How many have a separate drinking water

[kirkman]

Just wondering how many of us have a separate drinking water containers.
It seams no mater what I do I can't seem to get the funky taste out of my on board tank.
I have done the bleach siting for a couple hours to the fill drain repeat.
If you have a trick that really works I'd appreciate it. If I was full timeing I would be caring extra water all the time but for weekend trips it would be nice to not have to.


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[LyleB]

Try AquaMira. It was developed as a treatment for stored water, to keep it tasting good and eliminate/reduce the "slime" that can develop when water is stored.

[ZachO]

I use separate containers. My water still has a slight sweet smell from the antifreeze. I'm sure that'll go away soon and I don't plan to use any myself this winter. Otherwise my water seems fine, I guess I just don't trust it.

I use the tank water for cooking and cleaning. For now, because of the slight antifreeze smell, I actually carry a counter-top Britta filter with me. For cooking water, I use the Britta.

I'd rather not carry separate water for drinking but it's worth it to me. I rarely have hookups and it's nice to have the extra water anyways, though. Keeps me out camping longer.

[gordon2]

Two way splitter on the faucet (if water is at the site).
One side feeds a cartridge filter and is used to fill drinking water jugs.
The other (unfiltered) side feeds the camper (either by filling the on-board tank or using the city water hookup).

If no water at the site and I need more bottled water than I brought then I hookup the filter to the community water source and fill drinking water jugs there.

Or make a grocery store run

[Carol H]

I carry separate drinking water containers.
Keep a small container in the fridge and carry a larger container to refill from in the vehicle.

[steve dunham]

The fresh water tanks in our trailers are often made of HDPE.
HDPE is a FDA approved plastic for potable water and the same plastic used in food containers , bottled water bottles , milk jugs , fruit juice bottles ETC ETC. The water piping in my trailer is PEX , the same material used in millions of homes . The water piping from my well to my residence is plastic as well as the bladder in my well pressure tank.
I often read that people will not drink from their on board water tank. It would seem that the issue with the water has more to do with the quality of the water put in the tank or the maintenance of the water system.
When I come back home after a months vacation , I don't flush all the water lines in my house or sanitize the system with bleach yet the water tastes okay.
If you flush your trailers water system with bleach , then flush the lines with fresh water and fill the on board tank with water from home ( the same water you drink everyday without issue) ,where does the bad taste come from or why is the water any less safe than the water at home ?.
We have only puchase bottled water once in all our camping trips.
If the locals drink the water and are still alive than the waters good enough for me.
The best water I ever drank came fresh, right out of a Canadian Lake.

[Terry G]

I'm the third owner of a 1996 Casita so I have no idea what kind of water the previous owners used to fill my tank. In my experience, water for drinking and cooking is pretty small in proportion to that used for dish washing and the toilet so I bring three or four gallon jugs of drinking water and refill them from the tap during the season.

[kirkman]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

The fresh water tanks in our trailers are often made of HDPE.
HDPE is a FDA approved plastic for potable water and the same plastic used in food containers , bottled water bottles , milk jugs , fruit juice bottles ETC ETC. The water piping in my trailer is PEX , the same material used in millions of homes . The water piping from my well to my residence is plastic as well as the bladder in my well pressure tank.
I often read that people will not drink from their on board water tank. It would seem that the issue with the water has more to do with the quality of the water put in the tank or the maintenance of the water system.
When I come back home after a months vacation , I don't flush all the water lines in my house or sanitize the system with bleach yet the water tastes okay.
If you flush your trailers water system with bleach , then flush the lines with fresh water and fill the on board tank with water from home ( the same water you drink everyday without issue) ,where does the bad taste come from or why is the water any less safe than the water at home ?.
We have only puchase bottled water once in all our camping trips.
If the locals drink the water and are still alive than the waters good enough for me.
The best water I ever drank came fresh, right out of a Canadian Lake.

It's not that I am worried about getting sick. It's that I cant get rid of, I guess its the taste of the antifreeze.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

We have only puchase bottled water once in all our camping trips.
If the locals drink the water and are still alive than the waters good enough for me.

Although I do sanitize my tanks each year as I said I do not drink the water from it other than to brush my teeth. I like my drinking water cold!!

I also have never purchased drinking water either though & simple refill my portable container from places were the locals drink the water without issues.

[emij]

We carry two extra five gallon water jugs. One to use for drinking and cooking, and one to use for putting out campfires. We refill at campsites as needed. At this point we have zero interest in using our onboard water tank for anything, including doing dishes or washing hands, so have actually kicked around the idea of removing the tank and using that space to store bedding. We probably won't, just to keep it all intact, but I do think about it. But then, we don't think we'll ever cook inside our little camper, either, because I am afraid of having cooking smells inside,where we sleep, and often camp where we encounter bears! I still feel like if a bear wants in because he smells something yummy, he's getting in!

[Bob in Mb]

We freeze 5 or 6 500ml water bottles and put in the fridge before we leave , gets the fridge off to a good start and have some ice cold drinking water for a couple of days .

[Darwin Maring]

We freeze water bottles and keep them in the fridge, it helps keep the fridge cold and provides clean drinking water. We also put the frozen water bottles in a cooler in the bed of the pickup. Note: You need a really good insulated cooler I order for the frozen bottles to last.

[Evergreengirl]

We don't drink from our fresh water tank. Even though we do flush the system each spring to remove the anti-freeze and also do the bleach treatment, our water always has a funky taste to it. We use our onboard water for doing dishes, washing our faces and hands, showering, flushing the toilet, etc. but not for drinking. We found a nice 3 gallon water jug with a tap (that doesn't leak!) that we usually keep out on the picnic table. We also carry 3 or 4 one-gallon jugs of water in the TV. We fill our jugs at home before the start of the trip and then refill them as we travel, either from campground spigots or those filtered water dispensers you can find at supermarkets.

One thing we've found is that the water in the Southwest can be very alkaline. It upsets my stomach. So when traveling in the SW we always buy water. If you travel in the SW you'll notice that there are places to buy filtered water on practically every street corner. Even the locals don't like drinking it!

I think for a lot of people, it's not the safety of the water that's in question, but the taste. At least that's true for us.

[Elizabeth EWA]

The PO of my "new-to-me" Campster removed the water tank so I'm going to be using water jugs of some kind. I've been thinking about making a shelf over the sink for a jug with a spigot. I'm sure that somewhere on this forum someone has done that, I just haven't found it yet.

The advantage of this arrangement is that I don't have to winterize

[floyd]

I got one of these with my trailer (twelve years ago) haven't tried it yet though....

[gordon2]

PS..
I would also sanitize your portable water jugs from time to time. Just a few drops of pure (unscented) bleach is all it takes.

[David B.]

We use a Camco water filter to fill the tank, and even when hooked up to City Water directly, and then a Britta filtered pitcher for our drinking water. We used to carry separate drinking water jugs, but when you spend months on the road, it becomes a hassle, and a storage problem. We never had a problem with drinking water this way.
Dave & Paula

[farmboy]

The water tank had been removed from our '79 Trillium Jubilee a number of years ago by the PO. The plastic tank would be nearing 40 years old and isn't something I would use for anything anyway. We carry a 5 gal water tank with tap. Set it on the edge of the picnic table and life is good. Colder water is in the fridge. When we rebuilt the counter I didn't bother drilling the additional hole for the manual pump faucet. The 'regular' one for city water connection is there for dishes when hookup is available and when not are done in a plastic sink tub filled from the aforementioned 5 gal tank.
I suppose if we really want an on board tank in future, we'll put a 5 gal tank under a seat storage unit and hook it up to a 12v windshield washer pump or something equally low flow and re-install a separate faucet.

[Civilguy]

We continue to use a 2-1/2 gallon container we bought for tent camping years ago. It weighs about 21 pounds full, making it easier to handle than a larger container.

[Timber Wolf]

I always carried jugs when I tent camped and continued when I moved to the truck camper and now when I Scamp camp. Drinking/cooking water in jugs, just the way I camp I guess.