Where do you get water?

[Boundiful]

I live full time in my RV and someone told me I could get water at a dump station but when I got there it was non-potable only. I filled up at a friend's house once but don't want to take advantage of him. He seemed okay with it but you know what I mean.

Even if the water is potable I don't drink out of the RV faucet. I'd rather buy water than chance it.

Can showers be taken with non-potable water without any harm? One RV'er told me it dries out his skin. Can teeth be brushed with non-potable? I would guess not a good idea.

Can potable water be bought at an RV park? If so, for how much per gallon?

I mostly shower at a gym I go to but there have been a couple times that I've taken a shower in the RV. I'm pretty good about not using a lot of water but eventually it does run out.

Thanks.

Boundiful

 

[seilerbird]

I usually put non-potable water in my fresh water tank and I shower with it, brush my teeth with it and use it to clean my dishes. I only drink bottled water that I usually buy from Walmart. I have been living full time in an RV for the last 9 years. No problems yet.

 

[COMer]

By definition, non-potable water is water that is not of drinking quality.  Most of the applications I have seen are water faucets near dump stations, etc.  I think they are worried about contamination and the water source is not suspect.  I think it is just a cover-your-donkey statement.  You could probably use it for everything for a lot of years and never have a problem but if you did, and went back to the source they would tell you that they warned you.  I got sick one time from contamination at a dump station and that was as sick as I want to be.  I stay away from using it for anything other than cleaning up messes and never put it into my rig.  That's me. 

 

[Carl L]

The reason that water is considered non-potable at a dump station is that there is too high a danger of a cross-connection with sewage at that location.  Potable water is cheap enough and widely available.  I would never, ever consider using non-potable in my freshwater tank.  There is nothing like a case of diarreha to ruin one's day, or week.  And there are worse things to catch, things like guiardia.

If you like to drink bottled water, who is to deny you that pleasure.  However, you should use only potable water to wash dishes, brush teeth or shower in or cook with.  Keep your fresh water tank sanitized and restricted to potable water sources.

 

[Jeff Brown]

I dont know how often you have to fill your tanks but you could stay one night in a park each week, dump and fill your tanks sleep in peace.  We called a KOA on a trip last year because we just needed someplace to dump and fill tanks, I think it was $5 to use the facility for that purpose.  I know there is nice KOA in Chula Vista, and an RV Dump Station rest area just north of Oceanside.  There are also lots of other smaller RV parks in San Diego, give them a call and ask what they charge just to dump, fill and go.

I'd not be putting non-potable water in or on my body. 

Jeff

 

[SargeW]

Yep, Carl is right. I guarantee that the potable and non-potable water are coming out of the same pipe.  They just spread the faucets far enough apart to keep people from using the potable water faucet to stick down their sewer hose.  I also carry a spray bottle with a water/alcohol mix to spray the faucets before I take on potable water.  Definitely not a fail safe, but it does give me a little peace of mind. 

 

[Mopar1973Man]

Since I got a well on the property I typically load the tank before I leave for a trip. Most of all our trips 99% of the time are without hook up so I must have supplies on board before leaving. I've already stantized the tank this spring using bleach. I've been drinking water from the RV tank several times without issues.

But where I get into issues is when I drink city water with clorine/floride I get sick every time... So I've always travelled with a 5 gallon water container in the truck or RV loaded with home water...

Don't ruin a good trip with bad water... Do what you think is best!

 

[Pierat]

What Carl L said. Also, I think RV parks often let you pay a few dollars to dump there, and have fresh water fill as part of that process. You could go have a look and ask them. Some service organizations, like the Elks, have RV spaces and dump/fill stations at some of their locations. It isn't particularly difficult or expensive to become a member of some of these groups, and then you have access to low-cost camping. We certainly have enjoyed Elks camp sites after my wife joined.

 

[Carl L]

Yep, Carl is right. I guarantee that the potable and non-potable water are coming out of the same pipe. ....

Not a sure bet -- especially if you are dealing with a public park or facility.  A lot of public entities use reclaimed water for irrigation purposes and a dump station hose bib could be connected to that irrigation water system -- which tho "reclaimed" is not up to potable standards.    Give any dumpstation hose bib a pass for filling your fresh tank.  In this case caution is cheap.

 

[SoEzzy]

I was in the Wasatch National Forest at the Soapstone Dump station, they have a two way pull through, with Potable water 20' away from the dump and non potable water.

I shrink away from the campers using the non potable water, to supply their rigs, not just one or two but lots of them.

I wanted to say to the guys that came in behind me, "you do know I washed out my snake pipe with that hose don't you"?

All it took was the standard hose that I carry for city water in camp grounds, and moving the RV 20'.