traveling with water

[fleecerdog]

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.

[Sandfreak_II]

I never liked having to tow an extra thousand pounds of dead weight around so when traveling I only carried 5 gallons or so in the tank. Did the same with the fuel tanks on the trailer. We put 25k miles on a 08 Fleetwood Gearbox 375SA2G in five years without a issue.

[Blackdiamond]

Have always filled up before leaving the house.

[dedmiston]

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.

[the_bear_II]

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.

[Jack_Diane_Free]

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

[momentum_rv]

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.

[Y-Guy]

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.