# Putting "other' water in rv tank



## motorcar (Jul 19, 2010)

When you are out in the boondocks, with no potable water available, does anyone ever put stream or lake water into their tank?   If not,  what do you do for water if you are camping for a longer time than normal and run out of water?
    Does anybody put lake or stream water in their tanks on a continous basis, and then use bottled water for drinking, coffee, etc.
     This is my first post.  I am considering making a 20ft camper, and am working on all the details before I begin.                Tom


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## H2H1 (Jul 19, 2010)

Re: Putting "other' water in rv tank

I don't see anything wrong with that, if you strain and clean it before putting it in the tank. I think I would NOT use it for cooking or making coffee, tea. Just remember it is from a lake or stream and is still not clean. I guess you could take a shower with it. I know I have washed in nature water and even drank from streams and I still here alive :laugh:  :laugh:  :laugh:


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## akjimny (Jul 19, 2010)

Re: Putting "other' water in rv tank

Hi Tom and welcome to the forum.  Like Hollis, I too have swam in and drank in plenty of "natural" water and haven't suffered any ill effects (yet) :laugh:  :laugh: .  That doesn't mean I would feel comfortable about filling my fresh water tank with it.  If you introduce "non-potable" water into your RV water system, you are going to have to flush and sanitize it before I would feel safe drinking or cooking with it.
If you are going to dry camp for that length of time, I would suggest carrying extra water in either 1 gallon or 5 gallon jugs, provided weight was not a consideration.  If you have to use non-potable water, I would use a bucket for face and hand washing, toilet flushes, etc., but I wouldn't put it in my RV tank. JMO.
P.S. - If you are going to be out long enough to run out of water, where are you going to dump your holding tanks?????


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## Kirk (Jul 19, 2010)

Re: Putting "other' water in rv tank



I don't do that and I would never do so. RV water systems are pretty susceptible to problems from grit and very fine sand. You can destroy a water pump very quickly that way, to say nothing of the problems that happen with faucets and such. We run all water into our RV through a carbon filter and would not even think of what you suggest. That could get any number of things started growing in your system from algae to who knows what?  I suggest that you get a portable tank or bladder to carry water to the RV. Also, what do you plan to do with waste water? Very few places allow the draining of gray water today and black tank waste will not only get you a ticket, but your site will smell really nice! Most quality RVs have large enough gray tanks to contain most of the water capacity of the fresh water tank, so most people just dump wast and refill with fresh water in one operation. In between they use portable tanks, or plastic jugs, or even collapsible bladders.   

You could pay for some jugs or portable tanks pretty quickly with the cost of using all bottled water for drinking and cooking. I used to swim in the creek and can even remember when it was safe to drink from the streams in the back country and high mountains too. But as one who spent years as a Scoutmaster, I can also telly you about the kinds of things that are in even the clear looking streams today, that were not common when we were boys or young men some fifty years ago. If you take that risk, you may get by for a time, but we know a couple who were both hospitalized from doing that, she for a few days, he for more than a month.


Now a question for you. Would you really wash your face and your dishes with water of unknown quality? There is more to quality water than looking clean and clear.


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## Guest (Jul 20, 2010)

Re: Putting "other' water in rv tank

well i gotta say i disagree with this ,, since the cabins where we used to go to the campground ,, on the Canjos river in Colorado ,, get all there main water from the brooks that run into the river ,, and the campground also uses this water ,, they store it in a big tank to make up for the demand ,, and it is not filtered ,, it is in the tank just like it came outta the brook ,, and for me ,, i have no prob drinking outta a river ,, mother nature does her own purifying ,, but i bet all of u would die of thurst before u drank outta a river or stream ,, not me ,, but who am i ,, i don't use gloves on my sewer hose when i connect or disconnect ,, but i am just low life ,, so who would care if i dropped off the earth tomm ,, but untill then i will do what i have been doing for yrs and as my dad taught me to do ,, no diff in changing a babies diaper ,, than  connecting u'r sewer hose ,, well unless u use gloves to change the diaper .


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