Water

[Marsha D]

We use the water in our fresh water tank in our Casita for everything. We use a filter when we fill the tank, which we thoroughly cleaned on a regular basis with bleach. We've added a marine deck plate to the top for access to the fresh water tank to ensure it is completely clean prior to filling. We haven't died or contracted anything (yet).


Each person has to do what they are most comfortable with.

[Ken V]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

We never use holding tank water for cooking, only for washing and the loo.
Fresh water comes from refillable 1 gallon containers and up to three Coleman, 5 gallon collapsible containers. We can boondock in Joshua Tree NP (where there is NO water in the park) for about 4-5 days with a 10 water tank and 15 gallons of fresh water+ about 20 frozen 1 liter water bottles in the refrigerator.

Is camping in no designated areas in jtnp allowed.

tks ken

[Ron Merritt]

My Oliver has a port for winterizing the rig. The pump draws the antifreeze fluid and pumps it thru the system.

This same system can draw water from a supplemental tank or bladder and re-fill the fresh water tank.

If your trailer has a gravity fill, you could accomplish the same thing with a bladder tank in the bed of a pickup or cargo area of an SUV. Just run a hose from your tank to the gravity fill port. As long as the tank is higher than the tank in the trailer, it will drain into it.

[Franswa]

every other time that I fill the fresh water tank I add 2-3 drops of chlorine (bleach)...this is not so much to guard against some contamination (as Carl said any water from a utility in Can, US can be considered safe "out of the box")...it is to keep the tank and lines "clean"...water sitting for a long time in a vessel can go stale and develop odours...(disinfecting is just a bonus)

I came from boats...a huge number of boaters complain that their water systems smell funny and therefore don't use it for anything else but washing...but don't do anything about it!!! when it's so simple...

I too have spent 25yrs+ in the "water business" as Carl did...

Where I travel, BC, water is essentially everywhere so filling up, even from a stream or lake with a 5gal collapsible jug is not a problem...a couple of drops of CL and it's now tap water....

You can buy a little eye dropper container from any pharmacy, fill it with bleach and it's easy to keep your tank/lines clean.....I put a little CL in the grey water system now and then for the same reason

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by Ken V

Is camping in no designated areas in jtnp allowed.

tks ken

Off-Site camping at Joahua Tree NP is allowed only at designated areas off of trails and is only for those that are packing in. Check with the NP website for details.

TIP: Ferget arriving on a Friday-Sunday in the spring and finding a space in any of the in-park campgrounds. They are first-come, no reservations, and often fill as early as Thursday nights. However, there are two outside of the park NP campgrounds that may have reservable spaces available. Again check the NP website.

[Bill Nolen]

Originally Posted by CynicalSailor

It's interesting to see that folks don't drink from the fresh water tank (we don't either). What are your reasons for not doing so? Does anyone worry about contamination and do you regularly disinfect yours?

I seem to be the only reader of this thread who has drank water from seven or more different RV's water tanks! And never suffered any illness from doing so!

Only one of these RV's were new when I became the owner. With the first four or five RV's I just added water to the tanks, and went camping!

Later, I did make a half-hearted attempt to sterilize the water tanks, hose, pump, etc, by adding a gallon or two of water with a cup of Clorox mixed in the water to the water tank.

Then I'd drive around for a few minutes to ensure the Clorox treated water covered all surfaces of the tank. After I pumped some of the water from the tank, using the kitchen punp, I'd drain the water tank, fill it up with water, and drain it again. Sometimes it was difficult to rid the taste of Clorox from the fresh water!

Since I assumed that the water tank's water was to drink, cook with, and wash with, I never considered that this was something not to do!

Neither my wife, I, or our two children, ever became ill from drinking water from any of our RV's water tanks. Of course, it's possible that the fact that "I" never became ill, could be credited to the daily amount of alcohol beverages I was drinking in those days!

Seriously...what is the different between filling up a 1-gallon container from a water source, and filling a Scamp's 10-gallon water tank from that same water source? i'd worry more about the water that is availabe from small towns and gas stations near campgrounds.

Bill

[Casita Greg]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

We never use holding tank water for cooking, only for washing and the loo.
Fresh water comes from refillable 1 gallon containers and up to three Coleman, 5 gallon collapsible containers. We can boondock in Joshua Tree NP (where there is NO water in the park) for about 4-5 days with a 10 water tank and 15 gallons of fresh water+ about 20 frozen 1 liter water bottles in the refrigerator.

I sure would hope you're not using the holding tank water for cooking.

[Pam Garlow]

I just don't like the taste of the tank water. Mine was a new tank when I bought the trailer, and I hoped that with regular use, it would stop tasting like plastic. I also disinfect regularly. But unfortunately, after years of use, it still tastes like plastic.
So for me, its not a fear of getting sick, just dislike of the flavor.

[Bill Nolen]

Originally Posted by Pam Garlow

I just don't like the taste of the tank water. Mine was a new tank when I bought the trailer, and I hoped that with regular use, it would stop tasting like plastic. I also disinfect regularly. But unfortunately, after years of use, it still tastes like plastic.
So for me, its not a fear of getting sick, just dislike of the flavor.

Pam, that is a reason that I can understand!

Bill

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Pam Garlow

But unfortunately, after years of use, it still tastes like plastic..

So, what are your water containers that you use made of?

[Bob Miller]

It's not as much as being about the water you put in the tank, it's what you take out of the tank after it's been in a nice warm incubator for a few hours, days weeks etc. Unless you are willing to sterilize the tank each time you go out there is a risk of pathogens in your next meal.


My late wife, who was director of lab services at the hospital where we worked, prepared a very visual demonstration in Petri Dishes of the quality of the water in our Airstreams holding tank after it "Cooked" for a few weeks following a chlorine cleaning. As a result I have always cooked and drank fresh or bottled water when on the road.


A dose of Montezuma's Revenge may be waiting for you.....

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

It's not as much as being about the water you put in the tank, it's what you take out of the tank after it's been in a nice warm incubator for a few hours, days weeks etc. Unless you are willing to sterilize the tank each time you go out there is a risk of pathogens in your next meal.


My late wife, who was director of lab services at the hospital where we worked, prepared a very visual demonstration in Petri Dishes of the quality of the water in our Airstreams holding tank after it "Cooked" for a few weeks following a chlorine cleaning. As a result I have always cooked and drank fresh or bottled water when on the road.


A dose of Montezuma's Revenge may be waiting for you.....

Do you drink faucet water at home?

[Franswa]

my water never "cooks" for a few weeks in my fresh water tank.....

every other time I fill my tank I add 2 or 3 DROPS of cholrine to the incoming water....I never "taste" it...but I know it's there....in a quantity that I know will kill any and all organics...and actually more than is really required...

beginning of the season I fill and flush and fill and flush in my backyard...then I get into my "routine".....works just fine for me...as it did just the same for twenty odd years in boats I owned...(you think people complain about the water in RVs???? that's nuttin' compared to the boating crowd)

it's a widespread opinion that all water from your onboard tank is "bad"...it's all about maintenance....just like you maintain your bearings/brakes...your water will be fine IF you pay attention to it....it you wanted to get technical about it (new hobby alert) there are small water testing kits available to get a feel for how much / how often.....cheers, F

[Glenn Baglo]

Makes you wonder how we all managed to get to where we are now. Thousands of years without bottled water.

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by floyd

Do you drink faucet water at home?

Of course, and I drink/cook with tap water while in the field. I just don't drink or cook with water that has been cooking in my holding tank. I don't mind being on the safe side of that.

[Bob Miller]

About Safety vs Odds...


On this past Monday my neighbor and I went out for breakfast. He has one of these huge diesel powered, 4 door, Dodge trucks with dually's to be able to pull his "Toyhouse" full of stuff.


Anyway, when I had trouble finding the safety belt he commented that "we never use those". Sooo... with the evidence that he and his wife are still alive, does that mean that it's safe to not use safety belts?????


For moi, the same thing applies to drinking water. It's "Better safe than sick" especially while away from home.


BTW: A "couple of drops of chlorine" (bleach?) is not enough to treat an entire tank of water. It's not even enough to treat a single gallon of water if it is contaminated. Here's an EPA link, scroll down to #3.


Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water | Emergency Preparedness | US EPA


My apologies for introducing all this "Sciency" stuff.

[David Tilston]

Bob, there is a school of thought that says we are WAY too clean. Our sanitized environment has left our immune system weak.

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

Bob, there is a school of thought that says we are WAY too clean. Our sanitized environment has left our immune system weak.

I can also agree with that and I have somewhat of a reputation of being casual in that respect. BUT.... putting contaminated water into ones self is not one of the ways to boost immunity and, if one does have a low immunity level, it's an even worse idea.

As my late passed away due to a compromised immune system, from meds that suppressed immunity. I am well tuned to that subject.

[Franswa]

your link was for EMERGENCY disinfection of water...like after some hurricane or flood… when ALL water has been contaminated by who knows WHAT.



"If the water is cloudy..."??? well yeah, I'd pour a jar of chlorine in there...but I wouldn't have poured the water in my tank in the first place.
What we are talking about is disinfecting DRINKING water….not effluent from a sewage treatment plant. I don't know where you get your water from...I get mine from a tap or even out of a clear running stream in a pinch.


I use to work in the water business….the kind of number you are/should be looking for is 4ppm…..that's four parts per MILLION…..do the math.


For more “sciency” stuff (relevant this time)…and from your side of the border no less…
Basic Information about Disinfectants in Drinking Water: Chloramine, Chlorine and Chlorine Dioxide | Basic Information about Regulated Drinking Water Contaminants | US EPA



anyway if I do get worried about the water I'm drinking....I put a little scotch in it....it works and you don't have to worry about all that complicated ppm stuff. .... Give it a try sometime

[rbryan]

It's a matter of taste as much as it is health. I fly alot, and they make coffee onboard from the water in the aircraft's water tank. Depending on the airline, the coffee comes out smelling (and tasting) like a pair of dirty socks. Yuck. I usually order OJ instead. I do think that 1 or 2 drops of chlorine might make the water taste cleaner, but it isn't enough to kill microbes, etc. We use the Camco drinking water freshener. One ounce to 20 gallons. That, along with our water filter, seems to work fine.