Traveling with a full water tank

[Eric_H_E]

Im still new here and am wondering, for those of you who travel with a partial load of water, can you feel it slosh in the tank? Or is it such a small % of the total weight, that it is not noticable.

[Wanabee FTer]

Hi Eric,
I can't feel or hear any fluids sloshing when driving. My fuel and FWT is at the rear of the coach, makes me wonder if someone in the back bedroom would be able to hear anything. The fuel tank has baffles, so that stays pretty quiet.

[steelheadbluesman]

Interesting comments, and it seems you all have excellent reasons for your personal choice. That's what the RV life is all about: making choices that work for YOU, right? I travel in the west (lots of mountains and hills), I'm fulltiming (lots of gear gets me to the max), so for me another 800 lbs can slow down my lumbering gasser. Like Lorna, I fill up in all kinds of out-of-the-way places.

[motohomer]

As was mentioned earlier, we generally travel with a full water tank to help equalize the suspension.
Our W22 based 33V is light up front, with a full fresh tank midship, the front end stays planted nicely.

With no fresh, full gas and black tanks; we are practically doing wheelies. It looks cool, but is hard to steer.

[Duner]

Originally Posted by Eric_H_E

Im still new here and am wondering, for those of you who travel with a partial load of water, can you feel it slosh in the tank? Or is it such a small % of the total weight, that it is not noticable.

Winnie uses two 35 gal L-shaped tanks for my 70 gal fresh water, so there is no sloshing around at all. You won't hear any of the holding tanks slosh either.

[powerboatr]

short trips to KNOWN water sources i only carrying enough for toilet duties on the road


however long trip to unknowns i carry about 1/3 - 1/2 if i may have to dry camp overnight.
we also have a RO system in the rv for use to make coffee and Gatorade so park water quality other than hardness is not a huge factor.

weight wise i am still within limits with a full bag of water(100 gallons)
but i have only done it a few times.

[mikf]

I travel with a full tank of fresh water, but try not to refill when it gets low without dumping my grey and black.

[Dr4Film]

I traveled to Alaska and back this past summer. On the way up, I would only fill the tank half full due to weight and fuel economy. We got 7 mpg on the way up. When coming back, I wanted the convenience of a full tank of fresh water. We only use the tank water for showers, cleaning and the toilet. We always use filtered water for cooking and drinking. Well after the 4000 miles coming back to California, we got 7 mpg on the way back. There wasn't ANY noticeable difference in fuel economy whether I drove with a half tank or a full tank.

So now I go with convenience and start off with a full tank of water every time we head out on our journey.

Dr4Film ----- Richard.

[Pusherman]

We travel with a full tank of fresh water and empty gray/black tanks whenever possible. Over the last 2 motorhomes, we have broken down 3 times and have had to spend unexpected time (a weekend once) in the parking lot of the repair facility. Glad to have had a full fresh water tank.

I know that additional weight affects mileage, but I don't believe it's that significant, and would rather have the fresh water on board.

[SpursMVP]

Originally Posted by mikron

Almost 9 lbs per gallon. We only fill half or less until hook up to camp water. We do take RO water from the house for drinking, don't trust the water around the country. Going to install RO system in the coach.

This is why we always leave with a full tank. We know what we have for those shorter trips. I've been to RV parks where I've turned on the hookup spigot before hooking up a hose and brown water came out....yuch! (No water from you thank you).

[rodz]

Full tank for me. There's not as much difference in fuel economy as you think.

[Tom-NC]

I always travel with a full tank of water and propane but leave grey and black water tanks empty. You never know where you might be and the water is bad at next campground or you don't stop at CG's and you have to stop at Wal-Mart or whatever. Your best bet is to have full fresh water tank.

Another reason is for stability in very windy conditions which I have run into on our way out to CA.

When you go to the Thousand Islands there is a great campground in Clayton, NY but for the life of me I have forgotten the name of it but as I recall it was right on the river and there is also a State Park there that has it's own boat ramp to launch a boat. Also while up there be sure to take the Uncle Sam Boat Tour.

[wildtoad]

So far we have only been doing a few days out and back. Water tank usually has just enough water to handle the emergency flush or hand washings. We stay at state parks where there are water/elec hookups and so far access to water has not been an issue. Clearly if we were doing longer trips, doing the Walmart parking lot thing we would carry more water.

[wackymac]

For us it depends on where we are going. Traveling to my son's house in Orlando this weekend, will carry very little water. In January we are going to California, then we will have a full tank because we usually stay at Sam's Clubs or WalMarts and only do the RV campground thing every 2nd or 3rd night. We always usually travel with a full propane tank. We never drink the tank water, we carry bottled water for drinking.

[steelheadbluesman]

Everyone seems to have a good reason for their choices. For me, it's not so much about fuel economy, as it is about power. When I'm climbing through the Cascades, Coast Ranges, Siskiyous, or Blue Mountains, which I do a lot, I prefer to shed a little weight. A personal thing, nothing more. (Probably, if I had a big DP, it wouldn't matter at all)

[Dadeaux]

A full vs half-full only adds approximately 350 lbs with a 95 gallon tank and I have enough boy scout in me to be prepared. I've never been trapped somewhere for an extended time but something like a flat tire on the eve of a big holiday could be lengthy.

[tderonne]

I challenge anyone to be able to tell the fuel economy difference in a few hundred pounds. There are folks that say their 3000 to 4000 pound toad doesn't affect their fuel economy, and that is 10 times the weight, and has mechanical and aero drag too!

In other words, full water tank for me!

[raceguy549]

I gave up traveling with a full water tank (except for short runs to our final destination if dry camping) after the welds holding the tank mounts broke and my tank dropped to the road on a bridge on IH37. That was interesting. Check your mounts folks.

Raceguy

95 Luxor

[ron55]

always full when you get 5 to 6 mpg what difference does it make? poundwise and penny foolish

[Bert_64]

Always full unless the trip is short then about 1/3. Nice to be fully self contaned.