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 so you don’t have to wash them, install batteries with lots of capacity, use solar power if you can, and so forth.
But after several weeks of boondocking during the past year, we have come up with a few fairly radical ideas on how to conserve scarce resources -- the goal of this thread is to provide non-obvious tips for those of us who really want to extend our boondocking capabilities. Some of these suggestions will sound silly, but they can make a significant difference in the aggregate.
Water conservation:
Make sure that the flow to your showerhead can quickly and easily be completely cut off, while you’re showering. Most of the standard shower valves still permit a slight trickle in the “off” position, which obviously wastes a little water (not to mention the power to run the pump).
Use an easily-rinsed liquid soap, like Dr. Bronners, for both showering and dishes. We dilute it half and half with water in a squeeze bottle. Just a few drops are sufficient, and it requires very little water to rinse off. Many other types of liquid soap contain glycerin, which is harder to rinse off, as are most bars of soap.
Consider getting a shorter haircut. (I told you these were extreme tips!!) That uses less shampoo and less rinse water. If you have very little hair (like me), consider using soap, instead of shampoo. Shampoo contains moisturizers, which are harder to rinse.
Even if you use paper plates, you will have some pots and pans that will have to be washed. First, moisten a paper towel or napkin and wipe out the pot. Then, wet the sponge and turn off the water. Put a few drops of dilute liquid soap onto the sponge. Scrub the pot. Then, turn the water on at an extremely low setting -- really just a dribble. Put a little bit of water into the pot and turn off the water. Swish the water around in the soapy pot and dump it out. Repeat. You will be amazed at how little water you need to wash and rinse the pot.
Believe it or not, you don’t have to moisten the toothbrush before putting on the toothpaste. (I told you this was ridiculous.) Use a very small quantity of toothpaste. You hardly need any water to rinse off the toothbrush and to rinse out the toothpaste.
Electricity usage:
An accumulator will cut down drastically on the amount of energy your water pump uses. Instead of running continuously, the pump kicks on only when needed to refill the accumulator.
Instead of using the built-in lighting system all the time, try to use rechargeable LED lights (such as book lights or head lamps) that can be recharged via the inverter in your tow vehicle while you are driving. (Obviously, if you have a motorhome or truck camper, the same idea applies – charge appliances while driving.) Those small LED lights are adequate for many ordinary household tasks. And you can use rechargeable AA or AAA batteries, allowing the vehicle to recharge them. (When we are driving, our inverter is pretty crowded with little devices greedily sucking up the juice -- the iPhone, the computer, the rechargeable lights, and so forth. We may have to install a power strip to accommodate all of the plugs!)
A Kindle or any other “e-reader” device with a backlight requires very little ambient light (and can be recharged while driving). Thus, you can do without bright lights for reading. (We spend a lot of time reading in the evenings.)
When you do use the lights, try not to turn on too many lights and appliances at the same time – the greater the total draw on the battery at any one time, the greater the total energy usage.
To reduce the use of the energy-hog heater, keep the interior of your RV warmer at night with foam on the insides of the windows, to cut down on heat loss. (Reflectix also works for this purpose.)
I’m looking forward to hearing your “extreme” ideas, especially if they are faintly ridiculous (like some of mine are).
And if you are still reading, you already know the obvious things -- switch to LED lights, use paper plates so you don’t have to wash them, install batteries with lots of capacity, use solar power if you can, and so forth.
But after several weeks of boondocking during the past year, we have come up with a few fairly radical ideas on how to conserve scarce resources -- the goal of this thread is to provide non-obvious tips for those of us who really want to extend our boondocking capabilities. Some of these suggestions will sound silly, but they can make a significant difference in the aggregate.
Water conservation:
Make sure that the flow to your showerhead can quickly and easily be completely cut off, while you’re showering. Most of the standard shower valves still permit a slight trickle in the “off” position, which obviously wastes a little water (not to mention the power to run the pump).
Use an easily-rinsed liquid soap, like Dr. Bronners, for both showering and dishes. We dilute it half and half with water in a squeeze bottle. Just a few drops are sufficient, and it requires very little water to rinse off. Many other types of liquid soap contain glycerin, which is harder to rinse off, as are most bars of soap.
Consider getting a shorter haircut. (I told you these were extreme tips!!) That uses less shampoo and less rinse water. If you have very little hair (like me), consider using soap, instead of shampoo. Shampoo contains moisturizers, which are harder to rinse.
Even if you use paper plates, you will have some pots and pans that will have to be washed. First, moisten a paper towel or napkin and wipe out the pot. Then, wet the sponge and turn off the water. Put a few drops of dilute liquid soap onto the sponge. Scrub the pot. Then, turn the water on at an extremely low setting -- really just a dribble. Put a little bit of water into the pot and turn off the water. Swish the water around in the soapy pot and dump it out. Repeat. You will be amazed at how little water you need to wash and rinse the pot.
Believe it or not, you don’t have to moisten the toothbrush before putting on the toothpaste. (I told you this was ridiculous.) Use a very small quantity of toothpaste. You hardly need any water to rinse off the toothbrush and to rinse out the toothpaste.
Electricity usage:
An accumulator will cut down drastically on the amount of energy your water pump uses. Instead of running continuously, the pump kicks on only when needed to refill the accumulator.
Instead of using the built-in lighting system all the time, try to use rechargeable LED lights (such as book lights or head lamps) that can be recharged via the inverter in your tow vehicle while you are driving. (Obviously, if you have a motorhome or truck camper, the same idea applies – charge appliances while driving.) Those small LED lights are adequate for many ordinary household tasks. And you can use rechargeable AA or AAA batteries, allowing the vehicle to recharge them. (When we are driving, our inverter is pretty crowded with little devices greedily sucking up the juice -- the iPhone, the computer, the rechargeable lights, and so forth. We may have to install a power strip to accommodate all of the plugs!)
A Kindle or any other “e-reader” device with a backlight requires very little ambient light (and can be recharged while driving). Thus, you can do without bright lights for reading. (We spend a lot of time reading in the evenings.)
When you do use the lights, try not to turn on too many lights and appliances at the same time – the greater the total draw on the battery at any one time, the greater the total energy usage.
To reduce the use of the energy-hog heater, keep the interior of your RV warmer at night with foam on the insides of the windows, to cut down on heat loss. (Reflectix also works for this purpose.)
I’m looking forward to hearing your “extreme” ideas, especially if they are faintly ridiculous (like some of mine are).
