Community Forums

Joemaz · 08-21-2012, 06:35 AM

Our new Jayco has a WARNING in the Owners Manual:

Do not travel with Full water in the Fresh, Gray, or Black tanks.

WHAT?? What good is the Fresh Tank if you don't have a supply of fresh water on the road?
Question? What do you experienced RV'ers with years of on the road time under your belts do about the water issue traveling??

VSPA · 08-21-2012, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joemaz

....Do not travel with Full .....

With due respect, I would think that the message is in the "full". Unless traveling to a close in location where I can not fill fresh water tank at the location camping, I carry about a quarter tank, enough to flush the the toilet a few times. Half tank at most.

nightriderrv · 08-21-2012, 06:58 AM

Well there are no baffles in the tanks with all that liquid and a evasive move on the road well you can get a slosh that can be bad and hard to control. You can keep some water to use on the road then top it off they are speaking from a safety factor

Libero · 08-21-2012, 06:59 AM

Run with full water. Full fuel and full propane but empty waste tanks whenever possible. Refill fuel when less than 1/2 full. But that is me. I like maximum flexibility.

bearaboo · 08-21-2012, 07:15 AM

Remember one gallon of water weighs 8.35 lbs. The warning is for weight.

RickO · 08-21-2012, 07:26 AM

Frankly that warning surprises me. Seems to me that the "sloshing" causing a safety issue is a real stretch and so is using weight (as it contributes to GVWR) as the reason.

I know nothing of Jayco coaches but I wonder if they're concerned that the construction supporting the tanks might have a hard time hitting bumps with heavy tanks.

Rick

stik · 08-21-2012, 07:30 AM

Full timing since 2005, 3 different motorhomes. Always try to keep fresh water tank and propane full, and fuel tank over 1/2 full

ga traveler · 08-21-2012, 07:47 AM

Before leaving home or the campground, I always turn on the tank fill and watch until the 1/4 tank light comes on. That is plenty of water for my wife and I. If we have the grandkids, I go outside and watch the side of the tank and wait until the water gets halfway between 1/4 and 1/2. I just can't see carrying around an extra 800 pounds or so of extra weight.

mikf · 08-21-2012, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joemaz

Our new Jayco has a WARNING in the Owners Manual:

Do not travel with Full water in the Fresh, Gray, or Black tanks.

WHAT?? What good is the Fresh Tank if you don't have a supply of fresh water on the road?
Question? What do you experienced RV'ers with years of on the road time under your belts do about the water issue traveling??

what year and model is your jayco? does not seem legal that they would put a water tank in an rv that is not safe to travel down the road. that would be like buying a car, that no one can ride in the back seat. I always travel with a full tank of fresh water, but try to keep the black and grey low or empty. if the holding tanks are full your fresh water is useless anyways. I would like to see a link to jaycos manuel.

Sky_Boss · 08-21-2012, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ga traveler

Before leaving home or the campground, I always turn on the tank fill and watch until the 1/4 tank light comes on. That is plenty of water for my wife and I. If we have the grandkids, I go outside and watch the side of the tank and wait until the water gets halfway between 1/4 and 1/2. I just can't see carrying around an extra 800 pounds or so of extra weight.

I still have an internal debate on this one. Perhaps it is because my home base CG water SUCKS! I always take it home (35 mile drive) when I need fresh water and fill it up. We are planning to add a water softner next spring and maybe that will change my mind.

As pilot I hate to carry fuel and that carries over in theory to water in my RV. OTOH, at some point I want to go west and do some boon docking. I suppose my concerns revolve around my lack of experience and the sucky water at my CG. LOL

rvguy40 · 08-21-2012, 08:08 AM

I carry 1/4 tank of water, just due to the weight. If you're going into a CG where you have hookups, what's the point of having a full tank? As far as more primitive camps, such as Elcmont or Cade's Cove here in the Smokies, there's water available upon check-in... so I just fill it before parking.

Chuck13 · 08-21-2012, 08:37 AM

We almost exclusively boondock, so we start with full water, gas and propane, empty black and grey tanks. We come back with less water and more black and grey.

VSPA · 08-21-2012, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by athuddriver

....As pilot I hate to carry fuel and that carries over in theory to water in my RV. OTOH, at some point I want to go west and do some boon docking. I suppose my concerns revolve around my lack of experience and the sucky water at my CG. LOL

Yeah, no mobile on the road H2O transfers yet, but the sucky water, I agree. Even on weekend trips we carry at least two cases of bottled water for us and the dogs and a 5 gal insulated Igloo container. I put a bag of fresh ice then top off with fresh water from the house.

frankdamp · 08-21-2012, 09:57 AM

The OP didn't say what model Jayco. We looked at a Jayco 31' Class C before we bought our current rig. It was an E450 chassis, with a much shorter wheelbase than the F53 we now have. The tail overhang was enormous, must've been half the length of the body. I understood that the water and waste tanks were all aft of the duallies. I don't remember the specific model or year, maybe an '04.

That may be a reason for the limitation. On a test drive, I asked the salesman if we could stop at the SP weigh station. With just three occupants up front, no camping gear, pots & pans, etc., 1/3 tank of gas and all the water and waste tanks empty, the rear axle weight was within 200 pounds of its maximum rating. Surging of the water so far back would cause some tail wagging.