New to dry camping, questions?

[MorMJS]

So far all our trips have been to full hookup sites,, but next week we will be doing our first trip to a dry campground for a couple nights. Here are my questions:
1. Should I plug my trailer cord into my generator(2000w) or should I just use the Genny attached to battery through the alligator clips that it came with?

2. What to do for morning coffee? Will my 110v outlets in the trailer still work so I can use our normal coffee pot?

3. If I run the genny my wife can blow dry her hair right?

[JiminDenver]

When you can run a generator, plug the trailer into it and you will have charging and/or run your appliances. Should a appliance be too much while you are charging, turn the breaker off to the converter while you use the appliance.

So you should have no issues with the coffee maker or hair dryer.

Now if you use a auto drip and don't want to use the generator, put the filter and coffee in, heat the water on the stove and pour it over the grounds. It's the same as the cone filter we used for 25 years.

Now if you like dry camping, there are many ways to make it so you don't have to have the generator or use your rig like a tent. We only dry camp, haven't run a generator in a few years and still use a auto drip coffee maker, the microwave, a hair dryer, ect. We do it with a solar system, extra battery and a inverter. Next year we will even have a 5000 btu A/C that will run off of the solar.

I don't suggest it for the occasional dry camper, it's too involved for that. Just saying that you don't have to run your trailer like a tent just because it's not plugged in.

The other side of dry camping is frsh water and waste tanks. How are you set up for that?

[korbe]

Many people dry camp in out of the way places to get away from the hustle an bustle of everyday life. And many of those people enjoy the piece and quiet that comes with that. If you think you are going to one of those types of places, you may want to consider some of the alternatives, as noted above, to minimize your generator use. We dry camp up to six days without the desire of a generator.

[tplife]

The Starbucks Via products are sold at Costco and for instant can hold their own with drip coffee - better beans make better coffee. Honda sells generators that are seen and not heard, and as a tent camper I appreciate them. We get along just fine with our Optima Blue-Top AGM for electrical power and run converters (convert 12V up-or-down to match the small electrical's voltage) that use about 90% less power on average vs. power-thirsty inverters.

[DougE]

Coffee - French press is the best for energy savings. You just bring the water up to near boiling (most efficient with a covered pot). First add just a little to a glass pot then slosh in more several times to eliminate thermal shock. Give it a few minutes to steep, do the press, then pour into a thermos. It stays hot for hours then and doesn't get bitter. Which coffee to grind coarse at the store is a whole nuther issue.

[Dakota98]

MorMJS wrote:
So far all our trips have been to full hookup sites,, but next week we will be doing our first trip to a dry campground for a couple nights. Here are my questions:

If I run the genny my wife can blow dry her hair right?

Appears all your questions have been addressed with good solutions.

Here is the BEST solution for DW drying her hair.:S

[rrupert]

You didn't mention water use during dry camping. Since you have only used full hookups until now you will have to change your water use habits. "Navy showers" and dish washing and rinsing conservation are a must.

[wmoses]

oughtsix wrote:
I second the French Press idea for coffee! Here is the one we use:

http://www.rei.com/product/820451/rei-table-top-french-coffee-press-48-fl-oz

This looks like a nice pot but I have one question about french presses in general.

Once the coffee is steeped, then any remaining coffee continues to get stronger as it sits in the pressed coffee grounds, correct?

We typically drink a couple of cups each in the morning and we would like the second cups to be the same as the first. From that point of view a percolator may be better since the grounds are out of the coffee when the operation is done. Making a second breing for the second cups would make me rethink the second cups.

[Old_Days]

The best thing for camping is a Yosemite coffee pot, Amazon has them for about 20 bucks. When we aren't camping we use it in the house it makes better coffee then a automatic drip coffee maker.

[wmoses]

Tinbangertom wrote:
Perculator coffee is the best takes about 20 min but you won't go back. Tom

I beg to differ. Percolated coffee cannot compare with my Keurig for taste. 🙂

But (stove top) percolated coffee does not require electricity like the Keurig does so unless one has an inverter then , yes, the percolated is the best when there is no Keurig. That is the reason we still have the percolator in our RV. 🙂

Good replies all 'round.

[oughtsix]

I second the French Press idea for coffee! Here is the one we use:

http://www.rei.com/product/820451/rei-table-top-french-coffee-press-48-fl-oz

It won't break like the glass french presses!

And tell your wife to cut her hair... :R Since you have a trailer you won't even have to sleep on the couch!

[Tinbangertom]

Perculator coffee is the best takes about 20 min but you won't go back. Tom

[dclark1946]

profdant139 wrote:
Here is a suggestion -- just for one night, try to do without the generator. The silence is golden. For your coffee, check out the idea of "pour-over" coffee using boiled water -- it is all the rage these days, and it is delicious, and it uses no electricity. And is it absolutely necessary to use a blow dryer? In dry climates, hair will dry pretty quickly without electricity. (In a wet climate, there may be no other option.)

I understand if you and your wife choose to use electric power so that you need a generator. That is your choice. But a lot of folks camp "off the grid" and enjoy the peace and quiet. It is a lot easier than you'd think.

Thank goodness it is a free country, and you can do what you please!!

Along that same line of thought, my wife and I camp at state parks with electricity but really enjoy national parks which have no electricity and only water at central locations. We find it is rather fun working out alternative approaches (we used to tent camp)to doing things that require significant electric power. While we use an electric drip coffee maker when camping with electricity, we switch over to a stove top percolator when dry camping. The MW becomes a bread box and do fine without using it.

We do use a quiet 1 kW generator but it is to recharge the battery which powers the water pump, fridge and water heater electronics, lights and vent fan.

Everyone has their own style. We actually saw tent campers once in the Smokies running a loud contractor style generator two or three times a day to power a MW sitting on a table outside.

[MorMJS]

Thanks all for the responses!

[mlts22]

What I do for ice tea, and it works for coffee as well, is boil some water in a pan using the propane stove, then pour it over a one cup coffee brewer with a coffee filter that has loose tea leaves in it. No electricity needed in the process. It works exactly the same as a coffee maker (pour hot water over grounds), and doesn't require the generator to be on.

[shelbyj]

French press works great for coffee too.