Fresh Water - To fill, or not to fill?

[Podivin]

Originally Posted by TonyMac

"NOTICE: Water left in the RV’s fresh water tank can smell or taste bad after a week or two."

I guess the operant word is "can". Mine never has, but I guess it could. Keep it simple. If your water smells or tastes bad, NOW you have a problem, go fix it. But why fix a problem you may not have? Seems silly, but to each their own.

I agree, and that's exactly what I was going to say. It CAN smell bad, if it does you have a different problem.
Fill it, and use it for everything you need water for, including drinking. The more you use the water from your tank, forcing you to refill, the 'fresher' the water is going to be.
We NEVER connect a hose and use the water direct from that, we always fill our tank and work out of that. Yes, that means I have to refill the tank every 3 or 4 days, but that's OK with me. It also means that I know that I have fresh water in the tank and I also know that IF a water line breaks inside there is a finite amount of water that can pump into the RV - unlike working from the campground supply.

[R2Home]

In all of the years that we have owned MH's, we have had good luck with our water tank.
The tanks get cleaned at the beginning of the season, when it come out of winter storage. The tanks gets filled and stays filled all season, until it is ready to be put away for the next winter. We use the water for all of our needs to include drinking, that is what it is there for.

[Sandy Swede]

I just sanitized our rig's fresh water tank and plumbing lines. Once per year. One of the easiest things you can do. Not trying to be flippant, but I never saw this as a big deal.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Way overthinking, in my opinion. Fill it when convenient, and the amount you might need (I always have enough for an unplanned overnight drycamp). And, yes, we drink the water and use the ice.

[FIRE UP]

Yep,
Like a lot of subjects in RVing, waaaaaaaaaay too much overthinking. We fill the tank, travel with a FULL TANK, and use it. We don't drink from it simply because, the type of bottled water we purchase is simply superior in taste than any fawcett water, period. In about 40 years of RVing, 2 truck and campers, and four RVs, we've never, ever sanitized any of our water tanks. No one's died yet.
Scott

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by Mark_K5LXP

Been out a few times so far this year after dewinterizing but the next trip is probably a month and a half out. What to do with the fresh tank - I'm inclined to fill it now then dump and re-fill before I go again but not sure if that's over thinking it. I know I don't want to re-sanitize unless I have to.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

When you take an extended trip, 1- 3 months, what do you do to sanitize your water pipes when you return home? Your RV is no different if you fill with city water.
When I sanitize the RV fresh water system each spring, I fill the fresh water tank afterwards. It is never empty until the RV is winterized again. If you are concerned about water quality during storage, or post-storage; do what the CDC recommends.

[Mark_K5LXP]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

When you take an extended trip, 1- 3 months, what do you do to sanitize your water pipes when you return home? Your RV is no different if you fill with city water.

Actually, it is different. A home plumbing system doesn't have a storage tank vented to atmosphere. Sanitizing agents last longer in the closed plumbing system of a home than they will when exposed to air. Through that same tank vent mold, mildew or bacteria can come in. Clearly this isn't a prevalent problem but I think if left long enough an RV system would become contaminated. It may be overkill to even do it once a year with an actively used RV but a cup of bleach and running a tank's worth through is simple enough maintenance.

Mark B
Albuquerque, NM