Opinions on Water Pump/Tank Fill vs City Water

[RoadRunner61]

I have a 21 Bus but for any Tiffin owner what are thoughts here on leaving your MH for a few hours or most of the day:

1. If you're in a campsite for more than a few days do you fill the fresh tank and use the water pump or switch to city water?

2.If on Tank Fill/Water Pump and you leave for a few hours or most of the day do you turn off your water pump?

3. Same question on City, when leaving coach unattended do you always turn off the water at the spigot?

Thanks for responding!

[Kendorado]

I exclusively use tank water! and use city water to fill the tank when needed. I have seen several MHs get flooded from a leak using city water. It will only STOP when the water is turned off. Tank water has, of course, a limit. I use a product called PUROGENE to sanitize the tank in lieu of bleach. This was developed by Boeing for use in their planes. no odor, no taste and it works.
Ken D.

[alank]

From all the posts I've read on this subject, I've determined there are two groups of RV'ers.

1. Those that have had water problems while gone, or have seen the results of water problems and got scared to death, so they always shut the water off.

2. Those like me that never have water problems and never think to shut the water off, pump or city supply.

In my opinion, it's better to shut water off, more convenient to use the tank/pump system, but I'll admit, I don't do it.

[ekim]

We use a hybrid approach. When at a site - I usually leave the tank between 10 and 50% full. This means adding water from time to time.

I turn off the city water whenever we leave the coach and every night. Better to forget it being off vs being on.

During the day - we will run both the pump and the city water.

I think that running fresh water through the tank all the time helps to keep it clean. The water in the tank is always pretty fresh. I don't have any proof that it has any impact whatsoever though...

[oldenavy]

We started using the tank exclusively with our last RV. We had an Airstream and had issues with the fresh water tank filling up from the city water while connected. A common problem with the water pump check valve failing. Added a second check valve but have used tank and pump since then. It also helped that I vibration mounted the pump as it was extremely noisy from the factory. We also do a lot of state park & dry camping, so most likely we don’t have city water at the site.

That habit has carried over to our newly acquired MH.

[Old-Biscuit]

We only used fresh water tank/pump when boondocking otherwise connected to city water

THEN if happened...a fitting failed and flooded our new RV HOME (we were FTn) ----ran for hours during the night while we slept

That was in 2008........haven't connected to City water since
ALWAYS carry full fresh water tank and use the pump.
Fill as needed
Pump provides consistent pressure/flow, no regulator needed, simple flip of the switch when we go to bed, leave the RV and pump is off.

And if I hear pump short cycle I KNOW there is a leak somewhere which I immediately FIND/FIX

Pump.....EXCLUSIVELY!

[vettenuts]

I use the pump and tank when water pressure is low and we’ll be in place for an extended time.

I always turn off the water no matter which method is used. There was someone on this forum who had a brand new Newmar King Air. IIRC, they were driving home from factory delivery and there was a leak. Since the water pump was on, it fed the leak until the tank was empty. Unfortunately, the water went into the main electronics area. In the end, Newmar bought the coach back. Total nightmare but I learned a lesson from his misfortune and now always turn off the water pump when we leave, while we’re driving and at night while sleeping.

[High Road Travelers]

Fortunately, I learned from the misfortunes of others and not my own, and use the tank and water pump exclusively, filling with city water as needed. I travel with the tank about half full usually, or full if I may be going somewhere without water.
I tried using city water and turning the incoming faucet off when we would leave the camper, but actually turning it off only happened about half the time, so I just stopped using it. We also turn the pump off when leaving and at night, and somehow, we seem to remember to do that.
Thanks,

[zombiewoof]

When I have city water I use city water unless the pressure is too low, then I just use the fresh water tank and pump.

I never turn the city water off when I am away from the coach.

When going down the road I usually leave the water pump on.

20+ years and have not had an issue yet though previous posts have provided food for thought.

[SamKVA]

Originally Posted by zombiewoof

When I have city water I use city water unless the pressure is too low, then I just use the fresh water tank and pump.

I never turn the city water off when I am away from the coach.

When going down the road I usually leave the water pump on.

20+ years and have not had an issue yet though previous posts have provided food for thought.

Same here and never really thought of a catastrophic plumbing leak while away from the camper.

Sam

[Open Roaders]

We had an occasion when the toilet flush valve didn’t shut off fully after a quick bathroom break at a rest stop. The pump was on and we managed to pump about 40 gallons of water into the motorhome as we drove the rest of the day. DH was driving and I was driving the car behind as he was towing a trailer so I wasn’t on board to hear any pump noise.
A very wet floor!!
We fixed the toilet but we always turn off the pump when we’re not using it now.

[n2zon]

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

We only used fresh water tank/pump when boondocking otherwise connected to city water

THEN if happened...a fitting failed and flooded our new RV HOME (we were FTn) ----ran for hours during the night while we slept

That was in 2008........haven't connected to City water since
ALWAYS carry full fresh water tank and use the pump.
Fill as needed
Pump provides consistent pressure/flow, no regulator needed, simple flip of the switch when we go to bed, leave the RV and pump is off.

And if I hear pump short cycle I KNOW there is a leak somewhere which I immediately FIND/FIX

Pump.....EXCLUSIVELY!

One beauty of being human is that we can learn from the experiences of others...if we listen. Since reading OB's story some time back, we never use city water unless we're awake and paying attention. Other times, we fill and pump exclusively.

[bneumann]

reading post ..... good reminders to turn water pump off when not using & to shut city water off when leaving camp spot for a while.

One of these days will remember to do it, & then have to remember to turn back on ....

[vettenuts]

Originally Posted by bneumann

…….., & then have to remember to turn back on ....

You remember real quick when someone yells the toilet won’t flush