advice, where can I fill up water tank while on the road?

[TMandGirls]

I posted this here because I figured if anyone knows you guys would. We are leaving for a month this summer heading to Colorado and Wyoming. I do not want to lug around 500 lbs+ of water over the Sierra Nevadas and Rocky mts. if possible (gas mileage). Some of the places we stay offer no water this summer. Where do you fill your water tanks....Rest stops, pilot/ TA travel centers...I am not sure. Thanks for your help.

[silvercorvette]

DianneOK wrote:
We always travel with a full tank of water as well as propane...you just never know. If 500# is over the top for you, you may want to consider trimming weight elsewhere......

Ditto, thank God I had a full water tank when I arrived in NY. I am parked in the drive way of a house I am selling and expected to be able to hook up to water when I arrived but vandals / thieves damaged the water meter and I not only used all the water in my 50 gallon tank plus the 5 gallons I store in a cooler I had to flush with bottled water until the guy from the water company repaired the connection. I always travel with a full tank unless my last C/G stop is less than 200 miles from home

[motorcycle_jack]

Any Fire Station (house) will let you fill up on water. I almost exclusively use them because they have lots of space for the big fire trucks which makes it easy for me and my 5th wheel.

[Roads_Less_Trav]

RV dump stations, campgrounds, RV parks, truck stops, or any spigot we find whose owner says "ok."

We boondock nearly 100% of the time so we carry a few 6 gallon jugs in our truck. They are easy to fill while we're out and about sightseeing or running errands, and we then pour them into the fifth wheel tanks when we get home.

We use the book "Next Exit" and the website http://sanidumps.com to find where the RV dump stations are if we want to fill the tanks directly.

We always travel with a full tank so that when we get where we are going we can stay a week before we have to worry about finding water.

We carry drinking water separately in 1-gallon jugs. We keep them under the sink and store the empties in the back seat of the truck and refill them whenever we find a drinking water refill spot (or tasty tap water).

[TMandGirls]

Well, I feel a little silly. I'm heading out to fill the tank now, I guess I am just overly cautious. I always thought that because of the location of the H2O tank, at the furthest rear point of my rig, that placing weight there would increase the load placed on the rear tires exponentially because of the lever action. Like holding a weight at arms length versus holding it close to your body. Class C, 30ft V10. But like I said, I am heading out to fill the tank now...the benefits absolutely outweigh any positives I hoped to gain. Thanks everyone. We are on the road :B

[skipnchar]

IF the weight of a couple of extra passengers is enough to make your drive uncomfortable you may be uncomfortable anyway. By filling your water tank you MAY loose up to a quarter of a MPG and DOUBT if you will notice any performance differences. You would GAIN the ability to stop whenever you like for a meal or bathroom break and avoid the need to find a place to fill up on the road.

All that being said, you can usually fill up at ANY campground, public or private but at many of them you will need to pay a fee of some sort (usually aboutr five to ten times the amount of extra fuel you would burn by carrying water). State parks will allow you to use the dump station and fresh water fill by paying the "DAY USE" fee for the facility. Private RV Parks usually have a set rate for dump station and water fill.

Good luck and enjoy the trip / Skip

[Tom_N]

You can get water at almost any town municipal water plant.

-Tom, W3TLN

[RayJayco]

One could always stop by a grocery store and have a couple of choices to fill their tank or have separate drinking water, inexpensively.

Inside they sell 2.5 gal containers that have a spigot. Drinking water has been filtered, spring water may be ‘natural’. (keep in mind what is typically found in 'natural' water...)

If you are into balancing the weight of your RV and know your weights per tire/axle, these can help...

Also many have a 'vending machine' outside that will dispense filtered water in to your container.


Just some thoughts for you to ponder...

[camperpaul]

A lot of campgrounds get their water from wells and one of the problems is minerals in the water.

Sulfur gives it that rotten egg smell.

Iron will stain your sinks, shower and toilet.

Calcium will clog up your shower head and your coffee maker.

[revump]

City parks ... Lowes ... Fred Meyer ... you never know so ask

[MarkTwain]

Try to locate an RV park close to where you will be stopping, then call and ask them how much they charge to fill your H20 tank.

[Johno02]

Campgrounds, rest areas, Major truck stops. Anywhere that is supplied with good drinking water. NOT at dump stations!!! We carry about half tank, usually about 30 gal or so. That is usually good for a day or so. We also carry a number of bottles of water for drinking.

[PapPappy]

Well, to answer your question....most gas stations will have a water supply. As will almost all campgrounds (even when they don't have full Hook-ups)...unless you are planning to camp at a Wilderness Site without any water.

One of the advantages of filling your tank before you leave.......you know what your water tastes like! Not all water tastes the same, or smells the same, and that may be an issue.

Traveling with a full tank probably won't change much of the mileage....it's gonna be bad no matter what:) Are you really excited because your mileage went from 7.25 to 7.3 mpg? Depending on just how you drive, you can probably make up the difference just by slowing down 5 mph.:B

Have a great trip.

[Lantley]

I also recommend traveling with a full tank. You do not show what type of rig you have. But 500# will have a negligible effect on MPG's.

[DianneOK]

We always travel with a full tank of water as well as propane...you just never know. If 500# is over the top for you, you may want to consider trimming weight elsewhere......