Boondocking tip to conserve water

save water while boondockingThere is definitely something to be said for taking a hot shower when camped out in the woods. But with a finite supply of fresh water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, bathing and flushing the toilet, conservation is of utmost importance to make your water last as long as possible.

This is especially true if you have to hand pump the water to fill your tank! Many public campgrounds, if they have water at all, only have old school hand pumps. Some of which are very deep and/or difficult to pump. And rarely do they include a hose spigot. When this is the case we take turns filling a collapsible 5 gallon water jug to fill our tank. Ten turns to be specific. It’s a wet job, but that’s the price you pay for the biggest, quietest, most scenic, most secluded and least expensive campsites!

Anyway, here are a few quick tips for maximizing the use of your freshwater supply:

  • We use a 1 gallon Thermos jug – any container would do – to capture the water from our tub faucet while waiting for it to warm up. We can then use this water as we like, or put it back into the fresh water tank.
  • Whenever available, we use campground vault toilets instead of our own – if they are not too nasty.
  • If your RV does not have a control valve on the shower head, install one and use it to turn the flow of water off while soaping up then turn it back on to rinse.
  • Make up for these bird baths with nice long hot showers when hooked up at private campgrounds.

6 thoughts on “Boondocking tip to conserve water”

  1. Another great way we conserve water in our RV is to use reusable ice cubes. The small plastic water filled cubes can be refrozen again and again. You’d be surprised how much water goes into making ice all the time.

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  2. Hey Mike,

    Yep, sure is. I’ve heard of people doing that, it’s just a minor modification to they greywater system’s piping. It’s something I’d definitely like to do, especially if we end up living in this trailer on some land somewhere while we either build or fix up a place.

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  3. I’ve found I can go days with out a shower! Just splash on a little extra perfume and make sure to never work hard enuff to sweat.

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