In this article I’m going to cover the subject of RV water filtration. And yes, you really do need good water filtration if you’re going to travel and camp in your RV. In fact, it’s essential!
Of course, when you’re home, the water that you get is usually the same water all the time.
But not when you’re going from place to place, from campground to campground.
Or maybe from water source to water source for boondocking. Then water quality can be very different from place to place.
In fact, you’ll find muddy water, rusty water, water full of sediment, and so on.
Yes, you’ll come across water that’s bad for your RV. But also, some of the water you’ll encounter can even be dangerous for you to drink.
So clearly, there’s a need to be prepared when you are traveling in your RV.
You need to be ready for the water that you’re going to encounter wherever you go.
Now the good news is that there’s lots of options today for mobile water filtration in RVs.
And that means that you can have safe, clean and pure water on your RV travels.
Table of Contents
- The Two Kinds Of Filters That are Essential
- My Personal RV Water Filtration System
- Another Filter That We Use For Our RV’s Water
- RV Water Filtration For Drinking Water
- Water Filtration Suitable For Weekend And Vacation RVers
- What About Part-Time And Full-Time RVers?
- Another Reason For Choosing The Last Stage of Water Filtration
- The Highest Level Of RV Water Filtration You Can Get
- What About Using Bottled Water Instead?
- Is There A Perfect Water Filtration System Everybody Should Use?
- Conclusion
The Two Kinds Of Filters That are Essential
So what is the best RV water filtration system for your personal needs?
Well first of all, let’s talk about what kind of water filtration is needed. And then we can go into what’s best for your situation.
And first up, let’s talk about the two stages that you really need to have to get good water filtration.
One stage is usually made up of a carbon filter. And carbon filters are really good for filtering out odors, bad tastes and things like chlorine.
But the second stage that’s needed is a sediment filter. And it’s going to take out the particulates that’s in the water as well.
Now those two stages need to be used together to get good results. And so a lot of people combine them in inline water filters.
In other words, they’re in the line where your water is coming out of the source and going into your hose.
My Personal RV Water Filtration System
Now let’s use my personal water filter system as an example. And I’ll discuss it here so that you can see what I’m talking about.
First of all, I like to use a 20 Micron all-purpose filter coming right out of the water source. And in campgrounds that source is usually a faucet.
Now of course, you can see these kind of inline water filters in just about every campground. Almost everybody’s got these, right?
And Camco is the number one maker of these kind of filters these days.
The good news is that these kind of filters are fairly inexpensive too. And believe it or not, they actually work very well.
Now some people criticize this kind of water filter. You know, they think they’re just really not a good filter since they are so cheap.
But it all depends on what you need. For us, we have been using this kind of filter for many years.
And it works well as the first phase of our water filtration system. So I usually start with that filter right at the connection to the water faucet.
Then the water comes out of that filter and goes to my water softener.
Another Filter That We Use For Our RV’s Water
Now I’ll talk about that more in just a little bit. But from the softener it goes into a 5 Micron house filter.
Now remember, we started with 20 microns in the first filter at the faucet.
And microns refers to how fine the filtration is. The lower the number, the better filtration.
So now we’re down to 5 microns. And that’s much finer as far as the filtration of the water is concerned.
Now for me and for my house water situation, that’s pretty good filtration so far.
I’m using three stages of filtration at this point. First the 20 Micron water filter, the water softener, and then the five micron house filter.
You can view the components in our RV’s external water filtration system at these links:
20 Micron Camco all purpose inline water filter that we use
Additional filter housing for 5 micron filter
On-The-Go RV water softener that we use
For us, this system produces pretty good filtration and works great for our needs. Because most of the water we use is for external purposes.
You know, for washing. And for bathrooms and showers, and things along that line.
RV Water Filtration For Drinking Water
However, when I’m going to take water inside me, I want that water filtered to the best degree that I reasonably can.
So for us, we use either a Life Straw pitcher filter or a Berkey filter for our drinking water.
You can view these final stage filtration products at these links:
LifeStraw pitcher water filter that we use
Big Berkey Water Filter that we use
So in other words, we take the water out of the tap that has already been filtered well.
And then we put it through that final stage to make it good enough for safe drinking.
As I said earlier, water that is used for external purposes doesn’t have to be filtered to that degree.
But the final stage helps eliminate things like bacteria and other harmful substances.
Things that are even smaller than the other filters can remove. And it’s the final stage that makes our drinking water pure and clean.
OK, now let’s talk about what kind of RV water filtration you can use in different situations. And what can be reasonable in those situations.
Water Filtration Suitable For Weekend And Vacation RVers
So first of all, let’s talk about weekend RVing. And let’s suppose that you’re an RVer that just goes out on weekends.
Or maybe you take your RV out on a vacation or two through the year. Things along that line.
Well then you don’t really need a super duper water filter system in that case.
Not unless you’re going to be facing some really bad water somewhere.
So for most weekender’s purposes, that all-purpose blue Camco filter is probably going to do just fine.
You might want to add on another filter, like a five micron filter after that as well. And if you do, you’re going to get really good water filtration.
Since you’re not going to be using your RV for a long time, it will work well in those situations.
But now, what if you’re a part-time RVer? In other words, maybe a snowbird? And you’re out there traveling for months at a time?
Or what if you’re a full-time RVer that lives and travels in your RV all the time?
Well then, you need to take RV water filtration up a notch from what weekenders use.
That’s because you’re spending a lot of time in your RV. And you need to make sure that your water is as good as it can be.
What About Part-Time And Full-Time RVers?
So for part-timers and full-timers, I highly recommend adding a water softener. And place it somewhere in your RV water filtration system.
Why? Because we have encountered very hard water in our RV travels around the country.
And especially down around the Southwest. There’s a lot of mineral concentration in the water down there. And that’s what makes it hard.
In fact, you can even see it form around your faucets in the RV. And around the water source faucet outside as well.
The minerals in the water just keeps building up and you can actually see it as it hardens in place. So that tells you that it’s really hard water in those areas.
But there is a huge difference in water quality when you pass that water through a water softener.
When it comes out, it just feels so much better to your skin. It will feel better in your shower and on your hands when you wash them.
Also, your cleaners will work better with softened water. In fact, everything is better using a water softener.
So that’s why I inject a water softener into my inline RV water filtration system.
But now once again, we talked about drinking water as being a whole other thing.
So I filter it through the various filters I mentioned above and the water softener.
Then when it comes into the RV, we like to use that Berkey or Life Straw filter. And it will filter our drinking water down as fine as I need it to be.
So using this RV water filtration system, I get clean, pure RV water all the time.
Another Reason For Choosing The Last Stage of Water Filtration
Of course, what I’ve shown you here is not the only solution for drinking water filtration.
But I like to use the Life Straw or the Berkey for another reason too. And that is that over the life of their use, they are both fairly economical too.
Of course, they can be a little bit expensive to buy up front. That’s true. And especially the Berkey has a larger up front cost.
But over the life of the filter, it’s actually pretty economical to use them as they last a very long time.
The Highest Level Of RV Water Filtration You Can Get
But some RVers prefer to take water filtration to a higher level than that in their rig.
So they go to a reverse osmosis water filtration system. And that is exceptionally good water filtration for an RV.
However, it’s also very expensive too. And one reason for that is in most cases it’s going to take some kind of installation to put it in your RV.
You can find this reverse osmosis water filter at this link:
Reverse Osmosis Filtration system for RVs
And if you’re not really good with installing things like that, you’re going to have to pay someone to do it for you.
Now there is another solution that a lot of our RVers have gone to instead. And it works really well too.
That is to use an ultraviolet water purifier. Actually, it’s not really even a filter at that stage.
Because ultraviolet kills anything that’s alive in water. So it’s not really a water filter as much as it’s a water purifier at that point.
You can find this ultraviolet water purifier at this link:
UV water purifier system for RVs
And once again, it’s not going to be cheap. Also, it requires some form of installation too.
But I will say this. If you use reverse osmosis or an ultraviolet water purifier, you’re doing just about everything you can do at that point.
Everything possible to produce really clean and pure drinking water. Which is the ultimate goal, right?
You just want to make sure that whatever you take into your body is clean and pure to a reasonable degree.
What About Using Bottled Water Instead?
Now keep in mind that all of this RV water filtration we’re talking about is replacing things like bottled water.
So when you’re looking at the cost of these filters. And especially at reverse osmosis or water purifiers.
Well then, consider that you’re not going to really need to be buying any bottled water anymore.
And there will be a huge savings in that respect. So keep that in mind when you’re comparing the cost of RV water filtration.
Is There A Perfect Water Filtration System Everybody Should Use?
Now this question that comes up is a good one. Is there a perfect water filtration system for everybody who is an RVer?
My answer to that is, not really! Not anymore than there’s a perfect RV for everybody.
You see, we all have different needs. And different situations with different circumstances.
So whatever works best for your particular situation is just fine. But the problem is that some people get other ideas in their mind.
They feel that if they made a decision that is best for them, then it’s best for everybody. But that’s just not the case.
Instead, the thing you need to remember is the two stages that you must have for good water filtration.
And that is a charcoal filter of some type. And then a sediment filter too.
Now from there, you just add what you want to make your filtration even better.
So you can can add a water softener if you choose. Or you can add in a LifeStraw or a Berkey filter.
Or if you want the highest level of filtration possible, get a reverse osmosis or a water purifier like the ultraviolet ones.
Conclusion
But the point is, try to understand that what your needs are can be very different from what someone else’s needs are.
Also you may look at things a little differently than someone else does too. So do what you feel is reasonable for you and your situation.
Now, you’re going to hear a lot of strong opinions on this subject though. And there’s no question about that.
But do what you feel is best for you and your family. Especially considering the way that you travel and the way that you like to camp.
And if you use the tips and explanations that I’ve given you about RV water filtration, most likely you’re going to make a really good decision.
Have safe and happy RV travels!