Travelling with liquids

[bikepsych]

I saw this on another post but it was too old to respond to.

How much water does everyone travel with? When I picked up my 27HFS, the water tank was 3/4 full. I didn't notice this til I got it home, but I did notice the sloshing when I was coming down a very steep hill on Highway 101 and needed to brake.

One of the problems with water, or any large capacity liquid containers, is that when you accelerate or slow down, unless it is either topped off or empty, it sloshes. Consider your 60 gallon tank with only 45 gallons in it. That's 360 gallons (+/-) moving from one end of the tank to the other end of the tank upon acceleration or deceleration. I noticed this as I was coming down the Conejo Grade (approx 7%) and trying to brake near the bottom. You can definitely feel it.

I would prefer to travel with all TT tanks empty and a couple of 5 gallon jugs secured inside for flushing and other incidental H2O needs.

So the question is...how much water do you typically travel with in your freshwater tank?

Bikepsych

[camper1999]

I carry none. State parks have water tank fill facility and of course when you have full hookups you do not need it.

[ependydad]

I keep ours a little more than 1/2 full when starting out for trips. I haven't dealt with any grades like you mention, but also haven't noticed any change in handling.

(Edit to add, after seeing the prior post.) I have only camped with full hookups. I keep the water there for:
- on the road potty stops
- the ability to overnight w/ minimal hookups (i.e. just electric)
- in case there is a water problem when I arrive at the campground (hasn't happened yet)

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by bikepsych

Consider your 60 gallon tank with only 45 gallons in it. That's 360 gallons (+/-) moving from one end of the tank to the other end of the tank upon acceleration or deceleration.

Should that be 360 pounds ??

If going to a campground with hookups, I typically travel with several gallons in my tank. Enough to flush the toilet for bathroom stops, and hand washing duties.

[Top B]

Originally Posted by bikepsych

I saw this on another post but it was too old to respond to.

How much water does everyone travel with?

Bikepsych

If I know I will have water hookups at my next stop, then none. If I know there is no hookup and I will be staying a few days or there is no place close to fill the tank, then I will travel with all my 100 gal capacity.

[Twisty]

FW tank is always full.
Toilet, drinking, washing hands and there is always the chance that one of the dogs will get into something at a rest stop. We could fire up the heater and wash them.

[Len & Cheri]

I rarely dry camp. If the trip is only 2-3 hours I don't take any water. Anything over 3 hours I'll put about 10 gallons in the freshwater tank for toilet use.

[rkswyo]

I pretty much strictly boondock so my tank is full to the brim.

[traveler2955]

We travel with about 15 gal, plus or minus. The reason we have water is multifold:

1. We've been in National, State, and even private parks where these camps did not have water.
2. At times the water was bad.
3. Once in a while, we'd stop for lunch, or even a night somewhere-- Camping World, etc. Without water, it's tough to use the bathroom.
4. And we do some dry camping.

At 8.34 pounds per gal, 15 gal weighs 125.1 pounds. Unless your rig is extremely light, then--- why worry?

An added note: we never put water in the tank unless it's filtered first through a sand filter, and then a carbon filter. Adding unfiltered water to a partial good tank may contaminate everything, including your taps.

Good luck
Mike

[rkswyo]

Originally Posted by Twisty

FW tank is always full.
Toilet, drinking, washing hands and there is always the chance that one of the dogs will get into something at a rest stop. We could fire up the heater and wash them.

This brought back memories for me. A couple years ago I stopped at a pull-off in NW Colorado to grab a drink and a sandwich. Figured it was a good place to let the dog out. She managed to find a fresh cow pie! Glad I had water on board!

[MillerTime]

We never haul any water, heck we never even use the fresh water tank, except to flush tanks and and stuff moving trailer around at the house.

[jdadoug]

I've never put water in the FW tank yet........ but we only live 30 min. from our CG. (full hookups)
But..... I do put at least 5 gallons down the stool and sinks to aid in keeping the grey and black tanks clean. I also add the Calgon and washing soda.
I always dump before we leave for home. If I had a dumping station here at home I would bring it home and dump here, just to get the extra swishing action.
jdadoug