Honestly you should take anything I say with a grain of salt because I am NO expert. I am only researching to the best of my knowledge for my family.
Rv water from the tanks is not safe to drink. Water coming from other places is also a concern. What is in the water I am drinking? How often has the water been tested? Those kind of questions come to mind.
Since becoming ill, my mind has become very health conscious of a lot of things. Our bodies are a huge percentage water! So the water you're drinking will in fact have an impact on your over all health, whether small or large depending on the person and their susceptibilities and areas of weakness.
Anyways, I don't need to go into a big spill about it, but I do want the healthiest and safest alternative for my family. And traveling in different areas, you never know what you're going to get.
I am still researching and keeping a lookout, but this is what we've decided to do so far...
The first one is for the exterior part of the RV. There are a lot of options for that, I really only went with this one because of positive reviews, we'll see how it works:
"Camco's EVO Premium RV Water Filter reduces bad taste, odors, sediment, bacteria, chlorine and much more. It includes the filter housing, one extension hose and one replaceable premium spun polypropylene filter cartridge. Filtration begins with water traveling through the porous shell with openings no greater than 5 microns in diameter. Filtered water passes through a bed of KDF and GAC (granulated active carbon) for further filtration and bacteria control. The result is fresh, clean, great tasting drinking water straight from your tap. It connects externally to your RV's fresh water hose connection. The filter typically lasts one camping season. CSA low lead content certified. Complies with California’s AB1953 and Vermont Act 193 Low Lead Laws"
The next ones we put more thought into. These are the ones we'll be hooking up underneath the sink so it will be cleaned after going through the rv pipes.
This one includes Activated Alumina and Bone Char, which is said to help eliminate fluoride from the water- However I failed to call or make sure that there was a filter AFTER the Alumina so that you don't get aluminum in the water too- :/
- High Quality Bone Char, Catalytic Carbon, Activated Alumina, Resintech CG10-H, Resintech SIR-900, and KDF 55 for effective multi-stage filtration
- This combination of filtration media possesses capabilities to attract and adsorb radioactive particles such as Plutonium, Cesium-137, 134, Iodine-131, Strontium-90, and other positively charged ions
- Estimated to last 6 months / 300 gallons depending on water quality and usage
- The refillable filter cartridge is also eco-friendly for easy filter media replacement
- Made in the USA
The last one below is to filter our hot water:
10 Inch Heavy Duty High Temperature Hot Water Filter Housing. This heavy duty filter housing is designed to filter domestic hot water. The specially engineered design can withstand temperatures of 200 degrees. The inlet / outlet is 3/4 inch NPT and the flow rate is 7 GPM. A spanner wrench is included for easy periodic cartridge replacement. This filter has the Buttress head design which provides superior sealing with greater security. Specifications: for use with industry standard size cartridge 2.5 inch O.D. x 10 inch flow rate 7 GPM temperature range 40-200 degrees F pressure range 20-125 psi actual housing dimension: width 5 inch x 13 inch made from FDA grade polypropylene Butress Threads provide superior sealing and higher burst ratings than the square threads found on most housings. Because of this, the US company that first created standard housings, in recent years decided to improve their product by replacing square threads, with buttress threads.
The last thing I am using is a Aqua Rain filter. I've had in in storage for emergencies but have never used it. We'll keep it out for easy water access for the kids and us to drink.
There's kind of a debate between the Aqua Rain and Big Berkey filters from what I've read. The Berkey filters have had several units that failed and they didn't do a recall .
Also their customer service is pretty rude from what I've read, but that may or may not be just a small group of people who had trouble. But nonetheless I already had an aqua rain anyways. We'll see how well it works.
I'd rather be over safe then under safe.