How to Refill Fresh Water Tank During Camping: Simple Tips and Tricks

Having a fresh water tank during camping is very important because it will be your main source of water.

It is not meant for drinking, but you can use it to wash your hands and feet, wash the dishes, and more.

Most camping areas already have a fresh water source, and all you have to do is to refill your water tank.

Learning how to refill fresh water tank during camping is very important, especially if you are inside an RV.

Refilling a fresh water tank when you are camping is pretty basic, and you won’t even need a water tank since you can have access to fresh water while you are on a camping site.

If you are traveling in an RV and you are boondocking, there are a few simple tips on how you can refill your fresh water tank.

How to Refill Fresh Water Tank During Camping

It is challenging to go camping and go around in different places without having clean water to clean yourself or to wash the dishes.

Here are some of the things to keep in mind when refilling your RVs fresh water tank:

1. Determine the Amount of Water your RV Can Hold

If you want to refill your fresh water tank, the first thing that you need to do is to figure out how much water your RV can hold.

Smaller RVs, such as truck campers and Class B's, has a freshwater capacity ranging from about 18 to 40 gallons.

As for the larger Class A's and fifth-wheel trailers, they usually have a fresh water tank with a capacity of 50 to 100 gallons, while Class C RVs can hold somewhere between the values for Class B and Class A RVs.

Knowing the amount of water your RV can hold would be a big help in figuring out the amount of water that you have to use every day.

For example, a Class C RV with a 38-gallon water tank, it can last for up to 14 days if you will limit the use of water.

2. Choose a Method to Refill

There are a lot of ways on how to refill your fresh water tank, such as:

a. Using Faucet

This is the easiest and simplest way to refill your fresh water tank.

You can use a faucet and a hose to fill the tank. You just have to put the hose to the tank and turn the faucet on.

You have to remember that the setup that you will use for the fresh water tank will depend solely on the type of RV that you have.

You can have two separate connections to hook up to the city water or just a single connection with a valve.

Here are the steps to refill from a faucet:

1. Use an RV drinking water hose.
2. When you are refilling your fresh water tank, you should only use an RV drinking water hose since it won’t add any taste and is safer to use than an ordinary hose.
3. Connect the hose to a water source.
4. Connect the orange end of the hose to the water source. You have to be sure that the connection doesn’t have any leaks.
5. Once you’ve successfully connected the hose to the faucet, the next step is to connect the other end to the RV tank.
6. You have to be sure that the valve is set to fill the fresh water tank before you open the faucet.
7. Always check the pressure regulator.
8. The pressure regulator is the orange adapter found at the end of the drinking water hose.
9. You have to check it to make sure that the pipes in your RV will not burst because of water pressure.
10. Turn on the faucet.
11. When you are opening the faucet, you have to do it slowly, and you need someone to check the Convenience Center fresh water button to check the tank.
12. Your tank should also have an overflow valve to make sure that the tank will not over-fill.

b. Utilizing a Pump

When you are out and don’t have access to any water sources, the best thing to do is to refill your water tank with a water pump.

Yes, you have to invest in a water pump because a lot of unexpected things can happen while you are in the RV.

You might run out of water in the middle of nowhere, and it won’t be a good thing.

Here's what you need to do:

1. Bring an eternal container. If you have a water pump with you, it is always important to have an eternal container that is full of fresh water.
2. If you go camping, you should always spare a few jugs of fresh water so that you can extend the time of your dry camping.
3. Connect the drinking water hose to the RV.
4. Take your drinking water hose and connect the hose to the water tank of your RV.
5. With the use of alligator clips, connect the 12v pump to the battery of your car or van.
6. Pump the water.
7. After doing this, you can use the water pump to transfer the water from the external container into the fresh water tank of your RV.

c. With the Help of Gravity

Not everyone has a water pump, so if you don’t have access to a city water hookup and a water pump, the final option is to use gravity to fill up your RV water tank.

Since you don’t have any access to a water outlet, you have to use another water source to fill up the water tank.

This method is a bit time consuming, and you would need a lot of jugs to fill up the water tank.

This is only advisable if you are planning to go to a water outlet and you need some water until you get there.

Here are the steps to follow:

1. The first thing that you need to do is to prepare a water source like a six-gallon water jug.
2. To fully use gravity to put water into the fresh water tank, you need to hold the water source above the hole of the tank.
3. You can use a ladder or a chair so that you can climb higher than the inlet hole.
4. If your jug has a spout that would fit in your inlet hole, then you just need to pour the fresh water inside. If it doesn’t have a spout, you need to attach a water hose to your RV.
5. Get a funnel and put it at the other end of the house.

You have to remember that the water source should be higher than the inlet hole for this method to work.

This method is pretty easy and versatile, but there is a higher chance that debris would enter the fresh water tank.

Tips to Conserve Water While Boondocking

Dry camping is fun and allows you to enjoy nature, but you need to properly conserve water, especially if you are in the middle of nowhere.

Learning how to refill fresh water tank during camping can be a good idea, but you should also know how you can save water.

Here are some of the tips that you can keep in mind.

1. Limit Your Showers

You should only shower once every day and not use more than two gallons of water for every shower.

If there are only two people in your RV, a 40-gallon water tank will last you for at least 14 days or more depending on your usage.

2. Use Less in Your Kitchen

You just have to use paper plates when you are eating and only cook one-pot meals if possible.

Using a lot of utensils will quickly drain your water reservoir.

The fewer kitchen utensils you use, the more water you can save.

3. Wash Your Dishes in a Bucket

Instead of using your faucet to wash kitchen utensils, bring a bucket with you and wash them there.

Remove the remaining food from the utensils with the use of tissue then start cleaning them with a bucket of water.

4. Turn the Water Off

Do not let the water run for a long time.

If you are going to brush your teeth, use a cup.

If you are going to shave, use a tissue or clean cloth instead of water.

5. Take Shorter Showers

If you don’t feel too dirty, don’t spend a lot of time in your shower.

You can just use a wet face towel and use it to clean yourself.

Women would need more water than men, so men should take fewer and shorter showers than women.

Conclusion

Dry camping is a fun activity since you get to enjoy the beauty of nature and can disconnect yourself from the world.

That said, you should always pay attention to your water since it would run out pretty fast if you use it recklessly.

You can easily refill your water tank anytime, anywhere using several methods and sources.

Follow our simple tips, and you will never run out of clean and fresh water when you are boondocking!