When you’re on the road, you have almost no way of knowing what is in the water where you’re staying. While it may be alright in some places, it isn’t worth the risk. After all, bad water can lead to serious health consequences. Luckily, you can get clean, good tasting water anywhere with a great RV water filter system.
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Why Is Filtering Your RV Water Important?
Filtering your RV water is an important step for every RVer to take. Here’s why:
Municipal supplies are generally safe however, this is not always the case. Even in the US, there are places with high levels of lead, arsenic, or chemicals in the city water or well water at the RV park. Some municipal water systems also treat drinking water with harsh chemicals like chlorine. By using a water filter system in your RV, you maintain complete control over what you are putting into your body.
RV Freshwater Tanks: If the water in your RV freshwater tanks comes from a municipal supply, the above holds true. If you fill up at your own place and know what is in the water, there are still reasons to filter water. You can have a build-up of bacteria and even algae in your freshwater tanks. RV water tanks should be sanitized regularly, but it’s equally important to use an RV water filter system to ensure clean water is coming into the tank in the first place.
What Water Do You Filter?
There are a couple options for filtering your RV water. You can filter all the water coming into your RV or you can filter only your drinking water. It depends on your preferences and needs.
Types of RV Water Filter Systems
External
External RV water filter systems filter all the water going from the source into your RV. This includes drinking water, shower, bathroom tap, toilet, etc. If the water you’re getting from the campground is dirty, you’ll want to filter all of it.
In-Line
This in-line RV water filter is one of the simplest ways to filter your water. All you have to do is attach it to your external hose, and it filters your water. This filter improves taste while also filtering out bacteria 20 microns in size or larger and chlorine.
- Safe water matters: GAC (Granular Activated Carbon) filtration greatly reduces bad taste, odor, chlorine, and sediment
- Large capacity filtration: Large capacity in line water filter lasts an average of 3 months
- Multiple uses: Can be attached to any standard gardening or water hose to provide healthier drinking water and cleaner water overall. Great for RVs, boats, campers, pets, gardening, and much more
- 20 micron sediment filter: Removes particles greater than 20 microns
- Protects against bacteria: Premium KDF provides protection against bacteria growth while filter is stored or not in use
Canister Systems
A canister system is a slightly more involved way to filter all the water coming into the RV but provides some additional advantages compared to the typical in-line filter.
This two-canister system improves taste, filters out sediment, as well as some lead and chemicals, including chlorine, and reduces or eliminates bacteria. It is also simple to install because all you need to do is hook it up to your external hose. Compared to the in-line filter system that filters down to 20 microns, these systems can filter down to much finer sizes.
We personally use the RV Water Filter Store system below, which filters down to .5 microns.
- 3-4 Gallons Per Minute Flow Rate at 60 PSI ensures that you can get generous water flow throughout your recreational vehicle after it comes out of the RV Water Filter.
- MADE IN THE USA. The Original RV Water Filter Store has been serving RV'ers clean drinking water needs since 1992.
- Delicious and Safe Water Every Time. Save money on buying cases of bottled water by investing in a durable system that will last you years.
- The 0.5 micron coconut shell carbon block 2.5 x 10 inch 2nd stage filter removes chlorine, volatile organic compounds, cysts, giardia, and other contaminants.
- Coconut shell carbon block technology creates great tasting water significantly better than standard carbon filters
Internal
Internal water filtration systems provide you with filtered water for a specific area, such as only the kitchen sink.
Under-Sink with a Special Faucet
There are many options for under-the-sink water filters. You will have to install a special faucet to go with the filter. If you only want to filter your drinking water though, this is a great option for RVs. The major benefit is that they save space by having the filtration system under the sink rather than taking up precious counter or fridge space.
We use the RV Water Filter Store Ultra Pure Premium Under Sink drinking water system.
Gravity-Fed
Another option for RV water filtration is to use a gravity filtration system like the Berkey Filter. All you have to do is pour water in the top and gravity does the rest of the work. It filters out 99.999% of bacteria and viruses for incredibly safe drinking water. Since the filters are good for 6,000 gallons of water, you also won’t have to worry about replacement for a long time.
- 1.5 GALLON CAPACITY- The portable Travel Berkey Purification System effortlessly purifies water for about 1-3 people each day. The system is just 18” tall and 7.5” in diameter.
- POWERFUL PURIFICATION- Berkey systems equipped with Black Berkey Purification Elements purify water—not just filter it—by removing greater than 99.999% of viruses and greater than 99.9999% of pathogenic bacteria, while also removing or dramatically reducing protozoa (such as giardia and cryptosporidium), trihalomethanes, inorganic minerals, heavy metals (including arsenic, lead, mercury, chromium), pharmaceutical drugs (including caffeine, Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen, Progesterone, Triclosan),
- ECONOMICAL, LONG-LASTING- A pair of Black Berkey Purification Elements lasts for up to 6,000 gallons before needing replacement. Black Berkey Purification Elements average just 2 cents per gallon of purified water.
- INDEPENDENT TESTING- Berkey by NMCL uses several independent third-party labs to test a broad range of potential contaminants and conducts Extreme Testing for lead and PFCs in order to show the effectiveness of our Black Berkey Purification Elements.
- DRINK CONFIDENTLY VIRTUALLY ANYWHERE- No electricity, tools or plumbing required. Travel the world, prepare for emergencies, and take control of your family’s everyday drinking water with your Berkey gravity-fed water filtration system with Black Berkey purification elements. Enjoy delicious, nourishing water from the leader in gravity-fed water solutions.
The Travel Berkey filter is great for an RV because of its small size. It can hold 1.5 gallons at a time. But if you go through that quickly, all you have to do is refill it. Another perk for RVers is that it requires no power and no installation, so it is ready to go whenever and wherever you are.
RV Water Purification Filter
UV Light Treatment
Another option for purifying your water is using UV light treatment. This method of purification is the most effective option for killing bacteria and viruses. As the name suggests it uses UV light to kill organisms in your water. It also has the added benefit of not using any chemicals so your water is safer and better tasting. Used alone, however, it won’t filter out sediment or large particles so it may need to be combined with another filtration method.
Acuva Eco NX-Silver
The best UV light treatment option for an RV is the Acuva Eco NX-Silver. The Acuva Eco System provides superior filtration by eliminating 99.9999% of bacteria, viruses, and cysts. It delivers 0.3 gallons per minute of filtered water so you never have to worry about running out or refilling your filtered water.
The Acuva comes with a smart faucet, and the filtration system is installed under the RV kitchen sink so you don’t take up extra space in your rig. This system is designed to only filter your drinking water, but you can use it in combination with in-line RV water filters to get clean water throughout your rig.
Get $100 off your Acuva Eco NX-Silver purchase with discount code “MORTONS”.
We use the Acuva system under our RV kitchen sink along with an under sink canister and external canister filtration system.
RV Water Filter Maintenance
Water filter maintenance is a simple process. All you have to do is replace the filter as often as recommended. This will vary depending on the system you choose. Installing and maintaining an RV water filter system is simple and painless. You really can’t go wrong with adding this safety feature to your rig.
While there are many options for RV water filtration, they all have one thing in common: they keep you safer when you’re traveling. RV water filtration is a simple and cost-effective way to get cleaner, better-tasting water. The system you choose will depend on your travel habits and filtration needs. But any of the options above provide a great way to get cleaner water wherever the road may take you.
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We RV travel with our Berkey.
That’s great! The Berkey seems to be a popular choice.
Interesting article. I’ll save it.
At the present time all of our trip are short. We carry ~10 gallons of water in portable jugs for drinking and cooking. That water comes from our well and is run through our Big Berkey.
Thanks! For short trips, carrying water from home is definitely a cost-effective option. 🙂
Your water filter link ( “We use the RV Water Filter Store Ultra Pure Premium Under Sink drinking water system.”) does not link to a specific filter identified. It links to a web page having several filter systems.
Which one were you referring to ?
Great question, John! To be more specific, we use the “Essential System.” Hope that helps clarify!