Shutting Off The Water While Away From Your RV. Yes or No?

[16WhiteColly]

We don't shut ours off an no issues. I will however turn the water off at the home if we are going to be away for 3 days or more.

I always shut the water off when leaving the RV. At home, I just shut it down to minimum, if not, I end up with rust clogged toilet valves when I turn it back on, due to the 1970’s galvanized pipes.

 

[Mike-NM]

Quote from another thread. "don’t leave your water hooked up if you are away from the trailer."

Do you shut off the water when your away from your RV?

No, if I am hooked up, but I normally shut off the pump if if not in use...why? Who knows, out of habit i guess. I will say this, I left my residence for a two week trip and thought about shutting off the main water but did not. I returned home a day earlier and the water heater started leaking from the top of the water heater. Good thing, I returned home one day earlier. Lesson learned, I will shut off the water in the future for any extended trips.

 

[Topperace]

I err on the safe side and turn the water off if we are out for extended periods of time - day trips...after working in the RV garage and seeing how "fragile" those PEX connections are - seem to leak every time I touch one...decided better to turn water off while not at site...

 

[DocBrown-JAY]

If we are gone from our trailer for an extended period, 8+ hours, or overnight. We'll shut it off. But otherwise no. And it's very, very rare that we would be away form the trailer for that long.

 

[Tunce the traveler]

My main concern is not the PEX but the toilet valve as it’s mechanical

 

[Marine71-76]

Wow...we have been camping since the late 70's and have never turned off the water. NEVER. After reading some of the comments, may have to reconsider. And yes, we have had water leaks but they were "minor" - no damage to the unit. And we do not turn off the water at home.

So after reading/replying to this, our luck just may change. Urg.

 

[jbagnall]

We are at a seasonal site and at best will make it one or two weekends per month. I always turn the water off when we leave, and it's my daughters job to turn it on right when she gets out of the car when we arrive. It's habit at this point.

I go even a step further - I drain the hot and cold water lines every time we leave as well. I don't want the water just sitting in there stinking up the lines. It takes about 15-20 minutes extra but it's the last thing I do before we leave. No weird smells in the water / lines since I started doing this a season or two ago.

 

[Travln2]

We shut off our rv water when away for a few hours. We shut off our water at home when gone for a week or more.
Our RV is much more likely to leak than our house. Just a dripping faucet or toilet would be a disaster in the rv.
Our grey tanks don't empty by gravity, due to a goofy loop they put on our drain line when installing the macerator. So anything that leaks into our tanks will not come out.

 

[LuckyDuck]

Why not turn it off? The only down side is the few seconds’ effort it takes. The big upside is assurance that you won’t have a flood disaster, even if the chances are slim. I use a “Y” connector with quarter-turn shutoff valves at the camp hose bib, so it takes virtually no effort to turn it off. I’ve seen enough things fail in trailers to resist gambling that we’ll never have a leak while we’re gone.

 

[Parcany]

We turn our water anytime we leave the trailer, don't care for how long it is turned off. Have seen to many people coming back home and open the trailer door and here comes the water. I have not had any problems cause we turn off the water. The stick and bricks doesn't travel down the road like a trailer does and if it did then I think that it would have many leaks. Only takes a few seconds to be safe.

 

[Bob K2]

Amazing that folks will shut off the water supply at a campground when you have the same piping (Pex) with less pressure (approx 40 -50 psi) than you do at home but they never dream of doing the same at home when pressure can be much higher.

I've seen enough poor RV build quality to fear a water catastrophe in a trailer long before I fear one at home. Sure, it's about odds. Perhaps the odds are low in both locations, but they're higher with a trailer than with a home.

Each to his own, I suppose. We all make different risk decisions based on undeclared assessments.

 

[Smokey613-FRF]

We always turn off the water to the rv when we leave for day trips.

 

[jacksons]

in over 30plus years of camping, never shut it off, never had a problem and don't plan to change

 

[Radar57]

Always turn it off when we leave the 5er. Do it somewhat to agrivate the DW but a lot because I'm a bit anaul. At home if we are going to be gone for a few days I turn the water off at the washing machine but nothing else. Make me feel better.