Do you use a water softener with your fifth wheel?

[WyoFree]

I’ve been reading more and more about using a water softener to protect your drinking water, water pipes, shower heads etc.

Do you have one in your 5’er and if so which one and what you paid for it?

Any negatives having one?

[Old-Biscuit]

YES.....bought one in 2007 before hitting the road FT
Used it whenever we camped in states/areas where the water was Hard

Bought a Single 8000 grain one by On-The-GO water softener.
2 adults/1 dog-----used water for everything (drinking, cooking, showers, dishes etc)
Hard water like S/W USA....5-7 days between regens which took roughly 30 minutes overall

Now ----- I would purchase a Dual Unit

Now as Then ---The one that is On Sale!
They work the same, use the same design, use the same concept, same resins, same table salt etc

[txcpl]

I agree with Old Biscuit. We use a water softener, and it really makes a difference. They are a bit cumbersome, but worth the extra effort.

[l1v3fr33ord1]

WyoFree-

I went without for years until we spent several months at an RV park with very hard water. The softener took care of that. The negatives are the backflush and regeneration labor and the space needed to store the unit when traveling. Happily, the table salt does not cost much.

I bought the On-the-Go Double from the manufacturer (link here). At the time the price was the same as through a third-party seller.

Some folks (such as "Dutch Star Don") have installed their softeners permanently, e.g., inside a storage bay. I recommend if you do this that you build a system to eliminate making and breaking the connections to backflush the unit.

Also, you'll want to think through filtration and pressure.

If you have water filters, you need to decide where to install a softener. I've seen recommendations to put all the filters ahead of the softener. My coach has a two-stage filter inside the wet bay. It didn't make sense to move that. So, I decided to add a single sediment filter (30 micron) between the hose bibb and the softener.

The same RV park had water pressures at the bibb in excess of 100 psi. I felt uncomfortable exposing the hoses and softener to that high a pressure, so I set the regulator at the bibb for 60-65 psi and let the (permanently-installed) regulator in the wet bay reduce that to 55 psi for the house.

[Bill Nourse]

Where we winter in Az. definitely. The water in the park is very hard. We have an "On The Go".

[hamm2018]

We use a 16000 grain softener similar to this:
https://www.rvwaterfilterstore.com/e...-hose-fittings

Here are the filters we use:
https://www.clearsourcerv.com/collec...nt-filter-pack

We use these two every place we go, no matter if on city water or well water.
Combined, they do a great job.

[traveldawg]

I had an On-The-Go standard and sold it when I switched to my 5th wheel from my motorhome. I was trying to save weight by not carrying one.

Bad decision. Got into some really bad water in the Southwest and ended up buying one again.

We use it all the time. Normally we can go 3 or 4 weeks before a region. The source water seems to dictate how often a region is required but they provide test strips so you can gauge when you need to do the regents.

[LMHS]

https://www.h2odistributors.com/page...-water-map.asp

[WyoFree]

You guys are really bringing out the good stuff and I’m sold. A water filter it is!

And l1v3fr33ord1, That was more like Water Softener Cliff Notes. It was great!

[l1v3fr33ord1]

Originally Posted by WyoFree

And l1v3fr33ord1, That was more like Water Softener Cliff Notes. It was great!

Normally I get accused of writing "War and Peace," so thank you, Harry.