I don't have a water softener in my RV, but have had one in my home for several years. It's probably the one appliance that will actually pay for itself. It saves a lot of detergent, soap, shampoo, etc, not to mention the real savings in how long appliances like dishwashers, water heaters, and washing machines will last. It's also good for faucets, strainers, and shower heads. There are benefits for hair and skin also.
To do it right, it's a little more than plug and play. You need to have an idea on the hardness of the water you're using. Regenerating the the media beads in the softener is a required maintenance item. The frequency of the regen is a product of water hardness and gallons used. The newer home units allow you to enter the hardness and it will calculate gallons it can soften between regen cycles and do it automatically when needed. The RV units don't offer this feature and you will have to do some calculations or testing to schedule your regen cycles which have to be manually done on these.
For a temporary location, it's not worth having a lab test the water. There is a possibility the water utility can supply that information, or there are some test kits on the market that seem to do a good job. Here's one:
https://www.amazon.com/Hardness-Aqua...zcF9hdGY&psc=1
The goal is to stay <1.5 grains per gallon, this kit will do several tests. Don't waste your money on the paper strips, they are useless. 1.5 grains per gallon is the low end of hardness, I had my water lab tested before I bought the softener and it was >15 gpg; 10 times the low end!
I believe the RV units have to remove the tank, pour in some table salt and backflush with a water hose to do the regen cycle. If you don't monitor the hardness and do the maintenance, over time it will just become a tank occupying space in your storage area.
I would highly recommend calling US Water Systems in Indianapolis. These folks actually have extremely knowledgeable and helpful humans that answer the phone and are willing to spend as much time needed to answer your questions. They sell a small softener for RVs and boats that has a filter housing attached. Theirs has a backflush kit that comes with it that I believe would be extremely helpful. The filter housing is 2.5" X 10" and it's a very common size for elements. I would highly recommend a 5 micron sediment element before the softener. Those filters many of us use that go on your supply hose are 20 micron and are a little coarse. I believe their products are US made too.
A couple of considerations: Be aware of the capacity of the softener in flow rate. Many of the RV models are 2 GPM which might be a little restrictive if you have a shower head that will actually pass 2.5 GPM. There are 3.0 GPM models available. The other thing is taste; some people claim they can taste salt in the water, I personally can't but might just be my taste buds. I have installed RO units in my home and RV and use that water for drinking & cooking. The only time that only soft water goes in my mouth is brushing my teeth.
An RO (reverse osmosis) unit is a good companion to a softener, but should be another thread.
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