Do you tow full of water?

[davisenvy]

I have a 2016 Jayco Eagle HT 29.5 BHDS. I was wondering if any of you tow with your fresh water tank full. Does it tow better, no difference or tow bad? I have read some tow with a full tank. I was wondering what everyone else does.

[WinnieView]

No. Too costly on the fuel bill especially through the mountains.

Typically about 1/4 full for immediate needs and to prevent the seals from drying out.

[oldmanAZ]

Yes. We virtually always tow with ~80gal of fresh water with no problems. The few times we didn't have full tanks, I didn't notice any difference.

[Mopar_Earl]

My 75 gallon fresh water tank is always filled. We dry camping almost 100%.
We even have times where we haul with waste water too and dump at another place.
What good is a self contained RV if you can't haul fresh water and/or waste water????


Earl

[Bucko06]

I tow full (80 gals) often. I have documented about a 1 mike per gallon penalty in hilly terrain. I definitely notice a difference when stopping and starting. Otherwise I don’t perceive a big difference.

[B5 GTX]

We only haul enough to handle restroom stops along the way, probably about 1/4 full. I can't tell a difference on when it has a 1/4 tank or empty from how it feels towing. Generally I try to avoid any unnecessary weight.

[dzwiss]

Always tow with full fresh water and empty gray and black.

[wags999]

Originally Posted by B5 GTX

We only haul enough to handle restroom stops along the way, probably about 1/4 full. I can't tell a difference on when it has a 1/4 tank or empty from how it feels towing. Generally I try to avoid any unnecessary weight.

No reason to haul more than maybe 1/4 tank full. We stay at FHU parks almost exclusively. Unless your not going far, and going to boondock I don't see any advantage in putting extra strain on the tank and straps holding it, while bouncing down the highway.

[Siamese]

This is a question that comes up here now and then. There's the fill the tanks crowd, and there's the carry the minimum crowd, and each side seems to be adamant about their choice.

We tow a 26BH, and we're members of the carry the minimum crowd. It's certainly more hassle to carry a minimum amount, as you need to plan a fill-up prior to your overnight stay, particularly if you're boon docking. Our basic philosophy is to reduce weight whenever possible.

Others like the convenience of having full tanks all the time, and typically argue that they suffer little or no increase in MPG or loss of performance.

If your tow vehicle can handle it, I suppose the best answer is whatever works best for you.

[DanNJanice]

If we are planning to dry camp, which we do about 3/4 of the time, we fill the tanks. If we know we will have access to water when we arrive, we will put in about 1/4 full for necessities.

[justman]

Originally Posted by DanNJanice

If we are planning to dry camp, which we do about 3/4 of the time, we fill the tanks. If we know we will have access to water when we arrive, we will put in about 1/4 full for necessities.

This is a wise way to do it, and what I would likely do if dry camping. However, my trips are usually pretty long and the extra weight can hurt your pocket in fuel costs. I typically have less than 1/4 tank, just enough to flush the toilet several times.

[kayakterp]

Sorry to hijack this thread but I have read on other posts here (same topic) that a lot of water tends to splash out thru the overfill drains while in transit.
Can those of you who do fill up before departing, tell us how much water is typically lost?
I have not boon docked yet so I never travel with water in my tank. I generally only drive 1-3 hours for camping so I just use restaurants & gas stations for bathroom breaks. I hope to do longer trips in the future which is why I ask.

I guess I could always do a trial run on my next trip but I’m kinda thinking that’s what the camp fee is for...to use their water & electric. Water in my general area does not seem bad, dirty nor contaminated and I always use a charcoal filter and bring my own bottled drinking water anyway.
Thanks

[PMC]

Originally Posted by kayakterp

Sorry to hijack this thread but I have read on other posts here (same topic) that a lot of water tends to splash out thru the overfill drains while in transit.
Can those of you who do fill up before departing, tell us how much water is typically lost?
I have not boon docked yet so I never travel with water in my tank. I generally only drive 1-3 hours for camping so I just use restaurants & gas stations for bathroom breaks. I hope to do longer trips in the future which is why I ask.

I guess I could always do a trial run on my next trip but I’m kinda thinking that’s what the camp fee is for...to use their water & electric. Water in my general area does not seem bad, dirty nor contaminated and I always use a charcoal filter and bring my own bottled drinking water anyway.
Thanks

You do lose some, take a turn with a full tank and you'll likely leave a trail of fresh water out of the overflow as the tanks are mostly flat and not deep. I've seen threads on here where guys have put shut off valves on the overflow they will close for traveling.

We always filled with water for shorter trips where we didn't have hookups. If we ran out which was very rare we had a 3 gallon fresh water jug we could add with. If we went somewhere with hookups we just put a few gallons in so we could use the toilet on the road.

[Larry G.]

Originally Posted by wags999

No reason to haul more than maybe 1/4 tank full.

Unless your not going far, and going to boondock I don't see any advantage in putting extra strain on the tank and straps holding it, while bouncing down the highway.

Agree completely!!

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by kayakterp

snip...
how much water is typically lost?
...snip... use their water & electric. Water in my general area does not seem bad, dirty nor contaminated and I always use a charcoal filter and bring my own bottled drinking water anyway.
Thanks

The amount of 'typical' water loss is tough to say and there is probably a huge variance - trailer, roads (speeds, hills, curves, etc.), driving habits - all could have an impact. Plus most 'idiot light' light water level gauges aren't very accurate. Personally, I estimate I lost ~1/3 of our ~80gal before I did something about it. We now use corks in the end of our tank overflow lines when traveling.

If you're using a charcoal filter, you've got a good start. When you travel out of your local (ie 'not bad') water area, at some point you're likely encounter campgrounds with poor water and you'll be glad you use the charcoal filter. If you use the search function for this forum, you'll find that water filters etc. have been discussed, at length, several times.

[PlayersZ28]

If we are on our way to a boondocking location then full water & empty waste. If we are leaving boondocking then empty water & full waste.

We usually spend a couple of nights in a park between boondock sites so we can dump & fill. We boondock for up to 20 days before needing to dump/fill.

[TxLoser]

I've got an Eagle HT 26.5 BHS. I've been towing with the tank filled for balast as its forward of the axles. I used a couple binder clips and then bent the overflow hose over itself and secured it with the clips and a large rubber band. This kept water in the tank.

With my previous Curt hitch this method reduced chucking a fair amount. Maybe because it added a little weight on the pin. I've now got a B&W hitch and loaded or empty, there's no chucking, so I won't do it for ballast going forward. I'll also add, I didn't observe any difference in fuel use travelling with the tank empty or full. It only accounts for 2-3% of the total weight moving down the road.

One question I had is this... Which would be harder on the tank. 1/4 or 1/2 tank sloshing forward and back or side to side or a full tank where the weight of the water is static(mostly)?

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[Sundancer330]

Never due to cheap construction and afraid one day it will let loose and fall to the freeway. Don't have a problem finding water where we camp.

[bdreinv]

If we are dry camping always full!Rides a little better for us.

[TCNashville]

Originally Posted by Sundancer330

Never due to cheap construction and afraid one day it will let loose and fall to the freeway. Don't have a problem finding water where we camp.

This is how I've always regarded the subject since we've owned our Eagle. Maybe one of these days I'll drop the underbelly and look at how well the tanks are supported but till then, no way as our camper carries 80 gallons.