Hello Im a grad student from Lamar University doing research on water. I wanted to know how water is used in RVs of all sizes. Refilling, disposal, cost and problems if any!Best! MB

WOW! With all due respect, your question sounds more like a middle school science project. How is water used in a RV? The same as in your house. We Rvers use water to cook with, to drink, to bathe, to flush the toilet. How is water disposed? It is held in a tank until it can be drained into a sewer. The waste water ends up in the same place it does in your house. There I have completed your research in one paragraph. Your welcome.

The only water we don't like in our campers is the water that will sometimes leak through our roofs, down our walls, and under the floors, rotting everything in it's path. Now, that is the type of water all of us can do without!

DownTheAvenue wrote:WOW! With all due respect, your question sounds more like a middle school science project. How is water used in a RV? The same as in your house. We Rvers use water to cook with, to drink, to bathe, to flush the toilet. How is water disposed? It is held in a tank until it can be drained into a sewer. The waste water ends up in the same place it does in your house. There I have completed your research in one paragraph. Your welcome.LOL maybe even in a few sentences!

If the OP is asking "how" we use water in our RV's, then maybe if he'd do a "search" on "sanitize" will produce the answer's he's looking for. Under that topic, everyone seems to chime in if they drink from the fresh water tank, or use bottled water, bath, shower, cook, and clean with water from their tank or if they use only city hook ups. And do you drink from the garden hose, and which garden hose do you use (white or just a normal hose you'd use on your flowers.) Then the debate about traveling with water in your tanks from home or filling up at the campground. And then, once at the camp ground, do you drink the campground water? (always a hot topic on these forums!)I suppose if he looked up "dumping" he'd get the long standing debate gloves or no gloves. And also bump into the problems with black tanks filling up sooner than expected, and "where did my grey water go? I can't find it!" threads. Then, where do you dump your tanks? On the ground, at home in your sewer clean out pipe, in your septic tank at home, at the campground dump station, at a Flying J truck stop, or the city road side drain gate with lots of laughs about National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and the Cousin Eddie scene dumping his tanks! And don't forget the debate over "The Geo Method" vs using chemicals vs using nothing and all those who say their tanks NEVER smell, and those who say they DO smell! How do we clean those tanks? It all takes water!Then, zillions of posts on water intrusion, leaks, and rot damage... all over the charts. One of the best uses of water I've seen anywhere on the internet, was that million dollar CLASS-A motor home that could be used as boat! Using the water in the lake to float a motor home? Now, that's really good use of water! Also testifies how water tight that motor home is!Then, there's the outside shower, grandpa next camp site over standing naked using that outside shower. Now we get into the debate over dumping grey water right on the ground in established campgrounds vs boom docking, pros and cons, is it legal, acceptable, ethical, moral to do?How about how we heat water? On the stove top? Solar bags? Water heaters in our campers? Now, do we use electricity to run the water heater, propane, or both? How much hot water do we use? What is the recovery speed of the water heater? And ... how do we all winterize our campers to be sure "water" does not freeze and bust our water lines inside the camper! Pump the pink, blow, or a combination of both? Removing water is just as important as consuming water to an RVer. You know, to give a straight forward answer to the OP, actually everything I just mentioned above, RVers do it with water! Including drink it! Some refrigerate it, some turn it into ice cubes, some use it to water plants, wash the dog, and kids muddy feet. And don't forget, we use water to drown out our campfires (at least some of us do).One thing I'm pretty certain of though, none of us pay (if so, its very few) a separate fee for water. We either get our water from home and bring it with us, or water comes with the campsite. Those who boomdock usually find sources for free water.

DutchmenSport wrote:If the OP is asking "how" we use water in our RV's, then maybe if he'd do a "search" on "sanitize" will produce the answer's he's looking for. Under that topic, everyone seems to chime in if they drink from the fresh water tank, or use bottled water, bath, shower, cook, and clean with water from their tank or if they use only city hook ups. And do you drink from the garden hose, and which garden hose do you use (white or just a normal hose you'd use on your flowers.) Then the debate about traveling with water in your tanks from home or filling up at the campground. And then, once at the camp ground, do you drink the campground water? (always a hot topic on these forums!)I suppose if he looked up "dumping" he'd get the long standing debate gloves or no gloves. And also bump into the problems with black tanks filling up sooner than expected, and "where did my grey water go? I can't find it!" threads. Then, where do you dump your tanks? On the ground, at home in your sewer clean out pipe, in your septic tank at home, at the campground dump station, at a Flying J truck stop, or the city road side drain gate with lots of laughs about National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and the Cousin Eddie scene dumping his tanks! And don't forget the debate over "The Geo Method" vs using chemicals vs using nothing and all those who say their tanks NEVER smell, and those who say they DO smell! How do we clean those tanks? It all takes water!Then, zillions of posts on water intrusion, leaks, and rot damage... all over the charts. One of the best uses of water I've seen anywhere on the internet, was that million dollar CLASS-A motor home that could be used as boat! Using the water in the lake to float a motor home? Now, that's really good use of water! Also testifies how water tight that motor home is!Then, there's the outside shower, grandpa next camp site over standing naked using that outside shower. Now we get into the debate over dumping grey water right on the ground in established campgrounds vs boom docking, pros and cons, is it legal, acceptable, ethical, moral to do?How about how we heat water? On the stove top? Solar bags? Water heaters in our campers? Now, do we use electricity to run the water heater, propane, or both? How much hot water do we use? What is the recovery speed of the water heater? And ... how do we all winterize our campers to be sure "water" does not freeze and bust our water lines inside the camper! Pump the pink, blow, or a combination of both? Removing water is just as important as consuming water to an RVer. You know, to give a straight forward answer to the OP, actually everything I just mentioned above, RVers do it with water! Including drink it! Some refrigerate it, some turn it into ice cubes, some use it to water plants, wash the dog, and kids muddy feet. And don't forget, we use water to drown out our campfires (at least some of us do).One thing I'm pretty certain of though, none of us pay (if so, its very few) a separate fee for water. We either get our water from home and bring it with us, or water comes with the campsite. Those who boomdock usually find sources for free water.Thank you so much! This was extremely helpful.

Water research for RVs | Good Sam Community

27 Replies

polish_texan
Explorer
Jun 27, 2017
jwoods61us wrote:
So seriously OP, what is your research question? Your query seems more like that of an undergrad than a grad student. This forum could be a wealth of information, but it could also become a black hole of conflicting opinions without a more specific query. Please, share more detail per your project and I'm certain the members of this forum will be more than happy to help.

Sorry for not phrasing the question in a more clear way. So I'm from Lamar University doing a joint research project with Rice University on water quality and management. We are working with a team of engineers to look into different segments of the population where water quality/management is an issue. We hypothesize that RVs are a possible segment where we can make some improvements.
I want to know what are the problem if any people have with water quality/management when it comes to their RVs.
What are the costs of equipment, water, maintenance?
Also just want to hear peoples stories of their issues, solutions and best practices!
Thanks again for all the feedback and my apologizes again for not being clear!
Passin_Thru
Explorer
Jun 27, 2017
I give my chickens a bath as they live in mine.
polish_texan
Explorer
Jun 27, 2017
valhalla360 wrote:
A little more framing of the question would be useful.

Your question is equivilent to "I'm researching medicine. Tell me about it."

...are you researching, cancer, heart disease, ancient medical techniques, folk medicine, dermitology, protctology...you don't give us enough info to give you a meaninful answer.

Sorry about that, I only have experience with toy haulers and conversion vans. I don't have much knowledge about RVs and the process of how water is utilized and disposed of etc
jwoods61us
Explorer
Jun 26, 2017
So seriously OP, what is your research question? Your query seems more like that of an undergrad than a grad student. This forum could be a wealth of information, but it could also become a black hole of conflicting opinions without a more specific query. Please, share more detail per your project and I'm certain the members of this forum will be more than happy to help.
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Jun 26, 2017
There are different answers, I will try to give a few

Myself
I bring park (City or well) water in via a home made activated charcoal filter. This (And the filter floos) take care of most of the bad stuff in the water. (But not all) Water for drinking and ice making is then run through a PUR filer in the fridge.

Water for dish washing, Showering, Toilets, Other cleaning is not additionally filtered.

Fresh water storage is sanatized occasionally by adding bleach 1/4 cup er 15 gallons, and then rinsing with baking soda and water and then clear water.

Some folks. Only drink bottled water.. Some folks do not filter.

Waste (Disposal) Excess fresh Well I no longer have that issue but back when I8 did Dumnp on well drained ground. Very few restrictions on dumping fresh water

"Used" water is divided into 3 categories
Black This is from the toilets
Gray Other waste (non toilet) INCLUDING the Kitchen sink
Wash Other Waste NOT including toilets or the kitchen sink

Regulations vary but in some places WASH can be dumped on the grass.. IN a much smaller number of places Gray can too but I don't.

Black ALWAYS goes into a sewer system (or a pump out truck from Porta-potties-R-Us) No place allows you to dump black on the ground.

How to dump:
Many (Most I suspect) use what we call a "Stinky Slinky" it is a 3" hose specifically designed for the job. Fast, Efficent. but some don't like dealing with it.

Also sometimes you have issues such as a HOLE that sticks up out of the ground (Sewer inlet) so high it's ABOVE your dump connection... So. I also have a macerator pump. this is a 12 volt electric pump that feeds a common 3/4 inch hose coupling,, that in terns goes to a far Distant (up to 50' in my case) or elevated hole in the ground.

Treating the tank with chemicals... I do not, Many do. Found the only real advantage to the chemicals is to the seller's profit figures.
RLS7201
Explorer II
Jun 26, 2017
I can't help myself. What do you polish? Cars, furniture, RVs, air planes, etc. Or could it be your of the same heritage as my European born wife? But that would be with a capital "P". GRIN

do widzenia
Richard
darsben1
Explorer
Jun 26, 2017
This is a GRAD STUDENT
AikenRacer
Explorer
Jun 26, 2017
I also keep fresh water in my fresh water tank while traveling in case of emergency. Once blew a radiator hose and the water in the tank saved the day. It would be nice if someone invented a filter that would clean up gray water enough to dump harmlessly on the ground....
jplante4
Explorer II
Jun 26, 2017
Most travel trailers, fifth wheel campers and motor homes have a fresh water tank and a "city water" hookup. If you pull into a campground site that has water available at the site, most people use that water through the city water hookup for at least washing and bathing. Most campers will use bottled or filter campground water for drinking and cooking. Some people install an in-line particulate filter on the campground water.

Carrying water in the fresh water tank is expensive. At 8 pounds per gallon, that's 600-800 pounds that you need to haul up hills etc, so most people in the above group just put a small amount or water in the tank to use for flushing the toilet on the road.

I would say 60-70 percent of people RVing use water in this manner.

The rest fill their fresh water tank and stay at sites that have no city water available. These campers are very cognizant of their water usage, and have adopted habits to make the amount of on-board water last as much as 2 weeks.
DavidP
Explorer
Jun 26, 2017
I guess it depends on the type of camping.

Water/Full hookup: liberally

Dry Camping: sparingly

Pretty sure that is all you need to know :D

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Water research for RVs

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