Towing Full Or Empty

[Red14]

Forgive me if it’s been asked before but just curious how others travel. I just took our new trailer on our first trip and pulled it full to the site and didn’t dump until almost home. Just curious if on long distance pulls if everyone puts some water in for the bathroom use or fully loaded for the longer hauls.

[BrooksFam]

As we are not boon dockers, I travel nearly empty. Keep about 5 gals of FW only just in case we need the toilet/sink while on our way to the destination. I always dump when leaving the CG if at all possible leaving a small amount of water in the grey and black tanks to slosh around.

[Dhuhn]

We rarely boondock so I usually carry about a 1/3 full of water in fresh tank in case I need it while traveling. I alway empty my grey tanks before I leave RV park so I don’t have to carry that extra weight.

[chuckster57]

Water is "dead weight" and you should'nt haul it if you don't need it. Like others I dont dry camp so I keep the waste tanks empty and the fresh tank at about 1/3.

[Ken / Claudia]

I mostly travel with full water and at times full holding tanks. I have compared towing empty and full on some trips and have not noticed any difference in fuel use or the way the trailer handles. I have tested that with a in bed truck camper and TTs. I also have used 3/4 and mostly 1 ton tow vehicles when tested that out and had a lot of reserve capacity on the TVs.
Since I do pull on logging roads, I drive slow but it's still rough. I want to drop the corplast bottom and some point and add strapping across the tanks as a extra precaution to not have a tank shift out of it's mounts.
I do agree with Chuck that if not needed why carry all that extra weight.

[sourdough]

I think everyone develops a process that works for them over time. We don't boondock so initially I carried 1/3 tank fresh water and empty holding tanks. I dumped when leaving every site. The last trailer and the awkward placement of the pull handles for the holding tanks led us to stop dumping at every overnight stop and holding up to 3 days of waste water if traveling cross country then dump. Made it much less of a hassle. I also went from 1/2 tank fresh to maybe 5-10 gallons because we never used it. My concern was (is) the weight in the tanks driving across some of the terrible highways we have. I've read numerous stories and seen pics of the tanks breaking free of their mounts and don't want that headache. Just something to think about.

[flybouy]

You will need to tailor your fresh & wastewater carrying with your travel habits. "Typically", we travel to our destination in one day and stay there for several days. On those trips, 5 or so gallons for toilet and washing hands is plenty. Empty black and gray before leaving.

We usually don't hopscotch across the country. On longer trips we may overnight in a cg before moving on to the next destination where we'll typically spend a few days. On that one night stop I may or may not connect to sewer, depends on use. If we both take showers then I'll hook up and dump. Otherwise I'll wait until our next stop.

I will always travel with a few gallons in black and gray tanks to keep valves lubed and bottom of tank covered.

[wiredgeorge]

Pretty much the same as Marshall but I have never traveled with a drop of water in the fresh water tank. Probably not a bad idea since I seem to need to stop more frequently than when I was a few years younger and sometimes my wife gets irritated if I can't find a tree.

[ADQ K9]

Outbound I travel with fresh water full, and if there is not a dump station available then I will haul it back to town. I like to go prepared never know where we might end up and need the water. We do boondock at a lot of the federal and state campgrounds here in Alaska since most do not have the infastructure for provide electric, sewer and water. Most of the private campgrounds do have hookups but your are paying for that in fees.

[JRTJH]

One "concept" I haven't seen mentioned in this thread is "trailer sway induced by a partially full water tank"...

Years ago, RV holding tanks and FW tanks were baffled to minimize the "sloshing of liquids in the tank". If you can imagine 200 pounds of water "sloshing side to side" at the extreme rear of a 31' travel trailer, you can understand how that "could translate to steering issues at the other end of the rig"...

Many of today's RV tanks are not baffled or are "minimally baffled" and any liquid above that small baffle can affect trailer stability. Depending on the weight distribution of your cargo, the location of your tanks, the type of hitch you use and even the tire pressure in your tow vehicle tires, you might find that your rig is more stable with full or empty tanks than with half full tanks...

[Pull Toy]

We travel to "full hook-up" sites only... One 2,5 gas can full of flush water, just in case. 24 bottles of Spring Water in 'fridge, helps to keep fridge temps down, even if we take half out at destination.

Water = 8 +/- lbs per gallon, clean or dirty, why drag it if you don't need to?

Good Luck,

[notanlines]

Like George, we have never had water in any of our fresh water tanks on any RV. We travel with three milk jugs full next to the toilet to 'flush' while on the road. It just didn't seem like we needed to bring it because we don't boondock.

[NH_Bulldog]

We travel with 6-8 gallons of water in the fresh water tank for use of the sink and toilet while on the road, especially under current conditions with Covid. When we get to where we are going, we would fill the tank at check-in if we were at a place with no hook-ups, or just connect the hose at a full hook-up campground. When we leave, we dump the black and grey tanks before we hit the road.

[Diver]

I do carry about a 1/2 tank in fresh water tank ....toilet use and handwashing but what if your tow vehicle overheats pulling a hill or what ever ...embarrassing to sit and wait for a service call if all you need is a gallon of water to top off the radiator ... Hmmmmm.!!

black and gray empty if I can

[roadglide]

I always have water in my tank and won’t leave home with out it. For Debra and I having water is the most important commodity traveling the country in a rv. That and a 100 gallons of fuel to go where we like .

[dutchmensport]

How much water you carry depends upon if you boom dock or not, or how long you plan on traveling before you have access to another water source.

The more empty the tank, the better it is. Same is true with grey and black tanks. How much you carry with you depends upon how close you are to your next dump station. Again, empty is always best.

I think most people travel with at least a few gallons in the fresh water tank for bathroom stops while in transit.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Diver

I do carry about a 1/2 tank in fresh water tank ....toilet use and handwashing but what if your tow vehicle overheats pulling a hill or what ever ...embarrassing to sit and wait for a service call if all you need is a gallon of water to top off the radiator ... Hmmmmm.!!

black and gray empty if I can

If I have a vehicle overheat (barring a malfunction on my part) I have the wrong vehicle. That service call would be bringing me a new truck.....

[Canonman]

We do a fair amount of dry/boon-dock camping. I'm with Chuckster, that too much water is just dead weight. 10 gallons or so is enough for us. We plan on filling our FW tank at the last place possible. Usually a fuel stop will have potable water available. Also most forest service, state or national park campgrounds will have potable water and a dump station. This method does take some planning to know where you can fill the fresh tank or dump the others, but so far it has not proved to be any problem. We have overnighted several times with just the water onboard with no inconvenience.
I do not consider the weight of whisky an issue

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by Diver

I do carry about a 1/2 tank in fresh water tank ....toilet use and handwashing but what if your tow vehicle overheats pulling a hill or what ever ...embarrassing to sit and wait for a service call if all you need is a gallon of water to top off the radiator ... Hmmmmm.!!

black and gray empty if I can

I carry the appropriate coolant for my vehicle & wouldn't put straight water in my radiator.
We also never had water in the fw tank, had a 1 1/2 gallon jug next to the toilet for potty stops & hand sanitizer near by for hand washing.

[Stircrazy]

For 30 years and severl campers/trailers/and fith wheels I have allways traveled with the freshwater full. the rv is designed for that weight, your truck should be designed for the weight. even when I dont boondock I find some campground have horrible water and would rather use my own if I can.when I find good water I top the tank back up.

Steve