The good news, you don't have to drink it. Almost everywhere sells bottled water in flats of 24-48 bottles, which can be easily stored in your camper van.So, why not just use the tank water ?Well, one reason is you don't really know what has been inside your water tank, even if your rig is brand new, you don't know the exact history, some chemical or toxin could have been introduced at any point along the chain, any of the miles of pipes, both before and inside your rig and of course, who knows how clean the water is you're putting in to begin with.It's probably (if you're being careful!) ok to use for washing dishes, showering and even brushing your teeth.Here are some things to remember:

1) Always consider the source when you fill your tank with water. Not all places are the same. If you wouldn't trust a place to serve you food, why would you trust that same place to supply your water (a gas station for instance). Select places carefully, ideally, your own home and reputable RV parks, etc.

2) Never use a "garden hose", buy and use a potable water specific hose (and keep it dedicated to ONLY drinking water, don't use it to flush your tanks or connect to the spray nozzle cleaning port on your rig, etc) Here's our personal favorite, this hose does NOT expand/contract but collapses cleanly and makes storage easy. Most importantly, it's certified as Drinking Water Safe and made from Lead Free materials (many others are NOT) https://amzn.to/3vpiu0U

This one works great as a general purpose, flushing tanks, etc hose: (it even has a spare shower head which can come in handy): https://amzn.to/3eE0FVF

Also, a hack we've found to save lots of time (and wet hands) is this set of cool brass Quick Connect fittings, we just leave one at each inlet and use the corresponding quick connector to hook up. Saves so much hassle when you're hooking up or disconnecting your rig. https://amzn.to/30G0Wj1

3) Don't overfill your tank, and don't leave water in it for storage (about a week is the most you want to leave stagnant water sitting in your tank.

4) Treat the water in your tank, especially when storing longer term, with -- you guessed it -- household (unscented) bleach. Follow the instructions - but most experts and health officials suggest a mixture of 8 drops of bleach to a gallon of generally clear water for best results., but don't forget the water is likely already treated at the source, so adjust accordingly. You can buy a separate product designed for this specifically, such as this one here: https://amzn.to/3ctY51R

5) Any Van Life person will tell you that one of the appeals about being mobile, on the road and in a compact living space is the particular benefit to the environment by reducing our consumption overall. So, many true Van Life followers bristle at the idea of buying bottled water at a store. For some, investing in a water filter makes more sense, the most popular of these of course is the Berkey Water Filter, the travel size is what we use and it's a game changer. Contact us for a discount code if you're interested in ordering one.