Camco 40013 TastePURE KDF/Carbon Water Filter , Blue

Why it's worth it

This inline filter threads onto your fresh water hose and pulls out chlorine, sediment and the metallic edge that comes with a lot of campground spigots. Camco rates it for 200 gallons, which works out to roughly 10 to 15 fills of a typical travel trailer tank.

Campground water is a lottery. Some sites run clean municipal supply; some run well water through pipe that's been in the ground a very long time, and you find out which after the tank is already full. A KDF and carbon filter handles the two problems you'll actually notice — chlorine taste and fine sediment. Owners report clear ice cubes and drinkable tap water at sites where neither was true before.

Installing it takes about ten seconds. It screws in between the spigot and your hose, and that's the whole job. No tools, no permanent plumbing, nothing left behind when you break camp. If flow drops or the taste comes back, you unscrew it and put on a new one. That reversibility is why we'd point a first-time owner here before anything else on this list.

From our review of 7 rv accessories and camper upgrades, by Genevieve Dubois, Home & Living Expert

What we like

• +Campground water is a lottery
• +Installing it takes about ten seconds
• +The 200-gallon rating covers about a season of weekend camping for most people, less if you're full-time or filling a big tank

What to know

• –This is a taste-and-sediment filter, not a purifier
• –Flow drops off as the cartridge loads up, and nothing tells you when