Tips for conserving

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Lou Schneider said:
Ultra Van tried this in the 1960s.  Even with filtering using grey water in the toilet was a failure - any grey water that sat in the tank for more than a couple of days was too smelly, even after filtering.

And it's not that inexpensive - you need a second demand water pump and the filter.
Click to expand...

and filtering is much better today.... so it may be pretty easy to do.
 
Most people hit on it already but LED everything and use all flat screen TV's

Not sure you budget but I would invest in a solar system.  Oversize it if you can.

I have all my Tv's and sat dish plus lights and a fan on at night and only tap about 25 to 30% of my battery bank.

My 600 watt system charges the battery's back up by 1pm.  Then it goes into Idle so to speak.

After it hits 100% I then know I have 35amps to play with all the way till the sun starts to set.

That means washing clothes and microwaving can be done during the day without worrying about hitting my night time reserve.

Sadly my plan is excellent but I am down south and in the summer I have to run a small Honda 3000 genny for the conditioning when dry camping. 

The Honda burns about 1.5 gallons for 6 to 7 hours of running the AC on low. 

I would need 5 gallons of fuel for 24 hour operation if I was conservative.

In the spring and fall I run 100% off solar and the feel good is off the charts great.  Just knowing that I dont need to burn fuel to live is awesome.

Just some thoughts.

Good luck.

 
The biggest thing I can add is don't waste. Our solar gives us more power than we can use but that's because everything is set up to use as little power as possible. Water on the other hand is very limited, so we make do with navy showers and the water ran to get the hot up to the shower is caught and used again some how. A gallon of water can do a days worth of dishes if done right. We can stay out for two weeks on 60 gallons. When the weather is good we use the solar to run things that we normally would use propane for. A electric cook top, coffee maker. heating water and even the trailer all save on the propane.
 
On my toilet tank, instead of just a lid, I have simple system that directs all fresh water thru a tall tap and then, thru a drain, into the tank for the next flushing. I wash my hands in this water during the flushing refill of the tank and the "grey water" from my hand washing becomes my flushing water. Also have an adjustable volume valve in the tank to reduce flushing volume. Low flow, but, relatively high pressure, shower heads are available, as are aerator attachments for the kitchen tap that reduce the volume of water used to wash dishes/hands/vegetables. Rain water catchment is easy and not very time consuming if camping in wet weather. "Sun shower" systems are a cheap and easy way to have a hot shower outside and not use any electricity to bathe. A relatively small photovoltaic system (200 watt panel, 2 12volt storage batteries, small charge controller, and small inverter, using big guage wiring) can run all entertainment gear(small flat screen tv, laptop, phone charger, radio, etc.),led lighting, and fans. Solar charged flashlights, radios, and fans are now pretty cheap and functional. Using bicycles or electric assist bicycles while camped instead of always using your car/suv to run small errands and go on short distance sight-seeing excursions will reduce fuel consumption and add simple pleasure and exercise. Needless to say, fully inflated tires and conservative driving will reduce fuel needs too.
 
Mopar1973Man said:
I've got a Big Buddy heater here (portable) wouldn't that be the same?
http://www.mrheater.com/big-buddy-portable-heater.html
Click to expand...

I have the regular Buddy from Wal-Mart. I think it was $89. Best camping purchase I made. Its 4000 btu on low and 9000 btu on high. I have a dedicated 20 lb tank outside with a 8' hose feeding it. They are 99.9% efficient hence the safe carbon monoxide output. It has a low level oxygen shut off and a tip over safety shut off. They are wall mountable and require a 2' clearance from combustibles. In cold weather I can get. 5-7 day's out of a 20 lb tank depending how I use it. I very seldom use high as it has to be below 25? or so before you have to turn it up. On high you only get about 3 days out of a 20 lb tank running it nonstop. That's the down side of a Buddy is that it's not thermistatically controlled. If the temperature is about 45-50? it can run you out of your RV unless you crack some windows. If you are the thermostat then you can save money. :)

There are home wall mounted gas heaters that can be a better choice. Almost all can be converted to propane by changing the orifice fitting which is usually included. Then you'll have a thermostat.

This little gem at Lowe's I'm about to purchase to replace my Buddy which I'll move it to the garage.

http://m.lowes.com/pd/Cedar-Ridge-Hearth-10,000-BTU-Wall-or-Floor-Mount-Natural-Gas-or-Liquid-Propane-Vent-Free-Convection-Heater/3506636
 
mitch1204 said:
I have the regular Buddy from Wal-Mart. I think it was $89. Best camping purchase I made. Its 4000 btu on low and 9000 btu on high. I have a dedicated 20 lb tank outside with a 8' hose feeding it. They are 99.9% efficient hence the safe carbon monoxide output. It has a low level oxygen shut off and a tip over safety shut off.
Click to expand...

There is no such thing as "safe" carbon monoxide output. Carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless, tasteless and deadly. Propane heaters should only be used in a well-ventilated area with working CO and smoke detectors. Don't rely on the low oxygen shut off for protection, CO can build to lethal levels before oxygen is depleted.

Having said all that, I do use a Buddy heater in our motorhome. I put it on the opposite end from the bedroom and leave windows open for cross ventilation. We've still had the CO alarm go off.
 
Interesting ideas here. I have made a few changes to my unit to help conserve for when I boondock.

[list type=decimal]
[*]Switched all my lightbulbs to LED's - huge battery savings
[*]Rebuilt my propane heater with a newer less amperage motor, dropped the amperage a bunch from the old one with bad bearings.
[*]I am very limited on fresh water so I go to some extremes.
[*]I carry two 7 gallon jugs of water and have a 12 volt pump system to add to the RV fill and I can take these to refill if needed when out running errands or exploring.
[*]I always put 5 gallons in the black tank to save on flushing water. AND at 65 years old, with the many trips to the bathroom during the night - I do not flush and have "water" in the bowl for my morning duty! Typically I can go a full 30 days on the black tank. The grey tank about 10 days or so. Fresh water I can go about a week then put in 15 gallons and go another week or so....
[/list]

You really learn to not waste with time and create your own systems and procedures to conserve.


Good Luck,
Jim
 
Wigpro said:
You really learn to not waste with time and create your own systems and procedures to conserve.
Click to expand...

Ain't that the truth Jim! It only takes running out of something once, when you're miles from replenishment, to learn that you need to make some changes. We love boondocking, but we had to make a few mistakes over the years before learning how to adapt to the lifestyle. An interesting thing is, we've modified our sticks-and-bricks home, and our home lifestyle, with things we've learned from boondocking (LEDs, water usage etc.) And living in San Diego, with the highest water and power rates in the country, it's been helpful.

Kev
 
Like Kevin... I'm in the middle of nowhere Idaho and tend to live the same way. Yes, our water is pumped out of a well in the ground. Now the pump requires power to do its job. So I've learn to conserve power on the solar / hydro system so when the power does go off we live very comfortable for days without power. So more or less the boondocking lifestyle is at home as well as in the RV. We never really quite doing it. Just different rules for both. I still tend to chuckle to myself reading post about needing 50 Amp service for a RV when I live off a 30 Amp service (4kw inverter @ 120 VAC) for a 2 story house.

Yes I'm very conservative minded...  ;)
 
I drink my whiskey neat and straight.  Saves on water and ice.

When we are out and about during the day I make sure to use a public restroom prior to returning to camp.  Being a guy, I also have no qualms about using the woods while out hiking.  Wife, on the other hand, prefers to hold it as long as possible until we return to our rig instead of using public facilities.  Oh well, we cancel each other out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 1,115 (members: 31, guests: 1,084)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,930
Posts
1,387,710
Members
137,681
Latest member
skidsteerpilot
Back
Top Bottom