Fresh Water tanks on new RV's

I believe with water you use whats available. We lived on a boat in the Carib for thirteen years and never ran out of water , it carried 29 gallons . Then we bought a 49 foot ketch , carried 450 gallons of water , we ran out a couple times a month !

travelnman wrote:
Has anyone noticed the new RV's have small fresh water holding tanks?
We were about to buy new when I noticed the fresh water tank on a new
30 ft RV was 36 gallons. We would use that up in one weekend and then
have to carry five gal jugs maybe three or more blocks. Have they
ever tried to pour five gals into a four inch hole, its not fun. I bought my last RV because it had 60 gal capacity. What are these manufacturers thinking? We spent an entire day looking at new TT and some even had 30 gal capacity. If the idea is to travel lighter how much more does a empty sixty gal tank weigh over a thirty. Unless they think to be a happy camper you have to travel with full tanks I don't see a reason for it. All of them are doing it. We usually leave a few gals in the tank for the dog and emergencies then fill up at the campground before going to the site. Would anyone let a child
use the outside shower when you only have thirty gals, so what is the
outside shower for? I think common sense has gone out with the sixty gal tank and been replaced with a stupid idea. Our salesmen was a little surprised himself but wanted to ignore the whole issue and get on with the sale. We walked. Our 2008 Springdale is looking
pretty good these days with its sixty gal tank, we can only imagine
the line up at the water supply for owners of new RV's.

My new Open range has an 85 gallon tank but it is basically useless. Fresh water tank problems.

travelnman wrote:
Has anyone noticed the new RV's have small fresh water holding tanks?

Nope, any I've owned have been in the 30 - 40 gal range, which works just fine for me. I sanitize and pressurize the trailer's water system at the beginning of the season, it remains that way throughout the season, and I always carry some water in the FW tank so we can use that system anywhere, at any time, whether camping or otherwise. Occasionally, at the very beginning or very end of the season when campground water supplies may be turned off I'll travel with a full tank, otherwise it's unnecessary. I carry four 7 gal Aquatainers in the back of the truck so I can retrieve more fresh water at my convenience and have a transfer pump system mounted on the trailer that allows me to transfer that water into the trailer's FW tank, again at my convenience. Since I usually dispose of waste water at the same time I'm collecting fresh water a larger FW tank wouldn't serve me any advantage at all. I suppose if we camped in the desert where FW supply was 100 miles away I might care ... but we don't so for me tank size is a non-issue.

Golden_HVAC wrote:
For full time use, I was thinking of either putting a 35 gallon fresh water tank into the truck I pulled the fifth wheel with, or install a 20 gallon tank into the back of the car that we might tow. Either way, a 12 volt pump powered by the car battery would fill the RV tank.

I have one of these - Fresh Water 45 Gallon Bladder - easy and folds up to the size of a small tarp.

I've used it on top of the truck and gravity flow to fill my tank in campgrounds where the water fill was close. I've also used it in the bed of the truck when I had to drive over 100 yards to the water fill. You don't want 45 gallons of water sliding off the truck roof.

My theory -

RV manufacturers figure most people camp w/ full hookups so large water tanks aren't needed. Add that to the cost of big tanks and the extra bracing needed vs the small number of campers who camp w/o hookups, and you have the justification for small tanks. BTW - "36 gallon" FW tank usually includes 6 gallons for the water heater that you can't access.
We've gone 10 days camping at a cg sans hookups. I've got my system for replenishing the fresh water and hauling away the gray.

Yes I have noticed this also. The only newer MH that I found with a 100 gal FW tank in the 30-34 ft range is the Daybreak.

Jayco with Elite package is 88 gallons fresh water.

I would think that there would be some with a larger tank, interesting. I do believe some travel with water and to keep the weight down the tanks are smaller. Also the loaded weight over dry weight is not that great on some trailers so the tanks need to be smaller.

I am not sure what size tank I have, I only use it at the beginning of the season when sanitizing the entire system. They rest of the season I am at a full hook up site or the trailer does not leave the driveway.

Back in 1997, I was able to buy a Fleetwood Bounder with a standard 100 gallon fresh water tank! Then in 2002 and later they started having Cargo Carrying Capacity ratings, so they have a CCC after all the tanks are full. (Fuel, propane, fresh water, and water heater).

So manufactures have learned for a better and higher CCC, they can install a 50 gallon and smaller tank, then have a higher CCC by 100 pounds or so!

You can fill all the 5 gallon tanks when you arrive and then not need to walk back and forth to the fresh water. However you probably also have a 50 gallon grey water tank, not one large enough to handle 75 gallons of fresh water.

I used a siphon to refill my fresh water tank - yes I could spend 3 weeks in one spot, and take daily showers, so I would pick up water while out sightseeing. I could hang the 5 gallon tank from my ladder, the fresh water fill was near it. Or put it on my bike rack.

Some ways to conserve fresh water - I had a tub, so collecting 2 gallons after a shower was easy, and I could use a dishpan to refill a 1 gallon jug, then use that to flush. Or put some of the water into the black water tank (mine is 52 gallons for some reason).

You can use a dishpan while doing dishes, and most campgrounds can accept a small amount of water on the grass, but not if the place is to crowded.

I have not used a blue 'tote tank' in the 20+ years of camping. I would rather just go to the dump station and dump both tanks at once, and refill with water then.

At one campground, I bought 6 each 50' drinking water hoses. These allowed us to hook up to a distant fresh water line. My neighbor also filled his fresh water tank at the same time.

For full time use, I was thinking of either putting a 35 gallon fresh water tank into the truck I pulled the fifth wheel with, or install a 20 gallon tank into the back of the car that we might tow. Either way, a 12 volt pump powered by the car battery would fill the RV tank.

Tank-Depot.com

Have fun camping!

Fred.

Our TT has a 35 gallon for family of 8, yes when we don't have water hook ups we have to haul a lot of water. I rigged up a 12 volt demand pump to pump out of a 5 gallon bucket into my fresh water tank.