Traveling with a full water tank

[flintshooter]

My wife has been researching TT in anticipation of buying a new one and came across an interesting comment. A fellow camper was traveling with a full water tank and at some point on the journey, the tank fell off while driving. When they contacted the manufacturer they were told it is not covered under warranty. Further, they were told that the warranty specifically warns against this practice. I know we travel with a full tank (30 gallons)if we know there is no hookup where we are going and after reading the forums for some time it appears to be a common practice. Any of you folks heard about this or had any experience with a self ejecting tank?

[chracatoa]

I also always camp with hook ups but you may still need to have some fresh water in the trailer.

Last week or so we spent the night in Baker City, Oregon. It turns out they have/had some kind of parasite in the water. Luckily when we were calling ahead to double check the reservation they told us about it so we managed to get some fresh water in the tank before getting there.

As for full or empty? What happens if you are boondocking and moving from place to place and nowhere to fill it up?

[bradnailer]

So, I don't haul any fresh water in my tank. I also haul with my black and gray tanks empty. Does that make me an idiot? Don't think so.

Where we camp, we either have hook ups or a water hydrant available. With hook ups, hauling water is not an issue. We camp for a couple of weeks every summer in a NFS campground. It has water hydrants around the campground. When we get there, I fill up my fresh water tank with a hose before I park the trailer. After that, I keep my tanks full using aquatainers, hauling from the hydrants.

I would suggest that everyone has their own needs and preferences when they camp. Some prefer to haul water, some don't. Doesn't make either group right or wrong. Just makes them different.

[dclaarjr]

How much water I carry usually depends on where I am going.

When dry camping I always travel with FW full. If I am going to an unknown campground I travel full along with some campgrounds that have just plain old nasty water.

I also carry a filter and use it where I trust the water just to be sure. I always have some water in the tank. I stayed at a campground one time that had the well go down while we were there. I had plenty of water while others just complained.

My owners manual says nothing about traveling with full tanks. My FW tank is below the foot of the main bed and is mounted on top of the flooring. My waste tanks I always empty as soon as practical.

I also have never had a bad smell from my water, but I do treat it with a cap full of bleach when I fill it.

[dadmomh]

Not saying we never have water in the FW tank. However, we don't boondock and with only a couple of exceptions, we always have water to the site. We have run into some that didn't taste terrific, so we added a PUR faucet mount filter and problem solved. You can take a glass and put some unfiltered water in it and then do the same with the filtered and the taste is very different.

On a 3 week trip a couple of years ago, we did carry a larger amount of water just in case....problem was a couple of weeks later when we forgot that we had water and started noticing a really nasty odor and could not find where it was coming from. Finally found the culprit. Sitting closed up in the summer heat just does not make for a good smell. We carry enough to get us started, for bathroom stops and other small amounts - probably about 5 gallons or so. We just don't have a need to carry very much water, so why carry it when it just adds weight.

As far as filling the tank when entering the park, most of the ones we camp at have a potable water set up near the entrance. In our case, the MO SP have been the only ones that didn't have water to the site and the federal parks in LBL.

Do agree, however, that the manufacturers should make sure their design is sufficient to carry the amount of weight that would be in a full tank.

[69_Avion]

It isn't like you are pressurizing the tank. Full is "full". If it doesn't expand downward, then maybe it will have less volume and fill slightly faster, but full is still "full". I don't like the idea of a sagging tank that doesn't have a lot of support. At 8.33# per gallon, the water tanks get heavy real fast.

[time2roll]

Very normal for a warranty claim to be denied.
Mine goes full when needed.

[gates59]

I contacted starcraft and they said it is not normal. One was worse than the other. No harm in adding supports i'm sure. Well i'm almost sure. It was saging about 3 inches on one side and only one tank.

[ewarnerusa]

gates59 wrote:
I have two 45 gallon fresh water tanks and found that when full they would sag. I ended up adding 2 extra supports per tank so i can see this as a problem on some models.

My manual (Dutchmen) says this sagging is by design.

From the manual wrote:
The fresh water tank is mounted under the trailer to allow
it to “belly down” as it is filled. It may appear to be
unsupported. It is designed to be this way. If the tank is
not allowed to expand downward, it will expand upward.
The tank is mounted securely against the trailer floor, and
if it expands upward, it may cause damage to the trailer
floor, cabinetry and other components. DO NOT ADD
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT MEMBERS BELOW THE
FRESH WATER TANK.

[gates59]

I have two 45 gallon fresh water tanks and found that when full they would sag. I ended up adding 2 extra supports per tank so i can see this as a problem on some models.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Huntindog wrote:

dadmomh wrote:
We rarely have more than just a very few gallons in our tank for just a couple of reasons...we always camp with water to the site and the other reason is that water weighs 8.3# per gallon, which is a lot of weight to haul around and decrease already poor mpg.

That story sounds a bit "old wives tale" or vivid imagination, but also sounds like it COULD be possible under the right conditions. If you know you're going to need FW, suggest you wait until you're actually at the CG and use their potable water supply on the way in.

That won't work for people like me. Not only is my FW tank full, but I bring at least another 100 gallons with me in portable jugs.

Seriously, why have a water tank if you can't haul water in it?

Exactly, if you can't haul any water in your tank, why have the tank in the first place? If you're in campground with water, you don't need a tank. :h

And for the posters that say their OM says to only haul water in their fresh water tanks full or empty how does that work? IOW's if I fill up at home and then go boondocking for 3 days and use up half my FW do I then have to run all of my FW into my GW or BW tank? :h Nice use of FW! :S

Here is a novel idea. Maybe the RV manufactures can design and make an RV that can be used for an RV.

What next? A pickup truck that can't haul or tow anything? :S

I think we need a list of RV's that say's in their OM they can't carry water in their tank while traveling. 100% would be scratched off of my list. :R

[Slownsy]

Why would anybody bye a camper with water and other tanks that is not ment to be used for ther intended purpose camping. Do you bring a plumer to check the plumbing, an electrician to thick the el, and a roofer to chek for leaks?.

[Huntindog]

dadmomh wrote:
We rarely have more than just a very few gallons in our tank for just a couple of reasons...we always camp with water to the site and the other reason is that water weighs 8.3# per gallon, which is a lot of weight to haul around and decrease already poor mpg.

That story sounds a bit "old wives tale" or vivid imagination, but also sounds like it COULD be possible under the right conditions. If you know you're going to need FW, suggest you wait until you're actually at the CG and use their potable water supply on the way in.

That won't work for people like me. Not only is my FW tank full, but I bring at least another 100 gallons with me in portable jugs.

Seriously, why have a water tank if you can't haul water in it?

[Peg_Leg]

My old TT had a 30 gal tank, no problem as it sat on the floor under the dinette seat. My 5er has a 70 gal hanging down as do the black a gray tanks. I mostly travel with some in it for convenience but I have traveled with it full when needed.

They are supposed to be self contained. Use it as you wish.

[nevadanick]

I am going to guess that those that travel empty or near empty go to places that have full hookups or are near population, none of which we do. I have no choice but to leave full and come back with full holding tanks. In fact i usually have to take extra water and a tote.