We were at the Tampa RV show last weekend and saw several RV water softeners.  I inquired about these units and received tons of information.  Camping world sells 2 different kinds.  I was wondering if anyone actually has one of these.  If so, which one?  I have heard that having a softener is better for the plumbing in the RV's.
Thanks!!!

The Postal Pair

We uses the On The Go Softener and have for about 4 months now. Works great and provides plenty of soft water. Definetly better on the plumbing. I used to have to clean the shower head every 3 weeks before and have not had to do it since buying the softener. It has got to be better for the water heater. We bought our's direct from the factory but Camping world now sells them and they are cheaper. It takes a box of table salt to regenerate it. They tell you to pour the salt in and turn on the water till it comes out in a pencil stream. I have found that to be WAY to fast  but we have pretty hard water. I put in the salt and some Iron out and let it set for about an hour and then turn on the water so it just barely runs out and let it run for a couple of hours that way. We then get good service out of the softener. We go a week with no problems. I just now automatically regenerate it every sunday whether it needs it or not. It comes with a regulator that you can set for how many gallons you want to run thru it but the problem with that is when it hits the setting it SHUTS the water off. Tell me that would not be a little problem while showering! :)

Thanks Tmcblane, we are seriously considering the on the go softener.  We spend the good part of the year in Florida.  Hard water central!!!!
Thanks again for responding. 

Mary and Frank
The Postal Pair

We purchased the Travelsoft RV1200 from Camping World just over a month ago and have been very happy with it. We are currently in Mesa, AZ and has very hard water but what a difference it makes. Soap actually works again! hehe
This unit is larger than the "On The Go" softner and uses Solar/Rock salt. Although the water still tested fine, we recharged it after 2 weeks (full-timers).

Hope this helps,

-- Edited by RobertandShelly at 17:16, 2007-05-04

The  water softeners mentioned here are all outside portable units.
Does anyone have one  built in ........in the  basement ?
What  are the advantages, and disadvantages...if any?
Before we purchase one ...we are curious as to  which one  would be more 
of an advantage.
 Arlene

Thanks we didn't know about the benefits of water softeners.  We haven't had a problem as yet but we aren't really on the move yet either.  We will put this on our "to do" list.

In the almost 2 years we've been out we've been in 30 states and in over a hundred campgrounds, and I have to say we've never experienced water hard enough for us to say we have to do something about this. In our ecperience it's not a problem. Fred

I've got to agree with Fred. We have been from one end of the country to the other, and have not found hard water to be a problem.

Maybe I'm just lazy, but I tend to stay away from anything that adds set-up / take-down time when getting to or leaving a campground. I see campers taking hours to get set-up after arriving at a park, while I'm sitting under the awning enjoying a cold one, in usually less than 1/2 hour. 

We try to keep everything simple, and the more "stuff" you have the more complicated it is.

What you guys want to remember is it is not so much the taste or feel of the water but the protection of your water system, such as lines and faucets, water heater and bladder in your expansion tank if you use one. Depending on how hard the water is where you are collection of calcium and lime are pretty quick. This brings up how important it is to frequently to flush your water heater. :)