Some poor fellas waste tank broke!

[BobsYourUncle]

Calgary, driving down our ring road coming home from work today, saw a fairly new TT on the side of the road with 4 ways on.

I got closer, 2 people standing on the shoulder looking under the back of the TT in dismay.

There was a gusher pouring out of the center bottom of one of the waste tanks and a huge mess on the shoulder of the road, under the back of their rig.

Don't know if it was black or grey tank, hopefully only the grey....

Poor folks, that's awful.

TT wasn't very old either. I failed to note the make. I was too busy looking at the mess pouring out the bottom. Must have just happened moments before I drove by. Ugh....

I can relate to their woes. I lost a black tank myself about 12 years ago. Only thing that stopped it from hitting the highway was one corner got hung up on a leveling jack. I was lucky.

[Mommalu]

We used to fill at campgrounds until one time it took over an hour to fill the fresh tank 1/2 full, and yes there was a long line of not so happy campers waiting for us.
At home we can fill the 70 gallon fresh in about 25 minutes.
Having a motorhome for us is about convenience, leaving home without a full tank of fresh water would be as odd as not using the auto levelers when we get to the campsite.
Though I think part of our maintenance will now include checking that the straps holding the tanks are in good working order.

[wa8yxm]

I travel with a full fresh tank. the design of my rig more or less insures it will not fall out (it sits ON TOP of the frame rails) Likewise the black, gray and wash tanks but there is a reason I travel with the fresh tank full (Later) that does not apply to the waste tanks so much.

The reason.. Where I am not they have "nasty" water. I'm hear for 2 weeks 80 gallons lasts 3-4 weeks. so by the time I run out I'll be back to where I last filled up with "Nice" water Very good well systrem in that park.

Winters it's a bit different both parks are on city water but one is easier to hook up to.

[js218]

I always travel with full water tank, 150 gallons also 300 gallons of fuel.

[Beverley_Ken]

I'm thinking on the same lines as Bellairbrian. Road debris, gator or something else. Sounds like the tank was still attached to the trailer.

I usually start the trip with a full fresh water tank, approx. 35 gal. 300 lbs is only. that is only about 2.5% of my total vehicle weight. The grey/black tanks get filled, by use, from the fresh water, so only minimal extra weight.

Ken

[winniman]

If you want to boondock for any length of time, you pretty much need to travel at least some distance with the tanks full. What the hell good is an rv if you have to travel with all the tanks empty.

[BobsYourUncle]

belairbrian wrote:


years ago we were following a travel trailer that ran over a piece of road gator, managed to come up and knock the drain valve off the fresh water tank. What can you do,? If Murphy wants you he gets you.

Never thought about that, you may have a good point here.

This TT was near new, and the tank was pouring from the bottom center. There is always debris on this highway, especially road gators. Everything from lumber to metal objects to hammers, wrenches and a huge variety of other stuff.

Fairly new TT, should not have had an age related failure.
Possibly he ran over something that came up and poked a hole. He would have heard the noise so possibly stopped to check it out.
All speculation of course.

Heck, I ran over something coming home from vacation a few days ago. Within a couple miles of where I saw this, on the same piece of highway. Something under me made a heckuva clattering bang. I pulled over fast and now, did a visual on truck and trailer, saw nothing. I have no idea what I hit. Never saw a thing.

[solismaris]

BarabooBob wrote:
Why carry all of that weight around anyway. I get water near where I am going and leave the waste at the closest available dump station. While traveling, I keep about 10 gallons of fresh water to be able to use the toilet on the road. I am more than happy to leave black and grey water at the dump station.

The 240 pounds of a full 30 gallon tank is so small compared to the 7500 pound weight of my trailer that it really is completely insignificant. I'll travel full or empty as it happens; won't give a second thought to the weight.

Yes they can break but so can a lot of things. Hasn't happened yet to my 15 year old Prowler. I'm not going to "what if" this decision; if it happens that sucks but "**** happens".

Oh and one more thing: I'd rather drink my water from home than some unknown source on the road, some of which are quite bad. I will if I run out but I always start with my home water.

[Lwiddis]

"It was right then and there I decided to never travel with full tanks again. And I haven't."

You'll be unable to stay a lots of beautiful Western campgrounds that don't have water if you travel with the fresh tank empty or even a 1/4 full.

[camperdave]

I prefer to travel with empty tanks of course, but it's not always possible. The design of the tank mounting ought to be able to handle full tanks. If it's not, make it so it is! And inspect often. Doesn't take long to crawl under the rig for a quick visual. Check the straps, make sure wires aren't hanging loose, look for busted exhaust hangers, stuff like that. Just a part of keeping a rig on the road.

And sometimes things just break. **** happens.

[garyhaupt]

I often wonder..with all of the things people won't do..or carry...or places they won't go...how they even get out of the house.

Gary Haupr

[belairbrian]

FlatBroke wrote:
Guess I just gotta say, they should be built to hold a full tank whether you travel with them full or empty.

Sometimes that doesn't matter.

years ago we were following a travel trailer that ran over a piece of road gator, managed to come up and knock the drain valve off the fresh water tank. What can you do,? If Murphy wants you he gets you.

[discovery4us]

I have personally lost the fresh water tank, seen a blown tire take out the sewer gate valves, and every trip to the desert you see trailers draining fresh and grey water as they go down the highway (I don't like this and am hoping it is just water).

I travel with full tanks. This includes fresh, grey, black and fuel. Of course if possible I will drain the grey and black rather than travel with them full.

Hopefully it was at the end of their trip and I must say they are much more observant than me. I not sure I would even notice a tank leaking while I was driving down the road. Heck I didn't even realize my fresh water tank fell out of our FW until we got to camp and had no water to the faucet.

[ksg5000]

I always empty my Black/Gray tanks whenever possible - I don't want the weight and over the years I have had to repair broken tank straps. I recommend everyone check the straps annually - they can break and sometimes the break is hard to notice.

[blofgren]

Sometimes there is not much choice but to travel with full tanks. We do it frequently with the fresh tank and occasionally with black/gray tanks when there is no sewer or sani dump where we are camping. Our trailer is 4 season so the tank enclosures are well built and we have never had an issue. Isn’t that the point of having holding tanks? :B