How long can you realistically dry camp?
Never having dry camped before, we plan to do so on our trip out west this summer. We'll be gone for 3 months, and we'll be looking for ways to camp a little cheaper for some nights. We have a gener...
Forum Discussion
It would be helpful if you would tell us how big your holding tanks are. That determines how long.
If you have a generator that will take care of keeping your batteries up. So it's all about water and holding tanks.
Stovetop perculator coffee pots make the best coffee. For toast we buttered the bread and made it in a frypan. No electric use.
Run the generator as soon as you wake up and while you're dressing and getting breakfast. Then run it again in the evening before generator hours are up. Since you'll be gone all day that should be plenty.
We've gone 2 weeks but our holding tanks are large.
A big thing is dishes. You don't want to do dishes after every meal. Just wipe them off with a used napkin or paper towel. Pots and pans, we re-used after wiping them out. Sometimes we went 3 days without doing dishes. Of course, as full-timers we carried more silverware and dishes. We also used paper plates and paper cups for milk or juice. We reused our coffee cup. You can't be a neatnik while boondocking and it's o.k., you won't die. :)
When we did dishes we used dishpans and the used water went for flushing the toilet.
Showers - not every day and very quick wet down, soap up, and rise with turning the water off inbetween. Supplement with body wipes.
You could bring extra jugs of water for cooking, coffee and drinking.
Washing hands/brushing teeth - don't let the water run.
It was always challenging to see how long we could stay without dumping. Also, we never dumped gray water on the ground. We wouldn't want to park over someone else's waste water either. It's not allowed in most national parks and many other campgrounds. When the tanks were full it was time to leave.
If you have a generator that will take care of keeping your batteries up. So it's all about water and holding tanks.
Stovetop perculator coffee pots make the best coffee. For toast we buttered the bread and made it in a frypan. No electric use.
Run the generator as soon as you wake up and while you're dressing and getting breakfast. Then run it again in the evening before generator hours are up. Since you'll be gone all day that should be plenty.
We've gone 2 weeks but our holding tanks are large.
A big thing is dishes. You don't want to do dishes after every meal. Just wipe them off with a used napkin or paper towel. Pots and pans, we re-used after wiping them out. Sometimes we went 3 days without doing dishes. Of course, as full-timers we carried more silverware and dishes. We also used paper plates and paper cups for milk or juice. We reused our coffee cup. You can't be a neatnik while boondocking and it's o.k., you won't die. :)
When we did dishes we used dishpans and the used water went for flushing the toilet.
Showers - not every day and very quick wet down, soap up, and rise with turning the water off inbetween. Supplement with body wipes.
You could bring extra jugs of water for cooking, coffee and drinking.
Washing hands/brushing teeth - don't let the water run.
It was always challenging to see how long we could stay without dumping. Also, we never dumped gray water on the ground. We wouldn't want to park over someone else's waste water either. It's not allowed in most national parks and many other campgrounds. When the tanks were full it was time to leave.
