Driving With Full Water Tanks

[Lenny HB]

Nope sorry, it’s Imperial Gallons.

Quite small for a yank only 250 Lt a lot of Euro vans have that size tank.

 

[deleted79651]

I also tend to travel with the fresh water tank at least half full. I try to always empty the grey tank though.

I suspect the water tank moving in an accident with a bit of g force would be a minor problem compared to the furniture and fittings going through the windscreen

But, on the bright side, if the furniture hit you before the 215 litres of fresh water, you would at least be nice and clean for your funeral, and give your relatives scope to haggle for a discount ... On the other hand, apart from 4 fingers and a thumb, if the contents of the grey tank wash you, your relatives will likely be charged a surcharge ...

Being a cautious fellow, I tend to travel with around 30-40 litres of water, although I base my payload calculations on the full 120 litres and a full tank of diesel; if I am stopped, I hope that this will give a safety margin for anything where I've underestimated the weight or have forgotten about that 'Justin Case' man who packs lots of extra bits of kit and caboodle ...

But I am paranoid, and I would stop and explain; but then they might catch me ...

Steve

 

[gus-lopez]

Full water tank for me.

I came away after 9 years of believing most, if not all, are overweight and they knew it.

Here when I was looking at all types of vans it was noticeable that most refigerated lton type delivery vans were run at 3,500kgs so could be driven on a car licence rather than having to take a C1. most had a tare of 3,300kgs & 200kgs of capacity which would mean nearly all would be running overloaded when delivering

Our Rapido handbook says to drain down to 20L before travelling.....as far as I know, it doesn't actually say never travel with full tanks. I think the 20L thing is just so they only have to include 20L of water in the MIRO calculation,

That's so the payload looks better. if run at full you'd have to leave any passengers behind

Hmm so you ran into the back of somebody because you didn’t stop in time, therefore the weight was a potential contributor but that doesn’t matter because you can then empty the water to reduce it after the accident.

The vehicle has to be able to stop safely when at Maximum Train Weight, (MTW) i.e when towing.So on mine the brakes are capable of stopping in the normal distance 6t. When you run in to the back of someone it is because you are negligent & not paying attention, not because there is a slight possibility of over loading.

 

[HKF]

funnily enough my new MoHo says never drive with anymore than 20lts in water tank
BUT I would always have driven with full tank & I suppose I will continue, all 215lts of it
i think if you had an accident with a bit of g force the tank could move forward & potentially
make the MoHo a write off

I wonder if that happened whether the insurance would pay out? And, if they didn't, you might also be liable for third party costs and/or losses? It's a lot to think about for us as newbies

 

[cyberyacht]

Happiness is full fresh/empty grey/black.

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[deleted79651]

Happiness is full fresh/empty grey/black.

And an empty bladder plus dry trousers and undergarments... Otherwise, 'Going on the road again' acquires a new meaning ...

Steve

 

[SuperMike]

Quite small for a yank only 250 Lt a lot of Euro vans have that size tank.

65 Imperial Gallons is 295L. Back to school for you.

 

[Lenny HB]

65 Imperial Gallons is 295L. Back to school for you.

It's me dyslexia guv, I read it as 56 gal.

 

[busby]

Nope sorry, it’s Imperial Gallons.

I can only dream of that,,70 litres on mine.BUSBY.

 

[WESTY66]

ALWAYS travel with full water I only wish I had bigger tanks!!

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[olley]

Nope sorry, it’s Imperial Gallons.

5 more than my Brave, trust you to have a bigger tank.

Winniebago Brave

​	US Gallons​	Imp. Gallons​	Litres​
LPG​	23​	19​	87​
Fresh water​	84​	70​	317​
Black​	40​	33​	151​
Grey​	54​	45​	204​
Fuel tank reduced to 50 to fit LPG tanks was 75.​	50​	41​	189​

 

[HKF]

.....
Nearly all own a motorhome, though favouring the smaller..no matter what size family.
French people have a big say in their country and actively enjoy public power.
Cosequently they do as they like, they overload,.....
Personally I think it's a way of life we have abandoned by all our sensible Health and Safety, Road Laws and Guidelines.(frenchies ignore them anyway).....

They need to start taking notice then, as the Gendarmerie are starting to hit hard on overweight rigs. Hence my question and thoughts on full tanks. After reading everyone's posts here, we're going to get our MoHo up-plated since we both have UK C1 licences

 

[HKF]

We never top up the water tank from a tap that's near to a black waste dump and might have been used to swill someone's cassette so we leave home with a full tank and top up where it's 'safe' lol

Everyone is doing that at the site we're at right now!!! (La Rochefoucauld, France). The fresh water tap is right in front of the drain for black water and everyone is washing their cassette out with it. I made my husband disinfect the tap before he got our water

 

[SuperMike]

5 more than my Brave, trust you to have a bigger tank.

Winniebago Brave

​	US Gallons​	Imp. Gallons​	Litres​
LPG​	23​	19​	87​
Fresh water​	84​	70​	317​
Black​	40​	33​	151​
Grey​	54​	45​	204​
Fuel tank reduced to 50 to fit LPG tanks was 75.​	50​	41​	189​

Don’t need a bigger tank OilyFello. If I’ve read you likkle chart properly, your’s is 5gal bigger than mine. Methinks, another one who needs to go back to schoooooool.

 

[royandsharont]

I think the driver and passenger will have be calculated within the plated allowance @ 90kg each …..

I am almost certain the industry only includes the driver in the MIRO and the figure is normally 75kg

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[royandsharont]

This making interesting reading, particularly as the handbook for our MoHo says never to drive with water in either of the tanks, and particularly mentions instability. We've also been warned by many of our French Mo-Hoing friends that the French Police are hotting up on overweight MoHos, hence why I was surprised to see people setting off with full tanks.

I‘m pretty certain they say never to keep the weight down for their MIRO figures and usually they say only carry 25L, hence the ability to drop water to that figure in most modern vans with the turn of a tap or lever. My new van will have that system.

In our old van the water tanks were under slung & heated so kept the centre of gravity lower which is a positive thing, yes the movement of water sloshing can add to instability, like in ships, but I’ve never noticed any effects.

As for the carrying of full tanks, if it is within your weight, as ours was, then it is all legal. Our MIRO included a full fresh tank & 90% waste tank full but that was in the old days before manufactureRe tried to keep everything below the 3.5t

 

[jumartoo]

We are in the minority here, it seems. We hardly EVER travel with a full tank of water. We have a container of drinking water and another we can filter. Other than that we have one third to a half in our tank.

We've NEVER failed to find water, from Portugal, to Norway, to Poland, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia ... and beyond and, at the end of the day the ONLY water you REALLY need is for drinking.

 

[Lenny HB]

We are in the minority here, it seems. We hardly EVER travel with a full tank of water. We have a container of drinking water and another we can filter. Other than that we have one third to a half in our tank.

We've NEVER failed to find water, from Portugal, to Norway, to Poland, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia ... and beyond and, at the end of the day the ONLY water you REALLY need is for drinking.

On a trip through France to Spain in Feb & back in March of 10 Aires we stayed on only 2 had the water turned on.

 

[JockandRita]

It’s incredible that a bit of water could cause so much bad feeling, just weigh the van overall and each axle then decide yourself.

We travel full because we have loads of payload to allow this.

Same here. I always try to set off with full water (240litres) full fuel (100+ litres) and full gas (55 litres). Am I worried about being overweight or unsafe? No.

Here when I was looking at all types of vans it was noticeable that most refigerated lton type delivery vans were run at 3,500kgs so could be driven on a car licence rather than having to take a C1. most had a tare of 3,300kgs & 200kgs of capacity which would mean nearly all would be running overloaded when delivering

That's so the payload looks better. if run at full you'd have to leave any passengers behind

The vehicle has to be able to stop safely when at Maximum Train Weight, (MTW) i.e when towing.So on mine the brakes are capable of stopping in the normal distance 6t. When you run in to the back of someone it is because you are negligent & not paying attention, not because there is a slight possibility of over loading.

Exactly gents.

Provided you are within the parameters of the plated weights, be they factory specified, or from recent up plating, and the vehicle is mechanically serviceable and safe, then there is no danger of falling foul of either the law, or your insurers..

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[deleted79651]

I‘m pretty certain they say never to keep the weight down for their MIRO figures and usually they say only carry 25L, hence the ability to drop water to that figure in most modern vans with the turn of a tap or lever. My new van will have that system.

In our old van the water tanks were under slung & heated so kept the centre of gravity lower which is a positive thing, yes the movement of water sloshing can add to instability, like in ships, but I’ve never noticed any effects.

As for the carrying of full tanks, if it is within your weight, as ours was, then it is all legal. Our MIRO included a full fresh tank & 90% waste tank full but that was in the old days before manufactureRe tried to keep everything below the 3.5t

The MIRO figure for water is 20 litres, rather than 25 litres; Brunhilde has a nifty valve on top of the tank, and when you open it, it uses the outside of the grey water pipe to run down, like a leaking drainpipe in a property! If I empty the grey water at the same time, it looks like 2 waterfalls

Steve

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[Lenny HB]

The MIRO figure for water is 20 litres, rather than 25 litres; Brunhilde has a nifty valve on top of the tank, and when you open it, it uses the outside of the grey water pipe to run down, like a leaking drainpipe in a property! If I empty the grey water at the same time, it looks like 2 waterfalls

Steve

The EU recommendation for calculating MIRO is 20Lt water, Driver at 75kg, 90% Fuel & 1 X 11kg Aluminium gas bottle but not all manufacturers keep to this.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Provided you are within the parameters of the plated weights, be they factory specified, or from recent up plating, and the vehicle is mechanically serviceable and safe, then there is no danger of falling foul of either the law, or your insurers..

SV Tech weighed me full water, gas and fuel. Over 800 kg underweight

 

[jumartoo]

If you have the payload, then there is no problem. We have a van weighted at 3,500. Luckily we only weigh about 130 kilos together! and we keep clothing down to a minimum and wash and wear (and we always have to much even then). But we carry two e-mountainbikes and an inflatable kayak. We have to lose the weight somewhere so we have to to it with the liquids. Empty grey, half (at most fresh) and half a tank of diesel (except in places where stations are few and far between, which isn't that often in mainland Europe).

We're away atm for three months and having a good time, even within our constraints.

 

[jumar]

Don't get bringing UK water over to the EU since B****t.....it's banned, together with dairy, meat products and beer not originating in Yorkshire..

 

[jumartoo]

Don't get bringing UK water over to the EU since B****t.....it's banned, together with dairy, meat products and beer not originating in Yorkshire..

Yorkshire Teabags are allowed though

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[olley]

Don’t need a bigger tank OilyFello. If I’ve read you likkle chart properly, your’s is 5gal bigger than mine. Methinks, another one who needs to go back to schoooooool.

Sorry sm I had it my head you had put 75, school won't cure a brain fart.

 

[Chris]

I am reasonably friendly with a Belgian traffic cop.

He once told me he was never happier than pulling over all the Dutch vans because he could guarantee they would be overweight.

As the Dutch literally bring the kitchen sink I could quite believe it.

 

[deleted79651]

I am reasonably friendly with a Belgian traffic cop.

He once told me he was never happier than pulling over all the Dutch vans because he could guarantee they would be overweight.

As the Dutch literally bring the kitchen sink I could quite believe it.

I have a background chorus of Eddie Waring running through my brain, chirping, 'Eeeh it's Jux Sons Frontiays, Jacksons Front Ears,Jocks On ...,It's a Knockout ...' as the Belgians play their Joker on beating the French at booking the Dutch Motorhomers, whilst UK Motorhomers watch from the sidelines ...

Steve

 

[joe and sue]

If touring we keep fresh full and waste empty as much as possible, if heading for a site, then half fresh ,

 

[tacr2man]

Think you mean litres,,BUSBY.

That would be about right in gallons for a Winnie
I run with only one tank full so only 200ltrs in Europe

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