Traveling with Water

[Cudaman]

Getting ready to make my first trip 250 miles with the travel trailer
sc226 rbds, doing some dry camping. Is it a good practice to travel with a full tank 40 gals of water or should I fill up when I get close to my destination? If I do decide to travel lighter where are some good places to fill up the tank that others have used? Looking for some tips.

[Kaadk]

There was a post on here not too long ago that showed the weight difference of a full vs empty FW tank was negligible on fuel economy. So it's going to come down to your carrying capacity. If you have the room, sure, what could it hurt?

Myself, I fill up when I get there, but then again the only places I stay that need the FW tank are state or provincial parks which have all provided fresh water on the way into the park.

[quackor]

We exclusively dry camp and I always fills up at home before leaving. I like knowing where the water going into my freshwater tank came from and not having to worry about what bugs may be in it and getting into the pipes of the trailer.

The weight difference is about equivalent to throwing two kids in back of the suburban, and I've never seen a debate about making the kids walk because they add too much wait to the rig.

[BiigDaddy]

Originally Posted by quackor

We exclusively dry camp and I always fills up at home before leaving. I like knowing where the water going into my freshwater tank came from and not having to worry about what bugs may be in it and getting into the pipes of the trailer.

The weight difference is about equivalent to throwing two kids in back of the suburban, and I've never seen a debate about making the kids walk because they add to much wait to the rig.

The thought of making them walk HAS crossed my mind before though, when the bickering starts!!

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[Kaadk]

Originally Posted by BiigDaddy

The thought of making them walk HAS crossed my mind before though, when the bickering starts!!

Sent from my EVO using Forest River Forums mobile app

A good old Charlie Brown style "AARGH" does wonders for that.

[raspivey]

I used to fill up wherever it was I was going because of the weight. Then I thought about it...wind drag is much more of a factor in MPG and the majority of the weight is on the camper and not on the hitch, so it doesn't knock much off the payload. My last outing I came home with about 25 gallons of fresh and probably around 20 gallons of gray and black. I noticed absolutely no difference in handling or fuel use.

[force]

I always travel with a full fresh water tank (30 gal). Adds a bit of tongue weight but my truck is already on the overkill side of things, so no worries there.

[SKnight]

If you are going to use your FW tank, might as well know where the water came from. I never noticed a difference pulling with or without water, so you'll be fine.

Unless you're going somewhere completely unsettled usually there's a well or something you can fill up from on arrival, otherwise you can ask at a restaurant that's camper friendly such as Cracker Barrel.

[bikendan]

since we also dry camp almost all the time, we always travel with a full FW tank.
but our tow vehicle has plenty of extra tow capacity, so we don't have to worry about the extra weight.
plus it has little affect on gas mileage anyway. the flat sail front end of the trailer affects gas mileage way more than weight.

[Steeljag]

40 gallons of water is about 320 lbs. To me the extra weight is just extra weight to be moved around. Be it extra weight around the waist line.....lol......or extra weight being pulled in the TT.

[showtime0022]

I have 100 gallon tank so thats 800 lbs of extra weight!!! I fill up when i get there. Depends how much weight you can tow. Im sure distance will be a factor also.

[Cudaman]

Well to me it makes the most sense to go with a full load. No stop and unknown water sources. I suppose it will be a good work out my truck which has plenty of power and spring capacity for the TT. Structurally it should be fine for the TT as well I presume..I will head out this week.

[The_Painting_Teacher]

You'd need to weigh the advantage of knowing where the water comes from vs the 830+ lbs you'll add to your load.

[PhoneDude 8289]

I would think allot would depend on how heavy you load the RV to begin with. Load up everything and fill with water ready to hit the road, hit the scales first, you might be surprised. You might have to shed some weight, can the tires take it.

[YoungKopernik]

I like to be fully stocked when we get on the road even when headed home.
I am not sure if this is a helpful reason or not, low center of gravity. I think having 500#s in the lowest place I can put it should help. I have been in some very strong gusty cross winds and even in the windy mountains having a lower center of gravity might be helping.
This being said, I always try to run with empty grey and black tanks because those are on the back of the trailer and I don’t want a heavy back end.
And there is no doubt that wind resistance is the biggest culprit for poor gas mileage. I always drive showing instant mileage, and it sucks in a head wind(pun intended).
John

[Cudaman]

Thanks for all your thoughts and ideas. I made the trip with the full tank no issues. Didnt even know it was there. 9.6 mpg on the way down to Portland and 9.6 on the way home. Only used about 2/3 of the 40gals in 4 days but emptied and dumped it on the way back.