Of all the essentials of RV life, clean drinking water is right at the top of the list. Getting water from the source into your RV requires a good RV water hose. Tempted to cheap out and throw a garden hose into your rig? Stop right there. A good RV water hose is one that’s certified as safe for drinking water—free of potentially harmful chemicals that still find their way into the manufacture of certain lawn hoses.
Other important attributes are an ability to handle varying water pressure, kink resistance and durability. RV water hoses come in common lengths of 10, 25, 35 and 50 feet. Length can certainly matter in some campsite scenarios, but the longest hoses eat up the most storage space while on the road. Our picks are for 25-foot hoses. If you want or need a shorter or longer hose, usually the manufacturer will have it and the pros and cons will be the same.
- Camco Premium : Best Overall RV Water Hose
- Teknor Apex NeverKink : Most Hygenic RV Water Hose
- Aqua Joe AJFJH25-58-PRO : Best Budget RV Water Hose
- Valterra AquaFresh High Pressure : Best High Pressure RV Water Hose
- Gilmour Marine and Recreation 12-50825 : Best Premium RV Water Hose
Camco is a well-regarded name in RV gear. A lot of that reputation comes from attention to detail. The Premium RV Water Hose is kink-resistant, thick, durable and specially treated to resist premature fading, aging and cracking from the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
- Kink-resistant
- UV-resistant
- Thicker and more durable than an average hose
- Bulky
- Stiffness makes it more difficult to store between uses
- Some buyers say the connectors are hard to grip
All of our choices meet federal drinking water standards. The Teknor Apex NeverKink goes beyond that with an anti-microbial treatment that inhibits mold and mildew growth, eliminating health hazards not only from synthetic chemicals but from nature. Owners praise the GripTite connectors and the reflex mesh construction—that’s why it lives up to the name “NeverKink.”
- Reflex mesh construction eliminates kinks
- Anti-microbial treatment inhibits mold and mildew
- Good connectors
- Fitting is plastic, not metal
- Hose is thinner than some others, prompting long-term durability questions
- Some owners say it deteriorates with prolonged UV exposure
A complete set of RV gear costs a lot of money. For those who need to economize, the Aqua Joe AJFJH-25-58-PRO is a solid choice. Without spending much more than a garden hose, you get a hose that meets federal drinking water standards, can handle high pressure and is easy to clean and durable.
- High-pressure rating
- Easy to clean
- Durable
- Some users say connectors are hard to grip and turn
- Flow is more restricted than in some competing hoses
- Reports of tangling in storage
All water hookups are not created equal. Widely varying water pressure is one of the givens of RV life. That makes a high-pressure hose a good thing to have. The Valterra AquaFresh High Pressure can handle up to 160 psi, has universal fittings and a contoured connector grip for easy hookups.
- Rated to 160 psi
- Universal fittings
- Contoured connector grip
- Reports of new hoses arriving with kinks
- Some buyers complain of leaks at the points of connection
- Owners say the hose is stiff (especially when cold) and hard to store
The Gilmour Marine and Recreation 12-50825 justifies its price (more than twice that of our budget pick) by building the most heavy-duty hose. With five-layer construction, durability is a given. It can handle up to 300 psi of water pressure and owners say they love the easy-grip couplings.
- Five-layer construction
- Rated to 300 psi
- Easy-grip couplings
- Pricey
- Five-layer construction makes hose stiff, making storage harder
- Some owners say it kinks easily
METHODOLOGY
In order to determine the best RV water hoses we considered the products most accessible to the widest swath of consumers in the U.S., which also includes performance, price and value. We also considered a broad range of end-user ratings and evaluations by multiple testers.