[RnR]

RD, so they are small enough that you could wash one down the drain if your sink/shower is plumbed into an RV style gray tank under the van?
I'm thinking it would be useful to pop one or 2 in at the beginning of a trip.
I'm guessing a 15 gal gray tank should be enough for 2 people for 2 weeks. On the high side I'm estimating 20 showers total at 1/2 gal each plus a few washups and cup rinses.

 

[keeponvaning]

On my last 6 week trip my wife and I used 17 gallons of water! Not all of it went down the drain either? no shower however!

 

[RnR]

Based on what I've seen other people use, I'm feeling good with 15 gal. I've taken camp showers with less than a 1/2 gal and I probably won't need a shower every single day. So I'm thinking we can pull it off.
The gray tank I'm thinking about is 15 gal and only 4" tall, 50x21. And the supply tank is 12x12x20 which I think is around 12 gal (it's free and fits perfect in the sink base cab). I can keep a spare 5 gal jug JIC and a couple cases of bottled drinking water.
17 gal over 6 weeks is pretty good.

 

[keeponvaning]

I can easily take a shower in 2 minutes and ½ gallon of water and come out smelling like a rose. My wife, on the other hand, needs substantially more time and water for the same results ?

 

[RnR]

I naturally smell like roses and have no real need for showers.
I just go through the motions to make everyone else comfortable.

 

[keeponvaning]

Sounds good to me?

 

[Chance]

I LOVE that freezer. For example, MrNomer makes a killer spaghetti sauce. Messy to make, cooks a long time, makes a lot, so not something to make in the van. But if I could just grab a bag from the freezer, pop it into the microwave….

We do that also on long trips, particularly when we rent large motorhome but have older family members to feed for a few weeks. My wife cooks many meal entrees and freezes most of them. We place some in RV freezer, some frozen in cooler, some frozen in fridge, and a few non frozen in fridge. As you can guess, we start with non-frozen for first few days, then the ones that are most thawed in fridge, then cooler, and finally the meals in freezer (thaw them first by placing in cooler to serve as extra cooling (ice equivalent).

We supplement with salads, fruit, bread, etc. that are easy to buy at any store along the way. This minimizes cooking (mostly to microwave) or doing dishes.

When traveling alone in van we do a similar routine but eat out more frequently since we enjoy the touring experience and trying new restaurants. We also don’t “need” hot meals as often, so can get by with stuff we just microwave.

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

The chlorine tablets dissolve readily and would do so in the trap. You do plan to have a trap right? You should. They also make dry traps.

 

[RnR]

The chlorine tablets dissolve readily and would do so in the trap. You do plan to have a trap right? You should. They also make dry traps.

It was my intention. I'm not familiar with the horizontal RV style low profile traps. Not sure if those actually work like a trap, or just have a backflow preventer flap.
I will have to decide what I'm doing with that before I order the tank, since you have to tell them where you want your threaded holes.
The drain will be right through the floor (not raising the shower pan) and the low profile gray tank will be tucked up as tight as possible.

 

[nebulight]

I don't see a problem with his method of cooking. My wife and I still work so we usually just do weekend trips with one or two 1-2 week trips during the year. When we first got the van, we did meals as we did at home and it got complicated/messy really fast. We decided to have 1 or 2 normal meals on our trip, the rest would be prepared beforehand. It's a lot easier to just dump everything into a pot or thrown a dish in the microwave, especially after a long day of hiking.

As for eating the same thing every day, I don't see anything wrong with that either. Sure it's not for everyone, but it makes things a lot easier, that's for sure.

 

[MaggieMarty]

It was my intention. I'm not familiar with the horizontal RV style low profile traps. Not sure if those actually work like a trap, or just have a backflow preventer flap.
I will have to decide what I'm doing with that before I order the tank, since you have to tell them where you want your threaded holes.
The drain will be right through the floor (not raising the shower pan) and the low profile gray tank will be tucked up as tight as possible.

We restore vintage trailers for a living (Airstreams and such) and we are using the HepVo valves all the time. Tremendous space saver, and they can be installed vertically or horizontally. My boss even installed one in his kitchen at home.

Hepvo Waterless Valve

The HepVo Waterless Valve replaces the old P Trap with a short tube and internal diaphragm that prevents backflow of air and water into showers and sinks.

hepvo.com

 

[h1k3rb]

That steak freezer would be pretty nice to have out in the woods. Since I'm using a Yeti-style ice cooler (for now) I take several frozen meals (which initially supplements the ice) plus canned goods and dry goods. As mentioned, buying stuff along the way and eating out (especially if you can find diners, good old mom and pop places, etc) are all part of the adventure.

In a pinch I've survived on cliff bars, nuts, seeds and other snacks for several days and been quite happy. Since I lost most of my sense of smell I have little taste (according to my wife) so I can eat anything, the bad news is that I do eat almost anything (sometimes can't tell if it's turned the corner and should be tossed). Strong coffee and occasional cups of strong black tea are pretty important though.

 

[Pnieder]

Hi,
On our last trip up to the Yukon, we had a rock take out the outlet pipe from our grey water tank. Tried to fix it with stuff from the local hardware, but no luck. So, we picked up one of those heavy alum foil Turkey cooking pans and put it under the grey water outlet (what was left of it) each night when we camped. I was surprised how little volume there was and it basically looked like water and did not smell. In the morning, I just dumped it in the bushes.
But, we don't have a shower -- guess that would be a different story.

I've since fixed the grey water tank, but I was tempted to just use the Turkey pan grey water system as its very easy to live with.

-----
We use a homemade composting toilet with urine separation, and after reading the comments above and below, I'm reminded how much we like this solution. Three weeks on the road between emptyings, which is no mess or fuss at all. And, it makes a fine spare seat and map holder!

Our ProMaster Camper Van Conversion — Composting Toilet – Build A Green RV

www.buildagreenrv.com

Gary

We love our "composting" toilet that I built similar to yours. It's been great. Empty the pee bottle once a day, and if we use it for #2, it doesn't smell in the slightest (Stephanie has a super-sensitive nose). And tossing the #2 bag into the garbage is a breeze. Would not ever consider anything else again.

 

[RnR]

I have a couple buddies with pickups and travel trailers. They said I was nuts for trading the truck in for the van and I should've kept the truck and bought a trailer.
A van is so much more convenient for road trips, not to mention almost twice as fuel efficient as dragging a trailer across the entire country, behind a large truck with an 8 cyl gas engine.
And not a big fan of cleaning out black tanks.
Campervans and poopin in a bag for the win.

 

[keeponvaning]

Your buds are the nutz!

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

We moved from a 5.4 liter F150 with lightweight Phoenix pop up camper and our cost for travel dropped by more than half. Camping in a trailer is even more expensive as free spaces are more limited. When I park I can walk between the seats and crash if I am exhausted. No set up no parking hassles no trailer to park or back in and no problem! Now we can travel for less than a car and motels. They cannot do that!

 

[RnR]

At the end of the day, they were mostly busting my chops about getting a van. Since we all had trucks and they had trailers, the default response was that I should just get a trailer like them. But they only use their trailers a few times p/yr and only drive an hour or 2 from home and camp for a weekend or a a week.
It took a while to get it through their heads that I was going to travel around the country and not go camping an hour from home 3 times a year.
Funny how people always say, "you should do what I do" no matter what you tell them.
I think I'll buy some waders and try my hand at fly fishing.
"I have a tuna boat. You should get a tuna boat."

 

[keeponvaning]

When they see yours they will all dump those trailers and buy a van!

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

We moved from a 5.4 liter F150 with lightweight Phoenix pop up camper and our cost for travel dropped by more than half. Camping in a trailer is even more expensive as free spaces are more limited. When I park I can walk between the seats and crash if I am exhausted. No set up no parking hassles no trailer to park or back in and no problem! Now we can travel for less than a car and motels. They cannot do that!