Community Forums

iamack · 06-17-2015, 06:01 PM

I have 0 grain soft water in my house. Would you suggest or not suggest filling the fresh water tank with soft water from the house before I leave for the weekend on the camper. 42 gal on a 2015 Hideout 280LHS.

Zac808 · 06-17-2015, 06:24 PM

Im interested to hear this as well.

jenandjon · 06-17-2015, 07:08 PM

I guess I don't know what difference it would make. Interested also.

BrianGlenn · 06-17-2015, 08:23 PM

One US gallon of water weighs 8.4 pounds. If you are OK with the extra cargo capacity of roughly 350 pounds (42 USGal) the soft water will cause less calcification (hard water scale) on the water heater (LP or electric), and be softer to the skin when washing face/hands, especially if you use house water for showering. In addition you will not have hard water residue (spots) if the water is used for washing dishes (glasses).

Soaps go a lot farther in soft water (create more suds, etc) than hard water.

Hauling water may create less fuel mileage for traveling due to extra weight, and possibly be harder on suspensions/brakes with more carrying weight.

In the end, it is a personal decision. I always carry my soft water in my tank, rather than hard campground water. My choice.

Brian

Tony Lee · 06-18-2015, 03:02 AM

Fresh water tank full and black and grey tanks empty.

Any other way and you may as well get some extra storage space by fitting smaller tanks.

flaggship1 · 06-18-2015, 08:32 AM

Why not get a softener to carry with you?

wa8yxm · 06-18-2015, 01:05 PM

Two (or 3) thoughts: First the cause of "Montezuma's Revenge" is often water as you move about water changes.. your body is not used to the new watr so it... objects. Thus if you can carry enough hauling home water is a good thing.

Next.. Have tasted soft water.. YUCK

Third: Mineral content.. Water can be hard, soft or distilled.. SOFT water they remove metallic ions and replace them. IT is still a chemical stew same as hard water.. Only different chemicals. It is those replacement chemicals that made it "YUCK".. Naturally soft water does not have this problem. (And tastes rather good).

Distilled water all minral content (And everything else) is removed.

In classic (Metal) house plumbing this soft or distilled water can start r-aquiring metal ions (From the pipes) resulting in CALL THE PLUMBER

Not sure how that applies to PEX though. (Doubt it does).

Bucky1320 · 06-18-2015, 01:17 PM

We always fill with soft water. Our untreated water is very hard and has considerable rust. Showers are way better with soft water!
We don't ever drink water from the storage tanks. Too many opportunites for my liking to contaminate and grow bacteria. We drink bottled water. Or alcohol.

iamack · 06-19-2015, 06:29 AM

Great thoughts!!! Very much appreciated. I think I'll fill with soft and drink bottles. I agree with the possibility of bacteria.

Question: how often do you sanitize the fresh tank? The book says to use bleach and let sit for 4 hours.

Thanks again!! We're out on our second week off camping. I just got done setting it up!

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jenandjon · 06-20-2015, 06:16 AM

I never drink the water out of my faucet anyway. Just used for washing.

Dtwallace · 06-20-2015, 07:15 AM

We always fill up from home before starting any trip, not concerned with weight of the water, and the all water going into the tank is filtered as it's loaded.

We know the house water is treated city water and less chance of algae growth in the tanks. We don't make a habit of drinking our tank stored water, but it is alway potable safe and it is used for ice.

I've found by sticking to this regiment, we never have the need to clean or freshen the tank for any reason.

We do use the campsite water once hooked up to their power and water source for flushing black tank before leaving campsite.

We do not store water from campsites, unless we are on a long trip and need frequent refill during the travel.

The reason is, once we stored campsite water in our tanks from our first trip in our RV. I left home for work, and the coach sat for a few months.

DW decided to do some driveway camping and discovered the water had become stale with a terrible smell.

I learned from this forum and that experience, some campsites are on untreated well water. Never ever long term store well water in your tanks unless you add a 1% chlorine solution.

DTW

flaggship1 · 06-20-2015, 09:22 AM

Water filters and softeners are the answer. I have not found any well water that couldn't be made perfectly drinkable with the Metal Trap Ultra Duo filters and the Watts RV Pro softener. The fresh tank is filled through them too.

I don't think it's a good idea to let any water stand in the fresh tank or hot water heater for months at a time. Draining the tank heater is easy enough to do. Skunkie water is a

geocacher · 06-20-2015, 03:22 PM

Our stick & brick in on untreated well water and it is the best tasting water there is but then we live in the mountains, no big cities anywhere near us. We fill our water tank about 2/3 full from our well water before leaving home. This water is used for cleaning, cooking and showering. We still use bottle water that goes thru reverse osmosis or distillation process. I will not add any chemicals to our water tank - Too many allergies.

Pooter · 07-19-2015, 05:09 AM

Soft water is said to be slippery and aids in keeping your black tank sensors clean as well as anything sticking in the tank you really want to exit when dumping. Some use calgon, as a alternative of hauling fresh water down the road.