Keep Fresh Water Fresh

[HDRider]

Do you add anything to your fresh water tank when you fill the tank to keep the water good for drinking?

Thanks

[Steph and Dud B]

For many years we drank from our fresh tank but then I got to thinking about all the little places water can sit between trips, especially since we have well water, so we switched to bottled water for drinking and the fresh tank for bathing, etc. Probably overkill, but it also stretches how long our fresh tank lasts on trips.

[Mike and Carol]

1 hour ago, HDRider said:

Do you add anything to your fresh water tank when you fill the tank to keep the water good for drinking?

Thanks

No.  We don’t drink from the fresh tank.  We carry drinking water separately. Mike

[John Dehne]

Oliver university has a video on how to sanitize the water system. I do it at least 2 times a year. We have great well water and drink from out tank without any issues. If you are on city water that is treated and chlorinated you shouldn’t have any issues as long as you drain the tank after each use and at least flush all the lines and tank  when refilling for a trip. Safe Travel's

[topgun2]

Like Mike and Carol and Steph and Dub B, I use bottled water and only use the fresh water tank for washing dishes, and , bathing.

However, with RV's I owned prior to "seeing the light" with my Oliver, I used THIS kind of stuff to make sure I was OK even though I normally used bottled water then too.

Since I too sanitize my fresh water tank like John Dehne and am sure that there is nothing "dangerous" about that water, I've simply developed a habit that costs a bit more money but allows me to more precisely monitor the amount of water I'm drinking.

Bill

[VBistro]

We used to drink water from home (in jerry cans) almost exclusively while camping.  I didn’t think this would be sustainable on our 5 week trip this spring, so I decided to give the Ollie tank a very thorough (2X) cleaning and combine a 3-stage filter with regular Purogene use at every fill.  We are also pretty discriminating about where we fill. The system worked beautifully, and it was a nice change to be able to drink water right from the tap.

BayTec - 32oz Purogene Drinking Water Treatment and Water System Sanitizer for Water, Sanitizes Water Storage Systems, Provides for Long-Term Storage of Drinking Water https://a.co/d/2ZJp9l2

Blu Tech R3, RV Water Filter System, 0.2 Micron Water Filter for Campers with Compact 5-inch Filters, 3 Stage Premium RV Water Filtration System, for RVs, Vans, and Boats - by Blu Technology https://a.co/d/fATO3Vq

 

[topgun2]

Another point to consider in this discussion revolves around those that might have a sensitivity to the different mineral content of water that can be found from place to place.  Actually this is what started me on drinking bottled water while on the road.

If you can take enough water with you - either in your fresh water tank and/or in something like jerry cans - you will not generally risk upsetting your body's system with something that it is not used to.

Bill

[HDRider]

29 minutes ago, John Dehne said:

Oliver university has a video on how to sanitize the water system.

Found it

 

 

[HDRider]

28 minutes ago, VBistro said:

We used to drink water from home (in jerry cans) almost exclusively while camping.  I didn’t think this would be sustainable on our 5 week trip this spring, so I decided to give the Ollie tank a very thorough (2X) cleaning and combine a 3-stage filter with regular Purogene use at every fill.  We are also pretty discriminating about where we fill. The system worked beautifully, and it was a nice change to be able to drink water right from the tap.

BayTec - 32oz Purogene Drinking Water Treatment and Water System Sanitizer for Water, Sanitizes Water Storage Systems, Provides for Long-Term Storage of Drinking Water https://a.co/d/2ZJp9l2

Blu Tech R3, RV Water Filter System, 0.2 Micron Water Filter for Campers with Compact 5-inch Filters, 3 Stage Premium RV Water Filtration System, for RVs, Vans, and Boats - by Blu Technology https://a.co/d/fATO3Vq

 

Thanks - That tip on BayTec was exactly what I was looking to learn.

[Patriot]

We never drink from our fresh tank but still seasonally sanitize it. We usually carry 10 gallons of drinking water in one gallon containers. It stores nicely in milk crates in our TV bed. We will likely run out of food before water and restock as needed.
I always chuckle when I hear “off the grid” camping. My thoughts are you are only “off the grid” as long as you have a plenty food and water supply and clean clothes. 
The grocery store, or laundry mat  has the magical way to pull you back into to town for supplies to keep your “off the grid” camping trip moving forward in my experience. Just another view point.
 

Patriot🇺🇸

[Wolfepack]

We use a Travel Berkey and filter our tank water for drinking.  Lots of varied opinions on the internet about the Berkey, but I can only comment on my experiences. I have used it in remote parts of Africa, Southwest Asia, Central and South America, and have never had water issues. I have seen some pretty sketch water through these things and I have never gotten sick or had ill effects.  We like the travel size and it sits on the dining table while camping until we need the table.  Not for everyone, expensive, but it also doubles as our emergency water supply in Florida which is prone to hurricanes.  
 

https://www.berkeyfilters.com/products/travel-berkey

[MAX Burner]

FYI: We also have filtered and softened well water at home which we use to top off the sanitized fresh water tank before our trips.  However, like @Wolfepack, we use a Berkey Travel filter on the road and a Berkey Royal at home.  We've never had an issue with the Berkey - using it to filter the well water from our OTT tank.  The Berkey travels in a case beneath the forward dinette seat and on the night stand when not towing.  Its really nice to just lean over and fill your glass from it when thirsty at night...  OK, spoiling the wife - totally worth it!

Cheers!

A & D

 

[SeaDawg]

@MAX Burner, did the stand come with the Berkey travel?

[VBistro]

13 hours ago, Patriot said:

I always chuckle when I hear “off the grid” camping. My thoughts are you are only “off the grid” as long as you have a plenty food and water supply and clean clothes. 
The grocery store, or laundry mat  has the magical way to pull you back into to town for supplies to keep your “off the grid” camping trip moving forward in my experience. Just another view point.
 

Patriot🇺🇸

The longest we have made it truly “off the grid” by your definition is 11 days. We have an extra cooler for frozen, pre-made  food (will upgrade to a 12v cooler one of these days), a composting toilet, a filtering jerrycan for extra drinking water purified from the creek, a sun shower for bathing, and a “scrubbing” laundry bag for when we inevitably run out of clean cycling kits. By the end we are craving fresh fruit, but it can be done!

[SeaDawg]

1 hour ago, VBistro said:

The longest we have made it truly “off the grid” by your definition is 11 days. We have an extra cooler for frozen, pre-made  food (will upgrade to a 12v cooler one of these days), a composting toilet, a filtering jerrycan for extra drinking water purified from the creek, a sun shower for bathing, and a “scrubbing” laundry bag for when we inevitably run out of clean cycling kits. By the end we are craving fresh fruit, but it can be done!

I'd call that seriously off the grid.

Congratulations!

One of the best things , for me, about camping is minimal impact. We make our own power, mostly solar. (As we do, at home.) The return to a simple life is very rewarding,  to us. And, it "grounds" me, and my husband.  We are happiest when we have just the woods around us. 

The songs of the  birds, and just the quiet song of the trees moving in a breeze, restores my inner peace. Restorative.  Energizing, in a calm and good way. 

Letting go of "everything else" leaves us with heightened awareness of the goodness and greatness of our surroundings.

 

 

[MAX Burner]

15 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

@MAX Burner, did the stand come with the Berkey travel?

The travel stand is extra.  Makes it so you can put it deeper onto a platform.  We always buy our Berkey gear around the holidays when the site discounts everything - it was $20 bucks for the stand.  We got our first Royal Berkey back in '07, lov'n it still....

[MAX Burner]

...as a follow-up:  In general, the Berkey gives potable water from the OTT fresh water tank - even if sanitized, the fresh tank system could become slightly contaminated between trips depending on the nature of the water after topping-off.  So, the Travel Berk gives us the peace of mind by having a final layer of filtration before we consume Casablanca water when boon docking.  It also allows us to avoid using bottled water and having to deal with the plastic empties.

[John E Davies]

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/4376-7-cup-pur-water-pitcher-fits-neatly-in-pantry-affordable-filters/

The very first night we camped was in the nearby Fall Hollow (?) RV park that Oliver paid for. Our site had the fresh water spigot located BELOW ground, a few inches away from the waste pipe. Needless to say I did not use the fresh water supply. 

You can seriously contaminate the fresh tank, it is best to never drink directly from that supply. Use a cheap blue filter when you fill and some sort of filter system or bottled water for human use. Just say no to E. coli.

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

[Steve Morris]

We initially got a Brita water filter, but the filtered water tasted terrible. We even tried it at home, feeding it already filtered water from our home Royal Berky, and the filter added the bad taste. Same thing with a second replacement filter from a different package.

We now have four one-gallon jugs that we use for potable water. We fill them from the Royal Berky at home and transport them in the closet. We use them to fill the Brita pitcher sans filter on the countertop.

When we need additional water, I use our Lifesaver Jerrycan water filter to purify campground water, water from our fresh tank, or other water supplies to refill the one gallon jugs.

[routlaw]

On 8/1/2023 at 5:11 AM, HDRider said:

Do you add anything to your fresh water tank when you fill the tank to keep the water good for drinking?

Thanks

I have stated this many times in the past but it bares repeating. We never drink out of our storage tanks, ever. IMO you're just asking for trouble if you do even though I know others will disagree. For one the water taste terrible after only a few hours of storage, this alone should be a warning. However we carry two 5 gallon BPA free water jugs along with us with water from our house and another 1 gallon BPA free jug. The two large jugs are stored in the truck bed and the smaller 1 gallon stays either in the camper or back of truck cabin depending on what we are doing for the day. The storage tank water is used for dishes and personal hygiene only. We do not even cook with the storage tank water.

Hope this helps.

[jd1923]

We likely do not camp as often or as long as many of you. I'm still working, not retired nor want to be, so we take short local trips and once a year we take a 3-to-4-week trip to the NF and BLM lands of the great Southwest (thinking hard now about Texas April 2024 to meet many of you).

Chris & I would not think of drinking from the fresh tank, filtered/sanitized or not. Besides, we need water in the OTT, and extra tank in the TV, for washing and showering. When we get to traveling longer, what Steve showed makes good sense. For now, we always have a case+ of water bottles and 4+/- gallon jugs for coffee and of course our pup Charley! Keeping these on hand in our TV. Every week or two we're buying groceries anyway. Best wishes -