I *still* use a plain simple garden hose for my camper. I *still* drink from the garden hose laying on the ground at my house too.
I did finally purchase a heavier garden hose from Lowe's a couple years ago, one that does not kink so easy and got away from the really cheap ones for $12.
I carry 200 feet of hose with me all the time. The total length of my camper is 35 feet. My fresh water tank and city water hook up is near the front of the camper. A 25 foot hose won't even reach the bumper, especially if the water hook up is at the rear of the campsite, or worse, a shared spigot with the neighboring campsite, or worse yet, a shared spigot for an entire camping area.
I do carry all that hose on a smaller garden real now. I have 2 of them and each one has 2 - 50 foot hoses. This way, I always have plenty of hose and spool out only what is actually needed.
I have learned that by simply unhooking the end of the hose attached to the spool and the end of the hose and tuck it in, then simply start spinning slowly the spool, the water drains out of the hose. It takes about 50 turns, and it's its all drained. This is so much easier than trying to drain a hose laying on the ground.
Another thing, I quit attaching the hose directly to my camper at the city water intake. I fill my fresh water tank. I have a filter at the end of the hose and it simply hooks over the intake for the fresh water tank. This removes most, (if any) taste from the garden hose. Why did I start doing this? Simple, by using the on-board water pump, I never have to worry about water pressure from the campground..... never!
Another thing I did to prepare my 200 feet of hoses before I used them, I poured a 1/2 gallon of Clorox Bleach into each 100 foot sections, spun it all around while on the reel until it came out the other end. I then let it sit for about 15 minutes and then ran water through the hoses to flush out all the bleach. I may say, I've never had hose taste in these hoses!
For me, this works. It's efficient, saves space, is easy to drain the hoses, and hoses are clean, safe, and protected, and cost a lot cheaper than the RV labeled white ones!
