where we’re at. But my wife still will drink nothing but bottled. W*F? Don’t ask me; same way at home. And no way will she EVER change. Jeez.
My wife is just the same as yours. Always bottled water, prepared packaged food she only wants to heat the stuff in the microwave.
None of the above, but campground water normally and if it smells bad we use our freshwater tank, but in either case we only drink the water after it has gone through our Berkey water purifier.
I have always used the campgrounds water without any problems. I have a two canister filter system on our MH, a sediment filter followed by a good carbon block filter.
Park (but not well water) water attached to triple filtration then a water softener. Much cleaner than bottled water.
We have “double filters” – one in the motorcoach and another on the counter. So depending on the campground, we will either use water from them, or from our tank. We only buy bottled water to take hiking.
I use water from campgrounds that is filtered as it enters my TT via hose. I then fill my Berkey water purifier with water from the kitchen sink faucet. Once the water is filtered, I fill eight 32-ounce glass bottles and store in refrig for drinking, coffee, and cooking.
I drink cg. water, just like I drink tap water at home. Yes, I use an inline filter when I fill my tank, but nothing more. I have been drinking city water for 78 years without a water-related health problem and am not ever planning to change to bottled water! Why pay for something that is “free”?
We drink campground water that has gone thru a softener if necessary, then 2 filters coming into the coach. Our drinking water comes from a special faucet that is connected to a UV bug killer. We do not use the fridge ice maker, we make ice cubes from the purified water. When we first started we drank bottled water, then we upgraded to a Berkey purifier. Found that to be too much of a hassle so installed a UV unit under the sink.
2 refillable 5 gallon water cooler jugs with a pump on top has saved us hundreds of dollars and the environment at the same time. We are full timers who dry camp often. In addition to saving the tank water for flushing and washing, we’ve never had an issue finding a place to fill the jugs. We just rotate them in the toad, so we’re always able to fill up when opportunity presents irself.
Bottled water is not all the glitter as it’s cracked up to be. Better off using one micron filters on campground water supply…the kind that screws onto your water supply hose and can be found at many Walmart stores.
We use a filter before the water goes into our fresh water tank. Then we have an eSpring Water Purifier for drinking, cooking, and washing fruits/vegetables.
We use reverse osmosis to fill our water tank.
Regarding drinking water..
We have a counter top water filter pitcher we use in conjunction with the campground water and outside filter. I only buy a few bottles of water for emergencies. I don’t want to add to the plastic pandemic.
Since our Class B is also our local touring vehicle, I do a minimum hookup, only electric. Thus we use our own water (and refill from home unless we are on a very long trip).
In our class B+ we hold 11 1 gallon water bottles purchased off-the-shelf at grocery stores. They have plastic handles. Will last us almost a week. Currently we are on a 4 week trip around southwest and go to Walmart or a grocery store and refill the bottles to get good water. We do refill our water tank at campgrounds and at home using the usual filters and white hoses.
I have 3 one gallon stainless steel water bottles I use to bring filtered water from home. I carry a water filter to filter stream water & pour this into a pitcher filter if I need more drinking water. Me and my dog are almost always boondocking.
All of the above, for us, but I selected the campground water. We carry bottled water for touring and sometimes use it in the RV. But usually we’re off the tank or campground water…which may have been used to fill the tank if the next stop is an electric only site.
ALL incoming water first goes through a whole house filtering system that gets to bacterial level. From there it goes to our On-The-Go water softener mounted in a basement bay. From there it can be directed into the tank or water lines. Then for drinking or cooking or dog water, we pull from the refrigerator which has it’s own filter. So filtered twice and softened.
One other source are water vending machines. We carry both bottled water plus 3 gallon water containers. We fill them on the road as we travel ( usually grocery stores). Also, occasionally we find a “water store” and fill or 3 gallon containers there.
We really like the taste of our well water, so we fill our tank and use “home water” as long as we can, then fill at the campground. Unless we’ve tasted the tap water and can’t face drinking it, then we’ll drink bottled water until we get to good water again.
I chose campground water, but all water goes through a Berkey filter before using for drinking and cooking.
1 micron filter from the campground to the RV, then a Brita unit inside. Double filtered water and not adding to the environmental disaster also known as bottled water!
We drink bottled water all the time (coffee, etc.) when RVing, even when hooked up. When dry camping our fresh water holding tank is for taking a shower & washing dishes. We refill 1 gallon water bottles and use that to flush the toilet as the flush system uses up too much water.
We recycle ALL of our fluids via my DYI on-board water/waste treatment system. Although the initial expense and ongoing maintenance are quite high, we never run out of clean drinking water. And I haven’t had to add additional water since installing it.
Basically all water is collected in a common waste tank/cistern, including rain water from the roof (which is our replenishment supply). A chemical coagulant is metered in to the tank based on incoming flow. The flocculant is then separated from the liquid which is then compressed for further liquid extraction, before being augured into the bio-digester/composter. The liquid is pumped through the first stage filter before…
Continued.
being pumped to the centrifuge, which is driven off the drivetrain via a repurposed 4X4 transfer case. The centrifuge replaced a traditional sediment and clarification system which I found incompatible with a moving vehicle. The liquid is then pumped through the 2nd stage filter prior to disinfection (multi-stage ionization/UV/chemical). Followed by 3rd stage carbon filtration, and finally reverse osmosis before returning to the fresh water tank.
Methane is collected from the bio-digester and used for heating, cooking, and refrigeration. The remaining solids are used as fertilizer for my on-board hydroponic garden.
I will post diagrams, and photos of my system in tomorrow’s news letter.
A space ship RV. Happy April Fool’s Day.
Bwahaha …
All my water comes aboard through sediment pre-filters and an RO system into the FW tank. Simple, relatively inexpensive, and keeps the whole water distribution system clean.
We do all three at times but also generally bring water jugs to fill up our stainless steel drinking containers.
I use bottled water exclusively for drinking. My dog stays happier with water that she is used to, and I prefer the safety of bottled “drinking water” rather than take a chance on the local water supply.
Mostly bottled water for drinking. Use campground water, through an in line filter, plus an under the sink counter filter for coffee and cooking.
Also a water professional. All campgrounds in the United States are regulated public water systems under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, so long as they serve at least 25 people. While operation, maintenance, inspection, and enforcement may vary, it would be rare and surprising to find a system with water that is not safe to drink or use for any other purpose.
Bottled water is also generally safe, but it is way more expensive and has the huge environmental cost of discarded bottles, etc.
On board RO, and other systems that remove residual disinfectant may allow harmful bacteria to grow in your tank and plumbing system.
Microplastics have become a problem everywhere.
I have an ACUVA water filter. So I drink out of the fresh water tank and not fill landfills with plastic bottles. (Of course, people will say you can recycle the bottles ((how many actually do?))… but why not use your own containers?)
I drink from the RV freshwater tank when we do not have water at our campsite. I add water to the freshwater tank before we leave home if I know we will have none at the campsite. If we do have a water hook-up, then I drink the campground’s water. I sanitize the freshwater tank periodically and haven’t had a problem in the 8 years we have been RVing.
We have a 3 stage filter on the city water and filter the water going into the fresh tank, usually, and sanitize periodically. We also have a filter pitcher we use for the coffee pot or cooking. Most drinking water is from bottled spring water for the convenience of portability.
Over kill?
I use the 5 gal Primo jugs from Walmart, have an electric pump on top. Use them for drinking and coffee. Exchange the jugs for about $ 7.50, so thats $1.50 per gallon.
I have a travel sized Berkeley filter. I use it at home for tap water and when we move into the van I take it and run any water we get through it and always have good drinking water.
I have a water tester, if the campground’s water is drinkable, I use the campground water. If it’s not drinkable, I use bottled water.
We have four stainless steel jugs with pour spouts and fill up at one of the many 1000s of Primo water dispensing machines. They are located everywhere and easy to find by using their website to search near your location. Way! cheaper than bottled water, no trash to dispose of, and also much cleaner due to the RO filtering process the machines use that removes all the contaminates.
I take water from home for the dog and me plus bottled water. Once I forgot and left the dog water at home. When I got a look at the campground water, eewwww. I gave him my bottled water. I don’t need a sick dog. So I never use campground water for drinking.
We find a drinking water/ice kiosk and buy our water by the gallon. It usually costs $.50/gallon or less. If that’s not available we buy water by the gallon at the local grocery.
I fill saved water bottles at home from my own filtered well water.
I have always drank the local water with no problems whether from a spigot or a pump. Campgrounds must test their water periodically just like a municipal water system. The taste may not be to your liking due to minerals present. I know this as I used to be a certified small water system operator.