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MitchF150

Puyallup, WA

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Joined: 07/13/2002

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Posted: 03/17/11 11:05pm

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Before we had an RV that had a 30+ gallon water tank, we used to camp with the water we got from the river... Boiled it to drink, cook, wash... This was decades before you could buy bottled water... You could only take so much tap water in a 1966 Ford Fairlane for a family of 4.. [emoticon]

Got used at a young age that you had to work for your water, so taking daily 'showers' was not going to happen... You got a sponge bath and could wash your hair if you got your own water from the river..

There was an outhouse for the whole camp ground to share... Yet, those were some of the best camping memories I have growing up.. Once we got the self contained TT, we still didn't go to 'hook up' sites.. It was always boondocking and I don't recall ever using the shower in the trailer..

I'd rather just take a nice sponge bath then try to squeeze into my 'shower'.. But, I didn't buy my trailer based on it's shower size, so that was my choice.. [emoticon]

Mitch

2013 F150 XLT 4x4 SuperCab Max Tow Egoboost 3.73 gears #7700 GVWR #1920 payload. 2019 Rockwood Mini Lite 2511S.

ExRocketScientist

Laurel, MD

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Joined: 11/11/2010

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Posted: 03/18/11 05:04am

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MitchF150 wrote:

Mitch

I remember as a kid us towing our 1969 Crown popup with the 1967 Ford Fairlane 500. Eventually when I started driving, that was the car I drove.

But back to water. Using water from rivers and lakes. Believe it or not, with the right equipment this can be done safely. You have to worry about the following things in surface water:

1. Bacteria
2. Protazoa
3. Viruses
4. Heavy metals
5. Chemicals

#4 is taken out by a charcoal filter.
#1 and #2 can be taken out by the RV filter systems made by Doulton. You will need to buy a pump to go with them (I would not install the filters in the RV and put contaminated water in the tank -- rather build a portable system).
#3 is rare in North American surface water, but can be taken care of by Chlorination or Ozonation. The latter is better, and there are portable systems now for around $300.
#5 is the problem, especially in areas near urban centers or old mining areas. Tip -- look for fish in the water. If there are fish living in there, you should be OK.

So for a little less than $1000 (and having a generator for the ozone purifyer), you should be able to fill some jugs from a local source whenever you need to.

I am planning to do this come next deer season. I'm tired of hauling all of the water weight up into the mountains.

ERS

naturist

Lynchburg, VA

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Posted: 03/18/11 05:26pm

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You'll get answers all over the map, probably already have. On the one hand, water systems planners say 100 gallons per bedroom per day takes care of the average household. On the other hand, I've a friend who boondocked for close to a year at a place where she had to haul in every drop by hand about 1/2 mile off the road. She said she managed to do it on 3 gallons per day for her sponge bath, wash dishes, cook, flush, and drink. My guess is that your mileage will lie somewhere between.

frankdamp

Anacortes

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Posted: 03/18/11 08:30pm

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Can't help on the camping numbers, but I did have an interesting experience when I was at Boeing. We had standard quantities of potable water (for the water fountains and toilet flushes) per passenger per flight hour.

I dealt with a European charter airline who bought 767-300ER airplanes. They chose to cut our recommendations. They ended up with an 8-across seating layout, which no other 767 operator had chosen and then proceeded to minimise the lavs and galleys to maximise seating.

They had over 320 passengers in their final layout and had only 5 lavs and two galleys. Their "bread and butter" route was non-stop Dusseldorf to Los Angeles.

I sure wouldn't have wanted to ride that route!

Frank Damp, DW - Eileen, pet - female Labrador (10 yrs old), location Anacortes, WA, retired RVers (since Dec 2014)