Low Buck, Campsite Solutions

Haha, seriously!

 

wondering the same.

send it to Scene for a live vid

 

Nope. You're suppose to take a dump on either a large paper coffee filter or paper towel. Then stuff the mess into the "Poop Tube". The tube has only about a 3" I.D.

The "Poop Tube" eventually gets emptied out at an RV waste station. Hence, the fitting for a water hose, which is used to rinse out the tube.

 

I didn't get why you add a schrader valve. Is it a pressure relief valve?

 

Winner and scholar.

I will let the others figure out why a 50cal ammo can, once a popular alternative, was known as a "groover".

Just as a connection point for regulated air pressure, say 20-30 psi and it would stay connected during use.

 

I see, sounds messy . . .

Think potato gun . . .

 

For those of you that just use a sleeping bag, not an air mattress, I found one thing that works great. I went camping this past weekend, and ended up taking a random foam pad like you put on top of a bed because my sleeping bag got destroyed. I found it to be far more comfortable.

 

Truck cap side window thermal/black out curtains.
Made from rip stop "Space Blanket" (brand). The cap has a carpet like headliner so little tabs of Velcro (hook side) sewn around the edges hold things in place. My seamstress/navigator also did the edge treatment.

 

Along with "spit, gum and bailing wire" a roll of stretch wrap is very handy.
From wrapping a torn CV boot or as a "compression binding" to keep compacted trash compacted, I find new uses all the time.
When the household roll gets down to the last 1/3-1/4 it goes into the camp stuff closet.



Speaking of trash, here is the original Trasharoo.
Not really, it's a "high grade ore bag" for culling the really good stuff from the pile.

 

Getting near the bottom of the bag with this stuff so this one is more of a history thing.

Sitting on the bucket in this old mine camp is a tire repair boot. Essentially an extra giant inside tire patch made from a piece of an old tire, buffed and shaped as needed. Steinbeck mentions a similar deal in Grapes of Wrath. Dick Cepek once sold a giant inside patch (about 6"x6"), billed as the "Baja Boot". The pitch went "This and a tube will get a cut tire back from Baja".

 

@Dirty Pool. awesome stuff. Some great ideas. Thank you for your knowledge.

 

The old standby traction aid/bridging ladder, is a plank.

The initial thought was to experiment with two end treatments for different scenarios, till I got carried away a bit. Also didn't have enough material for 4 of the same ends.
The square end would somewhat resist penetrating soft stuff with thrust from the tire and a pointed end for wedging into a crack with both distributing loads across the whole width.

Fully welded 14g "cap" and 1/4" aluminum angle.


Carefully selected Doug Fir 2x12, straight grain and minimal small knots. Ends bedded in polyurethane adhesive. A single 4' section will carry the entire weight of the 1st gen front on 1 tire with about 1" bow.


Finished product with whimsical Mill Spec theme and sand infused finish. I plan to weld individual chain links on the sides of the steel caps to allow them to be bolted together.



Funny thing is these guys mostly get used as camp shelves, walkways, tables, benches and wind breaks all the time.

 

wood is tough to beat for strength to weight.

 

It'll also work to bind bandage material over a wound as well as binding a splint to a broken bone, though I prefer "vet wrap".

 

Really scraping the bottom of the barrel here.

Square, super soft, o-ring sealed pharmaceutical containers are great for carrying various beverages and supplemental water (frozen). These are originally used for "sterile saline", sterile water etc. and are shown below in 1000, 750 and 250ml. The square shape lets them "nest" well in the cooler. When used as ice blocks, the melt water is kept clean and still useful for domestic use or emergency drinking. I generally freeze everything I put in them including Spiritus Frumenti.

 

I do this with 1 gal water bottles, keep everything cold for days.

What spiritus are you freezing? Booze won't freeze and freezing beer is a horrible idea.

 

Yep, I like the 1/2 gal plastic milk containers for scalability. We keep 4 "in stock" in the home freezer at all times.

Correct, the distillates don't freeze and change state but they can be chilled to the same temp as the ice. Thus less load on the ice itself. Every little bit helps including freezing that bag of pre-made spaghetti and meatballs.

Another trick is to loosely lay a "tall kitchen" size plastic trash bag over the goods inside the cooler. This helps keep the cold where it needs to be.

 

I made an insulating blanket for my ice chest out of the silver reflective mats that are used for car and rv windows. When I was "part timing" in my travel trailer I was going through 60 lbs of ice a week. After I wrapped it consumption went down to 30 lbs a week. I thought about making a wood box for the ice chest and extra insulation to go into but never got that far but I'm sure it would have helped even more.

 

X2, along with ambient temps, wind and solar loads are two enemies of the cooler.