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Old 03-01-2021, 12:35 PM   #1
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Another Water Pump Question - Refilling Toilet On The Road

I plan to leave a couple gallons of water in fresh water tank when traveling just so we can use toilet while on the road. Assume that after flushing toilet the water pump will transfer water from fresh water tank to refill toilet for subsequent flushes while on the road, yes? Al
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Old 03-01-2021, 12:37 PM   #2
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I plan to leave a couple gallons of water in fresh water tank when traveling just so we can use toilet while on the road. Assume that after flushing toilet the water pump will transfer water from fresh water tank to refill toilet for subsequent flushes while on the road, yes? Al
Yea, as long as the pump switch is on
Why only a couple of gallons? We travel with a full FW tank so we have it available.
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Old 03-01-2021, 12:44 PM   #3
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Thx. New to TT thing and was concerned about weight of a full tank sloshing around on the road. Still learning.
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Old 03-01-2021, 01:06 PM   #4
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I plan to leave a couple gallons of water in fresh water tank when traveling just so we can use toilet while on the road. Assume that after flushing toilet the water pump will transfer water from fresh water tank to refill toilet for subsequent flushes while on the road, yes? Al

As mentioned, the water pump will supply water to the toilet (and everything else in your plumbing system) with water from the fresh tank. And it has to be ON to do so. You can turn it on when you need it or leave it on when parked but most everyone shuts the pump off when traveling. Of course, the pump needs to be OFF when connected to city water.

Those with motorhomes do leave them on sometimes when travelling as they would be able to monitor if a faucet accidently jiggled on during travel. You'd likely not see that in a TT or 5th wheel until it is too late.

Also, the toilet really doesn't 'hold' water for a flush like a home style toilet with a tank so the pump really doesn't 'refill' the toilet as much as it simply flushes the toilet. While mentioning toilet flushes and the R/V toilet not having a tank of its own... using enough water is key for R/V toilets. Be sure you have some in the bowl to start with and then add more before finally flushing to get a good "swoosh" into the black holding tank. Also start with several gallons in the black tank before ever using the toilet on trips. You DO NOT want the crap (literally) dropping into a dry tank when you flush.

Traveling with a FULL fresh water tank is an almost daily topic on this forum and there are many who won't do so and many of us who wouldn't leave the house without a full tank. Do a forum search and you'll find days worth of reading and you need to come to conclusions that are best for YOU!
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Old 03-01-2021, 01:49 PM   #5
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thx very much. ya, i forgot about the black tank issue around not having enough water to keep things moistened up vs. hardening up. Al
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Old 03-01-2021, 03:02 PM   #6
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Good question. We all started somewhere. For us, we travel with maybe 1/4 tank of water unless we know we will be boondocking with no water access, then we will fill up before leaving home. The weight argument is a personal decision and I'll leave it there.
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Old 03-01-2021, 03:12 PM   #7
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Take your mind off of traveling with an extra 320 lbs of weight and stress on the tank brackets. Put 5 or 10 gallons in to use on your trip if you want.
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Old 03-01-2021, 03:14 PM   #8
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I'd just note that 10 gallons is 80 pounds, Like adding a child passenger. I always travel with about that as it gives enough water to use for the head and for washing plates or boiling pasta etcl when on the road. We carry a couple of gallons in milk cartons when we've winterized and are driving north....but otherwise use the tanks.
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Old 03-01-2021, 03:20 PM   #9
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Thx. New to TT thing and was concerned about weight of a full tank sloshing around on the road. Still learning.
I never travel with a full tank unless our destination will not have a water spigot for us to fill up with. We do travel with about 1/3 of a tank in case of emergency usage. With Covid19 last year I made sure I had enough water until our destination. The other suggestion I have is to purchase a water bandit in case the water supply at the campground doesn't have threaded connection.
Here is a link to one on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Camco-Connect...s%2C339&sr=8-2
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Old 03-01-2021, 03:47 PM   #10
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We carry a one gallon container in the shower. Use that to refill the toilet if we need to use it. In 14 years of travel we only needed to use it once. So I will keep using the gallon in the shower for now. Add a extra gallon if I think we need it. Toilet is always preped for use when we leave home but not on the return trip.



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Old 03-01-2021, 03:48 PM   #11
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I plan to leave a couple gallons of water in fresh water tank when traveling just so we can use toilet while on the road. Assume that after flushing toilet the water pump will transfer water from fresh water tank to refill toilet for subsequent flushes while on the road, yes? Al
Thats fine like they said must turn the pump on when done turn it back off. Who ever said about carry a full fw tank not a good idea . Them braces isnt strong enough to hold that much weight . Look back in the forum you will see a lot of bow braces and some even lost there tanks Remember water about 8 # per gallon.30 x 8 =240 #
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Old 03-01-2021, 04:01 PM   #12
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Water pimp

I carry 5 gallons normally. I suggest making sure you turn the pump off after using and put the shower head on the floor of the shower. We saw someone last year pull in last year w/ water coming out the 5 ers doors. The shower head fell, hitting the knob turning the water on. I do not know if he started w/ full grey tank or it filled and splashed out. He said he forgot and left his pump on. After seeing the mess I started leaving shower head on the floor to travel.
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Old 03-01-2021, 04:52 PM   #13
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Almost all of our trips over the last 20 years and a dozen different camper; have been on gravel or forest service roads. I have always carried a full tank and never had an issue. For those folks that worry about the straps, what do you do for your full grey and black tanks on the way home?
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Old 03-01-2021, 05:01 PM   #14
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LOL! Excellent point! And another point is that usually you only hear of ultra light type RVs having issues. We also always have a full fresh tank wherever we go without any worries.
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Almost all of our trips over the last 20 years and a dozen different camper; have been on gravel or forest service roads. I have always carried a full tank and never had an issue. For those folks that worry about the straps, what do you do for your full grey and black tanks on the way home?
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Old 03-01-2021, 05:40 PM   #15
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Tanks

I empty grey and black before leaving campground. Why carry "Dead weight"? I have 160 gallons of tanks, over 1200 lbs of extra weight, after deducting the 5 gal. I carry bin FW. I fill before going into boon dock areas or Fed. forrest. I have an app on my phone for free or low cost dump/fill areas. I have found several county parks or churches that do it for donations.
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Old 03-01-2021, 05:43 PM   #16
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I always traveled with a full fresh-water tank until 2 years ago when that tank started leaking. When I inspected my tank, I found that it was sagging past its holding brackets and the rubbing at the corners wore through in one location and wore a second location rather thin. Had I not found the problem, the tank would have eventually dropped to the ground. I used a tank repair kit to fix the leak but now I no longer travel with 50 gallons (>400 pounds) of fresh water. Five to 10 gallons (<80 pounds) will do until I near my camping location and I fill the tank.

On my trailer, the freshwater tank is not as rigid as the gray and black tanks and it doesn’t have the same square shoulders as the other tanks. The gray and black tanks ride just fine on their support brackets, even when nearly full, and they don’t sage like the freshwater tank.

Adding straps to support the bottom of the tank might be a good idea unless this would also wear through the tank. This problem isn’t unique to my trailer as several others have reported fresh-water tank problems.
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Old 03-01-2021, 07:15 PM   #17
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Almost all of our trips over the last 20 years and a dozen different camper; have been on gravel or forest service roads. I have always carried a full tank and never had an issue. For those folks that worry about the straps, what do you do for your full grey and black tanks on the way home?
I always dump mind
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Old 03-01-2021, 07:38 PM   #18
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I always dump mind
Do you use a method similar to a Vulcan mindmeld?
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Old 03-01-2021, 07:52 PM   #19
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I always dump mind
I often try to but some things you just can't unsee! [emoji16][emoji85][emoji2962]
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Old 03-02-2021, 12:33 PM   #20
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Thx. New to TT thing and was concerned about weight of a full tank sloshing around on the road. Still learning.
If the tank is full, it doesn't slosh. I always start off with a full water tank so I don't have to fill when I arrive at the campground. And I have city water from my house.

Most places I camp do not have water hookups at every site, so if I don't have a full tank, I have to find a water source on the way in. Not always a given in Colorado/Utah/Wyoming outside of the summer season. A lot of water sources get shut down Oct - May. Last summer, thanks to Covid, a lot of Forest Service campgrounds did not get their water tested in time for the season. So spigots were shut down for much of the summer. And I've run into issues with campgrounds having to limit/turn off water in a dry year.

Weight of the water is not a factor on towing unless you are going upgrade. You might be eating into your cargo capacity, though. As for buckling the supports, I check them once a year. If they are bending and need reinforcement, I'll do that.

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