Campground Shower??

I am relatively new to camping, I bought my 290b in April of this year (my first rv) With that said, I was wondering why do so many people use the shower at the CG instead of the shower in their RV? Is there some kind of advantage that I am not aware of? I ask because I see people going to the showers all the time. I prefer the privacy and cleanliness of my shower in my camper over a public shower.

Why shower at the campground?

We shower at the campground because it saves on propane and wear and tear on the water heater. By not showering in the trailer you don't fill up your grey tank as fast. It cuts down on the chance of wall delamination and moisture in the Br. We each have a bucket with our shower supplies in it. We all use flip flops in the shower house. We,ve put some sort of a cut off to the shower in the underneath plumbing.Can't remember what it is called. We asked for it at our RV dealer. We store some things in our bathtub. The bathtub is covered with Exterior plywood' stained and finished. It stays in place with heavy duty velcro. We set our laundry bag and totes full of dry and canned goods on this shelf. We do most of our camping at NY State Parks and have found the showere to have plenty of hot water. You are paying for this in your nightly fee. Just one perspective on this issue.

shower in a camp?

Nice info Sam. being on camp does not necessarily mean sacrificing hygiene i suppose...

We do use the shower houses since we have to pay for it anyway, we have a bag with our showering needs and wear flip flops in the shower, some of those floors can really hurt the old feet. The shower in my hi-lo has a cover over the shower area with an extra refrigerator placed on it for beverages. The frig is one of those ones that does not have a compressor it is a conductor type and weights almost nothing.

Sam, I understand about the propane but I can use electric so I don't have to use the propane. It makes sense about the wear and tear on the water heater but won't that cause problems from lack of use? I leave my gray tank open at CG until the day before we leave so I am not worried about filling the tank. I am concerned about the delamination but I always open the vent and turn on the bathroom fan to reduce moisture in the air. I am not trying be obstinate but I am trying to learn the pros and cons of everything I do.

I don't know where you camp but most camp grounds don't allow you to run the gray water on the ground, it's in the rules and if caught they will make you leave. It's not fair because tent campers put theirs on the ground. I was in a national camp ground where a guy keep parking his TV on the grass, rules there say it has to be on the black top. They called the rangers and he had to leave.

Showering at the campsite

When we first got our "pre loved preenjoyed HiLo I did shower in the Br. just to check it out. We have a br fan and could leave the window open for moisture control. A little crowded but usable. Some times we do fire up the water heater to washup or do dishes. Other times we just boil a large pot of water on the stove. Just depends on our decision at the time. When you have full hookups the advantage would be using electric and the ability to dump grey and black water as needed. It is all a matter of preference.

Pop, I would never dump on the ground I am talking about leaving the gray open when I am hooked up. I haven't camped anywhere yet that doesn't have full hook ups.

Sorry, I miss understood. We camp in a lot of national camp grounds, no hook ups, some have electric, and very few even have a water hook up. But they are cheap, seniors only pay half price, some times they are the only place to camp in National parks..

No problem Pop, I appreciate your expressed interest in ensuring that I do things properly.

Full hookups

When you have fulhookups you leave the black and grey valves closed. When you need to empty then you open the black tank valve(solids). Next you open your grey water(soapy water) it will rinse out your sewer hose. Then you fill(after closingboth valves. ) Add chemicles and water to your toilet. Hope I explained this correctly. Do a search for the steps to use when hooked to full hookups.

Big Lou said:

I am relatively new to camping, I bought my 290b in April of this year (my first rv) With that said, I was wondering why do so many people use the shower at the CG instead of the shower in their RV? Is there some kind of advantage that I am not aware of? I ask because I see people going to the showers all the time. I prefer the privacy and cleanliness of my shower in my camper over a public shower.

Click to expand...

Big lou, Advantages? well, you dont elaborate enough, but I am guessing you and wife, not much more than that when camping? when you are at a site with electricity, water and sewer, you are at a more full service than I hardly get to use. when I camp at most lakes near me, since I want to be near water since I have a boat, I have ended up with electricity only, and many times I camp without anything for motorcycle events. So I cant afford to have people lose good conservation habbits we've developed when we have to haul in and haul out everything we use (boon docking).

Untrained "campers" especially most kids, in a camper with toilet, let alone a shower, can use up all of your resources, way too quickly... how do I know? Well, 1st trip with my now wife, 2 teens and 2 pree teens, managed to filled toilets (black water tanks) and grey water, on first night of a 3 day weekend, and I want you to know I never used the toilet in that RV that weekend, it was years later, when having to run to bathroom at night became daunting task...

On that rig, I didnt have monitor for fresh tank, but it had to be empty as well. Anyway, I had to rehook everything, awnings, levels, coolers, et all. Plus we had to drive to dump station, which was more than 25 miles down the jeep "trail" to the campsite, plus down the highway... But, we got more fresh water while there, and a bag of ice. The motorhome got 6mpg, we could have gotten water and ice in Honda that got 30mpg, which also made me more annoyed.

I was kind of mad after the whole thing, you know hot and tearing down what I had spent hours setting up. So, from that day on, there is a standing rule, you dont use the toilet in the RV, except emergencies, especially since we dont park that far from park toilets. I was used to camping and conserving since age 5, they had never really camped, and assumed it was like being at home. My son still cant take a shower inless than 15 minutes, lol, so shower in camper is out of the question. Some days I like a nice shower, so running to shower house is better than spit-bath in camper by a long shot.

Add to that story about if you dont do it with shower curtains correctly in place, and take care in the Hilo, you cause damage to walls of your camper, over time. the RV, the whole shower/bathroom was a fiberglass setup, in the Hilo, only the bottom half of wall is fiberglass, but we have the curtain.

Sting, I'm with you! Nicely put! We do it your way too.

- Jack

That "leave the grey tank open" probably got several of us- glad you explained it- LOL. We also use the campground showers w/flips and our little tote bag. The roominess is one reason, but wear on trailer and the fact that we also use our shower area for storage figures in on the reasoning. We camp at nice, clean facilities, so it works for us. Lots of folks feel as you do, it's just personal preference. Ours is fully operational, so we could use it any time we wish, with about 5 min to remove the "stuff". Happy camping.

Pipers Family said:

That "leave the grey tank open" probably got several of us- glad you explained it- LOL. We also use the campground showers w/flips and our little tote bag. The roominess is one reason, but wear on trailer and the fact that we also use our shower area for storage figures in on the reasoning. We camp at nice, clean facilities, so it works for us. Lots of folks feel as you do, it's just personal preference. Ours is fully operational, so we could use it any time we wish, with about 5 min to remove the "stuff". Happy camping.

Click to expand...

Yeah we do same, the shower is filled with a storage box or 2 that just fill it up, and I am adding hooks to hang suits (for days when it is raining out)... This is kind of done, just to keep people from askin to take a shower, lol. as it has become the clothes hamper holder and wet swim ware repository while camping...

use the camp showers in the evening

much less crowed if at all
and you'll sleep better

the shower/tub is great for small children
who can be a real pain at the camp showers

shower hose is great for helping flush the toilet
it reaches right over

I like my shower in the trailer, i just blue tote it to the dump station, which can happen alot with the small gray tank on my rig. I suppose I just like th convienence of it. I still tent camp with my motorcycle and use the camp showers then.
Plus I just like to mess around with the HiLo, that bugger is great!

Big Lou, As you can see there are many ideas about using the CG showers vs. the trailer's shower. When we are in a CG we use theirs unless they aren't very nice or clean. When boon-docking the trailer shower is the luxury component. As for not filling the grey tank and letting it drain out to the hookup, I think it is advisable to let the tank fill and then occasionally drain it in order to flush out any particles that may collect. The same especially applies to the black water tank. You need the big rush of water when they drain to remove the maximum amount of solids. Otherwise you could get a buildup of solids that could plague you sometime in the future.

Rich

One little option is: Don't put any "solids" into the black water tank!

OK, this may get to be a bit "gross" for some, but here goes - Janet and I generally camp at places that at least have pit toilets. We use those for "daily" needs which includes the "solids" deposits. During the night, after we've gone to bed, we'll use the trailer facility to pee in (sorry, not many other ways to refer to it).

So, the black water tank is relatively unfilled, even after a pretty long camping spell. I start out with about a quart of water in it and about 2 ounces of the blue disinfectant and have had no problems whatsoever.

If we were totally in the "bush" (no toilets), we'd dig a pit and use that during the day. After all, it's not like any of us are diseased, and it's what the Army has done for ages.

As far as grey water - if you use the trailer fresh water for washing or showers, it can fill pretty fast. But, do you have a campfire at night? We like to, if it's allowed and we always make sure it is "dead out" before going to sleep. How? I fill a plastic tub from the grey water drain and use that to drown the campfire. By the next night, the fire pit is dry and we can build a fire again. This keeps the grey water tank level in check and doesn't spread it all over the campsite.

If there are showers nearby, we use those. If not, a "sponge bath" is a reasonable alternative that conserves fresh water in the trailer. The shower is simply kind of awkward to use anyway.

- Jack

Thanks everyone for your sound advise, I know there are varying opinions in reply to my original post but now I feel I can make an educated decision in how I want to use or not use my shower and toilet. I sincerely appreciate all of your responses.