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Woody.1
Newbie
Joined: 16 Feb 2018
Location: SW Colorado
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 31
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Topic: Traveling with full Fresh Water Tank Posted: 05 Apr 2019 at 9:14am |
Is it safe to travel with full fresh water tank for boondocking? I’ve read on some forums that it’s a bad idea and the tank supports will fail. If you’re boondocking it only makes sense that you have to travel with it full. Now I’m worried to fill tank and travel to boondocking sites. Some are the roads we take are bumpy, but I take it slow.
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lostagain
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Sep 2016
Location: Quaker Hill, CT
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2590
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Posted: 05 Apr 2019 at 9:27am |
We do it all the time with no issues. We do try to wait to fill up in the Sierras because the water is pretty much pure snow melt and doesn't leave calcium deposits in the system. We've traveled all the way from home to Sedona AZ with a full tank of fresh water and really didn't notice the difference. The fresh water tank in a 172 is just behind the axle, so one must pay attention to balancing the load and keeping the tongue weight in the proper range. We do have axle risers so we have good ground clearance for forest service roads.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost
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texman
Senior Member
Joined: 24 Jul 2014
Location: TeXas
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 446
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Posted: 05 Apr 2019 at 9:29am |
woody i have done it many times. Yes, as you said, take it easy. If you haven't already done so, get under the pod and check the mounts that hold the tank to the frame and make sure that they are secure. mine only had two bolts on each end and had a gap between the frame and piece that supports the tank. i added a bolt to each end and put a spacer just to help in case. Mine had not failed BTW. Others have added bolts all the way through the frame as well. I have not heard of a pod that dropped a fresh water tank before, but better safe than sorry.
There have been many failures of the support for the sewer line if you havent heard that yet. you may want to inspect that as well.
Happy camping!
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tcj
Senior Member
Joined: 05 Jul 2018
Location: Central WA
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 141
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Posted: 05 Apr 2019 at 9:43am |
Some people say that their holding tanks were not installed correctly and were liable to fall out. I looked at mine and didn't see any problems with the installation.
We like to camp in remote areas and travel some pretty rough off pavement roads. Like you, I keep my speed compatible with the how rough the road is.
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2018 R-pod 180 Hood River Edition
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5290
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Posted: 05 Apr 2019 at 10:08am |
Sure, I do it all the time, there is no alternative when boondocking. As others have said, check your attachments. Do beware of what that does to your trailer tongue weight. In lostagain's 172 it reduces it. In my 179 it adds about 100 lbs to the already high tongue weight, which winds up being about 550 lbs. Check yours.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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GlueGuy
Senior Member
Joined: 15 May 2017
Location: N. California
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2632
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Posted: 05 Apr 2019 at 10:09am |
We have traveled both with empty and full FWT depending on what we expect for water at the other end. On a 179, the FWT is in front of the axle, so it adds to the tongue weight. Other models have the FWT in back of the axle, so it could affect stability. Be sure you know which yours is.
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost
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