Carrying Water

[whitestar505]

Hello,

Has anyone filled up there water tank and went traveling ? Need some inn's and outs o this. Going to a dry location...

[CAPEd CODger]

I always keep at least a third of a tankfull of fresh water on board.
Real handy when you need to make a "potty break".

The only thing you should have to consider is the additional weight, and that's only if it'll put you over or close to the maximum capacity of the trailer/ combination rating.

Check and see if your trailer CCC rating accounts for freshwater on board or not. My Brookside does.

Happy Camping

Bob

[wavery]

Hello,

Has anyone filled up there water tank and went traveling ? Need some inn's and outs o this. Going to a dry location...

It's best to tow the PU dry and fill up as close as possible to the CG.

There are a couple of issues with towing with water. First is the weight and second is the movement of the water while moving.

PUs are designed to be light-weight and consequently they are built as light as possible. IMHO, it is best (not essential) to respect the fact that these trailers are not built for heavy loads and shifting weight.

Water is approx 8# per gallon. If you are traveling with a full tank of water (let's say 20G) that's an additional 160#. If you have 1/2 tank, that's lighter but the sloshing of the water can make violent weight shifts of 80# of water as you brake and accelerate. That puts a lot of stress on the tank, tank hangers and fasteners. You may get away with it but if you have a failure, it could get ugly.

[dthurk]

We normally travel with our 40 gallon water tank partially full.  We have towed at times with it filled to capacity.  We've not had any issues with towing, that's with a TT, not a pup.

[wavery]

We normally travel with our 40 gallon water tank partially full.  We have towed at times with it filled to capacity.  We've not had any issues with towing, that's with a TT, not a pup.

We've had this discussion a dozen times on PUT. All I am saying is, "For best results" tow with the tank empty. That's just plain common sense.

If nothing else, you are waisting gas lugging the stuff around but it really does place unnecessary wear & tear on the trailer and the TV (accelerating and stopping).

[whitestar505]

Hello,
 
Has anyone filled up there water tank and went traveling ? Need some inn's and outs o this. Going to a dry location...

OK, More info, I have a HT that has a 33 gal tank. I guess if you are not going to far it would be OK to fill it up. I am going about 50 miles... Now with the idea of a 1/2 Tank, it seems like you are telling me that it puts to much ware and tear on the hardware holding the tank on the trailer and after time will break down the hardware. Am I wrong on thinking that the HT were designed to carry water either 1/2 or full tank?

[whitestar505]

Hello,
 
Has anyone filled up there water tank and went traveling ? Need some inn's and outs o this. Going to a dry location...

Something wrong this morning..

[Old Goat]

It's best to tow the PU dry and fill up as close as possible to the CG.

There are a couple of issues with towing with water. First is the weight and second is the movement of the water while moving.

PUs are designed to be light-weight and consequently they are built as light as possible. IMHO, it is best (not essential) to respect the fact that these trailers are not built for heavy loads and shifting weight.

Water is approx 8# per gallon. If you are traveling with a full tank of water (let's say 20G) that's an additional 160#. If you have 1/2 tank, that's lighter but the sloshing of the water can make violent weight shifts of 80# of water as you brake and accelerate. That puts a lot of stress on the tank, tank hangers and fasteners. You may get away with it but if you have a failure, it could get ugly.

Over the years I have owned three travel trailers and four popups. Depending on the trip, they were all towed with water tanks empty, half full or less and full. I have never noticed a difference of performance in any of them or their tow vehicle whether the tank be full or empty and I have never had a tank failure of any kind due to the sloshing of  it's water content...

Questions:
If a rapid shift of water in a half full tank can cause it to rupture or be torn
loose from it's mounting during a sudden stop or rapid acceleration as you say, then why haven't the manufacturers of the trailers and tanks posted a warning in tne owners manual and on the tank??....

Also, how do you get all the water in a half full tank to move all at once from one side to the other with out standing it on sides or ends??.....

Evertbody I know [including my self] who owns a hybrid or travel trailer tows with their tanks partially full so the toilets can be used and flushed during trips. It's mighty nice and handy to be able to use your own toilet instead of the public ones at rest stops....never heard of anybody having tank problems by doing this......

[dthurk]

Agree with Old Goat and same here.  We have a TT with a 40 gallon water tank.  There is no effect on towing characteristics or gas mileage with the water tank empty, full or half full.  I would suspect (hope) there are baffles in the water tank to reduce sloshing, but even at that, the camper is steady even with a partial water load.  Our weight distributing/anti sway hitch setup is beefier that what pups would have, that may help.  There's usually no reason to carry water in a pup, you can't use the bathroom or kitchen during the course of a trip.  We always traveled with the tank empty when we owned a pup.  There is a reason to travel with water with a TT or an HTT.  Put water in your tank and use the camper for rest stops and meals while traveling.  We always travel with water in our tank now.

So, whitestar, fill 'er up and don't worry about it.

[whitestar505]

Great! I will fill it up.... New question:::: When filling the tank at home do you use the garden hose or the white hose for your trailer? Also what if anything do you flush the tank out with.... We do not drink the water from the tank or from the camp grounds. We use bottle water.
 
 
 

Agree with Old Goat and same here. We have a TT with a 40 gallon water tank. There is no effect on towing characteristics or gas mileage with the water tank empty, full or half full. I would suspect (hope) there are baffles in the water tank to reduce sloshing, but even at that, the camper is steady even with a partial water load. Our weight distributing/anti sway hitch setup is beefier that what pups would have, that may help. There's usually no reason to carry water in a pup, you can't use the bathroom or kitchen during the course of a trip. We always traveled with the tank empty when we owned a pup. There is a reason to travel with water with a TT or an HTT. Put water in your tank and use the camper for rest stops and meals while traveling. We always travel with water in our tank now.
 
So, whitestar, fill 'er up and don't worry about it.

[whitestar505]

Great! I will fill it up.... New question:::: When filling the tank at home do you use the garden hose or the white hose for your trailer? Also what if anything do you flush the tank out with....

 

Agree with Old Goat and same here. We have a TT with a 40 gallon water tank. There is no effect on towing characteristics or gas mileage with the water tank empty, full or half full. I would suspect (hope) there are baffles in the water tank to reduce sloshing, but even at that, the camper is steady even with a partial water load. Our weight distributing/anti sway hitch setup is beefier that what pups would have, that may help. There's usually no reason to carry water in a pup, you can't use the bathroom or kitchen during the course of a trip. We always traveled with the tank empty when we owned a pup. There is a reason to travel with water with a TT or an HTT. Put water in your tank and use the camper for rest stops and meals while traveling. We always travel with water in our tank now.
 
So, whitestar, fill 'er up and don't worry about it.

[dthurk]

Great! I will fill it up.... New question:::: When filling the tank at home do you use the garden hose or the white hose for your trailer? Also what if anything do you flush the tank out with.... We do not drink the water from the tank or from the camp grounds. We use bottle water.

We use the white hose at ALL times for fresh water and ONLY use it for fresh water.   When not in use, we roll them up and connect one end to the other to keep out debris and other stuff.  Hoses should occasionally be sanitized.  Use the hose and leave the water in it.  Put a small amount of bleach in each end and connect one end to the other so water won't escape.  Roll the hose for a bit to mix chlorine and move it through the hose.  Let sit for a few hours then hook to water supply and rinse with fresh water.

We sanitize our fresh water system at the beginning of every camping season.  IIRC, use a 1/4 cup of bleach to 10 gals. water.  I make sure the hot water tank is empty.  Then I mix 1 cup of bleach with a quart of water, put that into the tank then fill the tank (40 gals.).  Run water from a hot and cold water tap until you smell bleach.  Turn off water from those taps.  Go to each tap in turn and run water until you smell bleach.  I'll do this in the morning then let it all sit until late afternoon.  Empty the fresh and hot water tanks and fill with fresh water.  Run water from each tap to clear chlorinated water.  We just begin using at this point.  Others may flush more to freshen water.  Your system will be sanitized and safe for drinking, but we do as you do using bottled water for most drinking purposes.  We will use on board water for brushing teeth, cooking, washing dishes ect.  without worrying about "bugs".  
 
 We usually refill at campgrounds with their chlorinated water and leave what remains in the camper.  Our home water is from a well and sterile but untreated.  (That's why we use bottled water, we hate chlorinated water to drink.)  We'll only put home water in the fresh tank if we're about to depart on a trip and know we'll use it within the next few days.  As a result, we won't sanitize the system again until next spring.

[catworker]

I tow with my fresh water tank full all the time.  I may be carrying extra weight but that's OK with me.   I fill my fresh water tank at home.  We have a soft water system in my house and I like the idea of camping using soft water.  At least until it runs out.  DW and I can camp two or three days on a tank.  Soft water is better for the plumbing, it's nicer when using the shower, etc.  

I wish you well.

[campdaddy]

Not to bump this thread to the top again, but I