How full is too full?

[JRTJH]

Do fresh water tank straps break? Yes
Do fresh water tanks split? Yes
Does the same happen to black or gray tanks? Yes

Does that mean that it's a frequent problem? No
Does that mean everyone should "avoid" using their tanks as designed? No

It's a fact that tanks have fallen out of trailers, tanks have split while towing, even while sitting in a campground after towing.

It's also a fact that trailers have uncoupled from the tow vehicle. Other trailers have "turned upside down" and some have even turned the tow vehicle upside down in the process. It's a "known fact" that some slides have deployed while towing, some bumpers have fallen off, some propane tanks have worked loose, some battery trays have fallen off with broken welds. Heck, there's even an incident where the entire rear cap literally "fell off the trailer"....

Do any of those mean that we should stop towing, stop filling propane tanks, stop buying trailers with slides (or run a big cargo strap around the trailer to "safeguard" the slide) or stop putting batteries on the battery tray ????

Is there a reason not to fill the tanks because of fuel mileage? For my rig, I get the same mileage whether I'm towing the trailer alone, the trailer and boat or the trailer and slingshot, so my fuel mileage isn't affected "at all" by the weight of 40 gallons of water. So, economical towing ???? Does it matter if the water tanks are full???

I'd suggest that it's up to each owner to do what he thinks works best for him/her, but I can assure you, there's no "hard and fast rule" that states (or even suggests) that towing with fresh/black/gray water onboard should be avoided.

We have members who don't fill their tanks, that's OK.
We have members who only fill half way, that's OK.
We have members who don't worry about water, that's OK.
We have members who fill tanks full, that's OK.

Heck, we have members who worry about towing with the refrigerator operating, we have members who tow with a generator running to operate the air conditioner, we have members who turn on their furnace to "pre-heat" their trailer, we have members who "ABSOLUTELY" believe any of these things is "COMPLETELY UNSAFE and just morally wrong"... Who's right? Who's wrong? Who's "just a little bit right" or "just a little bit wrong" ????

Hmmmmm Hurry up spring !!! Full, half full or empty, it's time to stop looking at them and start using them.....

[fjr vfr]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Do fresh water tank straps break? Yes
Do fresh water tanks split? Yes
Does the same happen to black or gray tanks? Yes

Does that mean that it's a frequent problem? No
Does that mean everyone should "avoid" using their tanks as designed? No

It's a fact that tanks have fallen out of trailers, tanks have split while towing, even while sitting in a campground after towing.

It's also a fact that trailers have uncoupled from the tow vehicle. Other trailers have "turned upside down" and some have even turned the tow vehicle upside down in the process. It's a "known fact" that some slides have deployed while towing, some bumpers have fallen off, some propane tanks have worked loose, some battery trays have fallen off with broken welds. Heck, there's even an incident where the entire rear cap literally "fell off the trailer"....

Do any of those mean that we should stop towing, stop filling propane tanks, stop buying trailers with slides (or run a big cargo strap around the trailer to "safeguard" the slide) or stop putting batteries on the battery tray ????

Is there a reason not to fill the tanks because of fuel mileage? For my rig, I get the same mileage whether I'm towing the trailer alone, the trailer and boat or the trailer and slingshot, so my fuel mileage isn't affected "at all" by the weight of 40 gallons of water. So, economical towing ???? Does it matter if the water tanks are full???

I'd suggest that it's up to each owner to do what he thinks works best for him/her, but I can assure you, there's no "hard and fast rule" that states (or even suggests) that towing with fresh/black/gray water onboard should be avoided.

We have members who don't fill their tanks, that's OK.
We have members who only fill half way, that's OK.
We have members who don't worry about water, that's OK.
We have members who fill tanks full, that's OK.

Heck, we have members who worry about towing with the refrigerator operating, we have members who tow with a generator running to operate the air conditioner, we have members who turn on their furnace to "pre-heat" their trailer, we have members who "ABSOLUTELY" believe any of these things is "COMPLETELY UNSAFE and just morally wrong"... Who's right? Who's wrong? Who's "just a little bit right" or "just a little bit wrong" ????

Hmmmmm Hurry up spring !!! Full, half full or empty, it's time to stop looking at them and start using them.....

Amen...oh wise one.

[Papsmagee]

I bought a new Springdale 179QBWE last May, so I'm relatively new to this world of RV camping. I've not heard anything until this question about not going with full FW tank. In the 35 or 40 days I've been out camping, we've done maybe 25 days dry camping. In these cases I go out full 60. I have not had any trouble, but now I wonder. The FW tank begins right above the back axle and goes on back toward the end of the trailer. Should I be concerned about too much rear end weight?


billberg47

[notanlines]

Paps, don't give it another thought. Keep filling it to wherever your little heart desires. There will be other things along your RV'ing path to worry about. Is the C-store out of Budweiser, does the restaurant have thin crust pizza, can we get Daytona 500 on the TV way out here in the 'wilderness?'
See? Put that water thing behind you.