Do you tow with fresh water tank full, half, empty?

[el Rojo]

1/3 unless I'm boondocking

X2 on this.

[lawdes]

Always full for me. It adds weight down low. Like Second Chance said^^^^

X3 on this


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[lawdes]

X3 on this


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Well I screwed up, meant to quote 1/3 unless boondocking...although I think the ballast concept makes a lot of sense...former sailor here, too


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[JColeman]

Traveling down the road to full hookup = 20 gallons just in case
Boondocking = 10 gallons per day plus 1 extra day (plenty for us)

[BB&LAB]

We have only towed our Solitude from the dealer to current location (170 miles) with about a 1/3 of a tank, but with a travel trailer we owned a couple years ago we towed anywhere from almost empty to full and never noticed a difference in handling or MPG. I believe it is a good idea to travel with at least a 1/3rd of a tank for pit stops along the way, an emergency or in the event you arrive at a camp ground and the water is shut off for a while.

[luke79]

Always full. With a diesel truck, the weight isn't an issue. Our fresh tank is over the rear axle, so there's no net gain or loss on pin weight. As a former sailor, I know that the extra 500 lbs. down low adds ballast, too, when towing in high winds like we've been driving in the past few days and are heading into in far west Texas. In addition, I don't have to connect/disconnect utilities (except electric) for an overnight stop when the weather is as uncomfortable as it is in our location right now (18 degrees outside this morning).

Rob

Ballast makes sens. However if you don't fill up full, won't the movement of the trailer cause the wave in the tank and make it more prone to shifting? I was thinking of towing with 25 gallons, which is half full for us.

[WhittleBurner]

I would think that a half full tank would have a bigger effect with the sloshing than a full tank would. The water would have more room to slosh with the movement upwards also.

[Matt&Dana]

Always full, we dry camp 95% of the time.

[D2Reid]

I'm a 1/3 kind of guy, just enough for a night or two should local water not be available.

[Chiefblueman]

I travel most of the time with 10 gallons or so. Enough to flush a few times if needed or an unplanned overnight stay. We carry bottled water to drink. We don't generally boondock.