traveling with water in tank

katd47 wrote:
My husband happened to be talking to someone that said he travels with water in the tank just in case he needs to stop somewhere that doesn't have an available hookup. I can't see dragging all that extra water weight with us especially going up passes in Colorado. I think he's putting unnecessary strain on his engine during these climbs and it would probably cause the vehicle to drink gas. Because of my concerns I can't side with my husband as to this being a good idea. What do you wizened campers say?

I think it depends on WHAT type of RV you have.
A big Prevost? You couldn't even tell if that tank was filled to the top or empty!

Class C's where the CCC is a balancing act at best yes the added weight behind the axles can make a difference.

Towing a TT with maybe not the correct tow vehicle and a heavy TT? Yup a full tank of water would make a difference pushing even further over your recommend tow weight.

And not every RV has the same capacity fresh water tanks. Some are small and some are big. Added weight from Lbs per gallon will be different in all of them. Just saying.

I carry just enough to use while on the road for use of the bathroom and washing hands.

BUT....if the road I am on is real bad I might even stop and ADD fresh water to the tank for the extra weight,to keep my teeth from being rattled out by a bumpy road! :B

Always full for us. @ 45,000 lbs we are talking 1.5% additional weight. It's not going to affect my 7mpg, so the convenience of having plenty of water on board is well worth it to us.

We always take water with us to use on the road. My thought is if you are that concerned about that little of extra weight you may need to get a bigger TV.

Always full . Many times the water at campsites tastes weird to me . Think about it , why have a forty gallon tank if you are not going to use it . Carrying 20 or 30 extra gallons will weigh no more than your wife or two big dogs . Your truck and trailer will weigh 13 or 14 thousand pounds , do you really think 150 lbs of water will make any difference . SORRY for the rant , my brother weighs himself over three hundred pounds and he will not fill his water tank . I keep telling him to loose half his weight and fill his water tank !

How much water I carry depends on the trip and destination.. Normally I try to keep it down to just a few (10) gallons, enough for "emergencies" of the personal variaty (prevention of true emergency if possible). however on my big trip I generally top off at the start cause it's 800 miles before I get to another hydrant. And the campground I'm in right now is working mightely to fix their water issues (Boil advisory) so I arrived with tank full.. Looks like I'll be down to "Emergency level" before I leave. I'll likely fill the jerry can (additional six gallons) before I return in 3 weeks.

WoodGlue wrote:
Empty tankers, ask yourself the following question:

Would you travel anywhere with half a tank of gas to avoid these almost mythical "dreaded weight issues" ? The obvious and correct answer is no!

WoodGlue

Bad comparrison.

1) For starters we don't think twice about traveling with a half tank of gas. In fact the gas tank is always going to go below 1/2 before we fill up.

2) If I run out of water on the road so what? Having a few gallons to do stuff on the road is a very nice conveinience but isn't nearly as important as having gas fuel. Running out of gas would make for a very bad day. Running out of water is sort of like driving when you aren't camping.

AND- to make it even more interesting- lets say a 20 gallon gas tank and a 40 gallon water tank. that's 120 pounds versus 320 pounds...almost a 300% difference there.

Empty tankers, ask yourself the following question:

Would you travel anywhere with half a tank of gas to avoid these almost mythical "dreaded weight issues" ? The obvious and correct answer is no!

WoodGlue

Thats_Ok wrote:
...I figure the weight over the trailer axles will help stabilize anyhoo...

My tank is ahead of the axles and on the left and I can see the trailer lean a little when it's full...

We always travel with a full tank. The weight is negligible and I trust my water. Never know what you will get in the campground.

poppin_fresh wrote:
I am new to RVs and this weekend while filling and sanitizing my system I noticed that the fresh tank seems to sag a lot when full. Is this normal for the tanks to do this under load? Seems like there is a lot of trust in those straps holding it up?

Jon

No worries Jon, good that you have a concern for something that seems "off" though!

WoodGlue