Potable Water Sources?

offroad · Dec 20, 2012

Did a search and found no discussions about where to get water from.  We all obviously need it to survive.  Just strange that a listing or discussion is not out there. 1)  Gas Station - can you use there spigot to get water?  how many gallons can you get before you are pushing your luck?  Can you get five gallons?  2)  Well yes you can get it at a camp ground.  That means you need to pay the campground for a campsite for a night while you get refilled.  Am surprised that you could get water, without an overnight stay. 3) Your base home, or a relatives, or friend home?  How much is that going to cost them?  4)  Car Wash site?  is that good potable water? 5)  Pump it from a running stream-river etc?  Is that ever safe? 6)  Catch the rain water?  what are you catching it in?

sl1966 · Dec 20, 2012

I use something like this to filter the water that goes into my tanks ... <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Camco-40631-P...16781&sr=8-3&keywords=rv+water+filter" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Camco-40631-P...16781&sr=8-3&keywords=rv+water+filter </a>

crazybill · Dec 20, 2012

What follows is only my own approach to getting water. You can do as you wish.  There are two basic sources of water:   A. Wilderness or surface water. (rivers, lakes, streams, etc.)   B. Distributed or "city" water. (water from a faucet)     A. All surface water should be considered contaminated and be treated as such. The clearest  mountain stream may look great, but it could be as contaminated as a gutter. I have heard that once you have had giardia you can't come down with it again, but having had it I refuse to take the chance of having it again. It is way bad juju. As sick as I've ever been. That is only one possible contamination. There are various methods of treating water available on the internet. Boiling, chemicals, and reverse osmosis filters to name a few.  B. Getting water from a faucet depends on who own the faucet and your approach to it. I consider most faucet or city water to be safe. Not always tasty but ok to drink. You mention car washes and that is one place I would be very careful. Many car washes recycle wash water.   City water is relatively cheap and your getting ten or twenty gallons would cost the owner very little. My approach is to ask first. Most forest service or state run campgrounds will let you get water at the visitor's center or you can ask if you can drive through the campground before signing is and if you stop at the faucet and get a few gallons nobody usually says anything. At least that is what has worked for me.  Commercial campgrounds will usually give you a very cold reception uf you aren't a paying customer, but you can always ask.  One place I have had good luck is churches. Be nice, ask first, usually good to go.     One ringer here is forest service faucets. Before getting water here I always look for signs that the water is non-potable. I mean real, posted signs. I got water at a campground once and on my way out I spotted a sign on one of the faucets that said non-potable. Evidently someone had vandalized or removed most of them and missed this one. I now had 10 gallons of possible contaminated water and had to treat it. Lesson leaned.  There is a lot more information on the net. THese approaches have worked for me. -Bill-

rvwandering · Dec 20, 2012

Good sources for fresh water-   Flying J gas stations with dump stations - $5.00 to dump but water is free , any amount   Truck stops - water is often available at the fuel pumps , potable unless otherwise marked , any amount   Gas stations - sometimes at the fuel pumps ,may be a faucet on the side of the building , ask if using the faucet   Cabelas - often have dump stations and faucets for watering animals - check carefully because it's not always potable   Rest areas - if a dump station is available there's usually fresh water too - if no dump station look for faucets close to the parking lot   Parks with or without campgrounds - check in the picnic areas or ask at the campground , may be free , sometimes a small daily fee , sometimes the same as overnight fee  Friend's house - they will not notice a change in their water bill as normal daily water use is most likely much more than you will use  Other faucets - many businesses  have a faucet on the side of the building , ask and most of the time you'll be given permission to fill your tank , vehicle  service and repair shops are good places to ask

akrvbob · Dec 20, 2012

Actually, there has been a thread on this topic find it here: https://vanlivingforum.com/post/cle...-tips-etc-5878832?highlight=water+fire+filter I am going to cut and paste my post from it here: Here are places I get water in order of most common first: <ol><li>Gas stations. Most have a spigot-just be sure it is potable.</li><li>Vending machines-common across the Southwest and Wal-Marts.</li><li>Rest areas almost always have water spigots.</li><li>National Forest Ranger and BLM Stations almost always let you get water.</li><li>Go into a convience store with a 1 gallon jug and ask if you can get water. I've never been refused.</li><li>Almost all public restrooms have faucets. Use a Water Bandit with a short hose to fill your water bottles.</li><li>RV Parks sometimes have a spigot for public use. No harm in stopping and asking, all they can do is say no.</li><li>I've never done it but I've been told that Fire Stations will let you fill up with water. Worth stopping and asking</li><li>Creeks for water I filter.</li></ol>Four things I always carry: <ol><li>A white water hose made for RVs. They are specifically made for potable water. At least 10 feet long so I can fill 5 gallon jugs in the van without lifting it out. When done I screw the two ends together so it stays clean</li><li>A Water Bandit.  It goes over the end of the faucet and lets you fill a jug from a sink when the jug is too big to go under the faucet. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Camco-22484-R...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339265949&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Camco-22484-R...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339265949&sr=8-1</a></li><li>A backpackers water filter (mine is made by MSR, but there are lot of good brands) for when there is nothing else.</li><li>Bleach, to bleach my water jugs. Sometimes I will put bleach water in the hose as well just to be sure nothing is growing in there.</li></ol>Bob

highdesertranger · Dec 20, 2012

in most small towns that have a water system you can go to the water company.  they usually have a public faucet and charge a minimal fee.  once we filled up at a water company the price was .028 cents per gallon.  lets see 75 gallons times .028,  were's the calculator.  we just put 3.00 dollars in their box.  i always use my own hose.  i clean the hose every now and then with the old bleach and vinegar solution also my tanks.  i think i have gotten water from all of the above locations in the other post as well as some others like bars,  country stores, etc just always ask first.  i have never been turned down.   i just use my own hose that is for potable water.  i hate that rubber taste you get from regular hose.  i carry 50 ft.  because you can't always get close.  i want to add another 50 ft.  because i have come up short a couple of times.  highdesertranger

offroad · Dec 21, 2012

Bob & Ranger, thanks for the terrific advice. We all need water. Can we get this subject pinned to the top of this discussion group?

blars · Dec 21, 2012

Rest areas are another place to look for non-pottable signs, especially near a dump station.  In the desert, they frequently do not have water available. In some places untested untreated well water is available.  I consider this non-pottable.