New Member, New Casita, Water Tank Size

[wdavisco]

Hello! I am new to the forum. My wife & I ordered a new Casita, 17' SD. A 16 gal. water tank comes standard. The 25 gal. optional tank uses 2/3 of the only storage compartment accessible from the outside (curb side). My wife & I will be using the Casita 50% for 2-4 day boondocking and 50% campground with hoodups. Does anyone have an opinion on choosing the 16 gal. water tank, keeping the storage space, and using 3-5 gal. water jugs to refill the tank versus getting the 25 gal. water tank and losing most of the storage space? Thanks!

[Byron Kinnaman]

for 2 to 4 days I barely use any of the 12 gallons in my 13' Scamp. Learn how to conserve water.

[wdavisco]

Thanks, Byron! We're backpackers, beginning to integrate trailer camping, so should be able to learn to conserve. Your experience with water is good to know.

[steve dunham]

We have the 25 gallon tank. We went camping last week for 4 days. I filled the tank twice. We have a bathroom but use the CG showers. If you don't plan on cooking , cleaning , washing dishes ,drinking , making coffee ,washing your hands or using water for anything than go with the smaller tank. My question is " If the smaller water tank is more than adequate then why haul 3 - 5 gallon jugs of water along with you" ?

[wdavisco]

Thanks, Steve. We were thinking of carrying the 3 - 5 gal. water jugs in case the 16 gal. water tank was not adequate. So, our decision was either a 25 gal. tank & sacrifice storage space or keep the storage space & carry water jugs to supplement the 16 gal. tank. Sounds like the 25 gal. tank would be useful!

Would it be a pain to fill the 16 gal. tank from 3 - 5 gal. water jugs??

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by wdavisco

Thanks, Steve. We were thinking of carrying the 3 - 5 gal. water jugs in case the 16 gal. water tank was not adequate. So, our decision was either a 25 gal. tank & sacrifice storage space or keep the storage space & carry water jugs to supplement the 16 gal. tank. Sounds like the 25 gal. tank would be useful!

Would it be a pain to fill the 16 gal. tank from 3 - 5 gal. water jugs??

My Casita water tank has a vent but that being said it takes a while to fill the tank . Holding a 5 gallon jug up in the air while filling the tank is not something I want to do. . Last week the closest water to us was about a 1000 yds away so hauling water by hand is a PITA.
The other solution is to get a campsite right by the water supply.
Be aware that many FG owners do not have a bathroom / hot water in their trailer so their usage is different than others.
If you plan on showering in your trailer than plan on using more water ,a lot more.

[wdavisco]

Thanks, Steve. You supplied very useful information. Being older, we are thinking of enjoying an occasional shower, and using the potty at night - so much more comfortable than when backpacking. So it seems the larger tank would come in handy. I sure appreciate your help.

[Dave Fish]

We ordered our 17' with the 25 gal tank. We never boondocked for long periods but in hindsight for us, I would have rather had the extra storage space. When we did not have hookups, we conserved the water with fewer showers, etc.

Sent from my LG-V495 using Fiberglass RV mobile app

[wdavisco]

Thanks, Dave. Seems like water usage controls can accommodate whatever water tank size we would end up with. Seems like storage space is at a premium. This is a difficult decision to determine what best suits our style never having the chance to lay eyes on a Casita before we ordered one. Your input helps.

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by wdavisco

Hello! I am new to the forum. My wife & I ordered a new Casita, 17' SD. A 16 gal. water tank comes standard. The 25 gal. optional tank uses 2/3 of the only storage compartment accessible from the outside (curb side). My wife & I will be using the Casita 50% for 2-4 day boondocking and 50% campground with hoodups. Does anyone have an opinion on choosing the 16 gal. water tank, keeping the storage space, and using 3-5 gal. water jugs to refill the tank versus getting the 25 gal. water tank and losing most of the storage space? Thanks!

I've got the same rig with the 25g tank and it does limit the storage space left. I'm not sure if the difference in a bit more storage space is worth less water. I only boondock and can easily go for a week without adding water. As always, YMMV .

[kootenaigirl]

I know for resale a lot of people seem to specify wanting the larger tank.

[wdavisco]

Thanks Dave & Kootenai Girl, Two good points to keep in mind.

[Mr Lynn]

If you have a tow vehicle with luggage space, use that for storage and get the larger fresh-water (FW) tank.

We're new to our Casita. People say not to travel with a full 25-gallon tank, as it weighs c. 200 lbs, and the weight is behind the axle, so could reduce hitch weight. But I haven't figured out how to fill the danged FW tank easily. The inlet is horizontal (!), so you need some kind of funnel, and it's small, so it takes a while; bad design! Over on the Casita Forum, some suggest resting a water jug on the spare tire and using a siphon, or using a battery-powered pump.

The only time we've been out so far, I filled it to the brim at home with the garden hose. As it turned out, we didn't need all that water, because we were at a family gathering and people toted water from the standpipe about 100 yards away.

/Mr Lynn

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by Mr Lynn

We're new to our Casita. People say not to travel with a full 25-gallon tank, as it weighs c. 200 lbs, and the weight is behind the axle, so could reduce hitch weight. But I haven't figured out how to fill the danged FW tank easily. The inlet is horizontal (!), so you need some kind of funnel, and it's small, so it takes a while; bad design! Over on the Casita Forum, some suggest resting a water jug on the spare tire and using a siphon, or using a battery-powered pump. /Mr Lynn

Got the fix for you Mr Lynn. When I replaced the supply hoses on the washing machine I cut one of them down to about 2' long. Added to the end of the fill hose you can get it all the way into the tank if you want to. You can buy the same thing from an RV supply but they're pretty short.

[wdavisco]

Thanks, Mr. Lynn. This is really good information. Sounds like a solution will involve compromises. The difficult tank filling issue would make one lean toward getting the larger tank, and compensate by carefully distributing weight inside the trailer. Being difficult to fill from a water jug would even further support the larger water tank. Hope a solution for the horizontal fill valve reveals itself at some point!

[larryf]

I ordered my Casita with the 16 gal tank and have not regretted it, most of our time is spent in primitive campground or Boondocking with no or limited water source. We pack extra water for what we feel we may need for the trip by using 5 and 7 Gal water jugs and filling the tank as needed. The 7 gal jugs have a cap with a removable faucet that I replaced with a 1 NPT hose adapter and 3 ft of 1" hose so I can stick the hose in the fill spout and place the jug in the spare tire, this works great.

[wdavisco]

Larry, Thanks for the advice & great refill idea with the 5 & 7 gal. jugs! Nifty modification & technique!