Filling Fresh Water Tank at Campground Without Site Hookups

[Derby6]

Ooph, unfortunately that would put me uncomfortably close to my limits with the expedition.

I get it but your talking about adding 500lbs or less. Having water means you are prepared. Ready to go on arrival and have if needed for stops. Planned or not.
But more importantly you know your getting good water. If I have to fill out on road I do— but like knowing I have my good softened wellwater in my rig.

To answer your question it depends on campground. May or may not be allowed. If it’s not allowed it likely will be marked as such and/or not have a threaded hose fitting which is a pretty obvious sign. lol

 

[CharlesinGA]

I think the hydrants with the threaded ends removed is because they are too close to sites and the management probably figures that the nearest camper will simply run a hose from the hydrant to their camper, "claiming" the hydrant as their own.

Mt Pisgah campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway, has several hydrants scattered throughout the campground, somewhat in between sites near the edge of the road. All of them have the threaded ends removed.

Linville Falls campground, also on the BRP, had hydrants in the middle of large grassy areas, far from the edge of the pavement. They still had the threads on them. My site just happened to have one right behind me, but I never needed it.

 

[TheBar]

Always let the water run for 10 seconds before filling your tank. Last month I flushed a colony of 3/8" black carpenter ants from a hydrant. Must have wintered there.

 

[NY_Dutch]

There are a few sites at Gilbert Lake State Park that have a double headed threaded spigot on the side of the road within 10-15 feet of an RV occupying the site. There are signs on the posts that say that hoses cannot be left hooked up after filling your onboard tank. I didn't find it a problem when we were on one of those sights. I just left our hose and filter hooked up to our RV and coiled up for easy connection when needed.

 

[BillyThib]

Ok maybe this is a dumb question. We are going to be taking our new camper on its maiden voyage and we are brand new to camper life. The campground doesn't have water hookups so what is generally considered appropriate for filling the fresh water tank? I want to avoid towing the camper full of water. The campground has frost proof spigots in a few places in the campground, is it ok to pull up and fill up? Like I said total newbies to camper life, we've tent camped a ton.

We keep our water tank full. You never know when you will be unable to access a potable water source, break down , travel delays, etc. Water weighs 8 lbs/gallon so if your water tank holds 30 gallons that’s only 240 lbs. A partial tank of water will beat the **** out of the tank and fasteners due to the sloshing so full or very very little.

Don’t forget to sanitize and flush your freshwater tank before using it! After that you are good to go. Our camper is 32 years old, we flushed it when we got it and have used it since then.

I’ll also suggest, as an old fart, experienced rv’er, don’t stress over stuff and I mean everything, not just the small stuff. Stressing out will not help any situation, you are placing a house on top of an earthquake every time you hit the road, stuff WILL break! Just deal with it as needed and enjoy the lifestyle, there truly is nothing like it!
Billy T

 

[gwinger]

We keep our water tank full. You never know when you will be unable to access a potable water source, break down , travel delays, etc. Water weighs 8 lbs/gallon so if your water tank holds 30 gallons that’s only 240 lbs. A partial tank of water will beat the **** out of the tank and fasteners due to the sloshing so full or very very little.

Don’t forget to sanitize and flush your freshwater tank before using it! After that you are good to go. Our camper is 32 years old, we flushed it when we got it and have used it since then.

I’ll also suggest, as an old fart, experienced rv’er, don’t stress over stuff and I mean everything, not just the small stuff. Stressing out will not help any situation, you are placing a house on top of an earthquake every time you hit the road, stuff WILL break! Just deal with it as needed and enjoy the lifestyle, there truly is nothing like it!
Billy T

There's a difference between MH and a TT. The MH's have a well supported internal tank. Most
TT's have a tank hanging between the frame with two or three straps supporting it. If you look at the tank, you will see it sagging between the straps.
Also, partially filling the tank will allow the water to roll side to side and may cause an unstable ride when that weight shifts.
We carry 4 gallons of water in containers for drinking and cooking while traveling and two separate gallons for the toilet.

 

[PancakeBill]

Ooph, unfortunately that would put me uncomfortably close to my limits with the expedition.

If you are that close, you should really consider upgrading your tow vehicle. I towed with my Jeep Grand Cherokee, at close to the max and it was not comfortable, Took a couple trips and then bought a truck. A 26’ camper will be very close to your Expedition, even with the tow package.

If you have to leave water behind, you are too close.

You will tow anyway, consider getting an OBD reader that will give you more information for things like trans temps, oil temps etc.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Not trying to be the weight police, but do wish to point out how close, or over, the OP is on weights and other considerations in towing this trailer.

OP has a 33 ft trailer that has a gross weight of 9000 lbs and a CCC of 2782 lbs giving an unloaded vehicle weight of 6218 lbs. Depending on gear, kitchen supplies, food clothing, wheel chocks, etc, etc, you could easily load another 1000 lbs of "stuff" in it. This yields an actual hitch weight of between 900 and 1000 lbs at 13% tongue weight.
Trailer specifications and floor plan.

2017 Ford Towing guide.

Depending on how you load the Expedition, yes, you are at or over the payload. Door jam sticker payload, minus everything and everyone in the vehicle leaves you with a remaining payload that the trailer can exert (tongue weight), and you are at or over the max allowed frontal area of the trailer. Its 8 ft wide and not sure how much height to consider but even with 8 ft of height (skirt to roof) you are over the 60 sq ft. frontal area limit.

Page 28 of the towing guide gives info specific to the Expedition whether 4x4/4x2, rear axle ration and model.

OP really needs to weigh the tow vehicle fully loaded including all gear and people just as if you are going on a trip. Then again weigh with the trailer, again, loaded as for a trip. Just be sure and stop and disconnect the weight distribution bars before pulling on the scale (and be sure and hook them up afterward.

Fill your fuel tank, stop and disconnect the weight bars. Pull the rig onto the scales properly, they are in three segments, front axle, rear axle(s), trailer axle(s). When the person on the speaker says they have your weights, pull off the scales, drop the trailer, leave the hitch in the receiver, weigh just the tow vehicle, front axle, rear axle(s),

Weigh tickets will give you weights for the axles separately, except the trailer.

1) Take the combined weight of truck/trailer on the bottom of the ticket, and subtract from it, the weight of the truck when weighed alone, The result is the weight of the trailer.

2) Take the trailer weight you just calculated, and subtract the trailer axle weight from it. The result is the tongue weight of the trailer.

3) Take the tongue weight, and divide it by the total trailer weight from step #1. The result is the percentage of the tongue weight to the total trailer weight.

My truck and trailer as an example:

The truck by itself, a 2003 RAM 2500 std cab, tradesman model with 5.9L HO Cummins and 6 spd manual transmission and a LEER topper, and a full tank of fuel. I keep a Blackstone griddle, large and small patio mats, two directors chairs, a 2x4ft Lifetime folding table, and a Makita worklight, hydraulic bottle jack and a few odds and ends in the back of the truck.
Front axle, 4060 lbs
Rear sxle, 2860 lbs
Gross weight, 6920

The truck and trailer on a ball, no weight distribution, loaded as described above.
Truck front axle, 3680 lbs (lost 380 lbs)
Truck rear axle, 4040 lbs (gained 1180 lbs)
Trailer axles, 5060 lbs
Gross combined weight, 12780 lb

If we take the 12780 and subtract the truck weight (weighed by itself) of 6920 lbs we get a trailer weight of 5860 lbs.

If we subtract the trailer axle weight of 5060 lbs from the trailer gross weight of 5860 lbs we arrive at a tongue weight of 800 lbs.

If we take the weight lost from the front (380 lbs) and subtract it from the weight gained on the rear (1180 lbs) we again get 800 lbs which is the tongue weight.

800 lb tongue weight divided by the 5860 trailer gross weight equals 13.6% This means that the trailer's actual tongue weight is about 13.6% and this is pretty much spot on the common recommendations of 10% to 15% with 12% or 13% being near perfect.

 

[garyb1st]

We prefer to dry camp when possible so having adequate water is important. You really need to spend some time researching the availability of water at the locations you will be traveling to. Example follows.

Filled our tank at a State Park in Colorado. Next 3 days at Dinasaur National Monument. Limited water and filling tanks not allowed. Next 4 days at a National Forest Campground with water spigots. Problems with fresh water system. Water questionable. Certainly wouldn't fill tank with it. High winds on I-80 so camped at a BLM spot. No water. Next Campendium lead us to a City Park with water spigots throughout the park. Campendium didn't mention spigots not turned on until June 1. So for 10 days, we manage water VERY closely.

Another issue is weight. Our motorhome is usually close to maximum weight when we travel. With 80 gallons in our fresh tank and another 10 gallons in the water heater, we are carrying 750 lbs of water. Depending on the terrain, that can be problematic. For us, it was on a long 8% grade.

 

[DonTom]

I want to avoid towing the camper full of water.

IMAO, that will be a mistake, in most cases. Keep it full as much as possible.

Usually, the fresh water will be the very first thing people run out of when boondocked. Not starting with it full can make that problem your main one.

You also might want to read the related thread here.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[John From Detroit]

I liked to run at least half full on road.. Fill when parked and use tanked
This worked out very well as after wife died I used about one tank a every other week so in the south we had a bit of "Too much chlorine" issue... Sitting in the tank let that self fix. In the north one park had water that contined a lot of sand. My filters caught most of it but .. the other park had very good water.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

Have camping gear and home gear.

Smart and experienced thinking.

Why do you say that? Genuinely curious.

I guess this has already been answered. Throughout the camping season, my freshwater tank was usually at least half full. For the OP, how far away is your first camping outing going to be? Shorter distance, more water, longer, maybe scale back some.

 

[nibroc]

good thread...........................

 

[Babe2201]

It has been a couple of years since I have towed a TT but when I did I felt it actually towed a little better with at least half a tank of water so I did it sometimes even when we were going where they had hookups and drained it when we got home. I think it was because the tank was where it put weight on the axles.

 

[RayIN]

Some campers have poorly mounted fresh water tanks and actually should not be towed with a full fresh water tank. If a manual came with the trailer, look thru it for a restriction like this. If you don't find any restrictions, fill the tank and go. I always travel with my water tank full as many of the campgrounds I stay at do not have water available, and I prefer my own water, as it is untreated well water (which I add Purogene to).

The hydrants you find randomly scattered thru campgrounds that don't have water at each site are indeed for campers to use (but check anyway). Be forewarned that most of these hydrants have had the threads removed or ground off of them to prevent a hose from being hooked to them. You may need a "water bandit" or "water thief" which is a rubber thimble that has a hose fitting on the end of it. It won't handle much pressure without blowing off, but you can free flow water thru a hose easily enough. Camco sells them, so an RV supply or possibly the RV and camping section in Walmart may have them (or Amazon)

View attachment 2452244
One last thing. If the trailer has a gravity fill port, DO NOT just stick the hose in the port. On most of them, the metal end of the hose will just fit enough to stay in place but basically blocks air escaping from the tank, causing the tank to swell up and possibly damage the mounting straps or blow the flexible fill neck off the tank. The air vent line cannot handle the volume of escaping air and the tank will pressurize. Been there, done that, twice, before I learned the lesson.

Always use a fill adapter like this one or a homemade one from pieces from Home Depot or wherever. This is small enough to not block the filler neck, and air can escape from around it.

View attachment 2452246

RVIA standards require the water tanks have adequate bracing to withstand transporting a full tank. If that is not the case with your trailer, file a complaint with the RVIA and trailer mfgr.

 

[Kirk]

Michael_69f90bba5cb36​

Joined May 7, 2026
Last seen May 8, 2026

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

RVIA standards require the water tanks have adequate bracing to withstand transporting a full tank. If that is not the case with your trailer, file a complaint with the RVIA and trailer mfgr.

IMHO, the RVIA is a useless consumer advocate for the RV Industry. They are there to serve their masters, the RV manufacturing complex.

I laugh now when I think of my Georgetown motorhome that had an RVIA sticker by the door, which added $800+ to the MSRP. This rig came with a totally unsecured hot water tank held in its compartment by only two #10 self tapping screws that secured the body panel to the RV framing. It sat unsecured on two wood mounting blocks, which were only zip-tied to the water tank. That's it. Let's see, electricity, propane, and water would make for quite the explosion if that tank ever broke free while running down the road.

 

[Rene T]

IMHO, the RVIA is a useless consumer advocate for the RV Industry. They are there to serve their masters, the RV manufacturing complex.

I laugh now when I think of my Georgetown motorhome that had an RVIA sticker by the door, which added $800+ to the MSRP. This rig came with a totally unsecured hot water tank held in its compartment by only two #10 self tapping screws that secured the body panel to the RV framing. It sat unsecured on two wood mounting blocks, which were only zip-tied to the water tank. That's it. Let's see, electricity, propane, and water would make for quite the explosion if that tank ever broke free while running down the road.

Are you talking about the hot water heater or the fresh water tank?

 

[RayIN]

Are you talking about the hot water heater or the fresh water tank?

He says hot water tank. His heater situation was a warranty problem that was never addressed.
The RVIA adopted the NFPA standards for plumbing, heating, and electrical, which are read into the Federal Register every year, which make them federal law.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

unsecured hot water tank

I bought the Georgetown used, one year old, with 4000 miles on it. So, no warranty.

I don't care what standards the RVIA creates; they are not a consumer advocacy organization. And, like any seasoned RV'er knows, who's watching the industry on things that are done regardless of laws, standards, or build quality? Certainly not the RVIA.