Camping in rustic sites with no hookups

[leslie]

david, you posted a very interesting introduction to this thread. When we ordered our Camplite, my vision was camping somewhere out in the boondocks,communing with nature... Instead, we have continued to travel as we did when we were still in the working world, traveling to a destination for an event, cramming as much as we can into the trip and falling into bed at the end of the day. We are only in our camper long enough to sleep.

However, lately we are trying to use our camper in campgrounds as if we were boondocking. The biggest problem we are having is when we shower, one shower for my husband and one shower for me means our grey tank is 2/3 full. We are taking what my husband calls "navy showers", lathering up without the water running, just running the water long enough to get wet before soaping, and then rinsing as quickly as possible. I think other campers have said that they can shower while boondocking and lasting 3 days. This is a difficult learning curve for us.

[billmoore]

A little trick we've been using to keep from filling up our gray water tank when boondocking is to put a plastic tub in the shower and stand in that while you shower, then dump it in the woods afterwards. I figure that is no different than using the outside shower (soapy water ends up on the ground) but you have privacy. We also do the navy showers, so there is probably less than 2 gallons of water in the tub when you dump it.

[david]

Leslie:

Years ago when we were camping full time, I would dump the grey water tank at the campsite if it got full. As the PP said, it is no worse than showering outside or washing your dishes outside. If you want to be really ecologically correct, put a coffee filter in a small colander under the RV's drain and let it slowly trickle through over several hours to catch any solids in the grey water. But we try to clean the dishes up pretty well into a trash bag before washing so little solids gets into our grey water tank.

David

[daplumbr]

There is something pretty cool about self-sufficiency! Those USFS water faucets (and state parks in Michigan) have no threads to discourage campers in adjacent sites from using it as a water hookup. Sadly, some campers would consider it their personal water supply and attach their hose the entire time while camped. The flexible Water Bandit works great for temporary use with a hose. I have 2, one for fresh water and one for the black tank flush connector in case the non-potable water supply at the dump station has no threads on the hose. Take care with the grey tank water disposal. If only a couple dozen campers dumped a few gallons grey water each day around their sites in a campground, it's easy to get to over 30,000 total gallons of water dumped on the ground each season. Depending on local soils and vegetation, that could have some bad effects. At least consider using a portable tank if there is a place to dump it at the campground. 

[ron]

Great reading, many thanks.

To GBPACK, re considering a size and campgrounds.

First, we too are retired backpackers, so we like the solitude coupled with a microwave and fixed bed.  I highly recommend state parks, especially the ones I have seen in east TN, and Central to SW Virginia and Western NC.  It depends when you go, and maybe one other factor.  Hunting Island in SC, on its own 4 miles of private beach, will always be full.  

If you wait till kiddes have gone back to school, and temperatures have moderated, and you can go mid week like us old retired folks, you will frequently be one of a handful in the entire campground.  I have frequently been the sole camper on some loops in our home park.  We are out next week thru freezing water temperatures.

We also just did a scouting trip and found several great SPs in SW Va and the NC region. I was amazed that all of the parks were barely 20% full mid week in the summer.  A bit past leaf color peaks, and I hope to basically have the parks to myself.

I will post a summary of 4-6 great places we found in the trip planning section in a moment, or later this evening.

RE: Your size choice.  From our humble perspective, my wife and I and our small dog, with backpacking history, we love our 14DBS.  We saw several others at our spring rally, and I still think WE made the best choice.  It is very small, therefore does not need a sway bar or weight distribution hitches and all that mess. It pulls very, very easily.  And MOST of all, when we are in sites and there are indeed some folks around, I can generally back it into the site, and at the last 6-10 feet, pivot the trailer to where the door and awning look directly into the woods, instead of looking at the trailer in the next site.  We love this feature, and it can easily be done in a 14', a 21' might not be able to do this.

RE: winter or cold camping.  we installed the interlocking 2x2 tiles in Oak and love them.  Easily removable and definitely warm and cushy under old feet.

We have the rosewood [dark] interior, and used OAK, which is OK.  NOW they have a darker color and I wish we would have had this option.  Oh well.  BTW, we opted for one without a TV, and have not regretted this decision.  

[runningwriter]

I suppose that this is common knowledge to all of our experienced rustic campers, but we learned to fill our water heater while we are filling our fresh water tank.  The extra water comes in handy at the campsite.