Anyone travel with full fresh water

[wags]

Also, if you haven't done the Walmart thing before, be aware that in some cases, they do not allow overnight parking due to local ordinances...call ahead would be my advice

[spark of insanity]

I wouldn't. Wal Mart water is cheap and you are towing something that is considered unstable if you have to swerve. With all that extra weight? I wouldn't. If you need water get it on the road. IMO? I wouldn't.

[Bob71]

I agree I travel w/5-10gal, then if Im dry camping I'll get more as needed no need to travel w/ all that weight...U'll always find water somewhere... Drink bottled water... Not to worry ...happy camping

[LabMan]

Been traveling with full tank since 1977 in numerous different campers. Wouldn't have a trailer that the manufacture recommended not traveling with a full tank, don't know of any that do say that, regardless of what I read on these forums. If the water weight makes your setup unsafe, you might need to rethink your rig. I wonder how many of the people saying don't do it actually do much cross country touring. I have never personally met anyone who ever had a problem with their fresh water tank, other than losing water through the vent.

[JesseS]

There is only one reason to travel with a full water tank, and that is if you are heading to a dry camping spot, otherwise it is a waste of fuel and un-nesscessary weight on hills. We do dry camp about half the time, and if I am leaving from home or an RV park to a dry camp I leave full, but if I am going to just another full hook up park I normally only run with 10-15 gallons. I see no reason to lug 75 gallons of water from one park to another.

[Kim Gass]

Originally Posted by LabMan

Been traveling with full tank since 1977 in numerous different campers. Wouldn't have a trailer that the manufacture recommended not traveling with a full tank, don't know of any that do say that, regardless of what I read on these forums. If the water weight makes your setup unsafe, you might need to rethink your rig. I wonder how many of the people saying don't do it actually do much cross country touring. I have never personally met anyone who ever had a problem with their fresh water tank, other than losing water through the vent.

Almost all our outings are the same cross country west to east Newfoundland to Alaska or Maine to Florida.. Full or half or empty it really is no big deal to us.. Most of the time in the winter we start totally empty because we have not dewinterized until the second or third day out. If we were to fill at home we would have a rolling large ice cube.

We carry six gallons in a jug in the back seat of the TV if we start out empty. There are two of us and from backcountry canoeing in salt water we know we can get by on two gallons a day.

[JackMroz]

We do our boondocking a little different. When we head down to Florida from central Wisconsin we take about 1/3 water tank full plus a case of bottled water. With 1/3 of a tank we both can take quick military type showers and have water left over when we reach the sunshine state. The bottled water is for our cats, coffee pot and our portable ice maker. Taking just 1/3 of a tank of water saves us around 400 to 450 pounds of added weight that cuts fuel mileage and adds stress to our rig.

[Tropiccafe]

Originally Posted by JohnWedell

Will be traveling from New York to Florida on Saturday. would like to fill up the fresh water tank which is 75 gallons of water and stay at the Walmarts overnight (2 or 3 nights) to save on money. has anybody done this and has anybody had problems doing it.

I always travel with a full tank of water. The trip from NY to Florida is mostly a straight flat shot and milage should not be effected much at all. You have a motorhome to make your life and trip easy. I bring my own filtered tap water because I know what I'm getting
You can't get comfortable in a motorhome with bottled water. You need a hot shower and to flush the toilet. Water heater will not work with gallon bottles of water. Lol. Motor homes are designed to be use as intended and be fun mot a burden Everytime you take a trip. We are not living like homeless people here just to save $10.00 in fuel on a 1000 trip.

[JesseS]

More like $30 per tank,(10 ga @ $3 gal here in the west) and on an extended 2 month trip with 10 fill ups that's $300 in fuel savings just for not hauling around 75 gallons of water. And just to be clear, the bottled water is to DRINK only, 10 gallons of traveling water is plenty between stops, been doing it this way for 12 years without any problems. Depending on the type of rig (TT or RV) and the location of the tank, 600 lbs of added weight can and does effect your stopping distance and handling.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by JesseS

More like $30 per tank,(10 ga @ $3 gal here in the west) and on an extended 2 month trip with 10 fill ups that's $300 in fuel savings just for not hauling around 75 gallons of water. And just to be clear, the bottled water is to DRINK only, 10 gallons of traveling water is plenty between stops, been doing it this way for 12 years without any problems. Depending on the type of rig (TT or RV) and the location of the tank, 600 lbs of added weight can and does effect your stopping distance and handling.

Does that extra 600 lbs really cost you 10 gallons per tank? 80 gallon tank? 10 gallons is 12%. Do you really lose 12% fuel economy just having your water tank full? It's just hard to believe because I might lose 1 or 2 MPG towing my Wrangler; it's hard to believe that an extra 600 lbs on board would cost the same fuel-wise as towing a 3,000 lb vehicle.

To be clear, I've never analyzed it. Primarily because I haven't owned my motorhome long enough to get a good result. Sometimes I'm towing a vehicle, sometimes not; sometimes I'm running the generator, sometimes not; and any combination of all those factors. Really at this point, it just is what it is, and I try not to worry about it.

Also, for me a full load out of water is 47 gallons, and 6 of that is in the water heater. So, for me the weight differential between a full water tank and half a tank is only about 160 lbs. I can assure you the difference in fuel consumption with that weight delta would be incalculable.

[JesseS]

I lose about 1 MPG between full water (650lbs with heater) and running with just 5 gallons, have verified it a couple of times. Just that much extra weight seems to cause the tranny to keep shifting out of OD into 4th at the first sight of a incline. Doesn't sound like much but with getting only 9 MPG while towing that 1 MPG is 12%. But, I don't have a DP and the gassers just don't have the torque for the hills under load. I even try to take steep passes with under 1/2 tank of fuel in addition to no more water than needed. A couple of times we have unhooked and I had the DW drive the toad up the pass to avoid grinding up it in a low gear.

[HJ Rosch]

I fill my tanks; water, gas when needed and when I can and drain my grey and black tanks when 2/3+ full to get a good flush. I track my mileage but don't fret over it as I am not concerned if I get 7 or 7-1/2 mpg (about my average when towing). I do agree I don't like the downshifting while going up hills but I just take them slower in a lower gear - bad mileage going up, better mileage going down. Jesse S have you considered or tried the aftermarket tuning kits that change shift points and add horsepower to the V-10 engines? I am considering it primarily for the downshifting. I hate the Tow Haul setting as it over downshifts while going down hills and just screams the engine. They say this improves greatly with the tuning kits. I am driving a 2018 Alante 31V.

[JesseS]

They (the company) can't ship those super tine kits to Calif due to CARB regulations, so I got one when out of state, and justified it with the fact that I do very little driving within the state, mainly going in and out to other places. If I am driving around Calif I revert to OEM tuning. The kit did make a huge difference in shift points and MPG on the flats and rolling hills, but not much in the hills, although it did increase power quiet a bit. Installs without tools and takes only 5 minutes, and can be restored to original tune just as easy.

[HJ Rosch]

Thanks for the info on aftermarket tuning JesseS. I think they are close to $500 but may get one before my 70 day trip to Alaska this summer. I have been doing quite a bit of add on's and upgrades to my coach over the last year and doing more this winter when stored before heading out in the spring, I will add this to my list.

[JesseS]

Originally Posted by HJ Rosch

Thanks for the info on aftermarket tuning JesseS. I think they are close to $500 but may get one before my 70 day trip to Alaska this summer. I have been doing quite a bit of add on's and upgrades to my coach over the last year and doing more this winter when stored before heading out in the spring, I will add this to my list.

HA! I thought off-roading was an expensive hobby, but it doesn't hold a candle to RV'ing. I used to tell my DW I was buying 'Safety Chrome' for my toy's, now it is 'Stability Control', 'Noise Dampening', and 'Usage enhancement' parts

[Johnynorthland]

What Tuning kit is the best and or does anyone recommend?


John

[JesseS]

Originally Posted by Johnynorthland

What Tuning kit is the best and or does anyone recommend?


John

I have the Five Star Tune and like it a lot, they have one specifically for the Ford F53 RV chassis as well as other vehicles. Their tuner is easy to use and takes only about 5 minutes to install the new tune after it backs up your OEM one for re-install if needed. You can purchase a license for one or more vehicles.
*hint Be sure to revert to OEM tune before having any engine work done that uses a SUN machine, as it will see the tune as an old one and update it thereby erasing your license and requiring you to purchasing a new one.
Almost forgot to mention the tuner also functions as a engine code reader and will read and reset fault codes.

[Goflight2]

I have the PPE tuner for my Duramax equipped Super C. What a difference! Set at level 2, it gave me 90 extra hp and 160 tq.
I also added a EGT gauge to keep an eye on the temps.
I only tow with full water when we boondocking, which is most of the time.
Added the tune made the Kodiak feel like I thought it was supposed to, best $500 I’ve spent on the RV.

[johnd]

Anyone travel with full fresh water
My 2018 Renegade Valencia 38RW holds 150 gallon fresh I fill it all the way and I do not worry about water for weeks. I filled in in July and then again in October. The water never got stale. The holding tank is under the bed so it does not get hot or cold to extremes. I expected it to get skunky, but it never happened. I do run the air to keep the inside under 82 degrees. I have no idea what this does to MPG, but that is not something I considered. I get 9-10 MPG on the flat and I have a 100 gallon tank . At this point in my life MPG up or down 2-3 MPG just is not important. Not having to do things is a bigger deal and has more value. However if I lived in Canada where in early September diesel was $5.72 converted to US dollars and American gallons. I might pay much closer attention to MPG. I often ask how Canadians can afford to live in Canada. Wages are not high enough to offset the higher cost of everything. When I crossed the border and entered Minnesota, diesel was $3.13 a gallon. I have been to Canada and travel coast to coast 3-4 times. You will think Canada is expensive and then you will get to the Canada west coast cities and you will think it is plum crazy.
This was about water, I have wandered.

[PlayersZ28]

Originally Posted by johnd

Anyone travel with full fresh water
My 2018 Renegade Valencia 38RW holds 150 gallon fresh I fill it all the way and I do not worry about water for weeks. I filled in in July and then again in October. The water never got stale. The holding tank is under the bed so it does not get hot or cold to extremes. I expected it to get skunky, but it never happened. I do run the air to keep the inside under 82 degrees. I have no idea what this does to MPG, but that is not something I considered. I get 9-10 MPG on the flat and I have a 100 gallon tank . At this point in my life MPG up or down 2-3 MPG just is not important. Not having to do things is a bigger deal and has more value. However if I lived in Canada where in early September diesel was $5.72 converted to US dollars and American gallons. I might pay much closer attention to MPG. I often ask how Canadians can afford to live in Canada. Wages are not high enough to offset the higher cost of everything. When I crossed the border and entered Minnesota, diesel was $3.13 a gallon. I have been to Canada and travel coast to coast 3-4 times. You will think Canada is expensive and then you will get to the Canada west coast cities and you will think it is plum crazy.
This was about water, I have wandered.

Where did you drive to pay US$5.72/USgal for diesel?

The highest we've paid in S. Ontario this summer is about 1.25C$/L which works out to 4.72C$/USg (1.25*3.78) which is then 3.60U$/USg (4.72/1.31).

Edit: here's an online calculator that'll figure it out in either direction http://www.mississauga4sale.com/Gaso...gallons-us.htm