Understanding Your RV Water System: Water Tanks, Hookups and More

Having running water is one of the many luxuries of camping in an RV. With your RV water system, you have the ability to rinse off vegetables, boil a pot of water, take a shower, and flush the toilet — all without leaving the comfort of your camper.

If you’ve never traveled in an RV before, you might think getting water is as easy as turning on the faucet. But in reality, it takes a bit more effort than that. In this article, we will teach you how to use RV water hookups and holding tanks and how to keep it all in tip top shape. 

RV Water Tanks

Before we get started, it’s important to know the difference between all of your camper’s water tanks. In general, there are three kinds of tanks in most RVs:

• The fresh water tank is what holds the clean, potable water that comes out of your RV sink and shower.
• The semi-dirty water that washes down the drain then filters into the RV gray water tank.
• Finally, there’s the RV septic tank, also known as the black water tank. This RV holding tank contains the waste from your toilet.

How to Empty your Tanks

At the end of your trip, you’ll need to empty out your RV water tanks. Most RV parks and campgrounds have a dumping station where you can get rid of any waste or wastewater. Emptying your tanks involves just a few steps:

1. Put on a pair of rubber gloves and grab your sewer hose.
2. Connect the hose to the sewer hookup.
3. Secure the other end to the black water tank.
4. Open the valve and let the contents of the tank drain.
5. Close the valve completely.
6. Empty the gray water tank and let the wastewater drain.
7. Close the gray tank valve.
8. Flush and rinse the tanks to clean.

Finding a Dump Station

If the campground you are staying in doesn’t offer sewer hookups at your site you will need to find a dump station. In many cases, campgrounds will offer a dump station to campers. However, if you happen to be in a campground that doesn’t have a dump station, you will need to find a place to dump outside of the campground. 

Fortunately, there are plenty of RV dump stations out there that are available for use by the general public. Some of these are free, others may charge a small fee. In all cases, the station should offer a way to dispose of water water properly into the sewer system or a septic tank and water for rinsing. While you should never use the water at a dump station to fill your freshwater tank, there is a chance there will be potable water available for filling tanks nearby. 

If you’re unsure where to dump your tanks, try using RVshare’s list of dump stations, checking Google Maps, or making use of tools like Campendium. You may also have luck asking other campers. 

How to Use Water Hookups

If you’ll be staying at a campground with full or partial hookups, getting access to water is as easy as connecting to the RV water hookup. 

The process is fairly intuitive and only involves a few steps:

1. Turn off your RV’s water pump switch. 
2. Locate your camper’s fresh water hose. If you’ll be using a water filter or water pressure regulator, attach them to the hose now.
3. Screw one end of your hose into the campground’s water supply hookup.
4. Connect the other end of the hose to your RV’s city water inlet. 
5. Turn the water on. 
6. Go inside to check water pressure at a faucet and adjust at the spigot as needed. 

RV Plumbing and Cleaning

Honestly, the majority of what you need to know to get started using your RV water system is spelled out above. That said, there are a few other things you may want to know once you dive in. 

Using Your RV Water Pump

We talked about hooking up to the city water supply above, but what if you’re planning on camping somewhere without hookups (also known as boondocking or dry camping)? In this case, you’ll need to fill up your RV fresh water tank before you get to your campsite using either a hose or several gallons of water.

There are a few places you could do this:

• As we mentioned above, you can often find fill stations near dump stations. Just make sure the water you use is potable! 
• Another option is to ask gas stations or grocery stores if you can use their outside spigot to fill your tank.
• Filling at a campground or at home before you head to your dry camping spot works well too. 
• As a last resort, you can fill 5 gallon jugs at the water fill stations found in many grocery stores and pour the water into your fresh tank. 

Once your fresh tank is full, locate your water pump switch and turn it to the “on” position. You’ll likely hear the pump prime for a moment and will then hear it run every time you open a tap, pulling water out of your tank and to the sink, shower, or toilet as needed. 

When your fresh tank is empty, be sure to turn the pump off to avoid messing up the motor. It’s also a good idea to turn the pump off while traveling and when you leave the RV to ensure no tap is accidentally left running. 

Using Your RV Water Heater

If you want to shower or wash dishes in the RV, you will need to use the camper water heater. Some RV water heaters use electricity to heat water. Others use propane. Still others use both electricity and propane, meaning you can choose one of the other or use both for faster heating. 

No matter which type of water heater you have, you will want to find the water heater switch (or switches if equipped with both propane and electric heating) in your rig and turn the heater on well before you plan to use hot water. If it’s cold outside, it can take up to an hour for the water to get warm!

It is possible to leave your water heater running the entire time you’re camping. That said, if you have a propane heater, this will eat through your fuel rather quickly. Likewise, if you have an electric heater and you pay for your electricity, you can expect your electric bill to be higher because of the heater. Additionally, running the electric water heater constantly can make power management more difficult, especially if you are plugged into a 30 amp outlet rather than 50 amp. 

Cleaning Your RV Water System

Hoping to clean your RV water system? Here are some simple instructions on how to do just that. 

1. Drain any water in your freshwater holding tanks completely.
2. Create a mixture of ¼ cup bleach and 1 gallon of water for every 15 gallons your tank will hold. 
3. Pour the mixture into your fresh tank and finish filling with clean water. 
4. Use your water pump to run the bleach water through every faucet.
5. Let sit overnight. 
6. Drain the bleachy water using low point drains and pump. 
7. Refill the tanks with freshwater and run through lines. 
8. Drain the second batch of water — and now your tanks are clean and ready to go!

There you have it, everything you need to know about your RV water system. Now go out and have an amazing time immersing yourself in the beauty of nature while still enjoying the convenience of running water!