Travel with fresh water.

[youroo]

Location of your water tanks can have a Big impact on T/W thus Sway when Full! Youroo! !

[Cypressloser]

The problem with dropping water tanks is not limited to certain FR models, we had a "built like a tank" Vanguard Legend 5th wheel 15 years where exactly this happened, we have never traveled with a full tank of water since. Stuff like this never happens when the rv is in storage, it only happens at the worst possible time. A milk jug full water is plenty to wash your hands during a trip and a 60 gal. water bladder to fill the tank at the destination when needed.

[spidey1972]

We maybe put 1/4 tank in, if that. More or less to wash hands or flush toilets if needed. If its a short drive, like an hour, we put nothing in.

I haul water for my acreage for the house, basically 8 lbs a gallon. It can add up very quick

[HangDiver]

Its crazy but it happens... http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ut-100622.html

[HangDiver]

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...de-129346.html

[Havasu Bill]

Originally Posted by bikendan

In 25 years of owning various trailers, we always traveled with a full FW tank, since we normally dry camp.

Same here!

[prestonj12]

Originally Posted by elchilero53

833 lbs of weight is a lot to lug around. Glad you CAN lug it around!

Plus there's the 40 gallon fuel tank for the toys and the Oman. Pulls like a dream.

[gwaltneyra]

Water can get heavy and cause a lot of stress on mechanical fasteners that are not well designed for the sloshing around that can occur on winding and hilly roads. Even if the design is adequate, human error in attachment can occur. Best to follow the written warnings/advise of the manufacturer, if available. That being said, if you have any concerns, periodically check your tanks to be sure there are no signs of premature failure.

Just a couple of notes on water weight:

*The US gallon, which is equal to approximately 3.785 L, is legally defined as 231 cubic inches. A US liquid gallon of water weighs about 8.34 pounds or 3.78 kilograms at 62 °F (17 °C), making it about 16.6% lighter than the imperial gallon.

*”Old rhyme: A pint's a pound, the world around. (Sixteen fluid ounces of water weighs ~16 ounces, avoirdupois weight.) A gallon is 4 quarts, or 8 pints, and thus weighs ~8 pounds.”

Happy Camping!

[hunterrick]

We always dry camp, NEVER have hookups. Camp virtually every weekend. ALWAYS travel with freshwater tank full. Have done so for tens of thousands of miles with absolutely no problem. These rigs are intended to be able to travel with the tanks full. Sure there are threads where there have been failures, but that can be said for virtually every aspect of RV camping. Such failures should not be considered the norm and should not scare anyone into compromising their experience by not taking full advantage of all available resources such as traveling with a full tank. If found that my trailer would not allow this, it would be replaced by one that would.

[jimmoore13]

I see this is a very active thread...with lots of opinions. If you plan to boondock, then the sales person is full of "it."

My rationale:

• I boondock almost exclusively;
• I'm not interested in filling my tank with "strange water" using hoses, etc. that have been used for "whatever;"
• Where I go, there are few or NO places to fill the tank anyway;
• I trust my home water and my home water equipment;
• If the tank and/or supports can't handle the load, the BEST time to find out is during warranty;
• RV sales staff make up crap all the time. This was most likely the sales person's personal preference. But the owner's manual dictates compliance with warranty standards...not the opinion of some sales person. And, for the record, I'd put both the sales person AND the dealership on notice that they either provide evidence of some restriction about traveling with full tanks OR STFU with their nonsense;
• Most of my boondocking is done 10 to 20 miles into gravel forest service roads that are pot-holed, washboarded, and rough. I've grounded my steps more than a few times (and I carry a 6 pound sledge to straighten them on arrival). These are far more challenging conditions than a paved highway, and there's NO WATER SOURCE once I start down these roads. Under these very challenging conditions, my water tank is always full.

With all that, my fresh tank and black tank (on the way home) have traveled "full", and they've held up to this INTENDED USE. INTENDED USE is the key. Using the RV as it's designed to be used isn't something that should void the warranty.

Will they fail one day? Probably. But I'll be damned if I won't use the RV as intended just because some sales person has a dumb opinion. I've also had sales people tell me that an F-250 can handle a 20,000 lb. + fiver. That's a damned dangerous "opinion" and blatantly ignorant. That F-250 had better be a VERY special truck!

If you can travel light and you have a reliable source of water near or at your campsite, great. Travel light. But I'd be far more concerned about water quality from some gas station garden hose than I'd be about the durability of my fresh tank and frame that holds it. As I said, the time to break it is during warranty.

P.S. If you want even more water, and if your tow vehicle can handle the load, these are great. Reliance 7 gallon water jugs. In my PUP, I effectively double my fresh water capacity by toting 4 of these. And if there was ever a need for even more water, I can even fill these from a tested forest service hand pump. Full, each one weighs about 60 pounds, so that's 240 pounds in the bed of my TV, but I have the capacity to handle that load with ease. I've gone 4 days dry camping and never used all 4 jugs...even with showers and guests staying with us. I particularly like these, because you can buy spare caps, and the cap is setup with 1/2" pipe thread (for the spigot). I made a fill adapter with a 1/2" male pipe thread to barb plastic fitting, a hose clamp, and about 15" of clear plastic hose. I replace the cap with the adapter, lift the jug, plug the hose in the fresh fill, and dump the water in about 60 seconds. Works great, and I never run out of water.

[rockfordroo]

There are more than enough folks on this forum who've had a problem with their FW tank supports. It's not a myth.

So I think you folks who say you've been camping for X years and have never had a problem and therefore the dealer full of crap, or it's a warranty issue (i.e., LET it fail, then worry about) are being very disingenuous.

I would suggest the OP check out the threads here relating to past failures, then inspect his tank supports and THEN decide he if wants/needs to follow the dealer recommendation or not. OR beef up his supports.

[jimmoore13]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

<<SNIP>> are being very disingenuous.
<<SNIP>

Suggest what you will, and you're entitled to your opinion, but "disingenuous" ??

The name calling certainly doesn't fit with the nature of this forum.
Many of us need to travel with full fresh water tanks, and there is nothing "disingenuous" about the suggestion to expect the RV to perform as designed...or demand a warranty repair so it will. Sorry if that offends you somehow.

[gwaltneyra]

Good stuff!😀

[gebills]

Greetings farmermike: I don't think the integrity in tanks constructed of various materials are greatly different; they are constructed to take some pressure from within. I suppose it may make a difference on how far you're traveling as far as making a person comfortable with what they are hauling. When we travel from Phoenix Arizona to the Seattle area, we travel with at least 1/3 of a tank of water for use at rest stops (we always use our own facilities at rest stops) and if you have a unexpected water hook up at any RV park that you stop at overnight. Having water in your tanks is enough to get you by for one night not having access to a water hook up. The risk of traveling with any liquid in tanks, regardless of their design (i.e. a poly tank, and aluminum tank, or a steel tank) is the bouncing the water does inside the tank, putting pressure on the walls and seams of the tank as you bounce down the road. I work with a processing ship where we travel with tanks of various construction (poly, aluminum, and steel construction) and I will assure you that the fuel's and waters and various liquids we have those tanks bounce around a lot more in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea than they do while you're driving down interstate 80. Is there a concern of a tank fracture? The risk is greater with something in the tank than with nothing in the tank, although a tank is designed as a carrying capacity and I guess in my experience I haven't seen any great risk involved in carrying 10 to 15 gallons of water in a poly tank rumbling down the road. As mentioned, we have always traveled with at least 20 to 30 gallons in our fresh water tank for personal use as we travel the road systems.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by jimmoore13

Suggest what you will, and you're entitled to your opinion, but "disingenuous" ??

The name calling certainly doesn't fit with the nature of this forum.
Many of us need to travel with full fresh water tanks, and there is nothing "disingenuous" about the suggestion to expect the RV to perform as designed...or demand a warranty repair so it will. Sorry if that offends you somehow.

Name calling? Because I used a word you had to look up? Give me a break.

(BTW, it's an adjective/adverb as used, not a noun.)

Did you bother to go back and look at some of the failure posts?

You have no clue what the OP's tank supports look like, yet your'e telling him that simply because YOU'VE been camping/boondocking for a zillion years., he should blow off the dealers warning. In the nature of this forum, I'm trying to prevent him for having any grief with a failed tank support.

Originally Posted by jimmoore13

I see this is a very active thread...with lots of opinions. If you plan to boondock, then the sales person is full of "it."

My rationale:

• I boondock almost exclusively; Has nothing to do with the OPs tank support ability
• I'm not interested in filling my tank with "strange water" using hoses, etc. that have been used for "whatever;" Has nothing to do with the OPs tank support ability
• Where I go, there are few or NO places to fill the tank anyway; Has nothing to do with the OPs tank support ability
• I trust my home water and my home water equipment; Has nothing to do with the OPs tank support ability
• If the tank and/or supports can't handle the load, the BEST time to find out is during warranty; So, fill it, let it fail, THEN worry about it? (As it perhaps goes bouncing down the road?)
• RV sales staff make up crap all the time. This was most likely the sales person's personal preference. But the owner's manual dictates compliance with warranty standards...not the opinion of some sales person. You're joking, right? And, for the record, I'd put both the sales person AND the dealership on notice that they either provide evidence of some restriction about traveling with full tanks OR STFU with their nonsense;
• Most of my boondocking is done 10 to 20 miles into gravel forest service roads that are pot-holed, washboarded, and rough. I've grounded my steps more than a few times (and I carry a 6 pound sledge to straighten them on arrival). These are far more challenging conditions than a paved highway, and there's NO WATER SOURCE once I start down these roads. Under these very challenging conditions, my water tank is always full. Great for your rig. Show proof that the OPS supports are just as good as yours have been.

[N6ZCM]

In thirty years of owning RV's I have never lost any tanks... In all my travels never seen one happen. Try to dump grey and black as much as possible and keep the fresh full... nothing worse than the look on the wife's face when she can not wash her face and hands... or clean up the RV on the road cause there is no water.
OK so I have some money to burn paying for fuel to haul water BUT.... Happy Wife Happy Life!!!!!

I agree if an RV manufacturer puts a 60 gallon water tank on, it should be able to hold 60 gallons while traveling, if not.... then time to move on to a different manufacturer!!!

I can tell you it is worse to carry partially filled tanks, most of these tanks do not have baffles so it can slosh left and right, forward and back that will put a lot of stress on the mount... BUT still it should handle it.

SO I saw where a Ford truck fuel tank supports failed... so do we start driving at around with 1/2 tanks of fuel?

[rockfordroo]

OK, for the non-believers:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...up-142496.html
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ter-64919.html
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ng-131021.html
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...de-129346.html
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...em-111168.html
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ke-136322.html
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ut-100622.html

[Portagie1968]

The Wick Kitty 30RLBS back in the day when she was made lots of models had problems with tanks because of no support. Ours has had some extra bracing placed under it but we still do not travel with water. We by passed this issue of needing water by setting up the toilet before we leave and carrying a milk jug of nonpotable water in the shower for emergency flushing on the road. Key word is emergency. We carrying about 6 bottles of water in a ice chest, along with other required end of day refreshments, in old red and about 6 bottles of water in the refer inside the wicked kitty. If needed fill up fresh water at the camp ground. Worked for 11 years.

[CaptnJohn]

THere are more than enough threads and pictures of FR tanks bulged, hanging, and on the ground/road here that would preclude me from ever moving an FR product with more than 1/2 tank. Granted they are in the minority but I'm not a gambler. The odds are in your favor but sometimes you lose anyway.

[N6ZCM]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

OK, for the non-believers:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...up-142496.html
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ter-64919.html
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ng-131021.html
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...de-129346.html
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...em-111168.html
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ke-136322.html
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ut-100622.html

OK so the first was... he overfilled the tank and it swelled and weakened the supports, second one he admitted he has had problems filling tank so he forced fed the tank and the tank expanded with air which broke the supports.

So these are users not following instructions on filling a water tank, newer RV's now have a siphon hose so you can not over fill it.