No Hookups, No Problem!
While going through my pre-trip checklist (see my article “Use Checklists to Prevent Problems”) right before heading out to Yosemite a couple of weeks ago, I noticed our heavy duty surge protector hadn’t been used in a while. The surge protector has been sitting in its cardboard box on the top shelf of our garage cabinets and collecting dust for some time. In May 2021, we were fortunate to be able to stay within the park at Yosemite (Upper Pine Campground), but had to plan for no hookups as the Yosemite campsites don’t have any (which is often the case in National and State parks), so we didn’t need to take the surge protector. During the trip, we used our 100W solar briefcase (two 50W panels) every day, and even though our campsite was mostly shaded, there was always enough sunlight to keep our Scamp’s batteries well charged.
Our campsite at Yosemite also lacked any other hookups (e.g. water and sewer). However, there is a central dump station at the entrance of Upper Pines Campground and drinking water spigots at each bathroom. We dumped on the way into the campground and used our Holy Grail Portable Grey Water Tank Solution so that we didn’t need to move the Scamp all week! I filled up our portable Grey tanks (four 5 gallon jugs) once during the week and drove them to the central dump early in the morning when there is little activity at the dump station and poured them out. Filling our Fresh tanks was easy using our dolly and 6-gallon water jug. The water spigot near our campsite was just a short walk away and the spigot had high pressure, so filling our Fresh jug was super-fast. I made two or three water refill runs during our Yosemite stay.
Having had a chance to reflect back on the past year and a half since receiving our new Scamp 13’ using our trip log book (see my article “Take A Page From Star Trek and Log Your Travels”), I was surprised to realize how few times we actually used any types of hookups! We sometimes used electrical and water hookups while staying in the driveways of family, but for the most part, our stays have mostly been at National and State parks where no hookups were provided. And, these stays have usually been at locations where central dump stations and water spigots were available and our solar panels (along with our Jackery 500) served to maintain a sufficient charge on our Scamp battery.
Along with solar panels, we rely heavily on liquid Propane during most of our stays. Propane does a great job of powering most of our appliances which can run on this gas. Propane is efficient and can last a long time. Appliances in our Scamp that can run off propane are the gas stove, refrigerator, furnace, and hot water heater. The great thing about propane is that you can carry a lot of it (we always carry 2 Viking composite propane tanks) and it can be run without hookups. One tank can usually last us over 10 days even in very cold weather when we run our furnace. One just has to take care to follow proper safety protocols when running propane. Small travel trailers are usually outfitted with combination carbon monoxide/propane detector alarms; the one in our 2020 Scamp 13’ is located near the front door under one of the dinette seats. It’s essential that every small travel trailer have one of these alarms because carbon monoxide and propane gas exposure can be lethal.
After almost two years of travelling with our Scamp 13’ to mostly State and National parks, we’ve learned that during our stays water is usually available via spigot (or it can be brought in containers) and electricity can most often be provided by the Sun using solar panels (assuming good weather). We’ve noticed that the Scamp’s electricity demands are not high (especially if using a battery bank, such as the Jackery 500 in which to run non-essential tasks like watching the 12V television and charging devices like phones, cameras, etc.) and propane can also be used to alleviate electricity demand by powering our refrigerator. And, lastly, we’ve learned we can extend our time between trips to the Dump Station by as much as 5 or 6 days by using portable containers to hold Grey Water. Ultimately, it’s the Black and Grey tanks that force us to a Dump Station (see my article “Why It’s Smart to be a Zen Boondocker….”).
So, instead of steering clear of campgrounds without hookups, embrace them and expand your options for adventures. And, once you understand the constraints of your small travel trailer, you can plan your trips so that Dump Station stops occur when you need them (such as every five or six days), allowing you to stay in one place longer and more easily (by using portable Grey Tank containers which can be dumped independently of your trailer). Happy Camping!
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