Do you drive with Full Water Tanks?

Do you, more often than not, travel with water in your tanks?

  • No, I always travel empty

    Votes: 34 4.3%

  • Just a few litres for a brew and flushing the loo

    Votes: 188 24.0%

  • Half Full

    Votes: 207 26.5%

  • Completely full

    Votes: 353 45.1%
  • Total voters
    782
As we’re not sure where we might be able to fill up again, we’ll fill up when we can so we don’t have to deviate from our route. That includes the aquaroll (much to Lenny HB ’s disgust! 😉).
If we were just heading away at home and knew where to fill up at the destination we’d probably not bother.

We did weigh ourselves with full tank of water, diesel, gas plus clothes & food to make sure we were sub 3500kg before we left on our trip though.
 
Rapido's handbook says only travel with 50 litres in the fresh tank so that's what we do. There's another 20 litres inside the Truma. We can add more when we are on site.

This may be wrong but I understood there is a risk that cornering may cause a siphon effect, and the tank emptying. Anyway ignoring the handbook might be an excuse for insurers to reject an accident claim.

Payload isn't the issue. On paper we have about 700kg.
 
Suppose if you're paranoid about fuel consumption you'd travel fully drained!:Smile:
 
cmcardle75 said:
Why is it daft? Not everyone stays on campsites with water taps.

What's the point of a large onboard tank that you're not allowed to fill?
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Basically because it isn't difficult to find water, if I'm going somewhere remote I fill up before I leave, if I'm going through towns or cities a quick diversion around an industrial estate usually finds someone using a hose, I always offer a few sheckles to use the tap, never once as anyone taken the money off me.

This time of year I usually stop on a CS one night a week to fill, empty and charge batteries.

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Podney said:
When we leave home we always have:

full water 110 litres

full diesel 90 litres

full food

full cellar

Saves a lot of faffing about during the first few days,or the whole trip if just a weekend.

I wouldnt trust any of the manufacturers to build a motor home with a decent amount of storage at the moment,they seem to have lost the plot. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
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Yeah. Wine is exempt from the rule!
 
gpat said:
I can't believe anyone would be daft enough to carry a full water tank when travelling. Think about it
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I have & you've lost me ? What do I do for water each night & morning whilst travelling? I run full & top up at any opportunity .
Blue Knight said:
You've lost me there mate.
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& me
 
With an 85gal fresh water tank I’m carrying almost 7/8ton of water. Then there is the grey tank which when full is 45gal so about another half a ton, then the black, but that’s rarely full except as we exit a Scout camp, brings another 35gal, about 3/8ton. So in total, I could be carrying almost 1.625ton of stuff, that would make a bit of a puddle. :gum:
 
One litre water equals one kilo. Get van weighed in touring mode to check overall weight and adjust from there. Some vans can carry over 100 kg Of water, just uses more fuel to move. It’s a question of personal choice and legality. We usually travel with around 20 litres if going to sites.
Only lost water from tank once, earlier this year after hab check. Discovered dealer had replaced cover on drain tap but not closed tap. Smooth state of our roads and water pushed cover off. Raining so didn’t notice anything in mirrors

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We generally travel with between 25% and 50% full in our 110 litre fresh water tank. We normally stay on sites and are wary of our 3,500 kg weight limit.

On our previous small coachbuilt, which had significantly more payload available, we'd generally fill the water tank for travelling. But came to realise we didn't need that much, with the way we used the van.

But interested to read Jim's post. I wasn't aware manufacturers were able to quote weights in that way. :unsure:
 
Howard H said:
If we are driving down to Portugal or Spain in winter full tanks but driving to a campsite in the uk half full knowing I an get water on site .
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Ditto. (y)

gpat said:
Well its 100kg of extra weight to lug around.
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It's a rolling weight, which in the great scheme of things, (especially on a long motorway journey) won't make a noticeable difference to the fuel economy.
When touring abroad, you don't know when your next fill up (or toilet emptying) opportunity will be, so we never go below half a tank, when on the road.

Cheers,

Jock. :)
 
gpat said:
Well its 100kg of extra weight to lug around. The manufacturers instructions on our van advise not more that 25% full when travelling. Obviously it OK to travel a short distance but 100's of miles, it just doesn't make sense. I had a friend who I cycled to work with. He loved diluted fruit juice. He used to add the concentrate at home and top up with water BEFORE cycling to work. I asked him why he didn't just take the concentrate on the bike and then fill with water once he got to work. His answer?....

"I never thought of that"

Being a cyclist I apply the same theory to the motorhome. It goes a lot faster when there is less weight in it and water is the biggest weight of all.

Just my view and I see I am well outvoted :rolleyes:
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In my case it's 220Kg. It holds me back uphill and helps push me downhill and probably has less effect than sticking out door mirrors. Speed and acceleration though not a priority seem unaffected. About the only worthwhile improvements to economy are made by travelling more slowly and buying a pointy van.
 
Sometimes we travel full, sometimes half full, once we travelled with about 10 litres in because we forgot to fill up!
For those that say there is always somewhere to get water, there isn't, not in wintertime France anyway! As long as I can make a cup of tea, I don't mind going to bed stinky!
 
gpat said:
and uses less fuel too.
You can fill up with water practically anywhere where there is a fuel station at the same time
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Have you ever measured the difference in fuel consumption between full and nearly empty on a 5 tonne van? No, thought not. If I was worried about fuel consumption I would buy a tent.

my fresh water tank is 240 litres and transverse across the vehicle. The manufacturer says nothing in the handbook about travelling with any tanks full, empty or partially filled, So to avoid excessive free surface effect, I travel either 100%full or completely empty. Case rested :restmycase::RollEyes:
 
gpat said:
I can't believe anyone would be daft enough to carry a full water tank when travelling. Think about it
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You obviously don't enjoy/use your van in the same way I do but I will stop myself from referring to you as "daft".

I guess you must be a "plan the route" and book sites (with EHU) in advance type whereas I head off towards a location but rarely know where I will be stopping over for the night(s).

We can't live without water.

"Daft" indeed!

Do me a favour...

JJ :cool:

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gpat said:
HaHa
Of course. We just travel in out underwear:party3:
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Yes, but what about the extra weight of clothing on the return journey? Do you bin it and again travel in underwear? :whistle2: Just imagine the new report in the event of an accident:rofl:
 
Usually about half a tank unless we were off to a festival in a field where the facilities are basic and the campers tend to be amateurs. The Sunshine festival had far too many toilet casettes being rinsed at the drinking water taps. We go loaded with drinking water and a full tank.

We also check to see if we’re heading to a soft water area and if we are then we travel fairly empty especially at the moment when we are using our own shower/boiler a lot as the water is so so hard at home that filling up on arrival is worth the effort to protect the boiler from limescale.

Toilet flush is separate.
 
Hi.
Had a water tank strap fail and the tank drop down, I have photo's to prove this right outside our first house in Portugal. We had come back from the UK " Fully freighted " ( Trail Boss's loaded.?? :ROFLMAO: Mammoth Tanker transport Dene quarry) Had been going at Mega Warp speed all the way back,roughly 1400 miles/three stops at aires,the water tank at most only two thirds full, pulled up outside of the house and Jennifer got out to undo the double gates. I started to pull forward and there was a BANG. Thinking i had hit her,i jumped out and ran around the side,she was stood some distance from the unit looking down underneath it. Both tanks,Water and Waste were strapped up with a plastic coated metal strap with holes in at regular intervals,where the trouble had arisen was that the Back strap of the water tank was fed so it ran around the OUTSIDE of the rear stabiliser bar. This meant that as it moved about,it was chaffing the strap and the strap had had enough. Had this happened at speed,i think the unit would have held a steady course,but any vehicle behind would be eating bits of Plastic water tank and shattered bumper. Easy fix,levered it up,plenty of spare strap at each end,bolted the two bits back together and replaced it INSIDE the rear bar.
On the new one we have now, (bought Three years ago ),the tanks fit in Tailored metal frames suspended direct from the chassis.
I like to set off with a two thirds tank of water..PLUS. I DO carry a 10L plastic container FULL Belt and Braces.(y).
Tea Bag
PS. If someone can let me know how to post the photo's SIMPLY !! let me know if you need to see them.

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When we arrive at a site/aire the last thing I want to do is faff about finding the tap and filling with water.
It's far more important to quickly grab the last decent pitch before that French bloke gets it. :rofl: :france:
We always travel with full tanks, around 190 l with the hot water, and it makes very little difference to fuel economy. It helps having loads of payload of course.

Richard.
 
My last van had an option 85L fuel tank and a pitiful payload, when I had rust issues with the tank I replaced it with the standard 60L one and never once needed to refuel on way to any of my destinations so the extra 25L was dead weight
I spent many nights driving down to cornwall overnight so my bored brain did all the calculations you could think of.....
Different routes to the same place, ie short mileage v long mileage but no gear change motorway
Carrying full tank of fuel v refilling on way with associated slow down/speed up and stationary time
Carrying water v filling up at site or en-route
The difference imho was negligible and I decided life was too short to worry about it

Each to their own 👍
 
Depends on what / where we are doing / going, normally have 1/3 - 1/2 of water. Stay in a field behind my brothers house to visit family, make sure I have a full tank from the site we stay at the night before heading to there
 
I only tour abroad and know that fully loaded and with full tanks I'm within weight.
I start thinking about topping up to full with fuel, water and gas when down to half tanks.
I have only an approximate feel of my mpg as I've never checked it and has never entered my mind to seek weight reduction, or maximum speed, or faster hill climbing, or best fuel consumption, or lower cost.

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