Community Forums

Onthehunt49 · 09-18-2018, 12:34 PM

Hello,

I am fairly new to RVING. We have stayed at a few full hook up parks. We are going to National Park in Calif . 650 miles from home.

Where can you fill your water tank on the road, so dont have to haul all that weight.

Thanks

Old-Biscuit · 09-18-2018, 12:52 PM

At the CG

Fill the tank at home....weight is a very small percentage of total weight of MH
(80 gals= 3% of 20K)

Besides......traveling with water on-board allows potty stops, fixing lunch, washing hands as needed etc.

And what IF the water is bad or unavailable when you get where you are going!!!

Use to only travel with a few gallons for just in case.
Got to destination and MAIN had busted the night before. NO water for over a week......had to go buy bottled water
Last time...traveled after that will FULL tank/mileage didn't change and ALWAYS had water

Then refilled at destination

grindstone01 · 09-18-2018, 12:53 PM

Most camp grounds have a dump station that includes a fresh water hose to fill your tank. If not, search for a private RV park near by and call/ask to fill your water tank. They may charge a slight fee. I too don't haul water at 8lbs/gal while traveling and safe water is readily available everywhere in the US. I don't worry about mileage but I am concerned about tire and suspension wear. We travel in a fifth wheel and usually don't use the camper facilities while traveling, but we do keep a jug of water in the bathroom for emergencies.

Chargerman · 09-18-2018, 12:55 PM

Agreed, we always leave home with a full tank unless traveling closer to home then will fill 1/2 full or so to be sure we have water while driving and just in case.

BirchyBoy · 09-18-2018, 01:29 PM

I think the fresh water to carry depends on the CCC of your RV. Ours has 2k of CCC; 70 gallons of water is 25% of that. I try to carry about a half tank for use when on the road.

Stevec4 · 09-18-2018, 01:41 PM

We had the water tank become detached and nearly fell out the bottom of the RV on a mildly rough patch of highway. Since then we do not carry more than a few gallons water in the tank, so we can use the toilet while traveling. (as well as an emergency gallon jug just incase)

We have a Winnebago View.

Steve

BirchyBoy · 09-18-2018, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevec4

We had the water tank become detached and nearly fell out the bottom of the RV on a mildly rough patch of highway. Since then we do not carry more than a few gallons water in the tank, so we can use the toilet while traveling. (as well as an emergency gallon jug just incase)

We have a Winnebago View.

Steve

Ouch!

twinboat · 09-18-2018, 01:55 PM

Flying J and Pilot have water at the gas pumps. Other truck stops may have it too.

Chargerman · 09-18-2018, 02:30 PM

Hmmmm. Not sure I would want to fill with water at a gas pump. Maybe it’s fine but not sure it’s for me.

IBDAGRIZ · 09-18-2018, 02:55 PM

And Archie Bunker wouldn't drink water from the bathroom faucet either.

Griz

smsawle · 09-18-2018, 03:50 PM

Good one Griz.

firedoc · 09-18-2018, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chargerman

Hmmmm. Not sure I would want to fill with water at a gas pump. Maybe it’s fine but not sure it’s for me.

Better to fill with water at a dump site[emoji12]

rk911 · 09-18-2018, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onthehunt49

Hello,

I am fairly new to RVING. We have stayed at a few full hook up parks. We are going to National Park in Calif . 650 miles from home.

Where can you fill your water tank on the road, so dont have to haul all that weight.

Thanks

consider hauling at least some water with you as you never know about water availability at your destination. we have first hand experience with this. pulled into a privately owned park..the White's City RV Park & Motel one night near Carlsbad Caverns, NM. during check-in I noticed a stack of colored sheets of paper on a nearby table. thinking they might be contain tourist info I picked one up to find that it was a warning from the NM Dept of Public Health warning campers not to use the water due to a massive e-coli contamination. the clerk never warned us about that and when asked poo-poo'ed it (no pun intended

) as no big deal. since that day we always carry a full/near full tank of fresh water.

as to your question...most public parks at a minimum will have fresh water hydrants from which you can fill your tank. we've filled up at truck stops, gas stations, churches, etc. google, buy and carry a Water Thief which allows you to fill up from non-threaded water spigots. some private parks may charge a small fee to fill up but we've never been turned down at any place we've asked. and always ask if the source is private property.

safe travels.

MTK46 · 09-18-2018, 04:34 PM

We live in the desert. To go from here to cooler country we have to go through the desert.
We always carry a full tank of water. Lost two tire one trip within 10 miles of each other. 117 that day & 80 miles from closes town. Glad we had water.
Had a thermostat lockup on I-15 in Utah. Glad I had water to cool the engine down enough that I could pull the thermostat out and get to next town. Glad I had full tank of water.