City water or On-board tank?

[ricks99]

Can anyone provide specific reasons why one is better than another?

I see a lot of folks who fill/use their tanks even at a site with city water hookup.

I understand that you may want to have some water while traveling (e.g., to use the sink, toilet, etc) but when camping, why? I had assumed that using city water would always be preferable (less wear/tear on the pump, one less thing to break, etc), to using my on-board, fresh water tank, but I'm not sure.

When camping at a site with city water, do you use your fresh-water tank? Why or why not?

[old_guy]

to each their own, some fill their tanks when city water is available because if something happens to the water system they will still have water for flushing and bathing. myself I think it's crazy to use the tank when you have fresh water available to use. I use a regulator and a filter and call it good

[Lwiddis]

"I understand that you may want to have some water while traveling"

The West is different than the East, ricks. Lots of great camping sites...USFS for instance...don't have potable water. No boondocking sites do. The rule for wise Westerners is fill and dump at every opportunity. I never hookup to city water if available using it only to refill my tank. I believe RV plumbing to be flimsy so I don't want any high pressure and not even pump pressure unless we are actively using water.

[bikendan]

It's this simple, for us.

If there's water hookups, we use city water.

If not, we carry a full FW tank.

We are not water snobs, we use a simple Camco filter with city water.
We don't carry bottled water.

We use our home water to fill our FW tank.

This has worked for us for 30 years of camping.

[Community Alumni]

This whole discussion comes down to what an individual is comfortable with. There are always going to be RV'ers that will say that they have been camping for XX number of years and have never had a problem with that. I think that is great and wonderful. No judgment from me on their time spent RVing.

For me, it was a simple decision. There is absolutely ZERO chance of my rig having a water leak and causing damage to the interior of my rig due to the plumbing system while I am away (this obviously doesn't take into chances of leaking due to mother nature). I turn the pump off when I leave. My procedure each morning does not cause me any lost time to turn off the pump when I'm leaving. Running off the pump and water tank doesn't cause me any additional cost either.

The camping experience in a RV remains unchanged for me whether I'm on city connection or pump and fresh water tank connection.

Other campers can do what they want to make their camping experience happy for them.

This is the same discussion as surge protector or no surge protector.

[Old-Biscuit]

BizmarksMom wrote:
It's just easier for me to hit the water pump switch than it is to walk around the trailer and turn off the spigot. My water pump switch is right next to the light switches near the door.

Exactly.......
Turn off before going to bed
Turn off when going outside
Turn off when leaving for the day

So easy......besides I am LAZY

[BizmarksMom]

It's just easier for me to hit the water pump switch than it is to walk around the trailer and turn off the spigot. My water pump switch is right next to the light switches near the door.

[Grit_dog]

Fwiw, the same potential for flooding is present using the tank if you don’t **** off the pump vs city water and not turning off the hose bib.
Unless your camper is waterproof like a bath tub, if you spring a leak, in the short term 50 gal of water will soak the same areas as 500gal.
At least with outside water someone else can easily shut it off if there’s water coming out the camper!
Aside from that I don’t see a reason one way or the other to not use either source as situation or preference dictates.

[Grit_dog]

midnightsadie wrote:
changing water source in your diet can ruin a vacation.

Maybe in Mexico!

[ksg5000]

ricks99 wrote:

But wouldn't you have to turn off your water pump when you leave, to avoid the same issue?

You have infinite source of water from shore water - your water tank is finite.

Also - the on board water pump doesn't create the kind of pressure that would likely result in busted water pipe so the chance of water leak is significantly less.

Once you see water running out of your fellow RVer's rig while they are away you will be reluctant to ever leave your rig hooked up to shore water unless your sure it's turned off when you leave the rig.

[Old-Biscuit]

ricks99 wrote:
Thanks all.... I'm ignoring all the comments about water quality, towing, or boon-docking. We're weekenders, and our site always have electric and usually have water.

It sounds like the main reason that folks advocate using the fresh water tank instead of city water is the eliminate the possibility of a leak or other water intrusion when you're away from the site.

But wouldn't you have to turn off your water pump when you leave, to avoid the same issue?

Seems like the same difference to me -- turning off the city water nozzle or turning off the pump.

Or am I missing something obvious?

We always hooked up to city water when it was at camp site.......
We always turned water OFF at spigot whenever we left
Then one early morning (4AM) woke up to a flooded RV.
While SLEEPING a $0.50 fitting broke and water ran for hours and hours
$6000 in repairs/costs

And this was in our new 5th wheel shortly after we had hit the road Full Time.

After that..........NEVER hookup to city water
We had ALWAYS traveled with a FULL Tank (got caught once w/o water and none at campground due to broken water main)
We run exclusively off fresh water tank and pump
*Consistent pressure.
*Easy to turn On/Off as needed. Pump switch right there...no trips out to the spigot in jammies before going to bed.
*IF a leak should happen you will hear pump cycling

We filter water going into fresh water tank and still use water pressure regulator when filling or using black tank flush system

[Community Alumni]

With regards to turning the water off when you leave the RV for the day: I full time so I will do both at different times. When I am home for the weekend and don't go anywhere, I will run off city water and use and adjustable water regulator (set at 60 psi) so I get a little better pressure when showering. When I am working during the week, I will use the fresh water tank and the pump. The reason I do it this way is because it is easier for me to turn the water off from inside the RV using the water pump switch. The hose spigot is on the opposite side of my RV as the doors. I turn mine off when not at the RV to prevent any possible damage from a possible leak. I know it is unlikely but it is a simple step I do not mind doing to prevent damage to my home.

[ppine]

We usually only end up in RV parks for tank mainenance. Filling the ones that need filling and emptying the other ones.
I like to bring drinking water from home. Well water in the desert can be crummy. If I need drinking water I refill in the mountains.

[SoundGuy]

ricks99 wrote:
But wouldn't you have to turn off your water pump when you leave, to avoid the same issue?

Seems like the same difference to me -- turning off the city water nozzle or turning off the pump.

Or am I missing something obvious?

Read this thread in it's entirety and you'd see I already addressed this exact issue. In my first reply to your post I said - "I likewise could forget to turn my water pump off before leaving our site but for whatever reason I usually do remember, maybe because the switch is right there inside the camper and hard to miss." 🙂

Obviously all trailers are different as to where the water pump may be located but it's usually in a fairly obvious, easy to see, easy to reach location and frankly hard to miss. Here's mine, on the wall beside the slide, in clear view as I enter or exit the camper. It's part of the tank monitor / water heater control panel.



All this said, most RV owners can hear the pump whenever it runs, erroneously blaming the pump for noisy operation. I say "erroneously" because the pump itself isn't noisy at all, it's the way it's often inadequately installed in the trailer, allowing any vibration it makes to transfer into the trailer's floor, walls, cabinets, and hard wall PEX. Being so noisy it's therefore easy to hear the pump run, even when it shouldn't, in some cases so much so you can hear it when you're outside sitting around the campfire. I solved those issues for myself, quieting the pump to the point where I had to install a light in the pump circuit so I would know when the pump is running. That was several years ago and so far, so good, no leaks as the pump only runs when it's supposed to. :B

[ricks99]

Thanks all.... I'm ignoring all the comments about water quality, towing, or boon-docking. We're weekenders, and our site always have electric and usually have water.

It sounds like the main reason that folks advocate using the fresh water tank instead of city water is the eliminate the possibility of a leak or other water intrusion when you're away from the site.

But wouldn't you have to turn off your water pump when you leave, to avoid the same issue?

Seems like the same difference to me -- turning off the city water nozzle or turning off the pump.

Or am I missing something obvious?

[Bobbo]

I use on-board water tank, and refill as necessary. I don't like to leave the RV with water pressure. While unlikely, it is entirely possible that your RV will spring a leak while you are away and flood the unit. It has happened. Search for threads and you will find several. Therefore, turning the water off every time you leave, I feel, is necessary. If you are only using the on-board tank, all you have to do is flip an ON/OFF switch. When you get back, if you forget to turn it back on, flip the switch again. If you are hooked to shore water, you have to go outside and turn the water off. If you forget to turn it back on when you return, you try to use water, then have to go outside and turn it back on. That can be embarrassing if you have just stepped into the shower before turning on the water.