I am actually surprised to see a lot fo Scamps and Casitas, used ones, that don't have bath/shower. A nice looking used one just came up a couple of hours from where we live but it doesn't have the shower and it, even for a molded fiberglass, is overpriced.
I know it has been discussed before and I started a major conflict on another forum where people were being critical of the "habits" of others in regard to if or how often they showered so I don't want to go there but what kinds of facilities are out there in the way of showers? It became a real mud slinging contest and you don't want that without a shower.
We were at a Corp of Engineers park in Council Grove twice this year. It is very nice there and showers are individual with a couple sized for families so that you could be doing "sink/toilet" stuff while the kids were showering behind the half wall. At Milford Lake up by Junction City/Fort Riley, at the state lake, they had open showers without doors when we camped there in the 80s. Having been in the military, that wouldn't ordinarily have bothered me but one woman brought her boys in and they were probably 8 and 10 years old and they were getting a lesson in female anatomy.
I'm seeing outside showers create gray water that is not to be released on the ground. I'm guessing one could come up with a solution and I have something in mind if I go that way.
I am getting more tempted to go without the shower and toilet and do the porti-potti thing. Having tent camped with a porti-potti and with the pop-up, a cassette toilet, I am fine with that and actually hate the whole black water tank and all of its entrapments and that is another entirely different thread.
So, if anyone can share what kind of facilities they have come across in different areas, that would help enlighten me as to whether I would want to venture into no bath/shower. I could really use the additional storage space.
I over think everything.
Cathy,
It all comes back to lifestyle. Knowing how you are going to camp and use the trailer now and in the future will give the best answer to a shower. If full timing I would have the shower, if just weekend camping, not necessary. We went 30 day trips every year in a Scamp 13 for years with toddlers and just a porta potty. I put up a survey years ago about using shower/toilet in trailer and almost no one said they use the shower in the trailer. I've found since that is still true for the most part.
As far as what you find out there in campgrounds, the general rule I've found is most commercial campgrounds are fine on facilities. The state parks, corps of e, nat parks are hit and miss, mostly miss. Again, this goes back to lifestyle. If you will camp predominantly in KOA type campgrounds you'll have decent hot showers, public parks and facilities will be iffy. Probably public parks will decline further in the years ahead due to shrinking budgets.
BLM allows grey water release now, subject to state rules. In AZ can't release kitchen grey, but bath is fine. Solar showers, shower tents, etc. have been used for years and never created a stir. So there are good options to showers including sink baths.
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Thanks, Greg. When we were at Council Grove, it was amazing to me that so many people in very large rvs chose to use the park facilities. They don't have sewer hookups though so that could be an issue since it doesn't take long to fill the gray water tank in an RV and some of these people seem to stay the max length of time. They have some really nice sites though for what one pays.
Cathy
We have the shower in front of our scamp, never used it yet. We use the campground showers, even in state parks, none of them scared us away yet. If however we are at a place where we find ourselves uncomfortable using the showers/toilets then we have our own. Carl
Cathy,
Greg pretty much nailed.
For my wife and I a toilet / shower just takes too much space. We are known to winter camp and just don't want to deal with 2 tanks and frozen yuck. For us, sponge baths will be the winter norm. We will shuttle a water supply between a heaedt tow vehicle and a furnace warmed Scamp. Warm water will come from a pot on the stove.
If we were continually lived in a camper our perspective would be different.
BobH. one of the Scamper Campers
Thanks everyone for your comments. To me, it is kind of like having a dishwasher or not. When my older son was home to load and unload the dishwasher, I loved it! Twenty years later, I don't get one put in this old house because I don't want to load and unload the thing and it is one more thing to clean up after and make the kitchen look smaller. We have had a shower/tub and no bath/shower at all. Neither was ideal and both had their positives and negatives.
We stayed for 5 1/2 months in a pop-up in an RV park in the Tucson area and took showers daily at the clubhouse bath. Ah, but we were younger, like 45 years old. Something else to take into account. I never liked having to walk to the shower in the rain, not even from the car. So, unless things change and I just want to do "weekends/vacations", probably should go with the shower. I could probably do it for 2 or 3 months still though as long as there was an end in sight. We did this a couple of times while house hunting. The pop-up now just overwhelms us with the loading, set-up, putting everything out, putting everything away, taking it down and unloading when we get home. That is not a vacation!
Thanks again!
Cathy
Besides taking up space, the bath/shower adds considerably to the complexity (and weight) of a SCAMP 13': hot water heater, grey and black water tanks, and sewer line(s).
I would rather have the bathroom/shower and not use it, than need it and not have it.
i
This is really an individual scamper by scamper choice. Arguments for both sides and really comes down to each person.
We have 1 small child and are planning another. Finding a used 16 footer without a bathroom was never happening. In 2 years of viewing we never found one pop up let alone within a close distance and we were not buying new. While we use the scamp we will typically probably be using the bunks for 2 children. And this heavily factored into getting a 13 foot scamp with the bunk.
The shower/toilet issue. Camping in spring/summer if a campground has facilities we have zero problem using them.
That said after labor day up north the campgrounds start shutting down the showers soon after due to drop off in visitors and to ensure everything is winterized. That is a real PIA. for anyone fall camping. We just did this in Michigan Oct 10-16th and were planning to use the showers in between two other camp sites that were rustic. What a let down when we got to the campground and we got to find out the showers were closed and there were only vault toilets.
That said there are still plenty of options available for taking a shower and we were still able to go 5 nights without a "real" one.
We have something called a "solar" shower. You fill a 5 gallong black vinyl bag up and leave it in the sun for 4-5 hours and the water by the evening will be 90-100 degree's...sometimes hotter. Even in October there were a few days where it was 76 for a high while hiking at the campgrounds. And thank god because at night I still got to take a lukewarm shower.
Most of the campsites my wife and I like are closer to boon docking. Maybe a water spigot, a few nasty vault toilets, and that is it. It is nice to mix in a rustic campground for a few days with a few nights of a modern campsite and then finish up on another rustic (that way we get a nice shower in the middle, charge any batteries, enjoy the AC if it is really hot, ect).
Another perk to Michigan camping and for now we mostly stay in state are the small lakes and lake Michigan. So during the summer you can stay at a more rustic campground and you are there swimming anyway and can take soap into the lake if you really need to wash some funk off or use the solar shower.
We were more rustic campers with tent and pads for the past 10 years but now the Scamp is like a whole new world. It isn't as independent as our previous days but I don't think we really miss it. Our backs sure don't.
What I found most interesting is that even when camping a few weeks ago with the facilities closed...even the big RV'ers were using the vault toilets...(the three we spoke to anyway..out of probably 40 total so not really a big survey size) but when I inquired why it was the same they would prefer to use the vault toilet than deal with the black water setup.
Charles & Martha (1990 Scamp 13)
Thanks again everyone for your responses. I lean toward having one but feel if the right deal came up on one without toilet/shower I would tempted. Having been tent campers and now with a pop-up, we have a lot of equipment both cooking and bath/shower stuff.
If I ordered, I would eliminate microwave and stovetop and go all electric.
I do much better without choices. I hope to full-time with my adult son with Down syndrome and volunteer at public parks or at a minimum, be able to volunteer for full seasons and here it would be April to November if I can't get out of the state. It is complicated by including my son. My husband is not interested in being a part of the "big" adventure which saves space but increases my responsibilities with the towing/set-up, etc. I'll being taking the dogs as they definitely want to be a part of the "big" adventure and in their senior years, they are running out of time too.
I must nail this down by spring and I will. Now that winter is here and we have taken the house off the market until spring, I'll have more time to dedicate to my research.
I'm trying to avoid new because of the outgassing of the materials and my son's sensitivities but I would have time for it to just sit and air out if I would get it ordered. I have read on that and asked questions in the past. I tend to believe that there would be a slightly less chance of an issue with a Scamp over a Casita. And, Scamp is still the cutest and the deluxe a "work of art".
Cathy
We would not be without the shower option with our potty! To us, the trailer began there! The Scamp is to be enjoyed to the fullest. The some what comforts of home are deeply appreciated when out in the bush or simply at a full service camp ground when all th showers are in use, if it's raining, or you just wish to use your own shower. For us, we would not leave home without it!
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