Where do you get fresh water refills ?

[Grapesky]

Hope this isn't a dumb question - but as a newbie heading out soon - I was wondering where you get your refill of fresh water to fill your tank while on the road if not staying at parks/resorts but boondocking? I will be carrying an extra container for potable water - but just in case I needed more...

[Hittenstiehl]

Gas stations, rest stops, truck stops, national forest ranger stations, relatives, dump stations for a few.

[Shacksman]

I have used the water stations found along the road such as watermill. http://www.watermillexpress.com/

[Ray Eklund]

Originally Posted by Hittenstiehl

Gas stations, rest stops, truck stops, national forest ranger stations, relatives, dump stations for a few.

*****
That pretty much covers the majority of options.

Now... how to use those options with some strategy.

Have your OWN WATER HOSE. You can also go to Lowes or Home Depot and get a brass shut off valve to connect to the hose for an on/off convenience. Mine comes with a short flexible hose to attach to your longer hose.

Gas Stations: Before filling your gas tank, inquire if they would let you have 25 gallons of water for your trailer. If so, where do you want me to pull the trailer?

If they say... NO. Pull out and go to another station.

Truck stops along major highways. Many have RV and Trailer pumps with dump and fresh water. Make a note in your gasoline log, if you keep one, of stations and mile marker. You never know when you are coming through again.

National Forest and Bureau of Land Management Offices. Go inside and inquire if you could have water for your trailer. I have never been refused. Some have an easy access for Forest Service needs and others are behind a bush.. .so ask where.

Some City Parks have water access. Finding it is another story... the water faucet.

Keep a five gallon water jug, empty. When you have to haul water to the trailer, find a jug with an easy spout to pour into your water tank. Five gallons of water will give you a good work out... if you need 25 gallons.

For dogs. I use one I can set upon a plastic "milk crate" with an spout that I can add water to the dog's water bowl that I place beneath the spout. Five gallons just for the dogs. The best is square to sit well on a flat surface. The lid has a spout that you can reverse to use, that is always with the container. Mine is... blue. Walmart or Lowes might be where I bought two of them. Cannot recall the brand, but when you find it, you will know.

[Shacksman]

Lots of Hwy rest areas also have water taps available near the parking area.

[Lily&Me]

Some of us would have a great deal of difficulty getting a 5 gallon water container high enough into the air to fill our fresh water tank.

I have 2 1/2 gallon, collapsible ones that I ordered online.


Maggie

[Ray Eklund]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

Some of us would have a great deal of difficulty getting a 5 gallon water container high enough into the air to fill our fresh water tank.

I have 2 1/2 gallon, collapsible ones that I ordered online.
Maggie

******
Maggie, I should have made my post a bit clearer.

Five Gallon Water Jug versus 2 1/2 Gallon Wine Jug... Both are fine options.

[Gearheart]

I have a self priming siphon hose to transfer water into the trailer. Beats pouring it over your shoes. http://www.harborfreight.com/self-pr...ump-47334.html

[m.hony]

Silly answer, but...
At J. P. Coleman State Park, Iuka, MS-
The water tastes so clean and clear.
The trailer rides better with a full fresh water tank.

[Jacob D]

Originally Posted by Grapesky

Hope this isn't a dumb question - but as a newbie heading out soon - I was wondering where you get your refill of fresh water to fill your tank while on the road if not staying at parks/resorts but boondocking? I will be carrying an extra container for potable water - but just in case I needed more...

A word to the wise....It is a good idea to use a municipal water supply or a well source that goes thru a purifying process unless you are going to use the water within a few weeks.

[GEEEER]

When you get your "own" water hose, be sure it's qualified as a food grade water hose.

[PKI]

A method to get water from a non-threaded spigot to your tank is a must. That might be a water thief and a long hose and tube adapter for the tank end or a funnel/spout/jug that you can lift and pour. Given good clean water at a Gov park, it's a pain to not have a sysem and to have to figure out a way to get water into the tank without spilling half in the process. Now that is a work out. The wine, however, does not seem to be a problem. Unless, of course, the relatives are around. Pat

[Ray Eklund]

Do not fill up your fresh water tank at Sweet Springs, Missouri along I-70 near central Missouri.

It is not sweet. It is mostly SO4 dissolved in the water that might cure Athlete's Foot, but for drinking or worse, your coffee at the local restaurant... a nose turner. They must be pulling the water out of a coal bed full of sulfur and the natural gas is used to heat the town.

[Tarcoola]

I've been worried about taking water from anywhere that is not city water i.e. well water, because of all the minerals, iron bacteria etc. in the water and what it would do to the AS plumbing. Not to mention the bad egg gas smell when it is heated up. Living on a ranch I know what it does to the house plumbing, and I use a water softener. What is everyone's experience with well/artesian water?

[sb55]

I live in northern Vermont and our home water is pumped directly to my house from Lake Champlain. It goes through a couple of filters plus an ultraviolet light, but we don't drink it. We wash and do everything else with it except drink a glass of it.
I just filled my Airstream water today since I'm taking off for a trip south on Sunday (weather permitting). I did put some Clorox in, but won't drink any tank water no matter where I fill it. Just sayin...

[MaineStreamer]

Originally Posted by sb55

I live in northern Vermont and our home water is pumped directly to my house from Lake Champlain. It goes through a couple of filters plus an ultraviolet light, but we don't drink it. We wash and do everything else with it except drink a glass of it.
I just filled my Airstream water today since I'm taking off for a trip south on Sunday (weather permitting). I did put some Clorox in, but won't drink any tank water no matter where I fill it. Just sayin...

sb55 - What do you use for drinking water? Bottled water from a retail store? How about water that will become part of cooked food?

[blkmagikca]

I carry two 5-gallon jugs to which I had added a brass threaded water spigot to each of their caps. The "kit" includes, as well, a 2-1/2 foot length of clear plastic tubing with a brass female hose fitting, a "water-thief" and a 4-foot light-weight step ladder.

Anytime I come upon a water supply, I can fill a 5-gallon jug using the short clear plastic hose. When I get back to my AS, I set up the ladder beside the fresh water tank fill and hoist the 5-gallon water jug onto the flip-down tray which is meant to hold a of paint, attach the clear hose to the spigot, slip the end of the hose into the water fill and open the valve and let nature do the rest.

I also have the QC ADC water filter mounted under the kitchen counter with its own spigot for filtered water - that's the water we use for drinking & cooking.

[gabugman]

Originally Posted by MaineStreamer

sb55 - What do you use for drinking water? Bottled water from a retail store? How about water that will become part of cooked food?

Marty,

We don't drink from the tank either. Normally stop and purchase one gal jugs and use it for cooking and to refill S'well bottles. They fit nicely dress right dress under the dining table.

Bug

[sb55]

Originally Posted by MaineStreamer

sb55 - What do you use for drinking water? Bottled water from a retail store? How about water that will become part of cooked food?

For our house, we have a separate reverse osmosis faucet in the kitchen. So I guess that we do actually drink lake water. That takes care of our drinking and cooking water.
In the AS we buy 1 gallon bottles even when hooked to a hose. Tummy "issues" from different water sources aren't fun any time, but especially on the road. At about $1.00/gallon/day it's not a big deal and they store pretty easily.

[Len n Jeanne]

Most RV parks will let you use their sani-dump and culinary water facility for a fee. In the West it's generally $10.

It's a good idea to travel with a jerry can that has a long nozzle, plus a funnel, in case the water tap available can't screw into your water hose. If you might have trouble lifting it when it's full, fill it only part way.

A small amount of laundry bleach (such as Clorox) can be used to purify your water tank in an emergency. The ratio is something like 1/2 tsp per 8 gallons of water.