Making an in-line water filter for your camper.

julius0377

Adventurer
Thought I'd share how I made a cheap and easily replaceable in-line water filter for my RV (camper). Lot's of campers already make their filtration systems in similar ways, so this post is for those who are starting out in the water filtration world...

The initial thought was to install a water filter inside the camper, right after the intake, and filter all the water coming into the system. A filter (almost) always slows down the filling process, so I thought maybe I could do it more cheaply and effectively as an outside add-on, that I could choose when to use.

I wanted to keep things on a budget, with easy to find/replace parts. This is what I came up with:

* One RK-Reich "Aqua active carbon filter Art. Nr. 533-2050"
* One SHURflo "twist-on water strainer Art. Nr. 255-213"
* One Gardena (or Hozelock/similar) type 900 fitting for G1/2 screw in connection
* One length of Food Grade hose with 12,5 mm diameter (13 mm is also good), as long as you like, but between 1/2 and 2 metres is good
* One hose clamp of a small variety that can close around a 12,5 or 13 mm hose
* One gardena type 915 coupling (or Hozelock/similar) for 12,5/13 mm hose
* One HEOSolution RV/Camper Wassertankdeckel with connector, Art. Nr. 5238

The RK-Reich filter comes with some brass fittings that fit both the filter as well as the SHURflo strainer and the HEOSolution lid. However these need a large contact area to squeeze against a seal, so should only be used on the filter itself. For the HEOSolution lid and SHURflo strainer we use gardena connectors that fit right on. Observe that all the bits and pieces are "hand tighten" only!

If you look at the picture below, you will see how it all connects. Both the RK filter and the Strainer have arrows to show the direction of the water flow, so be careful to observe this when you mount it all together. The finished item is easy to mount between your RV/camper and a normal hose, so you can choose when to use it or not...

The HEOSolution lid fits almost all european type campers, and is optional. It keeps the hose in place if you don't want to stand around while the tank is filling up. The strainer is good for keeping larger particles out of the more costly filter prolonging its lifetime.

There are good options to the RK-reich filter from SHURflo and other manufacturers. It was just the one I found at my dealer. If you find that it takes too long to fill up, you can "lower the resistance" of the filter by adding more of these using gardena triple connectors and allow water to pass through several filters at once, this increases the overall price so looking at other options with a higher flow rate may be useful.

The prices are about (in euro):
45,- for the filter
10,- for the strainer
17,- for the lid
plus a bit for the hose and connectors.

AJB_2571.jpg

Updated to remove reference to use of garden hose. Use Food Grade hose instead!
 
Last edited:

Outback

Explorer
Thank you. I am starting out my "design" phase of my camper build. This would be a great way to fill the main tank. I will also have a filter inside before the exhaust but wanted to have pre filtered water to start out with. Thanks.
 

Alastair D(Aus)

aging but active
Julius,
Do not use garden hose it will leach chemicals into the water that are carcinogenic and just taste bad. You can buy food grade hose in the same size - usually blue with a white inner layer.
 

julius0377

Adventurer
Julius,
Do not use garden hose it will leach chemicals into the water that are carcinogenic and just taste bad. You can buy food grade hose in the same size - usually blue with a white inner layer.

Good tip! Thanks.

Every european camper I have ever seen uses garden hose, and its also what's attatched to water taps at campsites, so seems like this info needs spreading! For my own "bring along" hose a food grade version is now on order :)
 
Last edited:

Forum statistics

Threads
185,533
Messages
2,875,598
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top