Fresh water tank-is it needed?

[ktnluvl]

Hi all! In the middle of ripping out floors on our HTT and am wondering if we really need to reinstall the fresh water tank/pump/etc. obviously we are newbies, so please don't make fun of me too much for not knowing, but I do know we will not be boondocking with this...everywhere we go, we will have water hook ups, and we will use bottled water for drinking. Do I need to install the fresh water tank? The pump was right by that-if I'm only using City water hook ups, do I need a pump? Any feedback would be appreciated. I know for resale value it would need to be installed, but I'm 98% sure we aren't going to be reselling this camper, at least not to get any decent money out of it.

[Oasisbob]

Yes a fresh water tank is part of what makes you self contained. Replace it. Consider using the bathroom while traveling or trying to sell the rig? Fair question.

[randallb]

We always travel with 1/2 to 2/3 of a tank of fresh water. When we stop at a dog park it allows us to rinse off the dog if she decides to go swimming. It is also really nice to be able to pull in to fill the gas tank and then pull over to the side of the station parking lot to use our own facilities. Have you been in to a Love's, Pilot, Flying J or TA bathroom lately. I would much rather use my own toilet than to enter one of the disgusting bathrooms offered by these major corporations.

[pitch]

Most NYS Parks do not have water on site. Water is available on the loop. Most folks fill their tanks upon arrival.

[mileshuff]

Where we stay always has full hookups as well. However, there are times where we stop for a night while traveling to our destination. We'll stay at a Casino or truck stop just long enough to get some rest. It's nice to be able to use the bathroom in those cases and not have to walk inside the Casino.

[slavco]

ktnluvl wrote:
Hi all! In the middle of ripping out floors on our HTT and am wondering if we really need to reinstall the fresh water tank/pump/etc. obviously we are newbies, so please don't make fun of me too much for not knowing, but I do know we will not be boondocking with this...everywhere we go, we will have water hook ups, and we will use bottled water for drinking. Do I need to install the fresh water tank? The pump was right by that-if I'm only using City water hook ups, do I need a pump? Any feedback would be appreciated. I know for resale value it would need to be installed, but I'm 98% sure we aren't going to be reselling this camper, at least not to get any decent money out of it.

You would need the pump for winterizing your lines. Unless you live in warm climates then I guess no need. Although if you ever plan on selling it, you might have difficult time as most would want those things to come with the trailer.

[bikendan]

You may think water hookups are available at all campgrounds.
Not so, especially out west. Most National Park campgrounds don't have water or electric hookups.

If you just parked it at a seasonal site, it might be fine.
But as a former hybrid owner, I used my FW tank more than I did water hookups, since we like state and national park campgrounds that rarely have water hookups.

[ktnluvl]

schlep1967 wrote:
Judging by the fact you are heavily into repairing a hybrid travel trailer I'll go out on a limb and say you are trying to save some money. When you start camping you will find full hook-up sites are not cheap. State parks with electric only at the site are much cheaper. You fill your tank on the way in and conserve the amount of water you use. Before you decide to delete that tank check some campground prices for the different types of sites. Your available "fun" money may dictate that you keep the tank.

Funny you say that - I was actually checking out prices at the campgrounds we would use the most earlier today! 🙂 From all the feedback, I do see why it's valuable to keep it, so I will def put it back in. I was just hoping for more storage space. That's all. 🙂

[schlep1967]

Judging by the fact you are heavily into repairing a hybrid travel trailer I'll go out on a limb and say you are trying to save some money. When you start camping you will find full hook-up sites are not cheap. State parks with electric only at the site are much cheaper. You fill your tank on the way in and conserve the amount of water you use. Before you decide to delete that tank check some campground prices for the different types of sites. Your available "fun" money may dictate that you keep the tank.

[Jayco-noslide]

I guess it would work for you. We always travel with a near full fresh water tank, not for drinking but for the toilet, and for non hook-up camping even if we didn't plan on that; ie, Walmart or the campground's hook-ups are full, etc. I stop a lot for bathroom on the road. Also, no tanks might make it hard to sell as an RV.

[kokotg]

Just a month ago we stayed at Buffalo Bill State Park in Cody, WY....we were supposed to have w/e, but they sent us an e-mail the day before our reservation started telling us that the water main was being repaired and we wouldn't have water. Without our freshwater tank, we would have had to scramble to try to find another place to stay at the last minute in the busiest part of the year.

[valhalla360]

Alabama Jim wrote:
The fresh water tank is only needed if you boondock or stay in a Walmart Lot, etc.

Also handy if doing a quick stop for lunch. It allows you to wash your hands and use the bathroom.

As someone else said, what happens when the park water goes out? We've had several parks where water was shut down for a few hours for work on the system. A failure could be days.

Also as someone suggested, if your plumbing springs a leak (city water is usually at higher pressure so more likely to fail), it will keep pumping water into your RV until you realize what is happening. If you use the pump and there is a small leak, you will hear the pump kick on periodically when no one is using water and it will let you know something is wrong sooner.

Finally, resale is going to take a big hit as I'm going to assume the worst when an RV is missing key systems.

[RedRocket204]

Another reason for keeping the fresh tank that I did not see mentioned.

Went to a full hook up park in late Sept. Everything was fine and working with my full hook up but a cold front moved in. Temps got down to the low 20s and city water connection froze. I had to deal with that situation by disconnecting the city water connection and filling my fresh tank as temps were going to be down in the 20s again the next night. With my fresh tank filled, I was able to use water as needed even with my full hook ups at the RV park.

This may not be a common occurrence, but I'm very glad I had the ability to still have water with those cold low temps.

[ktnluvl]

Tvov wrote:
You say you are newbies... are you sure you will always have hookups? The more you camp, the more you may very well want to explore different campgrounds. Every year we go to at least one campground that does not have hookups. Especially now that our kids no long camp with us, I prefer rustic, no hookup campgrounds.

My favorite campground in my state is a small, heavily wooded, rustic (for water you really have to use an old fashioned hand operated well pump) state park campground that is gorgeous and quiet. We never would have found this state park if we limited ourselves to full hookup only campsites.

That's very true - thank you for that insight. I never thought about it like that - longer term after the kids are grown.

Super glad to have this community and everyone's feedback. 🙂

[kerrlakeRoo]

ktnluvl wrote:

drenjoey wrote:

GordonThree wrote:
Don't need waste holding tanks either

If you use city water, you will need both of those tanks if you're gonna wash dishes, have showers and go bathroom.

Thank you. Definitely don't plan on dropping those. The freshwater tank is in our dinette inside, so I would like to take that out to have extra storage if possible is the only reason I'm asking.

If the tank is in there you may want to compromise.
Put a 5-7 gallon can there instead, You would then have most of the extra space, but would still be able to carry a small amount of water to use for toilet or sink in a pinch.