Ultralite - traveling with water

[PatHoppe]

Hello,
One of the things that drew us to the Ultralite was the size of the tanks. Has anyone had any issue with traveling with a full tank of water in their a Ultralite?

Did anyone feel the need to re-enforce the the brackets/bracing under the fresh water tank.

TIA,

Pat

[yetavon]

we do travel with some water, but never full.

[debit]

We also travel with some water. We have also carried water is extra hugs (and a funnel to fill the tanks).
But there are lots of threads here on the subject. I'd first crawl under the unit and see what holds the water tank. Some here, have added straps for more support.
...............
Ram 2500 diesel / FR Surveyor 251rks

[Spragueman]

Morning Pat
A full tank translates into a lot of weight. In area of 400 plus lbs for our rigs. When I head to the southwest shortly I will carry a full tank if I'm boondocking and travelling relatively short distances but otherwise only a small amount.
Not sure about reinforcing the tank. That's a question the dealer / factory should answer.
Here is a question for you. I believe the 2020s come with a tire pressure monitor system. I missed that info when I bought mine. Can you provide any info ie make etc.
Thanks

[007matman]

I've ran it plumb full for 12 hours straight through the South, North, East and West. No issues at all.

Had an issue with my forward gray water tank.. it had slid down between two supports because there was too much left to right movement allowed. I suck a couple of 1 X 2's on each side between the frame and the tank and haven't had an issue since.

[PatHoppe]

Hi Paul
It is a tire pressure and temp monitor system by TST. When I pick it up, I will post pictures.
Pat

[llr]

I travel with full water every time. No issues so far.

[Kimber45]

I always travel with a full fresh tank when im camping someplace without water on site because im not going to wait in the Friday night line to fill. no issues yet. I have read threads about tanks falling out, but don't know how often it really happens.

[rockfordroo]

Lots of threads here on FW tank supports buckling and tanks falling out on Roo/Shamrocks and Mini/Micro-Lites. Don't recall any on Ultralites.

[Hatchdog]

I’m still in the break in period of my 2020 making only five trips last year. (Purchased in July 2019) I carry a full tank when traveling to camps without water which was three of my five trips. However, these three trips were short with only a few hours of driving. My longest trip was cross state and I carried about 10 gallons as I was heading to a spot with full hookups.

No issues for me so far, my biggest concern is my 60 gal water tank is located at the rear of my trailer which lightens up my tongue weight a bit. 10% with a full tank but I haven’t weighed it yet with an empty tank.

I’m planning on hauling water as a destination dictates but will keep a sharp eye on my water tank.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

Lots of threads here on FW tank supports buckling and tanks falling out on Roo/Shamrocks and Mini/Micro-Lites. Don't recall any on Ultralites.

X2
There has been lots of discussion on this subject previously on the models rockfordroo mentioned.

Many of the models were to get remedied with better brackets in later model years to keep the fresh tank from falling so for the OP, the ONLY way to know FOR SURE is to look at you fresh tank brackets and determine if you can safely haul a full tank.

Personally, I would not own a R/V that I couldn't haul a full tank of water.
These are mobile units and I know my water is good. I want to be able to fill at home and go anywhere I choose WITHOUT having to rely on whether there is water at the destination.

[ncebeemer]

Only travel with partial tank. Saves weight and fear of dropping a tank. Usually can find water source at or near campground for final fill.

[Lundy]

Partial tanks are worse than a full tank as the water can slosh back and forth causing the trailer to sway. As other have said the Minne and Micro and some others years back had issues with tanks falling, but they have been redesigned since those problems. In the three years I have followed this site I have not seen any Ultralites with a failed tank. I'm sure that there are a lot of trailers carrying full tanks of water with no failures. It boils down to personal preference on how you travel. We often boon dock so we carry water 100% of the time.

[mnoland30]

My Roo actually seemed to travel better (no sway) with full tanks. Could be it was the load in the truck that made the difference. I always travel to my camp with a full tank. Not so much on the way home.

[007matman]

Originally Posted by mnoland30

My Roo actually seemed to travel better (no sway) with full tanks. Could be it was the load in the truck that made the difference. I always travel to my camp with a full tank. Not so much on the way home.

It might. Having the extra weight down low would be beneficial.

[rockfordroo]

Adding weight to the tongue will help sway. If your FW tank is forward of the trailer axles, filling the tank will add tongue weight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2fkOVHAC8Q

[m and j in va]

On some longer trips I fill about 1/3 tank for using the bathroom

[Sammici]

Sadly I can only bring a couple of gallons while traveling in my Palomino Mini 181FBS because tongue weight is already 550 pounds and the freshwater tank adds pound for pound on the tounge.

[PatHoppe]

Thanks for all the replies. I’m not worried about weight. Even with full fresh water at 8 lbs per gallon, we will still be under GVWR for tt and truck. Class V hitch so lots of room on the tongue weight. As an engineer, I’ve run the numbers. I just didn’t know how well built the supports are. Since they can change over the years, I will have to open up the underbelly and look around once it’s out of warranty.

[Spragueman]

Morning Pat
Good thought. Let me know what you see under there if you get it before I do. Man I'm having a hard time being patient waiting for our unit to come in. I want to get on the road for a couple months. Getting tired of snow and cold.