If you're gonna boondock, when do you fill up your fresh water tank?

[cantdrv55]

Newbie question #1 and 2

Do you fill it up at home before you take off or do you stop somewhere near your destination and fill up? If the latter, what places usually have potable water?

[mojo]

If I am heading directly into the boonies, I will fill up at home. But if on the road and need to refill, I look for other camp grounds along the way or check sanidumps.com. However I have gotten water from BLM offices, ranger stations, gas stations, churches, cemeteries, city parks, municipal water departments, and RV parks. Some you have to ask and pay for, others you can offer a donation. Sometimes you have to call places and ask.

[idroba]

When I boondock (which is my normal camping mode) I always try to arrive at a campground with a full water tank, and empty holding tanks. I always travel with a full water tank from the point I leave home. I watch for convenient places to get more water (and dump stations too) and top up wherever I can, because I never know where the next convenient place will be. As my new FC 20' only has a stupidly small 23 gal fresh water tank, I now often carry one or two 7 gal auxiliary water jugs and have a 12 volt pump to transfer water from them into the main tank if necessary.

[polarlyse]

We often leave home in cold weather to head south. If the forecast for the next few days doesn't include a deep freeze I will often put 10-15 gallons in the fresh water tank. When I get far enough south I will put more in and usually fill it up. That will cover me for any stops we may make along the way. The rest of the time I usually fill it up or put at least half a tank before leaving home. I'm careful to not pump the water through the plumbing system until I'm south of freezing weather. Don't ask how I know this one.

[Jim Flower]

I do the same as Idroba with a bit of polarlyse thrown in as well. Full water and empty holding. Also full propane. I sometimes carry RV anti-freeze as well. You never know when you may be delayed for whatever reason. Best to be a good Boy Scout. Jim


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[mefly2]

...most of our camping is boondocking (in our 25 EB) or unimproved CG ... fill before we leave ...

[AnnArborBob]

We always try to have at least a half tank of fresh water on board "just in case." I'll dump and refill periodically to make sure it is fresh. I'll also flush some diluted Clorox through the system periodically to make sure nothing is growing in there. We drink the water in our tank so we have to be careful.

[featherbedder]

I always leave home full water tank empty black & grey. I do not use water out of tank for any thing but washing & sanitary. I use only use bottled water for all other uses as AS is 38 yrs. old well water rust etc. in tank even tho I sanitize every year.

[demijac]

We always fill up the water tank and empty the gray water tank before we leave for our next boon-docking destination.

[cwf]

If you have a sensitive tummy, carrying your OWN water you are accustomed to consuming. Montezuma travels all over the place... no reason to share in the 'trots' while trying to have a good trip.

Also, having a full water tank can and does improve stability of your AS by placing the 'weight' down by the axles.. which lowers the CG... carrying loose bottles inside the trailer is more difficult...

So, for us, the last year, we have used our 'onboard' fresh water... we have a sink mounted filter for drinking..

We also have connected to 'Park' water when at an RV park.. we have inline filter... and change the hose annually... like right now...

To determine your 'water consumption', try driveway camping for a weekend.. start with full fresh tank... see how long you can 'manage' with onboard water... cook meals, clean up, etc... then, don't use the 'onboard gauge' to determine how much water you used. Take the time to pour a gallon at a time into the fresh tank till full.

Now you KNOW how much you 'need' to carry...

[Goin camping]

We leave home with full water tanks.

[Len n Jeanne]

Just one other thing to think about is whether you need a jerry can of water or two plus a big funnel for water refills at your boondocking site. We fill up the water tank before "dry" desert camping trips with no on-site water, and then usually top it up once or twice from the jerry can/s. A few smaller (3-5 gallon) containers work better than one hugie: they're easier to lift, and if one leaks, you haven't lost so much of your supplementary water supply.

Then, to avoid over-filling the grey water tank, we often use plastic tubs for dish washing, showering, &c, so we can dump the soapy water outside somewhere.

[Shelly M]

I keep the water tank and lines filled with a bleach dilution until we are ready to leave. I then flush it out and fill the tank. The tank is always filled using a high-quality filter (which we use when hooked up to city water as well). Since we use the tank water for drinking I am installing a UV filter under the sink.
Also I carry 50 gal of water in my truck and hand pump it over (with the filter in-line of course) to the trailer tank when needed.

[Moflash]

We fill up before leaving home for two reasons.
1.We use our restroom when traveling and water is needed to flush or shower.
2. My Airstream handles and rides better with a full tank of water and it was designed to run down the road with a full tank.

[thesignlady]

I fill up at home to :-)

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by cantdrv55

Newbie question #1 and 2

Do you fill it up at home before you take off or do you stop somewhere near your destination and fill up?

I typically fill the freshwater tank at the end of each trip, before leaving the trailer in storage. If we're staying in a campsite that has water, I'll usually fill it before we break camp, otherwise I fill it at my house.

For a true boondocking trip where there is no water on site at all, I bring 15 gallons of additional water in Moller Scepter water jugs, which I fill at my house.

If the latter, what places usually have potable water?

The situation varies regionally and is a matter of scouting and luck more than anything (which is why we don't depend on finding any). Sometimes we've asked permission at campgrounds. Sometimes we've filled up at parks, although some discourage that or make it difficult to connect a hose, either because they don't have much water or as a matter of policy to try and discourage greywater dumping.

[PaulnGina]

I like to fill up our Avion before we leave the house. That way, we have plenty (65 gal.) of known "good" water for awhile. Like others, we bring separate drinking/cooking water. Otherwise, we have a filter on the fill line . We start out with empty grey/black tanks, and I like to dump those ASAP.

[Jim Flower]

Full water, empty holding, allows you to take advantage of the beautiful little surprises that pop up from time to time as you wander around. Some of our best memories have been created due to this flexibility and given the ambiguities of life, one must catch these opportunities when they present themselves. Plus, if I am going to drag this thing around, I had better be able to use the head. Jim


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[urnmor]

We fill up at home. Primarily because we think our water from home taste better then the waters at the sites. On a side note most of the time we drink bottle water when camping even if we fill our tank at home.

[jcanavera]

We only fill our tank before leaving when we have questionable water sources at our destination park. I know one state park in question that we visit each year. That park has a lot of sedimentation in their water. Even in brining my own filters, I could clog that filter within 21 gallons or so. In this case I fill before I leave, which gives me 60 gallons in the trailer. In addition I carry 3, 7 gallon water cans inside my vehicle as a supplement.

I typically travel with about 3-5 gallons of water in the fresh water tank just to take care of flushing or hand washing purposes in case we want to pull over and use our own bathroom facilities.

Jack