Traveling with a full water tank

[wanderingbob]

Every owner should fill the tank full and take a serious look under , many will be surprised at what they see . My last four TTs , two had to have the straps reinforced . One tank fell out on I-75 .
The trailer that I have now has a 30 gallon tank but the pump would start sucking air after we had used 14 gallons . Looked under , the tank had a large ' belly ' hanging down about 4 inches . All my water was in that belly . The pickup tube was in a corner and all the water was way down there . Bought some straps a Tractor Supply and me and my bride [ 47 years ] fixed it up fine . Lots of water now . We always travel with full tanks , Thirty gallons of water weigh about what my mother-in-law weighs , so I just leave her home !

[Hclarkx]

Originally Posted by TomHoward

I have a 2017 Miro Lite 21fbrs. My wife and I plan on boonddocking next month in Colorado. I have heard there are issues traveling with a full water tank due to strapping issues. The tank falls out the bottom.
Is that an issue for only certain years? We plan on bringing collapsible water jugs but we are open to other ideas.

I tow with a "3/4 ton" with 6.5' bed. For $100 and change (fittings) I put a 46 gallon tank across the front of the bed. A 60 gallon would have fit but left me with no payload margin -- margin is 350 lbs with the 46 gallon tank. I usually draw directly from this tank but have transferred the water to the 5er if the truck can't be parked near the 5er. I filter water going into this tank and again coming out. Having this tank makes getting more water "in town" an easy task for longer periods of dry camping.

And I have a joint in the hose at the truck bed that separates easily for the times that I drive off without disconnecting the water.

[Comanchecreek]

Just came back from dry camping in the Colorado mountains. No water available so hauled 60 gallons in trailer up the hill. No biggy, but I do notice the extra 500 pounds. We go to a different campground often up the same road and I run empty to there. No sense hauling water if I can get it there. Why pay the price to haul it if you don't have too. I can't see my tank with the bottom in my trailer, but will inspect if and when I have an issue that requires removal. If you go to the section in these forums for your specific trailer brand I'm sure you will find if your rig has tendencies for tank problems. Most of the trailers built by Forest River companies have specific weaknesses inherent to that brand. Also if you plan on dry camping Colorado, be prepared with solar and or a generator. Dump stations can also be hard to find, but if you purchase a Colorado State Park day pass you can use the facilities for the day to both dump,and fill with water. I think a day pass is 10 bucks this year. You can get a listing of State Parks online. There are many and usually one along your path somewhere. Most are worth visiting in their own right.

[babock]

X2

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

If 400lbs of water causes you to have handling and safety concerns, you have much bigger problems with your rig........

[Less is More]

I live in Colorado too. I carry 1/3 to 1/2 tank of water because we frequently boondock. Virtually all Forest Service campgrounds have water but no dump. Most have unthreaded spigots. I suggest you buy a water bandit to fill your tank. Several rest stops on I 70 have trailer servicing facilities including potable water. Bottom line, it depends on where you are going and what kind of camping you do. If you list the places you plan on visiting someone may be able to tell you whats available.

[Comanchecreek]

Originally Posted by Less is More

I live in Colorado too. I carry 1/3 to 1/2 tank of water because we frequently boondock. Virtually all Forest Service campgrounds have water but no dump. Most have unthreaded spigots. I suggest you buy a water bandit to fill your tank. Several rest stops on I 70 have trailer servicing facilities including potable water. Bottom line, it depends on where you are going and what kind of camping you do. If you list the places you plan on visiting someone may be able to tell you whats available.

I have been threatened with a ticket for using a water bandit in the Forest Service Campgrounds at Lake Granby. Of course they have gotten ridiculous with all their regulations there. Since the private contractors have taken over, they hire "Camp Nazis" to patrol. I think they get a cut of every ticket. Needless to say, I stay away, and recommend others do as well. When I encounter those types of spigots I use a water tank and pump to fill. Stupid regulation if you ask me.

[NMWildcat]

Ok, I've got to ask why using a water bandit on a water source warrants a ticket, unless there was signage with other type of water restrictions for that source?

Originally Posted by Comanchecreek

I have been threatened with a ticket for using a water bandit in the Forest Service Campgrounds at Lake Granby. Of course they have gotten ridiculous with all their regulations there. Since the private contractors have taken over, they hire "Camp Nazis" to patrol. I think they get a cut of every ticket. Needless to say, I stay away, and recommend others do as well. When I encounter those types of spigots I use a water tank and pump to fill. Stupid regulation if you ask me.

[pgandw]

Living in Colorado, water is one of the research items when I decide where to camp. Depending on altitude, many mountain campgrounds shut down their water system in September (next month!) and don't restart them until May, while the campground may remain open most of the year.

My A-frame only has a 20 gal tank, and I do normally fill the tank at home before we go. I also inspect the tank and straps every few months.

hope this helps
Fred W
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states own weekend at a time

[McCormickJim]

MWILDCAT

Yes, in Colorado there are forest service spigots that are not threaded and there is sinage to not fill RV tanks.

I have no idea why they do this.

[jimmoore13]

If you plan to travel with a full fresh tank, REINFORCE IT.
The steel frame designed to hold the tank is strong enough, but the plastic tank is not.

Water weighs 8.3 pounds per gallon. A a full 40 gallon tank will hold 332 pounds of water. Expecting a (I believe) rotocast plastic tank to carry that kind of weight over a typical 24" unsupported span of plastic is asking for problems.

Your tank and support will require a "custom" solution, but you'll be happy you did. Some angle iron and hardware should do the trick.

The tank on my PUP is 20 gallons. I just received a replacement, because the close the barn door after the horse escaped method led to a small crack in my tank that can't be repaired.

Pictured below is my tank support. Works like a charm. When I installed it, the part now supported was sagging about 3" below it's current position. I spread the support with 1/2" plywood and a piece of rubber door mat to protect the tank. If you look closely, you can see the drip of water from the crack high in the tank. I'll install the replacement during the off season...just did a weekend without having to add water despite the leak.

Boondocking means many things. But if you plan to go far into rough gravel roads in national forests and BLM land carrying full tanks, as I do, you will torture your fresh tank if you don't support it.

PS If you use angle iron for supports, be sure to bevel at least the fronts so the don't catch on snags if you're off-road. If you're going to do serious boondocking, consider lifting the rig. I lifted mine, and now it can go anywhere. You can see the lift kit installed on the far end of the axle.

[mwdilday]

I always travel with full tanks. Never had an issue.

[NMWildcat]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, very interesting. Now I'm curious and just have to know WHY!!!

Originally Posted by McCormickJim

MWILDCAT

Yes, in Colorado there are forest service spigots that are not threaded and there is sinage to not fill RV tanks.

I have no idea why they do this.

[Comanchecreek]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

Ok, I've got to ask why using a water bandit on a water source warrants a ticket, unless there was signage with other type of water restrictions for that source?

The story I got from the Forest Service guy is that they are worried about contaminated back feed into their water system. Never have been sure how that is supposed to happen, but that was their story, and their stickin' to it.

[NMWildcat]

Thanks for helping to ease my curiosity. Can't fill an RV tank, but you can fill a water can. Hmmmm. Sounds like government bureaucracy at its finest. Some desk jockey somewhere thought this was a good idea

Originally Posted by Comanchecreek

The story I got from the Forest Service guy is that they are worried about contaminated back feed into their water system. Never have been sure how that is supposed to happen, but that was their story, and their stickin' to it.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by Comanchecreek

The story I got from the Forest Service guy is that they are worried about contaminated back feed into their water system. Never have been sure how that is supposed to happen, but that was their story, and their stickin' to it.

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

Thanks for helping to ease my curiosity. Can't fill an RV tank, but you can fill a water can. Hmmmm. Sounds like government bureaucracy at its finest. Some desk jockey somewhere thought this was a good idea

Guess the Gov't's never heard of check valves. Most every CG these days has them:

[UT_Grandpa]

We live in a desert. Water systems are designed for cautious consumption, not water storage in RVs. These are typically fed by a small spring that might take 12 hours to refill the water tank up the hill (gravity fed to the campground). If the tank is dry, the campground may close.

I travel ready for dry camping even in a developed campground. Two trips ago we had a bad outlet in the site we were in, it took some time to get it fixed but other than the A/C, which we didn't need, we were OK until it was fixed.

Your mileage may vary but I err on the side of saving the trip versus weight in the TT

[rlh1957]

You could go by a welding shop and have them look at the frame of the water tanks and see what they think about carrying a full 43 gals (approx. 350 - 400 lbs) The 43 gals they call FW tank in the specs is usually somewhat less as manf call FW capacity the FW tank filled and the HW tank filled... so the FW tank is anywhere from 6 gallons to 12 gallons less. A welding show can look that the straps, brackets and makeup and tell you if they think it is made well enough to carry full of water.
It shouldn't cost that much or take that long for them to weld extra support straps in place. Should be an easily accessible place to weld a couple of straps and beef it up.

I went once on a trip thinking I could fill up the tank closer to my destination and not pull the extra weight or worry about straps... Turns out that wasn't good, because as we got close to where we were going there had been some flood or suspected water contamination so all places had potable water shut off. 'Should have filled at home from known good source"
We always carry at least half full now for use on the road, just in case scenarios or campsite water supply gets cutoff during camping. And towing 350lbs extra weight of water hasn't made a difference in fuel mileage that I can calculate or truck computer calculates.
Everyone has their own methods, ideas and reasons. There's not a right or wrong answer. Water tanks as well as anything else should be checked for stress, weld cracks, or other loose fittings underneath.
But at some point in a boondocking or water shortage you will have to fill and tow. We have been to places that the nearest place to tank up on fuel or water is over 50 miles away.
So if you can't or aren't supposed to tow full, what's the tank for?
Of 4 units we've had not one manufacturer recommended against towing with full water tank.

[babock]

Originally Posted by rlh1957

It shouldn't cost that much or take that long for them to weld extra support straps in place. Should be an easily accessible place to weld a couple of straps and beef it up.

Not a good idea to weld straps into place. Better to have whatever is made up bolted into place so the tank can be removed easily at a later date if necessary.

[rlh1957]

Originally Posted by babock

Not a good idea to weld straps into place. Better to have whatever is made up bolted into place so the tank can be removed easily at a later date if necessary.

Just repeating the example from the Cougar dealer doing what the factory told them was the solution when tanks were dropping out of their 5th wheel rigs. A friends nearly full tank dropped when one strap broke and the other was barely holding it in going down the highway. Luckily we saw it drop and all pulled safely over. Manf advised a temporary fix to hold it in place until he got home after trip and they could have tank replaced and problem fixed. So welding straps was what was advised by the factory. You wouldn't want to remove a Fix anyway. The original design as poorly put in place, using metal that was several gauges to thin and factory was having to fix them all for free and change their line.

[HangDiver]

I attached 1/4" thick angle iron to the main supports (bolted on) and added additional cross bar supports to my Micro Lite.