Water sources

[bicyclist]

When you're on the move from day to day, where do you fill your 5 gallon water cans? Obviously, if you're staying in campgrounds, you can fill there. If you're stealth camping or finding places without a water supply, where do you fill up along the way? I suspect that you might get the hairy eyeball if they see you lugging a can into the bathroom at McDonalds or some such.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Most often Park visitor centers. I will also swing through a campground and fill up my water there. I also have had to buy bottled water that I dumped into my tanks, but at only happened once, in Texas.

It helps that I have a few days water when all the tanks are full. I try not to travel with full tanks all the time, as water is heavy, just when I think I will be away from water sources for a while.

 

[LuckyDan]

Domestic water: chamber of commerce or gas station spigot. Every now and then if a municipality has an RV dump they have a potable water spigot near by. Here in Oregon the bigger rest stops and way sides usually have a potable faucet to poach off of if you look around.

Natural water: I'm not above filling off a good running piped spring out in the woods when I find one. I've also filled off of a stock well a time or two though those options are certainly "Use at you own risk". In a pinch you can always dip off a good flowing creek you have confidence in, but unless your confidence is high as to quality and sanitation I'd suggest boiling it first.

 

[MadMedic]

We use a life saver jerry can, It allows us to get water from nearly any source and be confident in the fact that it is safe to drink.

The Main website:
http://www.lifesaversystems.com/

The Jerry can:
http://www.lifesaversystems.com/lifesaver-products/lifesaver-jerrycan


But I with the right equipment, i can gain access to the water hydrants to easily fill up any container.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Domestic water: chamber of commerce or gas station spigot. Every now and then if a municipality has an RV dump they have a potable water spigot near by. Here in Oregon the bigger rest stops and way sides usually have a potable faucet to poach off of if you look around.

I have found it very helpful that I walk up with a five gallon water can, even if I fill it up four times. Most places do not want to let big rv's hook up a hose and fill a couple hundred gallon tank, but filling a handheld can has never been turned away.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Sometimes picnic areas will have water available. Again, being able to walk up with a water can is the key.

One of the hardest things is when it is off season (not summer) and the water is shut off. We got lucky at this location.

 

[ChrisTschoepe]

City parks always seem to have hose bibs around. You may want to pick up a water key from home depot since some places might have the ones that use a water key to keep kids from wasting water.

 

[Overland Hadley]

City parks always seem to have hose bibs around. You may want to pick up a water key from home depot since some places might have the ones that use a water key to keep kids from wasting water.

What sort of water key are you referring to? I did a search, but only came up with ones used for water-mains.

 

[chris the ogre]

search "hosebib key" it's a common plumbing tool. this one has all the different sizes

http://www.amazon.com/Cobra-PST154-...8&qid=1399041507&sr=8-2&keywords=hose+bib+key

 

[Overland Hadley]

search "hosebib key" it's a common plumbing tool. this one has all the different sizes

http://www.amazon.com/Cobra-PST154-...8&qid=1399041507&sr=8-2&keywords=hose+bib+key

Perfect. Thank you.

 

[bicyclist]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll be putting them to good use.

 

[1stDeuce]

I have filled from the spigot at a gas station a few times. Just asked inside to make sure they were OK with it, and so they knew why they were hearing the water run. I also used the garden hose at an ice cream place once. Another idea is to watch for someone watering their lawn, or at least hanging out outside their house. If you pull up, let them know that your out on your own and having trouble finding water, I would like to believe most people would be more than happy to let you fill a few cans. I know I would. What's water, like 2 cents a gallon or something?? Ask and receive!

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

Another thing to keep in mind is when you see a dump station, like at a Flying J or most State Parks, and their water spigot will say 'Non Potable Water' that is simply a law the Health Department requires them to put there.

Do you honestly thing when they're building these establishments or plumbing them, they have a separate water line running to these spigots? No, the Health Department requires them to put that sign up since most people are spraying down their black tanks with that hose or same water.

We always filter our drinking water through multiple filters, so I'm never worried about this, but thought it would be good to put out there

There is also another item that is good to keep in the water kit - It's called a Water Thief - Camco 22484 Water Bandit

It is for those spigots or spouts that either have messed up threads, or a spout that doesnt have threads at all. You simply slide this over the end, and then have a threaded end to hook your hose to. We've had to use it a few times in our travels when finding places that had a hand pump located a ways away from the camper

 

[getout]

City parks always seem to have hose bibs around. You may want to pick up a water key from home depot since some places might have the ones that use a water key to keep kids from wasting water.

I'd be a little careful doing this. We have secondary, non-treated irrigation water in our city (and at our houses for sprinklers). We've also got a keyed hose bib that's hooked to the irrigation water and not the treated house water. If you're filtering it, it doesn't matter, but I'd hate to fill a 5 gallon container with what I thought was drinking water only to find out later on a big trip that it wasn't.

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

Our city uses gray water from the sinks at the school and the public bathrooms to water the lawns in the city park, so I'd be careful of city parks too.

Usually anything coming out of a building or house is going to be safe, but as a precaution, we always double filter everything. We have a whole house filter hooked to the hose when we fill the fresh tanks, and we filter the water again coming out of the tap just to stay safe