Showers and water fill

[labarnas]

With out staying in CGs and boon docking in our conversation van where can we find showers and a water source? I can get drinking water at Walmart or Freds but we need other water in the van.

[2gypsies1]

This post is regarding a trip to Alaska. There aren't Home Depots along the Alaskan Highway. 🙂

To the OP: Here is a link I just found to get you started:

Public Showers

If you Google "Where can I get a public shower in Alaska" lots of sites come up. You might also try to search for individual towns.

[hr0082]

We've been to Alaska 3 of the last 4 years and we rarely stay in campgrounds. If you are a member of the YMCA, they have an "Away" program that allows you to use most Y facilities all over the world. You can go to their website and find a Y along your route or where you will be visiting. When you enter the Y, have your membership card/tag with you. Ask if they participate in the program (we found only one that did not) and they will usually ask that you fill out a waiver. They will sometimes call back to your local Y to verify. My husband and I are avid runners/cyclist and we use the Y facilities for our workout and shower.

Another option for showers are community recreation centers. We often use them. An example being the one in Kenai, AK. Depending upon who is working the desk, it was either free or they charged $2.

Some laundries do have showers and charge about $3. We found them to be adequately clean.

Regarding obtaining water, we often got water when we did our fuel stop. For dumping, many towns do have public dump stations. Again, just go to the town website and if it's not listed there, give them a call and ask.

[sue_t]

When we RVed to Yukon and Alaska, we'd plan one night every 7-10 days in an RV park to clean up - laundry, shower, wash vehicle, etc. In between, baby wipes were used for human clean-up, or a dip in a lake or stream, which are very clean here.

For water fills in between, I'd ask at the places we were stopping for fuel. If they had an RV park too, they'd usually tell us to just pull around there and fill up, or they'd point us to the spigot on the building. If you're filling with fuel, many places let you dump septic tanks at no cost too.

Some communities have free water and dump stations at a community facility. Watson Lake YT has a lovely spot at Wye Lake park - we also enjoy our lunch or a dog walk there.

Always check the water before filling - some places have a high mineral content and the water smells and tastes odd.

[labarnas]

I myself would never get water from any place before asking, water can be gained from may sources.

There are some gyms but not many that have the nation wide membership?

Are there many truck stops in Canada and AK, that do have showers?

[jfkmk]

Executive wrote:
There's not a Home Depot in the country that cares if you fill your rig from their outside spigot.....Dennis

You may feel that way, but I doubt it's true. As another poster stated, stores have keys on the spigots for a reason. Besides, taking ANYTHING without permission is theft. Go ahead and tell a LEO that HD doesn't care as they catch you hooked up to their building in the middle of the night. It would be their job to arrest you, and if they didn't, they're not doing their job. Even if you go to court and get away with it, it's still time lost and an arrest record. Better to be honest!

[Islandman]

Don't think there are very many membership health clubs and/or gyms in rural areas of western Canada or Alaska where the OP may be travelling, at least I've never seen any. But maybe a good idea in the more metropolitan areas of eastern Canada or larger cities out west. OP would need to check on availability before taking that step to membership.

[loggenrock]

Although I haven't done this, since we have a shower in the "B", it was suggested to get a membership at a national chain health club/gym - like Planet Fitness, etc. Not to work up a sweat, but to use their shower facilities - since your membership will get you in to any of them, and some are even open 24 hours. Sounded like a reasonable idea to me... ST

[Lantley]

Executive wrote:
There's not a Home Depot in the country that cares if you fill your rig from their outside spigot.....Dennis

Most commercial places will have a key to turn on the hose bibs. It is not as simple as just turning the handle like at home.

[Executive45]

There's not a Home Depot in the country that cares if you fill your rig from their outside spigot.....Dennis

[jfkmk]

Executive wrote:
Most Home Depot's have water spigots around the building. If they're open ask a manager if you can fill up. If they're closed, go for it. Only caveat is be sure to spray the spigot with a cleaning solution to kill any bacteria that may be on the faucet.....we've seen them on auto parts stores and many others, you just have to look.....Dennis

Just don't get caught filling up when the store is closed. That's theft.

[2oldman]

Where to fill fresh water
Where water II 2010

[geotex1]

I've spent several decades crossing the continent. Many truck stops (e.g., Pilot/Flying J) not only have showers that you can use for a fee, but also have dump stations and potable water fills. You can also use http://www.sanidumps.com/maps/help.php and http://www.rvdumps.com to locate dump stations, and many of those are located where you can also obtain potable water. Many state parks with camping have coin-operated showers too, and you should be able to find out by just visiting the state's website for its parks. Good luck!

[labarnas]

the bear 11 we are on the same page much prefer more boon docking less CGs. I've heard some laundry have showers has anyone had experience with there use and cleanliness, and I'm sure that can be a source for water too?

[the_bear_II]

Truck stops, campgrounds and even Hotels may allow you to use showers for a fee.

Fresh water is available wherever there is a spigot...you just need to get permission to fill your tank. We have stopped at gas stations, fire stations, city parks, truck stops, even farms and asked to fill our freshwater tanks. We offer to pay but most times all have said "go ahead and fill,keep your money"....

I do carry two collapsible 3 gallon water jugs in case we need spare water. We also have a solar shower. It's a 1 gallon bag with a hose and shower nozzle to use for boon dock showers. Let the bag full of water heat up in the sun, put up a tarp for privacy and take a shower.

When travelling on a several week trip we typically boon dock several nights and then stay in a campground one night for water, showers and to dump. Then back to boon docking for several days and then stay in a campground one night...