Dry Camping Question

[DebKen]

Any tips for filling the fresh water tank at the site? We don't want to tow with water in the tank and we are not sure the state park will have water anywhere for us to fill it with. We know our site is electric only.

[canuckowner]

I would be very surprised for a state park not to have a water fill station; but to be sure there must be a park office you could call.

[mike837go]

You've got too many problems.
1) Water source
2) transfer from an unknown supply into you FW tank.

Solve problem #1 first and foremost. Call the campground and ask if they have running water so you can fill up on the way in. If not, you will have to spend lots of fuel hauling your home's water the whole way.

[Skaling]

Get one of these, it will make the job easier..

[Firefighter78]

I would highly suggest sanitizing your water system / tank before you venture out but then filtering the water you are putting in your tank. If it comes from a pressurized source, you can buy one of these Hydralife filters which mitigates some bad chemicals and bacteria that exist in water sources, particularity from unknown sources. I dry camp at Nascar races and see those cruddy water trucks driving around filling RV tanks, you don't know what was in those trucks before they were haulin water, just sayin. I'm definitely red neck but when it comes to water, never trust or take for granted its pure enough to drink or putting into my RV.

[wags999]

Also if you use your toilet, be sure to use RV paper. When your not moving, and don't have access to water to flush your tank you are just asking for problems. I am hooked to sewer and water, and each time I dump I am amazed how long I have to leave the tank flush on to get clear water with no residual paper being flushed. I can only imagine getting pumped out or using a dump station with no way to use the black tank flush, as to how much residuals are left to harden in the tank. Sadly you won't know it for a long time, but when it clogs you will have major issues.


Enjoy your Camping trip !

[Skaling]

Originally Posted by wags999

Also if you use your toilet, be sure to use RV paper. When your not moving, and don't have access to water to flush your tank you are just asking for problems. I am hooked to sewer and water, and each time I dump I am amazed how long I have to leave the tank flush on to get clear water with no residual paper being flushed. I can only imagine getting pumped out or using a dump station with no way to use the black tank flush, as to how much residuals are left to harden in the tank. Sadly you won't know it for a long time, but when it clogs you will have major issues.


Enjoy your Camping trip !

When I dry camp and have no way to use my black tank flush, I will drain my black tank, then pump it with new water to 1/3 full(and add a deodorizer) and then when I drive home the water will slosh around and clean/ break down any leftovers in the tank..then dump it at the start of my next trip..

[cekkk]

First of all, we don't use our fresh water tank, so I don't know much about this. But I'm wondering, and hoping to learn something here as we are planning a 2-night dry camp, why you wouldn't want to fill at home with water quality you can be sure of. If the additional 400# or so are within your TV's tow capacity what difference would it make? Gas mileage difference would be negligible I think, the wind drag of the trailer being the primary factor there.

[wjfawb0]

Hilly terrain, stopping power, and questionable trailer tires are all reasons to keep the tank dry. I've towed mine with the tank full of water, but now that my tires are three years old and have a lot of idle time on them, I might talk myself into changing them again (had one separate in the sidewall previously) to be safer on the highway. I've got a single axle X17Z, so I worry about failed tires a lot.

[tjpolsin]

Originally Posted by cekkk

First of all, we don't use our fresh water tank, so I don't know much about this. But I'm wondering, and hoping to learn something here as we are planning a 2-night dry camp, why you wouldn't want to fill at home with water quality you can be sure of. If the additional 400# or so are within your TV's tow capacity what difference would it make? Gas mileage difference would be negligible I think, the wind drag of the trailer being the primary factor there.

You do notice the difference between empty and full water tanks. I always put some water in my tank at home for emergency bathroom use or a lunch stop at the side of the road.

My dad has about 200 feet of freshwater hose and multiple adapter to use a campgrounds to fill his tank. I purchased a 6gal plastic Gerry can and refill my tank 6 gals at a time. I have never had to add more than 24 gal for any trip we have been on. Depending on the length of the trip, I will fill before I leave.

[mike837go]

Originally Posted by cekkk

First of all, we don't use our fresh water tank, so I don't know much about this. But I'm wondering, and hoping to learn something here as we are planning a 2-night dry camp, why you wouldn't want to fill at home with water quality you can be sure of. If the additional 400# or so are within your TV's tow capacity what difference would it make? Gas mileage difference would be negligible I think, the wind drag of the trailer being the primary factor there.

The gas mileage impact is quite severe. 400 extra pounds that has to be accelerated and dragged up every single hill! Then the inertia has to be burned off using the brakes. The extra 45-50# of tongue weight has to be accounted for as well.


Throw in the fact that the sloshing water will exit the overflow tube. So you spend the extra gas to haul 50 gallons up the hill. Seven to ten of it spills out as you brake going down the opposite side.

Those day are officially over for us.

[cekkk]

Okay, thanks for the responses. We're off to a local state park in a few days.

[Bucko06]

I have an 80 gallon fresh water tank. The fuel mileage difference with a diesel is 1 mpg. I would expect a gaser to suffer a bit more. One option that has worked well for me is flying j fuel stations. Many of them have RV dump stations with fresh water fills. I purchased the good Sam membership with which you can get a discount at flying j. It's only $5 to dump and/or fill water.

[us71na]

Originally Posted by Bucko06

I have an 80 gallon fresh water tank.

That tank of water weighs 668 pounds, more than a quarter ton of extra weight.

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by us71na

That tank of water weighs 668 pounds, more than a quarter ton of extra weight.

On the other hand, if you plan to boondock and are unsure of where you can get water along the way, maybe it is more like 668 pounds of necessary supplies.

[Filthy-Beast]

My sticker say 711# added, don't forget the 6 gallons of water in the HW.

[Mustang65]

We have yet to encounter a State Park that did not have a FRESH WATER SPICKET. We use the Camco slip on hose connector. Works great! You can get them on Amazon.

Don

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by Mustang65

We have yet to encounter a State Park that did not have a FRESH WATER SPICKET. We use the Camco slip on hose connector. Works great! You can get them on Amazon.
Don

Don,
Have one in the 'just in case' storage tub.

Our tentative plans for July include a few weeks in CO. Generally, we plan to alternately pay (dump tanks, fill FW, & charge batteries) for a night and then boondock for 3 or 4.

BTW, CO gets $7 daily fee to enter a state park (to dump or take on water requires camping), $10 reservation fee (July is peak season), plus $20 & up camping fee; bottom line ~$37 & up for one night in a state park.
Hauling the water along between boondocking sites will be cheaper for us, even in the mountains of CO.

[DebKen]

I did call the state park and they do have a place to fill the tank with fresh water. We never cook with or drink the water (we use bottled water for that) but I was concerned about having water for the bathroom and maybe to wash dishes. This will be our first trip through mountains with anything heavier than a pop up and since our fresh water would weigh 400 lbs we don't want to have that much extra weight. We will be able to dump at the park also so hopefully it will all work out 😀

[cekkk]

Originally Posted by oldmanAZ

Don,
Have one in the 'just in case' storage tub.

Our tentative plans for July include a few weeks in CO. Generally, we plan to alternately pay (dump tanks, fill FW, & charge batteries) for a night and then boondock for 3 or 4.

BTW, CO gets $7 daily fee to enter a state park (to dump or take on water requires camping), $10 reservation fee (July is peak season), plus $20 & up camping fee; bottom line ~$37 & up for one night in a state park.
Hauling the water along between boondocking sites will be cheaper for us, even in the mountains of CO.

yes, we travel quite a bit and know when we are back in Colorado by the tourist trap prices both for public lands and private businesses. Colorado takes tourists granted.