Hauling water

mordecai81 wrote:
Some TTs are not designed to carry a full tank on the road. Forest River says there mini/ultra lite lines should carry only 1/3 of a tank when towed. The braces holding the fresh tank to the frame are incredibly light. My front brace was bent at a 30 degree angle from carrying a full load-it would have eventually failed completely. My helpful neighbor welded some angle iron to the front and rear braces so it's solid now.

Actually Forest River only says that when you have some kind of problem. Nowhere will you find any warning or direction telling you not to travel with a full water tank until the support framework bends or the tank is laying in the middle of the road. Not in the manual, brochure, a warning decal, nowhere. Only when you contact them informing of the failure will they start him hawing and mealy mouthing their load of BS.

Furthermore its not just the FR mini and ultra lites. If you snoop around a little over at the goody two shoes FRF you'll find the water tank support failures happen to many of the FR brands. The bad part is on units with enclosed under bellies, most people are not even aware they have, or are getting ready to have, a failure.

Better yet is how some FR divisions resolve the issue. They pawn you back to LCI (Lippert Components), the frame manufacturer, under the "component supplied by others" clause in the warranty documentation. Attempting to get resolution from LCI is an exercise in frustration and about as time consuming as a rocket trip to Uranus.

If you have a Forest River towable, it would behoove you to do a thorough inspection of the underside even if that means doing the PITA removal of the under lining. Then buy some iron and a welder.


I always have filled tanks heading out and I added a 2nd 39 gallon tank to our Roo, so I'm toting around 78 gallons. You will not get any noticeable gain in fuel mileage between empty or full. Maybe over the course of 50K miles or something. I went to Vermont from western PA last fall with full tanks going up (650 lbs) and had the same MPG coming home empty.

If destination has no water I fill up tank as close to CG as possible.

And for my real long sporting events without fresh water I also carry one of these on board inside the RV.

They fit up against a wall or in corner with out taking up a whole lot space and spigot for easy access. No more tripping over gallon jugs of water!

Corner water tank holds 39 gals
Half moon wall tank holds 48 gals

I always travel with the water tanks full in both the MH and TT. Pulled the TT up the Alcan last summer will a full water tank.

Bill

I always fill my freshwater. Several reasons. It adds some tongue weight and improves ride on my one ton. It lowers the center of gravity of the trailer making it lean less. I don't like travelling with partially full tanks because the slosh of water makes a difference on windy roads.

I always travel with a full fresh water tank. Why?

1) when we pull in I can wait a long time to hook up water, rather unload, put out chairs, enjoy a cold one, and hook up water later if needed.
2) more than once campgrounds have NOT had water, either a power outage, pump problems, etc. We can go 5 days or more on a full water tank.
3) some campgrounds may have potable water, but that doesn't mean one wants to use it or drink it. Rather use my good water than have to use bad tasting, or bad smelling water.

So..... the exception to our rule is that if the CG has bad water, we don't fill before we leave the campground. otherwise we fill the fresh tank befo
re we leave and are ready for the next spot.

We have found that getting good fresh water is sometimes not possible, so when we leave home, or find a good source along the way, we fill the tank. Always do a taste test when you arrive before you pour it in. Sometimes, what locals think is fresh water tastes like sulfur or iron and I move on and find a better source.

Some TTs are not designed to carry a full tank on the road. Forest River says there mini/ultra lite lines should carry only 1/3 of a tank when towed. The braces holding the fresh tank to the frame are incredibly light. My front brace was bent at a 30 degree angle from carrying a full load-it would have eventually failed completely. My helpful neighbor welded some angle iron to the front and rear braces so it's solid now.

I fill when I get there or get close. No sense in me hauling another 280lbs. I normally travel with 5 gallons, just enough for flushing and washing hands. 99% of the time we have FHU or water/electric.

During hunting season I've gone 80 miles away with the trailer 40 gallon fw tank full along with 80 to 100 gallons in the truck bed. I have a 50 gallon leg tank, 3 - 15 gallon barrels and several aquatainers. I fill and carry what ever I think I will need. No need for me to be searching for and purchasing water.