Aside from comfort and function, an essential aspect of living out on the road, whether you're full or part-time, is having access to fresh drinking water in your RV. The primary source for your potable water comes from the variety of faucets around your rig. From the lavatory to the galley, these fixtures are a fixture in your rig for a reason. With these critical pieces being your access point to something as vital as your water source, you'll want them to be reliable, attractive, and durable, so you're not replacing them every time you turn around. From brush nickel galley faucets to shower diverters made of durable ABS plastic, welcome to the RecPro line of faucets.
There are many reasons why RecPro should be your first choice when you are planning on replacing or upgrading your RV faucets:
1. Price
Price is always important when it comes to making any decisions about your RV. Whether you're running on a budget, or you have unlimited funds to pour into your recreational vehicle, it makes sense to save money when and where you can. RecPro makes sure to buy the highest-quality items possible, but at the lowest pricing so savings can be passed on to our customers. Strategic buying practices help to keep our company's prices at a minimum where most competitors use the "get the most you can at the cheapest cost" method. We prefer quality helping us to sell quantity. Happy customers make life-long customers is what we believe at RecPro.
2. ANSI Certified
The American National Standards Institute serves as a coordinator for the private business sector in the United States for over 90 years as a voluntary standardization system. According to ansi.org, "ANSI coordinates the U.S. voluntary consensus standards system, providing a neutral forum for the development of policies on standards issues and serves as a watchdog for standards development and conformity assessment programs and processes. The federation also accredits qualified organizations, whose standards development process meets all of ANSI's requirements, to develop American National Standards. However, ANSI itself does not develop standards. Besides, ANSI represents U.S. interests in regional and international standardization activities while overseeing conformity assessment activities that promote the global acceptance of U.S. products, services, systems, and personnel."
The long and short of it is, when you're buying any hardware for your unit, you want to make sure it is ANSI certified. The guarantee that your manufacturers are adhering to codified standards will give you peace of mind in the long run.
3. Quality
When we say we take time in our strategic buying process, we mean it. Our research and development department works closely with our purchasing division to create, or source, the best products for our customers. The balance of style, looks, and construction has to be just right for RecPro to build, or invest time in, a product for our customers. While this is the standard for all products we offer, when it comes to plumbing fixtures, this is especially true. If you're new to the RV world, the plumbing situation is a bit different than what you would experience in your brick-and-mortar home. Some examples of the differences:
Temperature variance: Unless you live in Indiana/Michigan area where it can be snowing in the morning and 85° in the afternoon, the temperatures your home are pretty static. The shifts with the seasons are gradual, and your home/plumbing can compensate for the change in temps. If you are traveling in your RV, depending on where you are, you can be in the midst of a blizzard and a few short hours your further south and driving in the sunshine with the windows open. These kinds of broad shifts in temperature can wreak havoc on your RVs internal operating systems. Especially the plumbing and its fixtures. These fluctuations cause expansion and contraction (depending on the temperature variance and the type of plumbing material used), and the rapid changes can cause excessive wear that your home would not see except over an extended amount of time.
Pressurized water source: This is a tricky one. Your water sources in your RV are housed in your potable water tanks. They are not pressurized in all of the lines. Most RVs have water pumps that supply water to your faucets and shower heads. Other times they are operated by a hand or foot pump. This means you have air in the lines and pipes that are pressurized and not pressurized daily while you're in your rig. This means they are under a different set of stresses than the pipes in your home and they need to be sturdy. You want a solidly constructed water system from the tank to the faucets so you can avoid failures that may occur with lower-grade products.
Size variations: While there are standard sizes in the RV world, the faucets are not. They have specialized builds that don't fit your average home, so they need to be made to fit your recreational vehicle. The faucet selection, especially the ABS plastic pieces from RecPro, are made to fit almost universally within the lavatories in the RV world. They can be used for home usage, but some of our fixtures may require some modifications on the part of the consumer to be able to fit home applications.
4. Design
From the rustic look of our satin black 4" RV Faucets to our galley-style brushed nickel pull-out faucets, we offer a complete spectrum of selections for your recreational vehicle, trailer, or home. Our organic faucet profiles are designed to blend seamlessly into your interior. If you're trying to build a theme in your rig, it's the small touches that make all the difference.
Imagine, in your RV's bathroom; you have rich mahogany trim all over the lavatory with a brand-new set of decorative LED lights from RecPro illuminating the area with their warm glow. The room is stylish and comfortable except the clunky sink fixture breaking up the motif. There is a right way to do things and a wrong way. Make sure you're going with the right designs so those small touches don't become big eyesores that you will have to replace sooner rather than later.
5. Durability
In many OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) RVs the material used (even in the more expensive Class A rigs) can be quite cheap. While the manufacturer can't be blamed too harshly for trying to cut corners to remain profitable, the result is a customer base with sub-par implements in their recreational vehicles. Low-density plastic fixtures that flex and bend when you put any pressure on them are commonplace in many of the units rolling off of the line.
Our lines of faucets are made to last for the long haul in your RV. Not just for part-time users, but full-time live-in enthusiasts who use their recreational vehicle as their home. Even our hybrid pieces that combine solid metal frames and internal plastic construction to avoid corrosion and cracking that you find with the all-metal fixtures that get heavy use in full-time units. These combination fixtures also help (aside from preserving the life of the faucet) to lessen the weight in the unit of the vehicle. Yes, a pound of metal left out of a fixture may not seem like much, but when you combine it with a couple of hundred other accessories in your unit, it can add up.
We've explained why our faucets are second to none. The quality, price, and design are well beyond many competitors in the field. But there's more to faucets than just quality and design. There are years of knowledge in the area of plumbing that helped us to decide which faucets would be best to offer our customers. We know that not all faucets are created equally and there are many variations out there in build and design. Knowing the difference in fixtures might help you make a clear decision before you make your purchase:
Vessel – This typically single-handled faucet is meant to complete a vessel-styled sink. These are a higher profile basin and fixture which allow for easier filling access for vessels such as pitchers, tubs, jugs, and buckets.
Centerset – These faucets combine a spout and set of handles on one unit. Some offer two handles onto a six-inch platform (plate), but the standard model has three holes with handles that are four-inches apart. The centerset faucet is one of the most popular models on the market and applies to many of the available RV sinks.
Wall-Mounted – Not your typical faucet the wall-mounted fixture takes specialized plumbing and placement to work in any environment whether it is your home, RV, or other living space. These are available for above-the-counter or free-standing basins that require a longer spout for an extended presence in your sink area. When thinking about placing a wall mounted fixture you generally won't be working with pre-drilled holes, again, requiring wall-mounted plumping and drain for installation.
Single-Hole – The chameleon of the faucet family the single-hole fixture can have a multitude of designs, builds, and functionality. You can find these faucets with a single or dual-handle set-up function. If you find yourself wanting to install a single-hole faucet, but are working with pre-drilled (three-hole profile) sinks or countertops, there are plates available to cover the unused openings.
Widespread – This is a faucet that works very well with the standard three-hole profile basins. These are three-piece units with the two handles and a spout, as with standard profile faucets, but the significant difference being that the handle spacing can be anywhere from four to eighteen inches, depending on the application. Many of these fixtures can be found in industrial areas, restaurants, and retail establishments.
The internal functionality should make a difference when purchasing for your home or RV. Faucets internal components range from very simple to extremely complex builds. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Depending on the model you get, and the type of water you have, you could be replacing your internal components (or your faucet entirely) every few years, or be worry-free for years to come. Here are a few of the builds to consider purchasing:
Ball Faucets – Just like the spigot attached to the home that you grew up drinking out of, this simple one-piece turn-based faucet is a standard functioning piece that is very low maintenance, and great at controlling water volume.
Ceramic Disc – Two extremely flat ceramic discs turn in alternating directions controlling volume via the openings in the discs. This faucet is virtually waterproof as the discs are machined into tight flat tolerances the ceramic is a durable material that resists breakdown.
Compression Valve – A beveled head rises and falls within the access port controlling the flow of water through the faucet. These faucets, while the most common on the market, tend to break down the most with the beveled heads wearing down faster than the rest of the unit.
There you have it. You know the differences in faucets, their internal workings, and what you can find at RecPro. If you need any further help picking your fixture, don't hesitate to call our customer care department and ask for assistance.
RV FAUCETS
Features:
- Brushed nickel and satin finishes
- Non-corroding internal components
- Stylish design
- Metal faucets feature sweeping arched design
- Ergonomic handles for easy turn function
- Diverter faucets feature a high-density plastic body
- Backed by RecPro warranty
- Spot-resistant finishes
