Travelling with water in the fresh water tank
I am new to motorhoming after 30 years of owning a caravan.
Is it wise to travel with some fresh water in the tank of my Auto-sleeper Broadway?
Comments
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We have an AS Suffolk and nearly always have water in the tank when we travel. A tankful lasts us at least 3 days and we don't throw out any unused when moving on to the next site. We will, though, usually drain the waste tank on leaving a site - especially
if that site has a good MH disposal point. You will find that some sites have good service points and some hopeless ones.0 -
Oh dear, R2D2,
be prepared for the onslaught !! Somewhere in the region of 60 / 40 split on this subject within those who have expressed a preference !!
My m/van has the fresh ( drinking ) water tank sterilised with Puriclean or similar before the season starts, and again at the seasons end -- if any !
In between these days my m/home has at least 1/2 tank of fresh water, so the motor is ready for use at the drop of a hat !! I've been m/vanning since '79 & see no reason to alter my habits . Must say tho others will disagree, so try both methods & Bob's your Auntie or some such !!
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That reminds me, ABM. We generally fill our tank at home before setting off to save hassle on site.
When you consider the wild camping aspect of MHing (shudder), they certainly can't refill at every stop so must travel with water in the tank.
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Welcome to the freedom of motorhoming, RD.
It’s prudent, as well as convenient, to take enough water for the journey. “The journey” means “until you next expect to be able to top up”. You have limited payload, so I wouldn’t fill any more than necessary.
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short answer....yes, its fine.
we travel with what ever is in the tank....anything from over 100 ltr to not a lot......
you have a motorhome which is designed to be used and driven with water in it....and you never know where you might pull in.....
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We typically travel with a full tank.
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short answer....yes, its fine.
we travel with what ever is in the tank....anything from over 100 ltr to not a lot......
you have a motorhome which is designed to be used and driven with water in it....and you never know where you might pull in.....
Write your comments here...ditto except that during the Winter period I do empty the tank completely if the MH is not in use.We have a CAK under slung water tank and I have fitted a thermostatically controlled tank heater to the fresh water tank to prevent
freezing when out in the Winter-it is switched off when the MH is garaged so I drain down in case of cold snaps, like the one we are experiencing as I type.0 -
I've no experience of these matters, but I would have thought that a full tank would affect stability less than a half full one as it would limit the ability for the amount of weight to slop around. other than the weight penalty, what other disadvantages
would there be?0 -
This topic has been covered more fully elsewhere. You should and legally MUST operate your vehicle within its payload limits and these limits prescribe a loading for each axle. There are articles and advice elsewhere about how you check axle loads etc on
a weighbridge. Assuming that travelling with a full tank will not compromise your overall loading it depends what you are doing and where you are going. If you are travelling a short distance between sites there may be little point in partially or fully emptying
your tank. At the end of your "holiday" if your van is going into storage for a while you might as well drain the tank. If you are using aires (abroad mainly) etc and you dont have a ready supply at your destination you may choose to travel full. You will
soon through experience become adept at working out your water useage/amount in tank which is useful because most water guages are not accurate and some very unreliable. We always drain grey water when we can partially because our grey tank is small compared
to the fresh tank.In summary.
Gear your water load to your needs at the next stop
Watch your payload
Dont rely completely on your water tank guages.
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We generally travel with enough water for our needs until we arrive at our site where we can then fill up. I don't see the need to travel with more water than you will need as each litre weighs one kilo, and if your light on payload that can make a difference.
I've never noticed any stability issues with however much water i have had on board. Water tanks are slung low under the van so would have limited affect on stability.0 -
It’s not unreasonable to think about “all that water sloshing about” but no one seems to be bothered about it when it’s fuel in their tank.
If your payload will allow it, fill your water to the brim but allow for less mpg as a consequence.
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i expect tank 'shapes' to have evolved over the years, as tanks have got far larger and many have heating pipes 'draped' across them (ours has).
our tanks sit in the double floors and are basically rectangular but have strengthening 'folds' in the floor and sides which may also act as baffles.....
we are never conscious of water 'sloshing' when we drive, irrespective of the quanriry in the fresh or waste tank(s).....
.....nor were we in the Bolero which had rectangular, underslung tanks.....
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I think you’ve been misled by salespeople, BB. I don’t think they do much more than build tanks to suit the shape that happens to be available. I’d like to think there was more science behind the designs but there’s little evidence of it elsewhere so I don’t
suppose it’s been applied to tanks which are out of sight.0 -
We always fill up the tank before leaving home. Its never completely full because we park the motorhome on a slight slope but its best part of full. When we are returning home we let the volume run down but don't refill. Always travel with waste water tanks
empty. My motorhome seems to return a pretty consistant 25 mpg regardless of load.David
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I think you’ve been misled by salespeople, BB. I don’t think they do much more than build tanks to suit the shape that happens to be available. I’d like to think there was more science behind the designs but there’s little evidence of it elsewhere so I don’t
suppose it’s been applied to tanks which are out of sight.i didnt say they had evolved by design, merely that, by becoming larger (due to customer demand) they have had to be expanded in line with the rest of the van (as you say)....
the upshot (evolment) is that they are not merely rectangles (cuboid...) bolted to the underside of a van, they inevitibly have 'shapes' which add strength.....by design or evolvement, i dont mind......they do their job without sloshing.....and ive spent
time with my head in the tank(s) cleaning it.....
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We always travel with a full tank. You never know when you might find another tap. We also have a couple of universal hosepipes ( Watering Cans ) for when we do. Best spot for filling up so far was Buxton. It's just a fountain that pours water out. Lot of
people filling water bottles so I just filled a few watering cans and walked over the road
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Be careful not to habitually "brim" the tank as I did in the early days with the current MH. In doing so I ruined the sensor in the tank.Water got over the top of the unit and it stopped working as I had filled it until I had water running out of the tank
overflows.We had to take off the tank to replace the unit-since then my OH watches as we approach 100% and tells me when to shut off the tap.No problems since then but a costly lesson learned.0 -
Do people know how much water weighs seams a bit daft to me when you have water on site which takes about 10 min to fill the tank
not everyone uses Caravan Club (or even other...) sites...
we regularly stop at three aires (or more) between site visits....after all, these stopping places get you much closer to town/city centres than out-of-town sites and filling at one might not be as easy as another.....
we also regularly use the van shower (especially to avoid the cold and the queues of a popular site) so having water onboard is useful.....
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Do people know how much water weighs seams a bit daft to me when you have water on site which takes about 10 min to fill the tank
Write your comments here...I think it is more imprtant when you are travelling but are not sure if there will be water on site when you arrive such as abroad and going to an Aire etc. also a good idea to have some in case of emergency and you need to cook,
wash up etc.0 -
Be careful not to habitually "brim" the tank as I did in the early days with the current MH. In doing so I ruined the sensor in the tank.Water got over the top of the unit and it stopped working as I had filled it until I had water running out of the tank
overflows.We had to take off the tank to replace the unit-since then my OH watches as we approach 100% and tells me when to shut off the tap.No problems since then but a costly lesson learned.Write your comments here... I must be lucky as I have filled my tank untill the overflow has come into action many times with no trouble.
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Do people know how much water weighs seams a bit daft to me when you have water on site which takes about 10 min to fill the tank
I think most people know. Why is it daft? Because of fuel consumption - a fraction of a mile per gallon for a the average half full tank? Maybe half a mile per gallon tops for the avergae full tank. Do you worry when you have an extra person on board in your car or motorhome? I don't and I like to know I always have some water on board. For me it's daft not to.
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I generally travel with mine full, 110L or 110kg, at the start of a tour then various quantities depending on how easy I think it will be to access the water at the next place. I empty it when I am back at home again. Any difference in fuel consumption I think will be almost unrecognisable and I have never noticed any reduced stability from the water moving around. I always fill to overflowing as well as it is easy to know that way when doing it yourself and have not had any sensor problems. Regards, Roy
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Hymer, and an increasing number of manufacturers, will recommend a 20l maximum when travelling 'for safety' although if I filled the fresh water tank to the full on my Hymer, my van would be overweight. My tank has a plug that can be set to limit the level
to 20l. Somewhere in the recess of my degrading mind is a memory that all manufacturers now have to put in some system to provide for a travelling limit of 20l - even though there is no law to say you must travel with no more than 20l.Ask yourself why would you need more than 20l. If you do, such as when camping off sites, then providing you have the payload, can cover the modest increase in fuel costs, and are satisfied your stability on the road is unaffected [120l of water on a tank
between axles is safer than 120l in a locker under a bench seat on one side], then put in as much as you want.0
