Dry Camping with a HWH.

Looking for opinions. We will be dry camping again soon. I have an interesting question. We do not use HWH for showering when dry camping. We use a lot of disposable products(dishes, untensils, and cups). Minimal use of washable products. In this situation would U turn your HWH(10Gallon type) on and leave it on or would U turn it on as needed?

Even when not dry camping, we only turn on the water heater as needed.

Once the water heater gets the water up to temperature, it really doesn't use that much propane to maintain hot water. I'd leave it on.

The only time we use our water heater on electric is during cold weather when we are using a lot of propane to heat the trailer.

I am with Richard. I leave mine on with no concerns about propane usage at all.

The only time we use propane is in the Summer if we use the AC and dry camping.

Thank you the info.

I've often been in situations where refilling propane cylinders was not convenient. So I've had to come up with creative ways to conserve. Having said that...

If you're wanting to conserve propane, get yourself a tea pot and boil water on the stove. It takes a whole lot less propane to heat up a quart of water quickly than it does 6-10 gallons slowly. You can use that to wash dishes and pits. Reserve the soapy water and use it to flush the toilet when fresh water is in short supply.

If you don't want to heat your water with propane at all, get yourself a tank sprayer like what you'd use to spray weeds in your yard. Paint it flat black (not glossy), and set it out in the sun several hours. Pump up the pressure and take a shower that way.

There's all kinds of ways around things when you're dry camping if you put enough thought to it.

TC

Amen TC. Black bag hanging from a tree for a shower.

We have dry camped for a week straight and will leave our HWH once we are set up in camp. We haven't noticed a big drain on our propane by leaving it on the entire time.

When we dry camp or have full hook-ups, we only turn on the HWH when we are going to shower then turn it off. You will have hot water for the rest of the day if you need it. If we are staying in a RV park we will turn on the electric in the HWH.

We shower at night. Get the sweat and chiggers off before getting in between the sheets.

About half an hour before we want to shower, we turn on the WH - usually electric because we try to stay in campgrounds with at least water and electric. When the water is hot, the dishes get washed, we shower, and turn off the WH. Usually the water is still slightly warm (winter) or almost hot (summer) in the morning. We never leave the WH on when we don't need it.

Tater

I dry camp all the time and usually seem to only got through about 15 gallons a summer. That's with the HWH on all the time. It doesn't cycle that often except when you empty it out. When I use the generator, it will suck 1 gallon an hour. I have only 67 hours on my Onan. That's over the past 6 seasons of use. We don't use it very often unless we need to vacuum or run the AC on the 100°+ days.

This weekend we were at a resort that had hookups. It was like being at home. Endless water, free power, cable, etc.

I don't worry about the propane, but I don't leave it one when away from the trailer or while sleeping; just don't trust it. We turn it on in the morning for showers, then leave it on until we leave or go to bed. Even if you turn it off, the water stays hot for a long time.

jetskier wrote:This weekend we were at a resort that had hookups.

What are hookups? I'd rather stay home than park next to a bunch of other people. Only if I went to Disney or something like that, it would be ok, but that's not really camping.

There should be distinctive terms for people who camp.

When we first started out 40some years ago, we tent camped. Then we went to a trailer that had no hookups. It had a hard cover, and got our beds off the ground.... and that's about it. Those were definitely "primitave camping" days.

When we went to a trailer with full hookups, there weren't a lot of campgrounds that accomodated our hookups, so "dry camped" would probably fit. It wasn't primative anymore, but we didn't have generators, solar panels, air-conditioning, tv, extra water tanks or any of that stuff that you "dry campers" use now-a-days. What you call "dry camping" really isn't - you just bring all your utilities with you instead of relying on campground facilities. And you conserve depending on the number of days you'll be out. But, dry-camping seems to be the popular term for your kind of camping. Maybe a better designation would be "remote camping" because it seems to me that your main objective is to go to out-of-the-way places.... you still have "hook-ups," but you haul them along with you.

Then there's another kind of camping that many people enjoy - people who like to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Some like to stay in quite campgrounds with lots of space between campsites, and some like busy campgrounds with many social and recreational activities. Some like both. Maybe that type of camping should be called "self-contained camping."

Some people like all of the types of camping mentioned above... or have at some time or another. Whatever kind of camping we do, or whatever we want to call it, apparently we do what we do because we enjoy it.

Tater

scottz wrote:I don't worry about the propane, but I don't leave it one when away from the trailer or while sleeping; just don't trust it. We turn it on in the morning for showers, then leave it on until we leave or go to bed. Even if you turn it off, the water stays hot for a long time.

You got me to thinking scottz, turning the water heater off when away from the trailer or when you go to bed is the way to go. There is potential for a fire. So many RV forums have posts about recalls on refrigerators because of fire hazard, yet you almost never hear about the fire hazard of the water heater. The water heater is the one appliance that I've personally seen evidence of fire on RV's.

A few years back I was out for my evening walk at a campground in Perryville MO and I saw flames shooting from the area of the water heater on a trailer. We were able to get the fire out quickly and the minor damage was confined to the water heater area, but the potentail for a disaster was there. I've seen similar damage on other trailers over the years. The photo below is one that I took last spring while staying at an RV park near Memphis TN. It's obvious this trailer had recently experienced a problem with the water heater.

Tater: Very well STATED. Jim

scottz wrote:

What are hookups? I'd rather stay home than park next to a bunch of other people. Only if I went to Disney or something like that, it would be ok, but that's not really camping.

We have two distinct uses for our Cat. We "camp" and we "travel".

Very different state of mind and locations for each use. We enjoy both, however I like to "camp" a little better and my wife likes to "travel" a little better.

Camping to us is all about getting away from the crowds and enjoying nature. The camping area; whether it be a state park, national forest, our private camp in the mountains or boondocking, is the destination.

Traveling is simply using the Cat as our Motel/Hotel/B&B when we get to the destination where ever it may be. (Beach, Theme Park, State Fair, Tailgating etc...)

Sometimes, though rare, we can combine the two and actually "camp" while we are "traveling".

As Tater said above; Just get out enjoy it. Doesn't matter how or where as long as you are having fun.

Richard Mondavi wrote:

scottz wrote:I don't worry about the propane, but I don't leave it one when away from the trailer or while sleeping; just don't trust it. We turn it on in the morning for showers, then leave it on until we leave or go to bed. Even if you turn it off, the water stays hot for a long time.

You got me to thinking scottz, turning the water heater off when away from the trailer or when you go to bed is the way to go. There is potential for a fire. So many RV forums have posts about recalls on refrigerators because of fire hazard, yet you almost never hear about the fire hazard of the water heater. The water heater is the one appliance that I've personally seen evidence of fire on RV's.

A few years back I was out for my evening walk at a campground in Perryville MO and I saw flames shooting from the area of the water heater on a trailer. We were able to get the fire out quickly and the minor damage was confined to the water heater area, but the potentail for a disaster was there. I've seen similar damage on other trailers over the years. The photo below is one that I took last spring while staying at an RV park near Memphis TN. It's obvious this trailer had recently experienced a problem with the water heater.

I agree. When we got to Betabel and kicked on the HWH we almost had a fire. The end of the tube was plugged so the fire was burning right next to the door. We do leave it on a night when we use the electric element. Gas is only a back up.

DW has to have hook ups. With the great DW wife I have she allows me to dry camp once a year. We went from tents, hotels and then to a trailer.

MountainMan wrote:
Camping to us is all about getting away from the crowds and enjoying nature. The camping area; whether it be a state park, national forest, our private camp in the mountains or boondocking, is the destination.

Traveling is simply using the Cat as our Motel/Hotel/B&B when we get to the destination where ever it may be. (Beach, Theme Park, State Fair, Tailgating etc...)

Sometimes, though rare, we can combine the two and actually "camp" while we are "traveling".

Anytime we take the trailer, we consider it camping. If we're sleeping in it and having meals in it, we figure we're "camping." We also are traveling, but wherever we stop for the night, we are camping. We've never stayed overnight at a Walmart, Flying J, rest area, or any other place that wasn't a campground, so we consider every night or extended stay a camping experience. Next week we are going to CA to see our son and dil - we won't be taking the trailer, so that will just be traveling.

Tater

Cool.

MountainMan wrote:

scottz wrote:

What are hookups? I'd rather stay home than park next to a bunch of other people. Only if I went to Disney or something like that, it would be ok, but that's not really camping.

We have two distinct uses for our Cat. We "camp" and we "travel".

Very different state of mind and locations for each use. We enjoy both, however I like to "camp" a little better and my wife likes to "travel" a little better.

Camping to us is all about getting away from the crowds and enjoying nature. The camping area; whether it be a state park, national forest, our private camp in the mountains or boondocking, is the destination.

Traveling is simply using the Cat as our Motel/Hotel/B&B when we get to the destination where ever it may be. (Beach, Theme Park, State Fair, Tailgating etc...)

Sometimes, though rare, we can combine the two and actually "camp" while we are "traveling".

As Tater said above; Just get out enjoy it. Doesn't matter how or where as long as you are having fun.

Agreed. There is a lot to be said for sleeping in your own bed and having your "house" with you.