Shopping List: RV Water

Usually we complain about low water pressure at campgrounds, but every once in a while you’ll see a surge, which is why you’ll want a water regulator to keep that in check. You can set the pressure you want and it comes with a small filter, which is nice. It also fits a standard size hose, so no adaptor needed.

We picked up a set of these shut off valves while we were on the road, and it makes life so much easier. We use one at the end of the pressure regulator, and one before we hook up the water filter at the RV. It helps to release the pressure from the hose so we don’t get squirted with water when we untwist the host.

At the same time we got the shut off valves, we also picked up some quick connect fittings. This speeds up our set up and tear down and it saves my hands a little abuse from trying to tighten everything down to prevent leaks.

If you want more than one water connection from a single spigot, you’ll want this splitter. This does help to release pressure and also allows us to fill a bucket (much faster than from faucet) or add another hose for flushing tanks. It serves multiple purposes.

If you are going to be doing any cold-weather camping, we highly recommend investing in a heated hose. This hose really did keep our water from freezing, and in the occasions when we forgot to plug it in (oops), it thawed quickly with the heating element and we had flowing water in just a few minutes.

We used this style of RV water filter on all of our trips for the first 18 months. We did replace it every 2-3 months, and it made a big difference in the taste and smell of the water. It is a relatively inexpensive option to get filtered water. With this filter, we have always had the need to use a Brita system or Zero water system(especially in California) to remove additional stuff from the water.

We just purchased this new RV water filtration system, Clear2O. Although we cannot yet comment on how well it works, it has higher ratings than the blue water filter we have been using. We wanted to start with this system, but in the peak of covid shortages, it was hard to find without an extremely long backorder.

The water filtration system includes a 2-stage filtration system, with the green housing for pre-filtration and the inline charcoal-based tube filter. We still could not find the pre-filter kit on Amazon (thus the Walmart link), but the replacements can be found on Amazon.

This is the replaceable pre-filters used in this 2-stage system. This is apparently washable, which extends its life.

This is the second (but primary) stage of the filter. It is almost identical to the blue one above. It says it should be good for 3-6 months, but we will probably replace it every 2-3, given how sensitive we are to the taste of our water. This system, plus the use of a Brita, should be more than sufficient to have clean and tasteless water.

We love our short little 3-foot hose, which fits nicely inside our water cabinet between the filter and our RV. It is safe for drinking water and does not kink.

Brita/PUR/zero water pitcher/vessel for improved filtered water. We drink a lot of water, and the water all over the country and at different campgrounds all taste different and are of different quality. Even with a water filter on all the water that enters the RV, most tap water tastes rather horrible. We used both a Brita and a Zero water filtration system and it made a huge difference in improving the water taste. The Zero water seemed to taste better, but the filters did not last nearly as long and they seemed harder to find.

These one gallon water bags are amazing. We used them primarily when boondocking, but ended up filling them on drive days and other times when we were draining our fresh water tanks. Many people don’t like driving with any or very little fresh water, but this way you would have some fresh water when you arrive. You can take it with you, freeze it, or put it in the fridge. There is no taste and they take up next to no space when empty.