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
profdant139 wrote:My conservation and lifestyle has been criticized by some others, due to my Extreme Boondocking Strategies and tactics; “I bought my RV to enjoy all the amenities, such as a shower, furnace and Fridge, thus I have no interest in your tactics of capturing water and sleeping in extreme cold temperatures.” I recognize some look for different things and uses in their RVs and especially in boondocking, where for most dry camping is their definition of Boondocking.
bka0721, I think that collecting the not-yet-hot water from the shower nozzle is a great idea -- I would guess that there is at least a quart of tepid water that is wasted while we wait for the water to get hot enough.
By the way, we measured our water usage pretty carefully on this last two week trip, and we use well under six gallons a day for all purposes -- shower, toilet, drinking, cooking, and washing dishes. I am not sure we can go much lower, unless DW shaves her head, which (I hope!) is not going to happen.
With reference to heat at night, we have never run any heat at night, no matter how cold it gets -- we have camped in 10 degree weather, waking up to ice caked on the insides of the windows. No problem -- we bring a down comforter and several blankets, and we are perfectly comfortable.
Except when we have to get out of bed in the middle of the night. That's a problem. ;)
While I concur with your strategy in keeping the temperatures lower at night, as I use a sleeping bag, light flannel gloves and stocking cap while sleeping at night. My lifestyle is that where most go out for a long weekend, or a week, I go into remote areas for months. With my large propane, potable water and ability to store additional foodstuffs I am able to accomplish this. One thing I have learned with long (weeks) periods of cold boondocking, you can’t maintain cold overnight interior temperatures without damage to foodstuffs, water tanks/fixtures, as cold creeps in as water does on a paper towel. If you allow cold to begin its work (I never winterize and am frequently in temperatures in the 8*F to 10*F range), it will be difficult to reverse in remote areas. While sleeping in cold temperatures is good, and healthy, be aware of the consequences.
b
