Water tanks question

[Susan & Patrick]

We store our camper with the water tank full, then drain it and refill with fresh water before a trip, as per the manual.

The question is - is it necessary to travel with it full? Or can you just fill up when you arrive where you are going? If it's OK to have it empty for a while, how long is too long?

We will be traveling from MN to VT and staying at motels and relatives' homes for the first 2 nights, so it would be great to not have the extra weight. Also our city water has way too much chlorine so it tastes bad. I'd love to fill the tank off the well when we get to VT, but not if it creates an unhealthy situation in the water tanks. Thanks in advance for any insights or suggestions!

 

[Cary Winch]

The risk of driving with an empty tank is that the heat from the road surface will heat the tank up and all that moist air in the tank can create a bacteria issue. Best to drive with it full, you want as little air in the tank as possible when driving.

This is why so many RVs have issues with fresh water being clean, most RVs require the tanks to be empty when driving for structural reasons. That then creates this above issues. The Camp-Inn is designed to carry the weight in the tank. This is also why sometimes customers will be confused by contrary information from RV dealers or forums online that typically say to empty tanks when driving.

Cary

 

[Susan & Patrick]

The risk of driving with an empty tank is that the heat from the road surface will heat the tank up and all that moist air in the tank can create a bacteria issue. Best to drive with it full, you want as little air in the tank as possible when driving.

This is why so many RVs have issues with fresh water being clean, most RVs require the tanks to be empty when driving for structural reasons. That then creates this above issues. The Camp-Inn is designed to carry the weight in the tank. This is also why sometimes customers will be confused by contrary information from RV dealers or forums online that typically say to empty tanks when driving.

Cary

Thanks Cary. That makes a lot of sense. I will just drain and refill with well water when we get to Vermont!!

 

[SethB]

Related: the less water in the tanks the heavier the tongue weight.

The excellent design engineering of a CI assures that the tongue won’t get too light for safety if you store cast iron in the bins, have the bigger lead-acid battery, a bike rack & bikes, and fresh and gray tanks are full.

It’s vital to keep tongue weight between 10-15% of trailer weight to prevent sway if too light, or if too heavy unweights the TV front wheels leading to loss of stability in heavy steering / emergency maneuvers. Neither of these conditions are safe at speed…

Mostly with good design like the CI we don’t need to worry, but I think it’s worth knowing that the back of our trailer is *not* a good place for a hitch-mounted cargo carrier and a couple of 120qt coolers full of ice! Likewise, I wouldn’t weld a cage for carrying firewood and a couple extra batteries on the tongue!

 

[Susan & Patrick]

Related: the less water in the tanks the heavier the tongue weight.

The excellent design engineering of a CI assures that the tongue won’t get too light for safety if you store cast iron in the bins, have the bigger lead-acid battery, a bike rack & bikes, and fresh and gray tanks are full.

It’s vital to keep tongue weight between 10-15% of trailer weight to prevent sway if too light, or if too heavy unweights the TV front wheels leading to loss of stability in heavy steering / emergency maneuvers. Neither of these conditions are safe at speed…

Mostly with good design like the CI we don’t need to worry, but I think it’s worth knowing that the back of our trailer is *not* a good place for a hitch-mounted cargo carrier and a couple of 120qt coolers full of ice! Likewise, I wouldn’t weld a cage for carrying firewood and a couple extra batteries on the tongue!

Thanks. We sometimes carry e-bikes on the back so I've had to learn a lot about tongue weight (from Cary). We put metal bars in the front storage area when we are taking the bikes!