For those of you hunting without power or drinkable water on site, what does you camp setup look like? What kind of generators are you running and what are you doing for a solution for your fresh water? For those with storage tanks are you gravity feeding your trailers? On demand pumps? What about algae?

Thanks in advance.

Back in those days we carried drinking water in 5 gallon cans and our lights were flashlights and 2 lanterns. We had a 12 volt battery hooked to a car radio with speakers, I took the battery home with me to charge it.

I’m going to be running a generator at least intermittently to power a travel trailer or charge the batteries. Lots of opinions on inverter generators so wanted to see what everyone else was using. Debating if an external tank is worth it to store water on a longer term basis instead of hauling it in in smaller quantities.

Like Dogcatcher back in the day carried water out and used lanterns. Built a stand and put a barrel on it to let water flow down to a old kitchen sink. Had a 12 volt light bulb in our shack/cabin, whoever arrived first hooked the wire up to his car battery and thus we had light. Had a good wood burning stove .

I carried two charged batteries with me every weekend. I also carried several water jugs and filled the water tank. A couple of cap fulls of bleach will keep the water clean for a shower and washing. Only time I used a generator was when it was hot and I just had to run the air conditioner.

At my off the grid East Texas place, 200 watt Solar panel, charge controller, 12 volt deep cycle batteries, cig lighter and usb receptacles. Positive pressure fan installed near floor and exhaust fan in ceiling for air circulation. Blackout curtains and trucker fans so it don't turn into a hot box on warm days. Lights are all low draw led. 12 volt TV. Water line to sink uses a low volume 12 volt water feature pump. Stove and Catalytic safety heater on propane. Shower is a wand with a low volume 12 volt pump. I removed the water tank in bottom cabinet under sink and replaced it with a 7 gallon portable water container with two additional 7 gallon containers lined up next to it in reserve. I adapted the water line to container cap with a pickup tube so I can just swap the pickup tube cap between jugs as needed. When water is down to last container, I bring three full containers back with me next time to swap out. I don't want to store water so long that I have to worry about it going bad, but it does last longer than you would think.

It has worked so well for me, if I was ever again only needing 12 volt power for another camp, before I would haul batteries back and forth or get a generator for the sole purpose of charging batteries I would use a solar panel.

For road trip camping I installed a second battery box in my suburban. It is on a simple switch to to keep isolated from my main battery or to be recharged off my alternator, but it's main purpose is not for the vehicle. It is for running anything off of it I want while camping, for a trolling motor, fishing lights, etc. and can easily be pulled out and put back in. Not to mention it's nice to have a spare charged battery on hand when your out in the middle of nowhere without phone service. I have been stranded with a dead battery and no cell service once before. I removed my battery and some wire I borrowed from something on my suburban and carried it to a nearby oil well pump I remembered seeing with a solar panel. Wired my battery to the panel and went hunting. When I got done hunting, I put the battery back in the truck and it started right up.

Did it for years, Pop had an old WWII cook tent where all the cooking, eating and BSing took place and then we went to our tents to sleep. Haul in twice as much water as you think you'll
need. Coleman lanterns and stoves for light and cooking.

Never used a generator, and always bring our water. We sleep in a tent if we stay, but it’s only 90 minutes away from the house.

No electric or water at my camp. I bring enough water for the weekend. My place is only 10 minutes from a town and an hour from my house. Use battery lanterns for light and have a catitic propane heater if it gets cold.

I’ve ran been apart of 3 sets up now.

One place had a15k watt offshore diesel generator with 50gallon Aux tank that ran all containers and a shallow water well pump that feed a 250gal water tank that had on demand pump attached to supply pressurized non potable to containers.(bleach for algae) Great set up... not so fuel efficient though for one container

A buddies set up was 4Kwatt kubota low boy with 100gal aux tank and 100gal water storage with on demand RV pump on it. Great set up. 4Kwatt by its self is easily picked up and stolen, with 100gal tank not so much. Very fuel efficient. Just hauled water in and might bring 5 gal of fuel every week top off generator

Third set up was filled RV tanks with a portable 50gal tank I bought from Northern power and tool. Think utv spray rig tank. Electricity was 2 Honda EU 2k in parraral w/5 gal aux tank. Would use about 5-8 gal a weekend of fuel


If I had to do it again tomorrow... I’d run solar panels and 3 battery bank for all lights etc and also add kubota lowboy w/aux tank for everything else. If you don’t need AC or heat you would be amazed what you can do with small solar system. If I had a small cabin, I’d probably do a wood stove and probably only use generator in the summer or for hot water.

Before I had electricity ran to my cabin I just used a generator. It would power the window unit AC, lights, fan, etc.

Now I have electric, but still no water. I'm never there for more than 3 days at a time so I just don't shower. Get nice and sweaty in the summer when I'm working but usually just take the sheets home and wash them, Lol. Winter isn't as bad.

I just keep a case of bottled waters for coffee, to drink, and wet paper towels if I need to wipe down. Also baby wipes to knock the cheese off.

I need to get one of those portable shower heads that hooks to a battery and 5 gallon bucket to rinse off with.

You know you could set up a real easy water catch system off that roof..... just saying

The 5gal water heaters are actually pretty efficient if you use an RV type hand held off/on shower head.

We use an 8400 watt generator that will run 2 travel trailers with heating/ac. We bring our water in. I had a two sided small barn built for equipment/utv and generator. Also solar lights for barn and all around camp. Solar technology has improved a great deal as well as lower prices.

Correction it was a 7k lowboy not 4K.

Do you have a link for a good one?

Doc we had something like this but actually hooked it up to a shower. Can’t beat it for the price. Runs off a 5 gallon propane tank. This is an on demand one, does t have a tank.

https://www.amazon.com/Gasland-Port...qid=1555793885&s=gateway&sr=8-54

Key is RV type shower head where you can stop continuous flow.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rheem-P...Use-Water-Heater-XE06P06PU20U0/204318372

Our cabin is 16x20 insulated with wood heat. Power is via 200 watt solar and 400 watt windmill to charge 200 amp-hour of deep cycle battery. 1500 watt pure sine inverter to provide 115 VAC if needed but virtually everything is 12 volt DC. Lights are low power 12V LED. Water comes from the river in 5 gallon jugs. Water gets poured through a homemade gravity sand filter (55 gallon drum full of clean sand) to remove the big chunkies. This water than gets hit with some bleach and left to stand for an hour or two to kill all pathogens. The bleached water is than hand pumped through a 20 inch big blue cartridge filter with a pore size of 0.35 microns followed by an 20 inch big blue carbon block to remove any residual chlorine. Been doing this for 20+ years - never had an issue. With the right set up you can produce almost 10 gpm with the hand pump.

I don't have power or water. For water I have a tote on the side of the trailer for showers and cleaning. It gravity feeds into the trailer when I need it. Trailer has a battery pump to service sink and shower. It is on a stack of pallets. I have another tote that I put in the back of the truck to haul water from home when I need some more. As far as drinking water, I bring bottled water. I also have a 6500 watt generator when I want AC or need elec for anything. -

Most everyone has covered this pretty good. When we had a lease in the Three Rivers area, there was nothing there except and old RV. We used a 200 gallon poly tote on a flatbed trailer for our potable water, with a 12VDC RV water pump and car battery. Electrical was an old Honda 1600 watt generator. Powered lights and would even carry an 8000 Btu window A/C unit in the trailer for super hot days.

Did you treat the water or were you hauling fresh every weekend?

We usually used all the water each trip, but sometimes there was leftover.. Found we could put about 1/2 cup of bleach in the full tank at the beginning, and it was good for several trips if we left it full. never had any issues in all the years we did it.

For water pressure the easiest way is an RV water pump set up to work on demand. At onetime we had a water tower, a 55 gallon barrel on a stand about 6 foot off the ground. We pumped water to it from a tote that we carried water in. Never was concerned about algae, because each trip we carried fresh drinking and cooking water. For a shower we had a GI bucket shower that hung under the tank, fill it at air temperature water and soap down on a pallet under the water tower for all of the world to see, rinse and dry.After a few years we did wall in the area under the tower for some privacy.

For a generator, I really recommend one that runs on propane. It is so much easier, cleaner, and convenient than running gas.

I’ve looked at one that runs both gas/propane but the propane didn’t seem very efficient compared to gas operation. I’m only going to be running one travel trailer so I don’t think I’ll be going the propane option right now.

Ups and down

Propane easiest to store but screwed when you run out and not as economical (for a home is best emergency option)

Gasoline cheapest upfront costs, terrible to store and hell on carb, easy to get more in a pinch

Diesel easier to store then gas and can actually be cheaper then propane if you have ag exemptions. It’s also easy to get more in a pinch.

Kubota lowboy and built in auxiliary tank is way to go. I have two Honda EU 2000 generators also and love them for portability, but For heavy use go diesel

I looked at diesel but at least this year the cost will be prohibitive. I envision using a gas generator mainly because we won’t be out much during the summer (less than 1-2 days a month when we would need the generator basically all the time we are in the trailer), maybe twice a month September/October where you would need the generator most of the time but probably not all, and the winter where I imagine use will be less than 4-6 hours a day. Mainly to watch football/recharge batteries if needed. Out of curiosity, how loud is that Kubota? The inverter generators I’m looking at are attractive because of the low decibel level.

Could be, we only use ours during the hunting season for lighting, phone charging, and a coffee maker. One bbq tank of propane lasts us the whole season so the cost difference in fuel is irrelevant to me. Now if you're often going out in the summer and running A/C or using electric heating in the winter, that could change things. Don't overlook maintenance costs though. Propane runs amazingly cleaner.

One of our camps has no water or electricity.

Gravity flow water from a 25-30 gallon overhead tank into a sink. Haul fresh water to camp 5 gallons at a time.

12V DC (Marine battery and a solar charger) provide lights.

Small propane heaters when heat is needed.

Dad has a small Champion inverter to run his CPAP at night. It will run 9-10 hours on a tank of gas. He runs ethanol-free gas only.

This setup is plenty serviceable.

I run a 6500 watt generator, mainly bought that size for the additional 120 outlets since I run some outside camp lights. It’s big, but it’s also quiet. For drinking water I carry a case with me and for camp water for cleaning I carry 5 gallons with me. We have an outhouse so no real need for running water. I also sleep in a cargo trailer instead of a camper. My trailer is big and rodent free where as the campers on the lease are not

You cant go wrong with the little Honda eu 2ooo. You can get the aux 5-10gal tanks and they will run all weekend and more. Super portable.

Kubota 7k is 62 db, the Honda EU 2k is about 53-60 depending on load.

[spoiler][/spoiler]Thanks Bono, I’d be looking at the 3000iu so I can run my ac off it. The other option is the champion 3400 inverter which has pretty good reviews and a 3 year warranty. Also a remote start which would be nice. There is an aftermarket auxiliary tank setup for it as well.

I have been surprised at how little water we use in our travel trailer set up at our current camp. Mostly use to wash dishes and flush toilet during season, rarely stay longer than 2-3 days that during the winter time I can usually stand myself that long without a shower. We usually buy a case of bottled water and/or a couple gallon jugs for drinking & coffee pot.

I bought one of the blue plastic food grade 55 gallon barrels with bungs for hauling water, think it was $20. I bought PVC fittings to screw into one of the bung holes to make up a faucet port that I could attach a garden hose on to run to the fill port on the travel trailer. I found it to be pretty slow flow with so little drop in elevation from the bed of my truck, so I drilled a hole in the other bung and installed a truck valve stem and used a small portable 12vdc air compressor to put slight pressure into the barrel that worked amazingly well.

I typically take a full barrel around labor day when we are doing work to top the trailer off, then maybe one more time later in the season around the first of the year when the gauge states it's down to about 1/4 tank.

we have electricity at camp ... but in the past, I had a cheap-o 4000w generator that could easily run anything in the trailer including the a/c (just not the a/c & microwave at the same time). And I have also just bought a spare 2nd battery to swap onto the trailer when I arrive. and take the other one home to charge for next trip. This seems to work just fine if you don't need a/c or microwave, but runs all the lights, pump, fridge, etc. just fine.

In Ozona we had neither power nor water. Pretty usual setup. We used small 3.5-4kw gas generators. Some of the longtime members had pitched in and bought a diesel generator that would run their containers. We also had a shower house that had a propane water heater, and on demand RV pump pulling from a caged tote. Had another caged tote on a trailer that we’d fill from the landowners wind mill/tank. We used a submersible pump to pump it from one tote to the other. Always added bleach to it.

In Coleman we had power but no water. Hauled it each time from home in a 50gal barrel with screw off lid, and other six and seven gallon jugs. Pumped it from barrel into RV. This year the whole family went all but one time and we stayed three nights each time. We took showers, too convenient. We went through some water each time.

If I ever get on a place again with no power I’ll take a look at different generators. Propane will at least give me an easier and cleaner fueling option. And inverters will be quieter. I hate the sound of generators all night long.

Someone mentioned the Champion 3400 inverter...that one’s on my short list.

Hunted on a place for 20 years that had a cabin built in the 30's. No running water, no electricity.

We brought water in 55 gallon drums, originally we just had a 10 gal igloo inside but later built a stand with a 55 gal drum on top to gravity feed water into the cabin. If you wanted hot water you heated it on a propane burner. We used coleman lanterns for light and a wind up alarm clock. wood stoves for heat and sweated when it was hot.

Tag interesting stuff here

grew up with our hunting camp having no power or water. Coleman lantern for light and we hauled drinking water in a 5 gallon igloo that we set on a table. Used an old Army teepee style tent with a potbelly stove in the middle, army bunk cots around the outside ... much simpler times and froze my rear off too many times to remember.

Another lease similar on hauling water and had a butane refrigerator that we could keep food cold in for an entire season off one of the large 80 gallon butane tanks, still used Coleman lantern and had a small dearborn butane stove and cook stove ... had a small 10x20 foot building that we made bunk beds out of 2x4 with old cotton mattresses at one end with table, stove & fridge at the other end.

I never knew folks had electricity and running water at their deer camps until I was nearly 20. We always slept in the back of our station wagon or van, cooked over the fire and used a Coleman lantern for light.

A buddy has one of the champion 3400's. He has ran his TT on it for several years now, runs good is quiet etc. Only trouble he has is that if you run much other than the A/C it will overload it and kill it and can be temperamental to start again.

Ditto
This was the norm didn't know there was another way. Water cans, flashlights and lanterns.

That's a lot of outlets BP

Some of my most memorable hunts, especially in the Rockies, was camping without elec and water, sure enjoy those perks now that I'm not 20 tho. As mentioned by most in this thread, there is a work around for almost any level of comfort you want.

Ended up with a Honda inverter 3000iu generator. Saw a barely used one I couldn’t pass on. I’ll tell you, that thing is super quiet.

I’m going on year 4 camping in a pop up camper with no running water or electricity. Pretty much everything you need to know has already even mentioned, but for me the feature I can’t live without is a remote start for my generator. That makes all the difference........ when the alarm goes off and it’s time to get up I can start my generator while still in bed. Then I can turn on my electric heater and let the camper warm up before I crawl out from under the blankets. It sure does come in handy on those mornings when it’s 25 degrees outside.

I have a 32ft fifth wheel, keep in enclosed storage. End of October i pull it to the ranch we hunt on in Oklahoma and set it up. No electricity or water where we camp so haul water from the land owner to the trailer and use a 12v pump to fill the holding tank. Uncle has a small diesel generator/light tower he never uses in his construction business, told us to keep up with it. We usually have 4 or 5 batteries that fit in the battery/storage area at the front of the trailer. Fridge and central air (polar package with heated floor) runs on propane or electric. Usually we fire up the generator when we return from the evening hunt so we can watch football and charge the batteries. The batteries keep the heater going all night. Been doing this for about 10 years or so now with no issues.

I grew up hunting elk and mulies in CO out of tent camps. Lanterns, Coleman stoves and water jugs. Problem solved.

Did the same in Texas for whitetails.

Just do without power, and keep plenty of water in the truck. Hunting or fishing, never really spent any of that precious time indoors.

I also never went more than a couple hours from home, and never stayed out more than two nights.

I gotta get me a camp and some property so i can have your problems:)

Is water and power at deer camp a 1st world problem or a 3rd world problem?

More of a wife and two daughter problem that I want to keep happy. Having AC and enough water to be comfortable will be worth its weight in gold in the fall. As previously mentioned I've picked up a generator that will run a travel trailer. I've sourced a 200 gallon water tank that is meant to store drinking water and resists algae, an on demand pump and we will be set to go there. Not sure if I want to bring water from home or treat well water but either way that isn't a big deal. We are looking good so far but appreciate everyone's input. Hopefully this can help some other folks out as well.

So that is all it takes. I also have a wife and 2 daughters, Lord help me it's hard to convince that woman to come out to the river. Gotta keep em comfy!

No electric...no water...for 20 years..............Was fun but our new cabin is so so so comfy....