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Show off your camping setup / camper / van!

TNtoTaos

Angel Diva
"fun fact" -- one of those things that NOBODY pays attention to or cares about... .dumping human waste into a landfill is illegal. My hub is a landfill permitting specialist and we've always joked about the mountains of diapers that go into landfills. This is why a bag of diapers tells you to scrape the poop into a toilet. Or they used to... I haven't dealt with diapers in over 30 years. This is not intended to shame anyone; just a note. The only time it ever gets attention is in situations like boater take out where dumpsters were getting overfilled with garbage bags from river toilets to the point of dumpster leakage.
I suspect that's one of those old rules that never got updated. As you point out, millions of diapers are discarded daily with no special "handling". Every site I've ever looked at on this subject state that sealed waste bags can be discarded with regular trash. Trying to get people to scrape off disposable diapers would be a losing proposition from the get-go, LOL.
 

TNtoTaos

Angel Diva
Does anyone have rodent problems? I always thought someday we'd get a camper van, but when my neighbor got one she couldn't keep the rats out. I don't know if that was mainly from living in a sea level city, or the combo of that plus she has little kids and so the floor of the van always had smashed in goldfish crackers, etc. Thoughts?
I just ran across this article -- you may want to share it with your neighbor: The Secret To Keeping Mice Out Of Your RV
 

TNtoTaos

Angel Diva
It’s perhaps not just van or RV owners that need to be concerned. Toyota and I think Honda both face lawsuits about soy based wire insulation and its attractiveness to rodents.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/amp21933466/does-your-car-have-wiring-that-rodents-think-is-tasty/
Oh, now isn't that just wonderful :doh:
Luckily, my van is 20+ yrs old, so it has nasty old petroleum-based wiring insulation.

When I had an RV, I used to put foam insulation (like pool noodles, with a lengthwise slice opening) on the outside wires & hose to prevent chewing on them.
 

Christy

Angel Diva
Yikes, that sounds expensive and inconvenient. But, it is a different issue than having rodents in your living space (in an RV), where you find their droppings in your kitchen and when they run over you at night.

Can you tell I've been scarred by living in national park housing that always, always has mice?
 

TNtoTaos

Angel Diva
Yikes, that sounds expensive and inconvenient. But, it is a different issue than having rodents in your living space (in an RV), where you find their droppings in your kitchen and when they run over you at night.

Can you tell I've been scarred by living in national park housing that always, always has mice?
LOL, I hear you! I live way out in the country, so mice often find their way inside, esp in the winter months. I think they get into the attic, and then drop down the chimney (it's a propane fireplace that vents into the attic space)! The only good thing is that they seem to be attracted to the litter I use for my dogs (litterbox-trained), which is corn-based, so they head to the litterbox instead of my cupboards. I have a trap that electrocutes them instantly (I know, but it's the most humane solution I could come up with, sigh), and I keep it next to the litterbox, so that has been working well. If only they didn't have such nasty, filthy habits....
 

just jane

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Love to see everyone’s camping set-ups! We went for the full-on camper-trailerCC0C655A-D3CC-4785-A248-93EDF209FCE4.jpeg when we got married, so we’ve had it for about 10 1/2 years. It’s not set up for winter camping but neither am I so that’s fine. It has a bathroom with shower and toilet and there is nothing so marvelous as going out and playing hard all day and getting sweaty and filthy and gross and coming back to camp and showering. We have a solar panel which keeps the battery charged with no problems. We usually get out ... 5-6 times each season, and typically 2 of those are week+ trips. It’s the best thing ever.
 

TNtoTaos

Angel Diva
Love to see everyone’s camping set-ups! We went for the full-on camper-trailerView attachment 14431 when we got married, so we’ve had it for about 10 1/2 years. It’s not set up for winter camping but neither am I so that’s fine. It has a bathroom with shower and toilet and there is nothing so marvelous as going out and playing hard all day and getting sweaty and filthy and gross and coming back to camp and showering. We have a solar panel which keeps the battery charged with no problems. We usually get out ... 5-6 times each season, and typically 2 of those are week+ trips. It’s the best thing ever.
Looks like you've got an A/C unit on top; do you run a generator to use it, or only use it when you've got shore power? Looks nice - any photos of the interior?
 

just jane

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
We only use the AC with shore power, which is almost never. Honestly, we would just as soon not gotten AC, but it wasn’t optional. The battery runs our water pump, electronics for the refrigerator (main power for that is propane), fans, and lights. I have some interior pics somewhere, from when ww first got it, I’ll see if I can track them down later.
 

just jane

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
A-ha. Found a couple of pictures from when we first got it. bed.jpgkitchen.jpg

Apparently we never take pictures of the inside. It's usually fairly chaotic. The first picture shows the dinette set up in the back, which we NEVER do. We have that just about permanently made up into a bed. You can sort of see the 2-person dinette to the right which we use. The second picture is the "kitchen" which we also rarely use. I prefer to cook outside as much as possible - there's more room. If you do a 180 from the bed in the back, you'll face a door into the tiny bathroom with shower and toilet. It's pretty compact but it works just about perfectly for us.
 

RachelV

Administrator
Staff member
Nice. I have a few friends that swear by trailers, and an old coworker who wants to replace her van with a trailer, because you can just leave the camper at the campsite and more easily drive your car / truck around the area (remember the before times, when you might like... go out to dinner in a nearby town while you were camping??). Also makes it obvious that your campsite is claimed, vs sometimes when everyone is in a van and you all drive off to go biking or whatever and leave like... 3 camp chairs behind. :smile:

... It’s not set up for winter camping but neither am I so that’s fine. ..

lol'ed at this and 100% agree. Colorado has made me a very fair weather camper in general. Last time we were in North Carolina (where my DH's fam lives) I was hiking the dog on a very chill trail, and absolutely dripping sweat in the 95% humidity even though it was only maybe 70 degrees out. The whole time all I could think was "I would NEVER sleep outside if I lived in this climate". :rotf:
 
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Kimmyt

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@just jane Is that a casita? Gosh I just love the little fiberglass trailers, I'd love to have one but my husband is dead set on sticking to tent camping, which is mostly fine by me but there is something to be said about not having to put up a big tent and set up camp with two tiny rugrats running around and getting into trouble. We rented a little 13' Scamp over Thanksgiving and slept our family of four in it, it was definitely tight but much warmer than our tent with a little propane heater to keep us warm at night (temps got down to about 11 I think at the lowest).
 

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just jane

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@Kimmyt, Yes, it's a Casita - the 17' one. It's perfect for the two of us, and occasionally we have a 3rd person. We love it like a big lovey thing. We are both really over sleeping on the ground, and climbing into a sleeping bag at the end of the day all sweaty and gross from whatever we've been out doing. I think my two favorite things are having an indoor toilet so I don't have to crawl out of a tent to pee in the middle of the night, and being able to shower. And I'm always warm at night - I think I sleep better in the trailer than at home in my own bed. Also, we frequently leave for a trip on a Friday afternoon after work, drive until we're too tired, and then we find a spot to pull over and sleep for the night without having to set anything up, which is super handy. We're on the road the next morning about 5-10 minutes after we wake up.

@RachelV, it is so interesting to see how people choose between having something portable and rugged, vs. something you can drop and go. Both have their advantages, and we ended up on the drop-and-go side of the equation. We have the flexibility to drive on really gnarly roads to access trailheads or whatever if we need to, without worrying about whether or not we can turn around, or if there's enough clearance, or whatever. And yes, I like having a campsite that is obviously taken.
 

geargrrl

Angel Diva
We tow a rafting trailer at times, so unless we did a pickup camper a trailer was not an option for us.
 

SquidWeaselYay

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
We pulled the trigger on one of the last Revels for sale in our area this past summer. Took it out west for a socially distant road trip boondocking around BLM land in Utah and Colorado, and made two trips to Killington this year already. It’s been a game changer to be fully self-contained. We did a lithium battery upgrade (DIY) and we’ve got power for daaayyyyyzz. BB4E262E-F4C8-44E9-8BEA-017CFB2A495F.jpeg
 

TNtoTaos

Angel Diva
We pulled the trigger on one of the last Revels for sale in our area this past summer. Took it out west for a socially distant road trip boondocking around BLM land in Utah and Colorado, and made two trips to Killington this year already. It’s been a game changer to be fully self-contained. We did a lithium battery upgrade (DIY) and we’ve got power for daaayyyyyzz. View attachment 14486
Nice rig! More photos, please :smile:
 

SquidWeaselYay

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@SquidWeaselYay — can you share more about your battery upgrade? What did you choose? Where are they located? How do they perform in the cold?
We added them under that bench seat after relocating some of the other components. It’s a tight fit in there, so we had to move the inverter and all those loose wires. We made our own battery cables, but were able to repurpose a lot of the ones we pulled out when we tore out the AGM setup. We used Renogy smart batteries, managed to cram 3 in.

The batteries have been great, no complaints. Since they are inside the van, they stay warm because we keep the heat on when not in it, and plugged in when at home. We don’t winterize it because we have been using it as a mobile ski lodge. Because of that, it’s never gotten down below the mid forties in the van, so I can’t comment on how they would be in the cold.
 

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