Water filters built into rv

[Tenbike2]

I am thinking about getting a class B rv. I am a newbie at this. My only experience with rv's is camping with my wife and two kids in my brother's Vanagon pop top camper for a couple of weeks.It was great! I now own a eurovan camper and have enjoyed that but am now getting close to retirement. I think I would like a few more amenities and it look as if the class b fits the bill although it does seem large. I've looked at several class Bs (GWV, LTV, advanced rv among others) and one of the things that is mentioned that some have is a water filter.Is this something that is important or not? Do people use the fresh water tank for drinking water ? Any thoughts or imput would be appreciated . Hoping to join the class b world Jim

[mikes47]

Some manufacturers include a fresh water filter. All seem to include a fresh water holding tank of varying capacity. Given fresh water is exposed to incredibly varying conditions ... Cold, sloshing, heat, no movement etc. for unpredictable lengths of time, some campers prefer to use the fresh water for everything except drinking and so the filter is not that important.

[mkguitar]

Hi Jim,

I'm new to a B and working through all the systems both while using and in teh driveway with a flashlight and manuals...and gathering info from the web ( thanks web!).

My 2006 Pleasure Way has about a 30 gallon tank - no onboard filter.

Common sense says travel with low tanks so as to save weight- MPG
At a campground with "hook ups" there should be a water supply under pressure with a std garden hose type bib.
Use a white hose ( safe for consumption) with a pressure regulator ( $10) and an inline water filter ( $10) and that'll cover most all bases.
Many prefer to carry a couple of bottles of water ( 10 gal or so) for drinking- cause who knows if there is fracking around the corner... ( I guess you'd know by the flames in your sink).
Some also use a brita or pur type thing and we have used the same carafe which we use at home

if no hook ups then you are depending on the water in your tank- and your 12 volt pump- if the source is good, then the only variable is the cleanliness of your holding tank. That's where you have to figure out he approach to clean it & keep it clean.

I DO use the water in that tank to drink- so far I have it figured out

some chemical fun will be had there.

the advantages of hot water showers when boondocking is awesome- outside shower hook ups are great for cleaning fish and cleaning off muddy boots.

Mike

[booster]

Like many folks, we don't trust the tank water to drink as is. Even if your tank is clean, you never know what you are getting when you fill. Much of it is well water and may be questionable in safety. That said, we added a filter that is good enough to make the tank water safe in essentially all conditions, as we were sick of hauling bottled water when we have a whole tank full of water anyway. It is a 3M marine filter (was Cumo) that filters down to .2 micron to get all the nasty stuff, plus a carbon filter for taste. We have had no issues at all in 6 years. Regular water filters that go to 2-5 microns are generally not good enough to get the stuff that can make you sick.

[avanti]

Well, FWIW: we have never worried about drinking unfiltered water straight fro the tank. Almost 10 years and no problems at all. We DO properly sanitize the system after every significant storage period, but beyond that, we just relax and enjoy.

[obgraham]

We also have been drinking the water out of the tanks for years. I usually refill with fresh just prior to leaving, and then as needed along the way. I've never had a problem with RV water.

As it happens, my new Roadtrek has an Instahot dispenser (actually both hot and cold) with a filter in its supply line, for whatever that is worth.

Sometimes in the back yard I drink from the hose, too, and did for years as kids. Still alive.

[Davydd]

We had an inline water filter on the hose whenever we filled our tanks. I don't generally drink the water from the RV tank but do brush my teeth and swallow pills with it. My wife prefers filtered water from the same source we put in the tank but put in gallon containers for cooking and coffee. We don't buy bottled water.