What’s a Water Bandit? And Is It Really Stealing?

Access to water is among the most significant concerns of everyone everywhere, and this concern is not lost on those of us who travel from place to place. Some of us travel deep into the wilderness and out into the desert, often camping in extremely remote locations. But all of us have in common a need to be assured of a supply of water wherever we are. And that’s why we’ve decided to create a post focused on the Water Bandit.

What’s a Water Bandit and What Does It Do?

The Water Bandit, a product of Camco, is a small, flexible sleeve made of silicone polymer. Its purpose is to stretch to fit on the end of virtually any standard water spigot or faucet so that a standard hose can be attached to that water source and delivered to your RV’s fresh water tank (or wherever you need it).

You may expect that the standard water hose you carry with you in your RV will fit on any spigot or faucet, but that is never a guarantee. If the water source you have access to is damaged, has stripped threads, or (surprisingly common) no threads at all, the Water Bandit will allow you to connect to that water source regardless of those flaws.

Also, if you’re at a water source to which your hose can connect but the connection is so poor that more water hits the ground than enters your tank, the Water Bandit can come to your rescue.

And, finally, if the only water source near you has a damaged spigot, trust us, you’ll be happy to have a Water Bandit handy. It will mean the difference between driving away with no water, or filling your fresh water tank as usual and carrying on with your day.

Why Would You Want a Water Bandit?

Let’s take a look at the reasons why having a Water Bandit in your bag of tricks is a very good idea. We’ve carried one with us for years. And although we don’t need it often, all it takes is a single use to make it worth having on board.

Easily Connects to Any Standard Spigot, Faucet, or Hose

As mentioned above, a Water bandit allows you to easily connect your standard water hose to any standard spigot, faucet, or another hose. This even includes spigots that have no threads at all and spigots and faucets that are damaged.

Can Eliminate Leaks and Spraying

If your water source and your hose are unable to make a clean connection, you’re going to have a lot of leaking and spraying, and a lot of wasted water (not to mention a muddy area around your RV).

The Water Bandit can give you a more secure connection to eliminate those leaks.

Can Connect to a Faucet to Give You Warm or Hot Water

You can also use your Water Bandit at home, to connect to many styles of water faucets, so you can access warm or hot water.

For example, if you need to fill a kiddie pool and you don’t want to fill it with freezing cold water for your child to play in, you can simply attach the Water Bandit to your kitchen sink’s faucet, and mix the water temperature or add hot water to a very cold pool.

Of course, there are limits to a hot water supply, unless you have an RV tankless water heater like our new Truma AquaGo on-demand unit.

If you’ve got a large fish aquarium in your home, you know that after cleaning your aquarium, filling it with completely cold water is not an option – not if you want your fish to survive. So, here again, you can mix the hot and cold water to your desired temperature, and run your hose from a home faucet over to your aquarium, while monitoring the temperature of the water.

How Much Does a Water Bandit Cost?

For a piece of RV gear that can be so important when it’s needed, the Water Bandit is a real bargain. Amazon’s current price at the time we’re writing this post is $7.50. For that price, it’s well worth having in your RV’s supply kit.

It’s small, lightweight, and can fit in your pocket. For a cost of under 10 bucks, there’s no reason not to keep a Water Bandit on hand, just in case you have a need for it. Because you will sooner or later!

Can I Use a Water Bandit If a Spigot Has No Threads?

You’d be surprised how many state and national parks have water spigots with no threads at all.

The question in our title “…and is it really stealing?” comes about from this very situation. If you encounter a non-threaded water spigot, it may be because it’s not intended as a water source to connect to a hose for filling an RV’s water tank, or for other large-volume needs.

We’re not encouraging the “theft” of water from a spigot that’s not intended to fill your RV’s fresh water tank. They’ve likely installed those threadless spigots to prevent RVers from simply hooking up their rigs to a communal water source. So, we discourage fellow RVers from abusing the use of the Water Bandit for this purpose, especially if other campers are waiting for their turn at the tap.

But in an emergency, if you need water, the Water Bandit will allow you to do this even at a thread-free spigot. 

Can I Use a Water Bandit For Potable Water?

Absolutely.

Camco’s Water Bandit is low-lead certified to NSF/ANSI 372 standards.

For more information on safe drinking water in your RV, you can have a look at our post, and if you’d like to see exactly how we get always-safe drinking water in our RV, (yes we drink the water from our fresh tank), have a look at our YouTube video.

Can a Water Bandit Be Used With Water Under High Pressure?

The Water Bandit is NOT intended for use with high-pressure water sources.

In fact, the Bandit blowing off or breaking (rubber splitting) are the most common complaints about this product.

However, some users have had success attaching the Water Bandit to a spigot using a small hose clamp around the Bandit, or holding it firmly with their hands while using it — just not at full pressure.

The majority of Amazon reviewers, however, report being satisfied with the Water Bandit, and we are, too.

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For important related information, be sure to have a look at our post “Does My RV Need a Water Pressure Regulator?”

Additional Uses for the Water Bandit

Reviewers note having also used the Water Bandit successfully on their RV macerator pumps and black tank flush hoses. If you’ve got an RV black tank flush, you may be able to use your Water Bandit in this way as well.

Conclusion

The Camco Water Bandit is well worth having in your RV, particularly for occasions when you might otherwise be prevented from obtaining water due to a damaged, stripped, or broken spigot. It’s small, lightweight, cheap, and when you really need it, indispensable.

The cost to try it is very low, especially in light of around 70% 4- and 5-star Amazon reviews, and our personal experience, too. Have you found an additional use for your Water Bandit that we haven’t even thought of? Please share in the comments below!

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