2022 camping thread

[Buster]

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I hear you on camping with embarrassing people. Wife's friends invited us out to Kinbrook for the weekend and while they are decent folks, their kids are absolute shits and their fucking dog barked at everything.

On the upside, it was a really nice weekend and we got to try out the improved tent-camping setup. Added a batwing awning to the Jeep for shade, 75L 12V fridge/freezer and some solar panels, and an on-demand hot shower setup. Pretty luxury for tenting, everything worked great. We only had a couple of 40W solar panels we got for free, it kept the deep-cycle battery for the fridge going but it was still slowly drawing down over the weekend (~50% after 3 days). I'll probably add a third panel next time to keep it topped up better.

Wait what is this on demand shower thing. That's the most sensible camping thing I've seen. I usually see people either showering in their already musty trailers or going to some communal shower like poor people from the 20's

[BerserkerCatSplat]

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Wait what is this on demand shower thing. That's the most sensible camping thing I've seen. I usually see people either showering in their already musty trailers or going to some communal shower like poor people from the 20's

https://www.mrheater.com/boss-xb18-b...er-system.html

Just add a propane tank and a bucket of water, and you get a hot shower with temperature control. It's basically a heat exchanger and pump in a fancy case but I've been really impressed by how well it works. Very efficient on propane as well.

[Buster]

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https://www.mrheater.com/boss-xb18-b...er-system.html

Just add a propane tank and a bucket of water, and you get a hot shower with temperature control. It's basically a heat exchanger and pump in a fancy case but I've been really impressed by how well it works. Very efficient on propane as well.

I see three other vehicles in your picture. Are all of those people living that close to you?

[BerserkerCatSplat]

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I see three other vehicles in your picture. Are all of those people living that close to you?

Not by choice! As I mentioned we got invited out by friends, they're the big-trailer type. We usually camp somewhere more remote with more privacy, would rather have done Whiteswan but what can you do.

[Buster]

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Not by choice! As I mentioned we got invited out by friends, they're the big-trailer type. We usually camp somewhere more remote with more privacy, would rather have done Whiteswan but what can you do.

You seem to do camping that is cool. I can respect that.

[Turkey99]

I agree

[Kijho]

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I hear you on camping with embarrassing people. Wife's friends invited us out to Kinbrook for the weekend and while they are decent folks, their kids are absolute shits and their fucking dog barked at everything.
On the upside, it was a really nice weekend and we got to try out the improved tent-camping setup. Added a batwing awning to the Jeep for shade, 75L 12V fridge/freezer and some solar panels, and an on-demand hot shower setup. Pretty luxury for tenting, everything worked great. We only had a couple of 40W solar panels we got for free, it kept the deep-cycle battery for the fridge going but it was still slowly drawing down over the weekend (~50% after 3 days). I'll probably add a third panel next time to keep it topped up better.

Nice looking camp setup!!

Went to Boulton Creek this weekend and it was pretty nice, rained a bit so got to try out a new tarp/ setup. Worked even better than I hoped for, it was a nice weekend.

DSC02137 by Spencer, on Flickr

DSC02151 by Spencer, on Flickr

[BerserkerCatSplat]

^Nice rig! What RTT is that? The enclosed overhang covering the entrance is a good idea, must make for a nicer time getting in/out in the rain.

How was Boulton? Haven't been there but it looks like a nice spot.

[S-FLY]

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I hear you on camping with embarrassing people. Wife's friends invited us out to Kinbrook for the weekend and while they are decent folks, their kids are absolute shits and their fucking dog barked at everything.

On the upside, it was a really nice weekend and we got to try out the improved tent-camping setup. Added a batwing awning to the Jeep for shade, 75L 12V fridge/freezer and some solar panels, and an on-demand hot shower setup. Pretty luxury for tenting, everything worked great. We only had a couple of 40W solar panels we got for free, it kept the deep-cycle battery for the fridge going but it was still slowly drawing down over the weekend (~50% after 3 days). I'll probably add a third panel next time to keep it topped up better.

Nice shower setup, how warm/hot does the on-demand work?
Swap the deep cycle out for lithium or like you said, get a larger panel.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

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Nice shower setup, how warm/hot does the on-demand work?
Swap the deep cycle out for lithium or like you said, get a larger panel.

Yeah good call on the lithium, should be less sensitive to deep discharge too but I'll have to do some research. Might do both.

For the shower, the output temp of the shower unit depends on the temp of the water it's drawing from (it adds ~35F to the temp of the water coming in), so I fill the blue ~30L tote (doubles as water reservoir and storage tote for the system) and let the shower unit circulate back into the tote for ~5 minutes to warm up the reservoir a little - it really only needs to get a bit above room temperature. Once the unit is putting out nice hot water you're good to go, and unit has a temp dial you can use to refine how warm you want it. The tote is (for us anyway, mileage may vary) more than enough water for both the wife and myself to have a nice shower each. 4 showers used a bit less than a single propane tank.

[finboy]

Tried out the element at sibbald, worked well but god damn all the mosquitoes

[Kavy]

Anyone been out to gooseberry this year? One of our group is fragile and wants to know where the closest showers are as well as the dump station and being that I have never taken my trailer there I haven’t the slightest. Would McLean be it?

[nzwasp]

Has anyone ever been to writing on stone provincial park? see any snakes or are these not a concern?

[ExtraSlow]

Been there, didn't notice snakes, but they do live there. Don't think it's a serious danger.

[gmc72]

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Has anyone ever been to writing on stone provincial park? see any snakes or are these not a concern?

Wife and I were there a few years ago. Never saw any snakes, but we did hear them. Had to be extra cautious on our hike.

[pheoxs]

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Yeah good call on the lithium, should be less sensitive to deep discharge too but I'll have to do some research. Might do both.

For the shower, the output temp of the shower unit depends on the temp of the water it's drawing from (it adds ~35F to the temp of the water coming in), so I fill the blue ~30L tote (doubles as water reservoir and storage tote for the system) and let the shower unit circulate back into the tote for ~5 minutes to warm up the reservoir a little - it really only needs to get a bit above room temperature. Once the unit is putting out nice hot water you're good to go, and unit has a temp dial you can use to refine how warm you want it. The tote is (for us anyway, mileage may vary) more than enough water for both the wife and myself to have a nice shower each. 4 showers used a bit less than a single propane tank.

mind dropping a link to the water heater and the 12v fridge/freezer?

Went to a music festival this weekend and first time bringing a solar setup. 100W panel with a 100Ah lithium battery and had a laughable amount of power. Ran all our ~30 feet of led strips through all the canopies, setup a few fans on a thermostat in my tent and bunch of lights, and our dozen person camp all charged their phones and vapes all weekend and still didn’t come close to draining my battery. So definitely eyeing up some kind of fridge for the next trek

[BerserkerCatSplat]

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mind dropping a link to the water heater and the 12v fridge/freezer?

Went to a music festival this weekend and first time bringing a solar setup. 100W panel with a 100Ah lithium battery and had a laughable amount of power. Ran all our ~30 feet of led strips through all the canopies, setup a few fans on a thermostat in my tent and bunch of lights, and our dozen person camp all charged their phones and vapes all weekend and still didn’t come close to draining my battery. So definitely eyeing up some kind of fridge for the next trek

You bet!

This is the one we went with - works great but large and heavy:
https://www.princessauto.com/en/75-l...t/PA0008999054
They also have a 50L Alpicool unit that might work better for festivals and whatnot with the wheels, but looks to be sold out at the moment:
https://www.princessauto.com/en/50-l...t/PA0008984098

Lots of similar ones on Amazon too, Alpicool makes a ton of varieties as well as outfits like BougeRV. Dometic and ARB are the gold standard if you can stomach the price tag. (For perspective on that, the 75L from PA is $570, the 75L from Dometic is like $2200)

Shower:
https://www.mrheater.com/product/camping/hygiene.html

They have a few models (and other makers make similar units). We have the cheapest XB13 model, but would have sprung for the XW18 with the built-in battery if we hadn't gotten a screaming deal on it. The pump for the XB13 runs on D cell batteries which is stupid, so I converted it to run on 12V DC instead - can run it off a vehicle battery or a lithium pack.

Let me know if you want to check out the shower system when you drop off the vacuum pump, haha. I can pull the fridge out of the attic if you give me enough heads-up.

[ExtraSlow]

Wanted to re-state my previous comment that anyone looking for nice fcfs camping should check out Cataract Creek. Was doing some hiking there today and it was not even close to full this morning, and damned near empty this afternoon. Beautiful spot, nicely spaced sites, many backing onto the creek. Hiking and shit right there. Only 13 km of gravel too, so not too hard to get to. Under 90 minutes from the city limits.

[dirtsniffer]

shhh

[ExtraSlow]

I talk a lot.