full tanks on the road ?

[StevWb]

Got out my useless Jjayco Greyhawk owners manual...per usual nothing about black tank flush how to.
But it said never to travel with full black/grey and fresh water tanks...probably due to cheap crappy construction ???
So when boondocking guess I should just dump the poop wherever, when I get to wherever I am going look for a water spigot to steal water...blah blah blah....
What useless advice...novice owners will surely wonder what to do.
By the way in my old A and my new Greyhawk my tanks are usually full and I dump at our free dump station near home.

[NC Roamer]

I have driven many miles with the FW tank filled. I do dump the black and grey tanks before leaving a campground to avoid hauling several hundred pounds of water. But when we boondock while visiting our daughter in Nashville, I often drive several hundred miles with almost full black and grey tanks. Nothing has fallen out yet.

[CarlB]

Look into how heavy water is and then look at exactly how heavy that would be...

I fill fresh and let it flow through to grey and black draining when fresh is all gone or at a real site. That way there is no real weight change, just a different distribution of weight.

[Bassdogs]

Dump at the CG before leaving if you can. Many states have dump stations at their rest areas along the interstates. Also Camping World usually has a dump station. We have a state park just 2 miles from our home so for shorter pulls where the above is not practical, we make a stop there before returning to the homestead.

Full tanks [Black, Gray, and fresh] will add considerable weight to the RV. Why pull or drive with it if not absolutely necessary?

[CarlB]

8.34 lb per gallon of water.

If all holding tanks were full, you would have nearly 900lb of additional weight to pull around.

Just filling fresh water is nearly 300lb.

[Up North]

We do a lot of boondocking. Either at friends lake homes or when I bbq cater an event like the outdoor wedding I did last weekend.
So this is usually 2 to 4 of us using the facilities for a full weekend.
I drive all the way home with tanks half or near full. But often times it's only a hours drive or less.

The fact the manual states to never drive with tanks full sounds it's like one of those "gotcha" things if something goes wrong.
"The manual clearly states sir not to drive with the tanks full we are not liable for your tank falling off on the freeway"

The more I read about Jayco I'm begining to second guess if I should purchase a new one.

[Wertles]

I have travelled long distances with all 3 tanks full. It's not my preference but it hasn't hurt a thing on either of my units. My old owners manual actually said to travel with a 1/4 black tank as the road movement would free up anything that might be stuck in there. We go many places that don't have dump stations so by the time we leave, we are pretty full.

[CarlB]

UpNorth, what would you consider a better manufacturer?

[Up North]

Originally Posted by CarlB

UpNorth, what would you consider a better manufacturer?

Don't get me wrong it's not that I think Jayco is a bad manufacturer as I'm sure they all come with their issues. I have never owned one so don't have first hand experience. But it does seem I have read a number of things about the new Jayco that give me pause.
Vibrations at 60 to 65 mph which has been said it's due to being unable to balance the drive shaft due to the frame extension.
Helper springs not adjusted properly from the factory.
The tank less hot water heater issue.
Complaints on the nav system
Hydraulic leveling jacks mounted too low.
And of apparently according to this thread the owners manual is worthless.
Not that that in itself is a big deal but it does say something about the manufacturer if they can't even put a decent manual in the new owners hand after spending $80,000 or so.
These things I'm reading here and at other forums are starting to add up.

I don't plan on ordering a new one until February so I have until then to keep up on things to see if Jayco corrects any of these items.

[CarlB]

My springs supposedly aren't right, but she rides fine, IMHO. no driveline vibrations on mine. Alignment was approved by jayco and she tracks much better. Hw heater, well soon I will be petitioning jayco for a DSI unit as it doesn't fit our usage style. Nav system- I don't think there is any in dash unit that has any good rv features nor are they easy to maintain, so I don't count on it for navi.

I just ran my rig from FL to Alaska during the month of July, so I am not just a new owner with a few trips under my belt. Getting a new rig from any maker requires some patience as the systems get any bugs ironed out. Any unit that is a few year old has most of the heavy depreciation behind it and the systems work well as long as the owner cared for the unit. Our path was a new popup to a used class c to our current brand new class c.

[TX_Arvee]

They are covering there a$$ with everything they print on paper, that says "don't". We travel with 2 gallons to start on a long trip. I am sure we have traveled hundreds of miles with near full black tank as well. It is not the best practice due to weight, but the tank should be supported well enough to hold it while travelling.

[pervinpatty]

Has anyone tried one of these? P3 P0550 Save A Drop Water Meter We do a lot of weekend trips and don't like filling our tanks before we go. Would like to be able to only fill what we need, but it takes a good 15 minutes for our tanks to actually register what we put in, and I don't like that since here in CA they frown upon RV filling at campsites, so we need to be sneaky quick about it 10 gallons and done!

[tom463219]

Originally Posted by pervinpatty

Has anyone tried one of these? P3 P0550 Save A Drop Water Meter We do a lot of weekend trips and don't like filling our tanks before we go. Would like to be able to only fill what we need, but it takes a good 15 minutes for our tanks to actually register what we put in, and I don't like that since here in CA they frown upon RV filling at campsites, so we need to be sneaky quick about it 10 gallons and done!

Did you try the Sav a drop meter? I like the idea too.

[pervinpatty]

we use it all the time it works great! So much easier than trying to time a fill, perfect for weekend getaways

[GrayHawk51]

Bottom Line..... Full Tanks = poor MPG / Empty tanks (with just enough fresh water to flush toilet on the road) = better MPG.....

Just saying !

[StevWb]

People ask me what is my MPG while I fuel my 29mv Greyhawk, I politely say I don't know, if I really cared I ought not own this fun machine....
Seriously I read all this blah blah blah bout 5speed vs. 6speed, and full tanks vs. low or empty tanks etc.
I never know where my next boondock is when I travel, so my grey and black are empty if possible and I carry a full load of freshwater + about 15 gallons in storage bays...
Why sweat the small stuff, just enjoy your rig, btw, I cruise at 60 mph always, that does make a real difference in my mileage.

[Old skipper]

This might be a dumb way of looking at the subject why have a 40 gallon water tank if you are only going to fill 15? If you travel in the winter a full tank will not freeze as quickly as an almost empty tank. I know many who leave the frozen north empty but I am thankful I did not because we got stranded in the mountains with no water available to us. I always travel with at least 2/3 of a tank.

[rgolding]

We have the Seneca Freightliner M2 chassis and the tanks are in a different location, but even on the GreyHawk Ford frames, you are dealing with a truck frame and running gear. Full water tanks, both potable and waste are really minimal weight for these units, compared to weights in a trailer, that many times hang them below the frames.
I'd suggest get on a nice paved campsite, get a roller dolly and get under your unit and look around. You'll become more confident about what your unit can do.

All our needs and experiences are different.

[Rustysocket]

Originally Posted by rgolding

We have the Seneca Freightliner M2 chassis and the tanks are in a different location, but even on the GreyHawk Ford frames, you are dealing with a truck frame and running gear. Full water tanks, both potable and waste are really minimal weight for these units, compared to weights in a trailer, that many times hang them below the frames.
I'd suggest get on a nice paved campsite, get a roller dolly and get under your unit and look around. You'll become more confident about what your unit can do.

All our needs and experiences are different.

I agree. It's amazing what people would learn if they would actually take a moment to inspect what they purchased and gain some basic understanding of how they are put together.

[rgolding]

Rustysocket, thanks for chiming in. Noticed the Arctic Fox 30U in your signature. That's what we had before the Seneca. That's a well built unit.