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Old 09-27-2014, 07:57 AM   #1
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Name: Pat
Trailer: Parkliner
Michigan
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Carrying water

I am so new at this trailering business and have a couple of questions that are probably elementary. If I am going to a place with no electricity is it OK to carry water in the tank while driving? Also, does anyone use a Chrysler Town and Country to tow with? They told us that the van does not charge the battery while driving, which it does not. Can't quite figure out if I am out of luck or if there is a way to fix it.
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Old 09-27-2014, 08:12 AM   #2
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Name: Norm and Ginny
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We always carry a half tank of water useful in emergencies and for bathroom use. When we reach a camping sight we will often fill it.

Town and Country vans do make good tow vehicles, though you did not mention the year or configuration. Generally tow vehicles with automatic transmissions need the addition of a transmission cooler.

Every tow vehicle I know can charge the trailer battery while driving. It does require a wire to be connected from the plus side of the battery to your 7 pin connector. In my case I pick up the plus side of the battery using an open fuse position in the fuse box and a special fuse. If you're interested in these fuses with a conveniennt wire coming off them let me know and I'll dig up the link.

Generally when towing I increase the pressure in my tires, particularly the rears, This helps prevent the trailer from pushing around the tow vehicle.
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Old 09-27-2014, 08:14 AM   #3
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Hi Pat, you can carry all the water you want to. To each there own, we carry drinking water for coffee and such. Which we can refill at most grocery stores if need be.
Not sure if you have a seven pin connector or not. If so, it will make it easier to add 12 volt line to charge your batteries. I'm not going to go into detail on how to do that. Any good trailer place or U-Haul can do it for you .
I know you just got your trailer so, remember if you have used your water systems? They will need to be winterized.
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Old 09-27-2014, 08:46 AM   #4
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Hi Pat. We're noobs too. We have a city water connector, and a hand pump on the sink instead of an electric pump. We carried 5 gallons of water in the tank to Algonac. The tank was filled at home for making coffee, tea, etc. where taste matters, and we operated with 5 gallon cans at the picnic table for other cooking and cleaning needs. That seemed to work fine. Nothing wrong with carrying some water. Like Mike said above, start thinking about winterizing your trailer. One good hard overnight freeze can do some damage to your plumbing.

Say hi to those nice dogs of your's for Joanne and I.

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Old 09-27-2014, 09:23 AM   #5
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Town and Country Towing

Here are a couple of links ro Town and Country Towing

Can-Am RV Centre | Your Towing Experts

Venture RV Sonic 190VRB - RV Lifestyle Magazine
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Old 09-27-2014, 09:29 AM   #6
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What kind of plug is it on the Town and Country? 4 flat or a larger 7 pin? If it is the 4 pin, getting the charge line to the trailer battery is a little bit of work as you would have to change the ends on the van and trailer. If you have the 7 pin, half the work is already done and that need to be done is have the charge line wired from the battery to appropriate pin on the plug.

What, a little note about the Town and Countries/Caravans, they are only rated for 1200 LBs with out the aux oil cooler. A strong suggestion would be to add an auxiliary transmission cooler. I have to recheck my books but I think there may be an engine oil cooler that can be installed.

As for carrying water, for me it depends on how far and where. My tugs are both more then capable of towing an egg with a full tank. I tend to use my blue water jug more though as I don't really use the sink of stove inside.
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Old 09-27-2014, 09:44 AM   #7
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I camp often at locations with no hook ups and whether or not I fill up my tanks ahead of time depends a lot on how far I am going. If traveling a fairly long distance I don't fill the tanks until i am getting close to my destination. Figure the lighter the trailer the better MPG's I get and water does add weight which is something you need to watch in regards to trailer stow and the location of the tanks. On my Scamp for example the water tank is at the very rear of the trailer so when full I need to make sure I have enough extra weight on the tongue of the trailer to compensate for it.
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Old 09-27-2014, 11:42 AM   #8
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I carry a 5 gal. container in the back of my vehicle while traveling. Then fill up the fresh water tank at the campground when I get to my destination. The trailer seems to handle better, and less weight. (It's about 80# for a 10 gal. fresh water tank). I have run into situations on the Interstate that caused me to make a swerve. The water in the tank made the swaying of the trailer more pronounced and difficult to control. (Have you ever walked a heavy, full pan of water from one side of the room to another? Slosh, Slosh.)
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Old 09-27-2014, 02:52 PM   #9
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Name: Bob Ruggles
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I towed my EggCamper with a Chrysler mini van and it did a fine job. If you have the flat plug go to an RV place or a Uhaul place and have them replace it. I wouldn't worry about the weight of the water. Unless you're doing a lot of stop & go driving or a lot of uphill, the water will have a negligible effect on your mpg. wind resistance is what knocks your mpg down. I usually start from home with a full tank. i can't imagine sloshing water causing swaying unless you don't have enough hitch weight.Even with it sloshing, it seems to me that the tank would be small enough that not a lot of movement of water would cause anything. I've been towing for over 50 years with various trailers and never had any sway. No anti sway device either.
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Old 09-27-2014, 03:05 PM   #10
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Water and Miles per gallon.

The effect of water weight on miles per gallon is minimal in these small trailers.

First, even a full tank of Scamp water weighs about 2% of the total weight of the trailer and tow vehicle (100 of 6600). This is weight of water is trivial compared to the tailer/tow vehicle.

Second the primary tow vehicle load at any practical speed is air resistance.

The sloshing effect of the amount of water we carry is relatively small compared to trailer mass. We drive with a very light tongue weight (7%/200 pounds) and water has never caused an instability. ALso water is not moving from one side of the trailer to the other, on average the water moves less than a foot.
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Old 09-27-2014, 03:28 PM   #11
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I am guessing that the UHaul only has the flat 4-pin connector. Not sure if there is a converter in those trailers; any other UHaul owners know for sure? A trailer place could fix you up with new connectors and a charge line.
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Old 09-27-2014, 07:29 PM   #12
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Thanks everyone for all the help, Norm and Ginny, I drive a 2014 Town & Country with a tow package so it has a 3500 lb tow capacity. I guess I misunderstood the 7 pin connector problem. Hubby said the problem is there is no fuse for the lead that should charge the battery (I think). I Tom and Joanne, hope all is well with you.. Thanks for the winterizing reminder, one more question. If I winterize my trailer and decide to go somewhere do I have to flush it all or do you just not use any of the water?
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Old 09-27-2014, 07:34 PM   #13
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Here's an easy and convenient way to get a fused wire.

Add A Circuit ATM Mini Blade Style Fuse Tap 5 Pack Ford USA Seller | eBay

They are available for different makes.
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Old 09-27-2014, 08:04 PM   #14
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Thanks Norm and Ginny
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Old 09-27-2014, 08:28 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pat in Michigan View Post
If I winterize my trailer and decide to go somewhere do I have to flush it all or do you just not use any of the water?
Yes Pat, I don't see a way to get around flushing it out to re-use your water system. If you only have a few trips in the cold season, I would use jugs of water to avoid the hassle and expense of flushing your system out each time. Maybe some one will weigh in with a better way to do it, but I can't see how.

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Old 09-28-2014, 04:38 PM   #16
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If you're winterizing and live in Michigan as I do, dump all water. Lines, tank, traps, water heater.
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Old 09-28-2014, 05:48 PM   #17
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If you have used RV anti Freeze you do not need to flush out the system before you can use the trailer. I would drain any large amounts of anti freeze that is sitting in the water tanks but other than that it will not hurt anything to leave it in the lines as it is not toxic. The first time you flush the toilet or run water it will clear out most of it - fine for doing dishes etc. Will not taste good though so bring some bottled water to drink - which I do regardless of anti freeze in the system or not.
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Old 09-28-2014, 06:29 PM   #18
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RV Antifreeze

Quote:
Originally Posted by Carol H View Post
If you have used RV anti Freeze you do not need to flush out the system before you can use the trailer. I would drain any large amounts of anti freeze that is sitting in the water tanks but other than that it will not hurt anything to leave it in the lines as it is not toxic. The first time you flush the toilet or run water it will clear out most of it - fine for doing dishes etc. Will not taste good though so bring some bottled water to drink - which I do regardless of anti freeze in the system or not.
This morning while camping , I was sitting at a picnic table eating my French toast and since I did not have a cereal box to read , I read the label on the margarine tub . Much to my surprise ,one of the margarine's listed ingredients was propylene glycol (RV antifreese) .
Supposedly it is added to enhance the flavor?
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Old 09-28-2014, 07:06 PM   #19
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Greetings Pat, I see you own a Parkliner so with that in mind i'll chime in. Cari & I run with a full fresh water tank (the stock 15 gallons) in our Parkliner #35 when we set out on an adventure. We do this as the places we typically camp have no facilities (and often no "Camp site"...) just a place on a forestry road in the hills. In addition to the 15 gal tank in the PL we carry an additional 15 gallons in 3 5-gallon jerry cans in the van. These are our "Drinking" water we fill from our Berkey Filter at home before setting out. We use the PL water for showers and such.

Our PL weights in at ~2300lbs at the scales with full tank and ready for a week of adventure.

Happy Trails and camping!
Thom
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Old 09-28-2014, 08:02 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by steve dunham View Post
Much to my surprise ,one of the margarine's listed ingredients was propylene glycol (RV antifreese) .
Supposedly it is added to enhance the flavor?
Yes it is used in lots of foods as preservative.
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