Hi ... I have an interesting conundrum (I don't think that's cussing) ... as shown in my hauler "rules" posted in overhead cabinet state in item 13 that I should "..keep water and holding tanks either empty or full when traveling."With the fresh water in my hauler being 120 gallons (2 interconnected 60 gallon) that would be close to 960lbs to haul around. As we almost always boondock or dry camp hundreds of miles from home, that would be too much to haul around ... but it is also sometimes next to impossible to find a place to water up within an hours drive of my destinations. Also, I don't need that much water anyway. Does anybody see any real issue with loading up about 40 gallons (obviously splits to 20g in each tank) for the road trip? I don't haul any toys so no big weight in the hauler other than 25g of gas in the rear tank ... which, by the way, the "rules" don't address. This is a dual axle 21' Nomad so I don.t think the 320lbs of water moving in the tanks directly above the axles would be an issue.

My gut says its not about the the weight, but the water sloshing around. That 320lbs moving around could cause the tanks to move and cause issues with the plumbing or it be dislodged entirely and fall out (that's happened to some, but usually they are mounted poorly to start with). The reality is that its 11 years beyond warranty so anything that happens is on you now. Since you don't need all the water is there a way to put in a valve between the two tanks and close one off? I have no idea how your pump, drain lines, etc. are set up on that model, but might be worth taking a look at.

I think the concern is sloshing within the tanks. I have not heard of a "rule" for full or empty before. I travel with all variables of full to empty. And of course sometimes your gray and black are going to only be partially full during boon docking until you get to dump station. I would not worry about it too much.

Often travel with 1/3 tank with no issues and also travel back often with pretty full black/grey tanks.

Sloshing is the problem. I once saw a TT lose it's fresh water tank when the driver was swerving in and out of traffic at faster than safe speed. The tank was 3/4 full. The straps holding down the tank broke loose and it slid through one of the sidewalls.I often travel with my fresh water tank full (100 gallons) and don't notice a difference in towing. The extra weight doesn't seem to make that much difference.

That seems like a nutty "rule" to me. The manufacturer expects you to fill up with 120 gallons of water for a quick weekend trip and then consume every single drop? I doubt your two waste tanks add up to 120 gallons, so that's a lot of outdoor peeing if you're going to abide by their "rule".Is there a valve (or can you install one) between the two tanks? It would be a lot easier to manage a full/empty 60 gallon tank.When we were new with our first TH twelve years ago I would try to drive to the destination empty and then fill up with water once we got there. It was such a hassle and it added way too much time to the drive. I would also dump unused water before driving home, but what a complete waste. After that I started using a gauge on the fill hose and fill up the amount of water I thought we needed based on the number of people, number of days, and how dirty I expected to get (showers?). That worked pretty well.

traveling with water | Good Sam Community

Strabo
Explorer
Mar 29, 2016
Think about this

If you happen to be pulled over, checked and weighed both TV and hauler, and your OVER WEIGHT.

Pull the fresh water dump handle..It's legal to allow 3 things eject or come off your rig, one of them is water. The other 2 are straw and then feathers.
kofire
Explorer
Mar 25, 2016
I think California is a bit unique in that a very large percentage of trailers going down the road are toyhaulers. Not to say other states don't have them by any means, my point bein they are commonplace in Ca. The water tank issue is a Non issue for the most part. Industry standard since mid 2000s on toyhaulers is minimum 100 gallons. My weekend warriors is 150 gallons. Plus 51 gallons of fuel.
I've had toyhaulers for 10 yrs. not a single issue or even thought given to towing full , half or empty. The tanks are low and designed correctly and I've never had an issue either way.
I'm aware of the baffle and water slosh issue but those are considerably larger tanks that sit considerably higher on the vehicle.
I'm sure some people dump whatever they don't use at their dry camping site but I prefer to leave water for the trip home. Especially towing back from havasu.
Kind of like lifted trucks and trailer. It's commonplace in California with no more problems then regular height trucks. It's completely normal here but it doesn't seem so in other states.
BigBlockTank
Explorer
Mar 24, 2016
At 8.34 lbs per gallon, that would make your tanks weigh in a few ounces over 1,000 lbs. Still, a lot of weight any way you look at it.
mr__old_style
Explorer
Mar 24, 2016
Y-Guy wrote:
mr. old style wrote:
I have plenty of tow vehicle (500 hp Kenworth) but I would never consider pulling any distance with full tanks cause I'm pretty sure the tanks would be gone by the time we got to destination.
Cyclone 3912

Are you saying you're Cyclone is that poorly built? I hauled full tanks with our Raptor all the time, when I had to, never had an issue.

Yes
Y-Guy
Moderator
Mar 24, 2016
mr. old style wrote:
I have plenty of tow vehicle (500 hp Kenworth) but I would never consider pulling any distance with full tanks cause I'm pretty sure the tanks would be gone by the time we got to destination.
Cyclone 3912

Are you saying you're Cyclone is that poorly built? I hauled full tanks with our Raptor all the time, when I had to, never had an issue.
mr__old_style
Explorer
Mar 24, 2016
I have plenty of tow vehicle (500 hp Kenworth) but I would never consider pulling any distance with full tanks cause I'm pretty sure the tanks would be gone by the time we got to destination.
Cyclone 3912
joebedford
Nomad II
Mar 24, 2016
lincster wrote:
If you are worried about hauling 150 gallons of water, you have the wrong tow vehicle.
In my case, it has nothing to do with the TV. Full water puts the TH over GVWR.
drittal
Explorer
Mar 24, 2016
It might be less about the effects of liquid surge on towing and stopping, and more about liquid surge in a flimsy plastic tank that sometimes is held to the bottom of your RV by means that may not be able to retain said tank under certain conditions.

I have read a few topics on water tanks drooping and having to reinforce how they are mounted.
Strabo
Explorer
Mar 24, 2016
lincster wrote:
This has been discussed before, but it was in the context of weight and if folks carry the extra weight.

If you are worried about hauling 150 gallons of water, you have the wrong tow vehicle.

I tow full every trip. Whatever is left after the trip is whatever. I tow home and dump it after I clean the trailer.

I refill our tanks when we get home.

EARTHQUAKE PREPARED ......Even with full tanks it won't last long, but it's better than no water at all, that's scary because now I gotta hunt for it.
Y-Guy
Moderator
Mar 24, 2016
dedmiston wrote:
Strabo wrote:
I hear Dave's new beautifull toyhauler holds a hot tub in the garage, i wonder how much water that holds? ;)

It's up on the roof. The supermodels need their sun.

How do they know when to duck while going under an overpass? Two honks of the horn?