Fresh water usage

[ckramps]

Hello all,

We've had our trailer ('13 Grey Wolf 26DBH) for 2 seasons now and love using it. When we bought it we had never owned a camping unit before and were new to everything. Now after about 50 nights spend in it we have a grasp on almost everything but there is one thing that always comes up when we use sites that don't have water connections: We run out of fresh water!

My question for the more experienced RV users out there is how do you make the water in your fresh tank last more than a few days? We only use this water for flushing waste, washing our hands and face, washing dishes, etc... never for drinking. We use the water in our 5gal jugs for that. On our latest trip we were running out of water on our 3rd day.

Thanks,
-Corey

[ilmor]

I have 15 gals less fresh water and have made that last 3 days with 2 people. I do this by;

"Military showers" - very quick, don't wash every part of your bod, don't let the shower run (keep turning it on and off).

Any water usage at sinks should be done with water at a trickle.

Minimal water in sink to wash dishes.

Only use paper plates and plastic utensils to minimize dish washing.

Quick toilet flushes, minimal water in bowl. If no ladies camping we'll flush once for every two #1's.

No other tank water use.

The above is really all you can do. MINIMIZE.

[timfromma]

The only 2 things you can do are cut your water consumption or get more water.

Here are a few tips:


Use disposable plates and utensils

Use the campground facilities

Refill your water tank. If you are near a community faucet, use your hose to refill. If not, get a bucket and a funnel.

[jeff64]

My TT is 36 gal. capacity. I carry 2-6 gal. jerry cans. That's roughly 48 gal.

All water going into the trailer from any source goes through whole house filter first.

Oxygenics shower head and navy showers, big difference. It has a controlled leak when you push the off button. Changed faucet to single lever style, quicker to set temp and volume.

Paper plates often and save dishwashing chore to when you have a sinkfull

[dbarr]

I love how they installed my water line just below the top 2/3's of my tank.

[dmchapman]

This weekend we got 3 good days out of our water (3 adults, no showers) with some left. My backup now is a 5 gallon jug, 4' of vinyl tubing to dip in the jug and switch antifreeze valve on. The water pump draws from the jug and through the whole house filter. I haven't tried my Water Bandit yet because I am usually more than 25' from the common faucet in the campsite. Next trip to WallyWorld maybe I'll buy a cheap collapsible hose.

[lytlej]

For dishes is wipe them down with paper towel/napkin before washing. Keeps food particles out of grey tank and makes quick wash and rinse with little water.

When using hot water from HW heater capture the cold water that comes first through lines for use in flushing, brushing teeth, washing hands etc or heat it on stove for dishes/shaving. Huge waste to run down tank.

Extreme water conservation we use hand sanitizer for washing hands and baby wipes (you can make your own pre trip) for washing bodies. Dry shampoo between showers. Navy shower as stated above every 3-4 days. Survived longer in the Army without a shower. X2 on oxygenics shower head. Saves water and DW loves the pressure increase for her hair.

We typically make 30 gals a week per person. I once made my 60 gals last 3 1/2 weeks for 1 person. But showers were not in shower house at the park I was at. No water at sites.

[kthoms]

What do people do when you don't use all your water? Do you drain your tanks for the next trip? This happened to me last week and I just added to what was already there, not really knowing if that was wise or not

[ilmor]

Originally Posted by kthoms

What do people do when you don't use all your water? Do you drain your tanks for the next trip? This happened to me last week and I just added to what was already there, not really knowing if that was wise or not

I camp from roughly May thru September. During that time I always have at least 10 gals in my tank. I just put a teaspoon of bleach in there every couple of weeks. Never had an issue by doing so in 10 years. We don't drink from the tank, I should note.

[kthoms]

Yeah we don't either, just seems like a bad idea for some reason. Thanks.

[Mr. Dan]

One problem for some units is the fact that the FW tank is not completely filled. The user stops filling when the level indicator says the tank is full and the indicator is lying OR the user stops when a little water burps out without allowing the tube to vent before adding more water.

[johnm1]

Nothing wrong with drinking from the fresh water tank. Just sanitize it 1st with bleach and you're good to go.

[JCCarr]

My 25RR Grey Wolf would read full and burp at 2/3. Make sure you're level when filling the fresh water tank. If you lean in the direction of the fill tube or the overflow/vent you can give up a lot capacity. When it seems full due to it backing up in the fill tube or coming out of the overflow underneath, give it a minute and then try adding more at a slower rate (Close the spigot halfway).

We carry drinking water for taste, even though we filter because we do use the tank water for cooking, ice cubes, and teeth brushing etc. But you should easily get a couple of days more based on the recommendations here as long as your tank is full, even if you do use it for drinking.