Ridiculously extreme boondocking tips
If you have both unlimited power and water, stop reading -- you don’t need these tips. And if you are still reading, you already know the obvious things -- switch to LED lights, use paper plates ...
Forum Discussion
Back in the 70s, when I lived in the backcountry of Wyoming, I lived by bucket showers. We would heat up the water, by using a black feed bucket and then shower by an attachment, stuck through the bottom.
When I started backpacking with the family, I graduated to a solar shower. I was never happy with the nozzle or the hassle in filling them up, so when I started truck camping, I married the two. I use a solar shower bag, two of them, filled half way (they heat up faster with less water in them). I grab water out of streams and lakes, by using a plastic bucket and pour it into another bucket, that has an old pillow case draped over it, as a filter. It gets out the floaters, like mosquitoes larvae and small minnows. Pull the pillow case up and out. Presto, filter water. Drop a teaspoon, about, of bleach in the water. I have a bulkhead fitting with a short hose quick released to the side of the bucket. I set the bucket on something, like one of the doors of my utility bed and fill a solar bag through it. I then leave it on the top of my trailer, or cover from a Rubbermaid container (I never set them bare on the ground of picnic table, because they are easy to get holes in them).
On really hot summer days, they heat up quickly and sometimes need to supplement some colder water, as I pour the contents of the solar shower bag into the bucket. I thing hang it off my Tri-Pod Stand or off the back of my TC. 2.5 gallons is a perfect amount of water for a nice hot/warm shower, or to wash dishes. This saves a lot of hassle of not using up batteries, for the pump, humidity in the TC or finding potable water and filling the TC potable water tanks.
I am a bit lazy. I put these quick release connectors (from Home Depot) on the Bulkhead fitting through the side of my five gallon bucket. I use a simple flower sprinkler for the shower nozzle, that has a shut off. I changed the green hose to a clear tube, and it works a lot better now. Sorry I don’t have a picture of my Tri-Pod set up, but will grab one, one of these days. It is simply three 10’ conduit, 1” in diameter, with a set of three slides over the top of them. This is set up tee-pee style, with an eye-bolt through them and an “S” hook, to hang the bucket on. I have been using this set up for the last two+ years, all from the humble beginnings of my “Hippy” days of the early 70s.
bryan
When I started backpacking with the family, I graduated to a solar shower. I was never happy with the nozzle or the hassle in filling them up, so when I started truck camping, I married the two. I use a solar shower bag, two of them, filled half way (they heat up faster with less water in them). I grab water out of streams and lakes, by using a plastic bucket and pour it into another bucket, that has an old pillow case draped over it, as a filter. It gets out the floaters, like mosquitoes larvae and small minnows. Pull the pillow case up and out. Presto, filter water. Drop a teaspoon, about, of bleach in the water. I have a bulkhead fitting with a short hose quick released to the side of the bucket. I set the bucket on something, like one of the doors of my utility bed and fill a solar bag through it. I then leave it on the top of my trailer, or cover from a Rubbermaid container (I never set them bare on the ground of picnic table, because they are easy to get holes in them).
On really hot summer days, they heat up quickly and sometimes need to supplement some colder water, as I pour the contents of the solar shower bag into the bucket. I thing hang it off my Tri-Pod Stand or off the back of my TC. 2.5 gallons is a perfect amount of water for a nice hot/warm shower, or to wash dishes. This saves a lot of hassle of not using up batteries, for the pump, humidity in the TC or finding potable water and filling the TC potable water tanks.
I am a bit lazy. I put these quick release connectors (from Home Depot) on the Bulkhead fitting through the side of my five gallon bucket. I use a simple flower sprinkler for the shower nozzle, that has a shut off. I changed the green hose to a clear tube, and it works a lot better now. Sorry I don’t have a picture of my Tri-Pod set up, but will grab one, one of these days. It is simply three 10’ conduit, 1” in diameter, with a set of three slides over the top of them. This is set up tee-pee style, with an eye-bolt through them and an “S” hook, to hang the bucket on. I have been using this set up for the last two+ years, all from the humble beginnings of my “Hippy” days of the early 70s.
bryan
