Water is one of the essential components in boondocking. Without water, you will struggle to perform the daily-basic activities like washing, cleaning, cooking, etc. Also, you need to have enough water for you to drink!
How could you manage all of it? By knowing the consumption metrics and also the preservation techniques! And that’s what we are going to explain in this blog post. So continue reading till the end.
Here’s How Long Will 20-100 Gallons of Water Last In An RV:
As a rule of thumb, each person needs about 2 gallons of water each day camping. So based on that, if only two people go camping, then 20 gallons of water will last nearly 5 days, whereas 100 gallons of water will last about 25 days.
| Water In RV:(Consumption) | For 1 Person(2 Gallons/day) | For A Couple (4 Gallons/day) | For A Family of 3 (6 Gallons/day) | For A Family of 4 (8 Gallons/day) |
| 20 Gallons | 10 days | 5 days | 3.3 days | 2.5 days |
| 30 Gallons | 15 days | 7.5 days | 5 days | 3.75 days |
| 40 Gallons | 20 days | 10 days | 6.7 days | 5 days |
| 50 Gallons | 25 days | 12.5 days | 8.3 days | 6.25 days |
| 60 Gallons | 30 days | 15 days | 10 days | 7.5 days |
| 80 Gallons | 40 days | 20 days | 13.3 days | 10 days |
| 90 Gallons | 45 days | 22.5 days | 15 days | 11.25 days |
| 100 Gallons | 50 days | 25 days | 16.7 days | 12.5 days |
Of course, this is just a general estimation. The actual water consumption can vary based on your water needs.
But overall, this gives a good rough estimation of how much water will last for how many days.
What Uses The Most Water In An RV?
You can generally consider 1 gallon for drinking purposes and the remaining 1 gallon for brushing teeth, washing, and cooking for each person each day.
On average, we can say that 2-4 gallons of water will be enough for most RVers.
In your home, tasks in which most of the water is used daily are taking long showers, washing the dishes, and flushing the toilet.
Did you know? On average, each American uses about 82 gallons of water a day at home.
If you are boondocking and thinking about the same consumption level, then really, you would have to forget how long your RV water will last 😛
So definitely, you would have to use water in the RV more conservatively. (Ahead in this post, you will learn some water conservation tips, so keep reading till the end)
In an RV (especially if you start using water conservatively – which you would most likely do), the most water usage will be for washing and drinking.
Toilets will use less water because you can use several techniques like re-using the gray water for flushing, setting up a composting toilet, or using the toilet facilities outside in your camping ground.
Classes Of RVs And Their Water Capacity (A, B, C, Fifth Wheel, Trailers)
On average, RVs can hold about 40-50 gallons of water. The amount of water it can hold mainly depends on the type of RV you are using. As a rule of thumb, a bigger RV can hold more gallons of water.
| Classes of RV | Water Capacity |
| Class A RV | 75-100 gallons |
| Class C RV | 35-60 gallons |
| Class B RV | 20-40 gallons |
| Fifth Wheel Trailers | 60-80 gallons |
| Small Trailers | 40-60 gallons |
[Source]
How to Preserve Water On An RV?
It is comparatively easy to maintain a continuous electric supply even when you are living off-grid because there are solar panels that can recharge your batteries.
However, there is no renewable option to top up your water supply in the RV so easily except for the rain. Therefore, water conservation becomes crucial in dry camping, especially with less water storage capacity.
Let’s see some of the best ways to preserve water on an RV:
#1. Reduce Shower Times And Take Shorter Showers
One of the first things you can do to preserve water in your RV is to take shorter and less frequent showers. You should make each shower count.
When you take a shower, you can turn it off while lathering. Then you can just rinse and dry yourself.
Unless you are really dirty, you can get away with using baby wipes. Also, you can use the sponge bath instead of taking a full shower.
#2. Prepare Foods That Need Less Water
You can cook foods that need the least water for preparation. And also, avoid the ones that need a lot of water. If you love food that requires lots of water, the best thing is to just enjoy its taste before going dry camping.
#3. Wipe Your Dishes Before Washing
While washing your dish, you can use a paper towel and just wipe out all the grease and excess leftovers from the dish prior to putting them in the sink.
You can also save your dishes so that you have to only wash them once a day. Avoid letting the tap water run while you wash the dishes.
#4. Make Use Of Disposable Dishes
Using the dinnerware will reduce the amount of waste produced overall. However, it is good to use disposable dishes to preserve water.
Of course, if you like to take your meals in your favorite dinnerware, you can’t do much in this regard 😉 But in case you are okay with switching to disposable dishes and cups, you can use them and trash them after every meal. No need to worry about washing the dishes anymore!
#5. Try To Wash Your Hands Wisely
While washing your hands, you can first wet your hands. Then shut off the water tap, soap up your hands, and rinse your hand.
Small-small tweaks can have a compound effect on your drive of successfully preserving the RV water.
#6. Start Using Hand Sanitizer
We have to wash our hands a couple of times in our day-to-day life. But the fact is lots of water is wasted just washing your hands.
So the best preservation tip in an RV would be to shift to another hand cleaning option. And therefore, you need to switch to a hand sanitizer.
You can buy hand sanitizer like these from here on Amazon. So, start using it while cleaning your hands instead of letting the tap water run.
#7. Use The Gray Water Again
In RV living, there are three types of water we have to deal with:
- Freshwater
- Gray water
- Black water.
As you may know already, most of the water that we use in an RV (except the water used in the toilet) is what we term gray water. In contrast, black water is the one used in toilets.
So when it’s time to preserve water, you can reuse the gray water for flushing the toilets.
#8. Use A Cup For Brushing
While brushing your teeth, you may generally let the tap run. But when you are serious about water, you can’t let that happen anymore. So instead, pour some water into a cup and then use it for brushing purposes.
#9. Try To Avoid Flushing The Toilet Paper
Every time you hit the flush, some water is sure to go to the drains.
When conserving water, it is vital to check each way you use water.
So rather than flushing the toilet paper, you can keep it in a sealable plastic bag that you can discard in the outdoor receptacle. Also, you can avoid flushing urine and instead add a waste odor neutralizer to your tank.
If any nearby toilet is available in your campground, you can also use it to decrease RV water usage.
10. Get Free Drinking Water From a Takeout Store
Most retail fast food stores across North America will give you free water if you ask.
If you’re in the city and have time, be sure to make several stops to get drinking water. This will save your onboard drinking water for when you are not near a drinking source of water.
RV Pro Tip: Starbucks has some of the best-tasting water due to its filtration process. Check out this article on Why Does Starbucks Water Taste So Good?
How To Replenish Water Supply Once You Run Out Of It?
If you have a very limited RV tank water capacity or your consumption is too high; unfortunately, the water won’t last long. So what to do in such a case? Yes, you have to replenish it. And here are some of the ways to replenish your RV’s water:
- Use the extra water you already carried with you in your RV.
- In your campground, look for communal faucets offering portable water.
- Use a portable bladder water tank to transport the water from the water source to your RV.
How Long Can Black Water Stay In An RV Tank?
All the waste from the toilet forms the black water. After you use your camper toilet, the waste and water from the toilet get collected and stored in the black water tank.
After a certain time and usage, the time comes when you need to flush the black tank.
Emptying the black water tank can be a hassle for you sometimes. But it is important to do it because, after all, it’s black water – toilet waste. So it is crucial to keep the systems working properly.
Storing the RV Black water in the tank as it is, is not a good idea. All of it can become smelly; the fecal matter can get stuck on the tank’s interior surface and the sensors. All of it can become hard to clean off later on.
As a general rule, you should empty and flush the black water once it is about 2/3 full. If there are only two people in your RV, it may last about a week or so.
However, if it takes a long time since you use rest stops or campgrounds, then there is no need to worry. You can wait until the tank gets 2/3 full. In general, we don’t recommend you to leave any substance in your black water tank for more than a week.
Final Thoughts
In short, you can expect about 2-4 gallons of water per person per day in an RV. If you are on the conservation side, then 2 gallons per person per day should do.
If you use only a couple of straightforward preservation methods, water consumption can be nearly 3.5 gallons per person per day.
However, if you are about to use water a bit luxuriously, we should say. For instance, if you take full showers and all of that, you should expect the consumption to be about 8 gallons of water per person per day.
We have already shared a detailed chart about RV water consumption based on your family size and tank water. We also shared some of the related information and water preservation tips. Hope all that helps you make an informed decision about your RV trip. Wish you all the best 🙂
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