Traveling with full water

[tyewalkerfm1]

Ok, so I asked this question on another board but figured I would get better feedback here, sorry if it's a no no to repeat a question.
My family and I just bought a Jay Flight 174bh Baja! We are off grid campers and never dreamed we weren't supposed to travel with full tanks. Well I filled up and we set off on our maiden voyage ( one night) and I began reading the manual. There it was " do jot travel with full water tank"! What the heck did they give me a 30 gallon fresh water tank if I'm not supposed to travel with it? Do you guys travel with full tanks? Will I damage the supports or something doing so?

[Cosmik Debris]

I do, on occasion, and I think you'll hear that many do. I'll often fill up before leaving one site for another more commonly than from home.

[bansai]

My neighbor lost his 80 gallon black tank on the interstate last year. Glad I wasn't behind him. We fill or dump our tanks as close to the destination as possible.. it's not in our owners manual though, I just don't like towing an extra 700 pounds up the mountain. You can beef up the supports under your tanks and never worry about it.

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[Sundancer330]

Since you only have a 30 gallon tank I would not worry about it, maybe keep an eye on the straps and make sure they are snug. I have the same size tank and always have it full when traveling and it hasn't fallen off yet.

[Jagiven]

I have from time to time. I try to fill somewhere close to my destination, primarily so I am not towing all that 3xtra weigjt.

Is your tank inside the camper, or under the floor? Also where is it located? For example at the axles, or near the rear bumper. Location affects the tongue weight, which affects the handling, while towing.

[Bucko06]

Like I tell my kids: "I do it all the time, but that doesn't mean you should". I haul 80 gallons for most of my trips.

[Isaacs]

My tanks have these puny loose sheet metal straps that just sort of flop around under the tank. I don't know if they're some sort of safety strap or something left over from factory installation that Jayco was too lazy to remove.

Eighty gallon poop tank on the highway...WOW!

[Rustysocket]

I always travel with full water. Can't get water in lots of places we go. I travel home with full gray and black and use my own dump station at home.

[M&A]

Originally Posted by Isaacs

My tanks have these puny loose sheet metal straps that just sort of flop around under the tank. I don't know if they're some sort of safety strap or something left over from factory installation that Jayco was too lazy to remove.

Eighty gallon poop tank on the highway...WOW!

I've heard that the slack is taken up when they are full and swell a bit. Keep forgetting to look after a fill.

[ttavasc]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

I have from time to time. I try to fill somewhere close to my destination, primarily so I am not towing all that 3xtra weigjt.

Is your tank inside the camper, or under the floor? Also where is it located? For example at the axles, or near the rear bumper. Location affects the tongue weight, which affects the handling, while towing.

The Baja models have the fresh water tank inside the camper and above the floor. Looking at exterior pictures of the 174BH it looks like the fresh water fill is in the same place as my 195RB Baja which is the front left corner where it adds to tongue weight. I did tow it once with full fresh water tank - about 250lbs with a good bit of that added to tongue weight, but usually we travel with about 8-10 gallons which works well for our model.

[A2Z_Adventures]

Ours actually seemed to tow better with some in the tanks. We run with tanks 2/3 full, then top off when were are closer if I find water.

[sennister]

Lots of people tow with water in their tanks. Of course there is the debate on should I tow with 2/3 or full. The argument there is at 2/3 you are saving some weight but the cost is possible stability if it is sloshing around back there. If it is full it can't slosh around. Although if you leave with a full tank, unless you can close the overflow you may get there with 2/3 anyhow.

When we did our PDI they said not to travel with full FW tank. We, like you, camp where there isn't water and no close place to fill up. So it really isn't an option. Our camper has a 42 gallon tank. I want to say that the yellow sticker with the weights said that a full tank of water was 400 lbs or so. As long as you are counting that toward your cargo on the trailer, staying under the GVWR, as well as maintaining the 10-15% tongue weight you should be fine. Fill it up and head to the CAT scale and see where you are at.

[dewey02]

Our trailer has twin 40 gallon FW tanks for 80 gallons total.
When we are going to where there isn't water available, or we are unsure of the quality/taste of the water available, we tow with full FW tanks. Yes, I know that is an extra 640 lbs on the trailer. But there is very little change in towing mpg (we live in fairly flat country) and the rig actually tows a bit more solidly.

Also, I have added additional support below the FW tanks, as I noticed that they were bulging/sagging between the factory installed iron bars holding them up.

Just get under there and check your supports (if you have a belly cover, you must remove it to check). If you have doubts about whether they are adequate, then add more or reinforce them.

We try to NOT travel with full GW and BW tanks for very far. If our campsite doesn't have a dump station (and often we camp where they don't) we try to find the nearest one on our route and dump there. The FW tanks are immediately above the axles, so the weight is pretty well distributed. The GW and BW tanks are at the very back of the trailer. If both are full or near full (64 gallons total) it can play havoc with tongue weight and be subject to a lot of bouncing going down the road.

[bdreinv]

Originally Posted by tyewalkerfm1

Ok, so I asked this question on another board but figured I would get better feedback here, sorry if it's a no no to repeat a question.
My family and I just bought a Jay Flight 174bh Baja! We are off grid campers and never dreamed we weren't supposed to travel with full tanks. Well I filled up and we set off on our maiden voyage ( one night) and I began reading the manual. There it was " do jot travel with full water tank"! What the heck did they give me a 30 gallon fresh water tank if I'm not supposed to travel with it? Do you guys travel with full tanks? Will I damage the supports or something doing so?

In our 06 Toy Hauler we always filled our fresh water tank before heading out 135 gallons.On our 16 Eagle we do the same.Then try and dump black and gray tanks before heading home I agree in extra towing weight especially in the mountains for us.Happy Trails

[NVGun40]

I posted this same reply on the other thread:

I have seen this question asked before and seen the debate it spurred. Everything from the many stories "I have a friend who's brother saw a neighbors cousins RV tank fall off on the freeway..." (Yet, no one can provide pictures or the news story of the 20 car pileup it caused), to the "it ruins my gas mileage from 10 MPG while towing to 6 MPG while towing."; even to a claim that it will "void a warranty".
I sent an email directly to Jayco to ask their advice.
"We recommend against travelling with full tanks; it can create instability shifting the weight on turns and lane changes causing imbalance of weight distribution of the RV over the axles which can create an unsafe sway condition."
"No it does not void any part of the warranty."
These are cut and pasted from the email reply I received from Jayco.

As for me, I boondock way too much (primarily all I do). Often time more than an hours travel from the last water source. I travel on bumpy roads and more than once have needed to use 4wheel drive (LOW) with chains on the front wheels of the TV and chains on one axle of the trailer to get to where I have camped. I travel with my water full. I have never had my mounting straps pull out, I have never had a tank drop. I have scraped and cracked a black tank, and broken the drain valves.... (Thankfully, not on our current rig).

[Force]

I pretty much always travel with a full 45 gallons of fresh water when traveling to a campground, but I empty whatever is left over for the trip home.

And not to knock Jayco's feedback, but if shifting water due to a lane change or exit ramp is enough to cause you to crash, you're doing something wrong.

[redenbacher]

I learned a long time ago that owners manuals are written more by lawyers than by engineers. I can see that they would want to put that information in the manual to cover themselves in case someone has an accident en route to camping and chooses to exercise their right to fight within the legal system. As noted by others, campers have been towed with full (or almost full) water tanks without an incident. You can choose with that information in mind.

[bdreinv]

Originally Posted by redenbacher

I learned a long time ago that owners manuals are written more by lawyers than by engineers. I can see that they would want to put that information in the manual to cover themselves in case someone has an accident en route to camping and chooses to exercise their right to fight within the legal system. As noted by others, campers have been towed with full (or almost full) water tanks without an incident. You can choose with that information in mind.

In our new Toyota I swear the owners manual was 500 pages, dito on the lawyers and engineers!

[BC Boondocker]

So I went through the Owners Manual of our A-Frame and couldn't find anything regarding this (driving with full tanks). We tried it for our first outing.... Not very cool... We had no problems with sway ect, however.

We left our home with 23 Gallons of fresh water. And arrived at our destination (1 hour from the closest water source) with my best and most conservative estimate of 7 Gallons of Fresh water.

All the rest having been lost on the trip, likely through our overflow valve. We had tested for leaks prior to our leaving, having let it sit for days with a full tank.

Our anticipated fix is to travel with our Tank empty and 20 Gallons of water in water cubes. (Which we traveled with prior to our buying a trailer on our extended trips)

[Sundancer330]

Originally Posted by BC Boondocker

So I went through the Owners Manual of our A-Frame and couldn't find anything regarding this (driving with full tanks). We tried it for our first outing.... Not very cool... We had no problems with sway ect, however.

We left our home with 23 Gallons of fresh water. And arrived at our destination (1 hour from the closest water source) with my best and most conservative estimate of 7 Gallons of Fresh water.

All the rest having been lost on the trip, likely through our overflow valve. We had tested for leaks prior to our leaving, having let it sit for days with a full tank.

Our anticipated fix is to travel with our Tank empty and 20 Gallons of water in water cubes. (Which we traveled with prior to our buying a trailer on our extended trips)

What you need to do is put a shut off valve on the overflow line that you would close when traveling so you don't loose water. Shark bite makes a nice slip on fitting, available at Amazon or Home Depot. Jayco twisted my drain tube up so bad it doesn't work at all, it goes from the tank up through the floor then back down twisted flat.