Forum Discussion

travelnman's avatar
travelnman
Explorer
Apr 04, 2015

Fresh Water tanks on new RV's

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.

15 Replies

  • One of my pet RV peeves. We were weekend boaters. There are no water spigots, no anchorage bathrooms, power pedestals on the water. If you are out for more than a daytrip battery power & fresh water capacity is king.

    Dry camping is just like anchoring out. Our 32' boat has a 115gal freshwater capacity. Needed it for a family of 4 out for 2 nights. Our 5er has a capacity of 100gal. We breeze through 5 or 6 days dry camping no problem without being stingy on the water use.

    When we were trailer searching if it did not have a minimum of an 80gal freshwater tank, it was cut from the herd of possibles. That requirement alone narrowed the choices down in no time.

    It doesn't take anything to haul around a big empty tank. It sure is inconvenient not having the capacity when you need it.
  • colliehauler wrote:
    coolmom42 wrote:
    Sounds like you should just keep what you have. Do a few mods to fix whatever is bothering you about it, fix anything cosmetic that needs it, and go on your merry way.

    IME generally the size of the tanks is somewhat proportional to the size of the RV, but not always.
    My 17' TH TT has a 100 gallon water tank.


    Mine too.........
  • coolmom42 wrote:
    Sounds like you should just keep what you have. Do a few mods to fix whatever is bothering you about it, fix anything cosmetic that needs it, and go on your merry way.

    IME generally the size of the tanks is somewhat proportional to the size of the RV, but not always.
    My 17' TH TT has a 100 gallon water tank.
  • Sounds like you should just keep what you have. Do a few mods to fix whatever is bothering you about it, fix anything cosmetic that needs it, and go on your merry way.

    IME generally the size of the tanks is somewhat proportional to the size of the RV, but not always.

About RV Tips & Tricks

Looking for advice before your next adventure? Look no further.25,151 PostsLatest Activity: Jul 25, 2025