Heated Camp Shower vs. Powered Cooler/Freezer/Fridge

[Nickel]

Hi All - looking for opinions.

Current situation on solo trips:

1. I have a RTIC soft sided cooler that I can get 3 days, sometimes 4 depending on weather and how often I open it
2. I have a home made pressurized camp shower that works fine but to get hot water I usually have to boil 3 pots of water (my camp cookware is small for packing light)

I am looking at investing in one of the following - can only afford one:

1. Self contained, heated, pressurized camp shower like RinseKit Pro
2. A power camp cooler, refrigerator

If you were to splurge on one over the over, what would it be?

 

[Longshot270]

Hi All - looking for opinions.

Current situation on solo trips:

1. I have a RTIC soft sided cooler that I can get 3 days, sometimes 4 depending on weather and how often I open it
2. I have a home made pressurized camp shower that works fine but to get hot water I usually have to boil 3 pots of water (my camp cookware is small for packing light)

I am looking at investing in one of the following - can only afford one:

1. Self contained, heated, pressurized camp shower like RinseKit Pro
2. A power camp cooler, refrigerator

If you were to splurge on one over the over, what would it be?

For me, electric fridge is the easy answer. I’m in Texas where I can get a scalding hot shower 9 months out of the year by leaving a shower bag in the sun.

Getting a 40qt Iceco gives me the useful space of my old 100qt cooler in a smaller footprint.

 

[MMc]

I have a bunch of super chests (4) and I am slow to replace with a refrigerator. If I was your shoes now it would get a refrigerator and a way to keep it powered.

 

[Downs]

Since we're coming up on spring/summer. Get the fridge now as it will be way more useful in the short term. Then put back money to get your heated shower when cold weather rolls back around later in the year.

 

[smritte]

Fridge.
I use my shower for longer trips. I do more short trips, hardly use the shower. Never having to deal with ice has been a game changer.

 

[brien]

I agree with the other responses, fridge is the easy answer. Switching from cooler to fridge was one of the single greatest upgrades we did to our setup. It's just so much less hassle once you don't have to deal with ice bags, in addition to all your food staying dry instead of eventually soaked in cold melted ice water, you also get a ton more usable space for food since it's not taken up by ice. Even if you were to get a fridge smaller than your current cooler you will end up with much more storage space. another bonus is that you can bring warm things (think bottes or cans of soda/beer/water/etc) and cool them down in the fridge as you consume and create space.

 

[trail_runn4r]

Hi All - looking for opinions.

Current situation on solo trips:

1. I have a RTIC soft sided cooler that I can get 3 days, sometimes 4 depending on weather and how often I open it
2. I have a home made pressurized camp shower that works fine but to get hot water I usually have to boil 3 pots of water (my camp cookware is small for packing light)

I am looking at investing in one of the following - can only afford one:

1. Self contained, heated, pressurized camp shower like RinseKit Pro
2. A power camp cooler, refrigerator

If you were to splurge on one over the over, what would it be?

Between the fridge and shower, definitely the fridge. I can avoid showering for many days but I definitely want to eat!

Also what's your budget?

 

[Kent R]

Hi All - looking for opinions.

Current situation on solo trips:

1. I have a RTIC soft sided cooler that I can get 3 days, sometimes 4 depending on weather and how often I open it
2. I have a home made pressurized camp shower that works fine but to get hot water I usually have to boil 3 pots of water (my camp cookware is small for packing light)

I am looking at investing in one of the following - can only afford one:

1. Self contained, heated, pressurized camp shower like RinseKit Pro
2. A power camp cooler, refrigerator

If you were to splurge on one over the over, what would it be?

Refrigerator hands down

 

[Nickel]

Also what's your budget?

Depends on my bonus check at work that I get next month!!

I realized after I posted this that I forgot a minor detail that I don't have a battery like a Jackery or similar to power the fridge, so I would need to get both.

My budget is more inline with a ~500 watt hour battery but I know that I will instantly regret not getting something larger so would aim for a 1000 watt hour. I don't bring many gadgets with me so powering a fridge is likely all I need. I've done some back of napkin math and talked to some others that since they tend to drive some each day they get buy with 500 watt hour since it recharges while they drive. I am similar and rarely stay in one spot multiple nights, but that could change!

Also thinking that having the battery I might do more cold weather camping and can power a heated blanket or heating pad so there is more power that is needed.

All good points on the fridge over heated shower.

 

[Dave in AZ]

Depends on my bonus check at work that I get next month!!

I realized after I posted this that I forgot a minor detail that I don't have a battery like a Jackery or similar to power the fridge, so I would need to get both.

My budget is more inline with a ~500 watt hour battery but I know that I will instantly regret not getting something larger so would aim for a 1000 watt hour. I don't bring many gadgets with me so powering a fridge is likely all I need. I've done some back of napkin math and talked to some others that since they tend to drive some each day they get buy with 500 watt hour since it recharges while they drive. I am similar and rarely stay in one spot multiple nights, but that could change!

Also thinking that having the battery I might do more cold weather camping and can power a heated blanket or heating pad so there is more power that is needed.

All good points on the fridge over heated shower.

With a battery or power station, math is everything.
1. You need a power station, not a battery. Although a battery is much cheaper, even along with a build your own power station box. With dc use only you could get a battery, but more complicated.

2. Fridge. 30L say, plan 30W run power, you likely will do better but plan for 30. So, overnight camping say 14 hrs at 30w per hour is 420 Watt-hrs.
3. Dc elec blanket. I just tested mine, and used in 32f overnight also. Max power was 66W, med 45W, low 28W. They run for 30 min to an hour then shutoff, you have to turn on again usually. So say 66W, 8 hrs, 528 Watt-hrs.
4. You're gonna want to run some LED lights and recharge a cellphone, say 4 hrs, 200 Watt-hrs there.

Total is 1148 Watt-hrs, which at 95% efficiency for DC use only, you need 1208 Watt-hrs. A 100Ahr 12v battery supposedly has 1280 Watt-hrs. I would be looking at a 1500 Watt-hr power station if you want to be able to run a heating blanket a bit.

Alternatively, you can get by with 1000 Watt-hrs or so on low blanket.

Here is an electrical audit from a 14 hr night last night, 32f, with a diesel heater, popup truck canopy camper. Fridge was in truck cab, so didn't use any power at all to stay cold in the 45f to 32f night.

Thread 'Overnight 14hr Canopy Camper energy use (Tune M1)' Overnight 14hr Canopy Camper energy use (Tune M1)

 

[Nickel]

With a battery or power station, math is everything.
1. You need a power station, not a battery. Although a battery is much cheaper, even along with a build your own power station box. With dc use only you could get a battery, but more complicated.

2. Fridge. 30L say, plan 30W run power, you likely will do better but plan for 30. So, overnight camping say 14 hrs at 30w per hour is 420 Watt-hrs.
3. Dc elec blanket. I just tested mine, and used in 32f overnight also. Max power was 66W, med 45W, low 28W. They run for 30 min to an hour then shutoff, you have to turn on again usually. So say 66W, 8 hrs, 528 Watt-hrs.
4. You're gonna want to run some LED lights and recharge a cellphone, say 4 hrs, 200 Watt-hrs there.

Total is 1148 Watt-hrs, which at 95% efficiency for DC use only, you need 1208 Watt-hrs. A 100Ahr 12v battery supposedly has 1280 Watt-hrs. I would be looking at a 1500 Watt-hr power station if you want to be able to run a heating blanket a bit.

Alternatively, you can get by with 1000 Watt-hrs or so on low blanket.

Here is an electrical audit from a 14 hr night last night, 32f, with a diesel heater, popup truck canopy camper. Fridge was in truck cab, so didn't use any power at all to stay cold in the 45f to 32f night.

Thread 'Overnight 14hr Canopy Camper energy use (Tune M1)' Overnight 14hr Canopy Camper energy use (Tune M1)

Good stuff, appreciate the detail.

 

[Rgmaguire]

I was in the same spot a while back using an Orca cooler with purple freezer things and boiling water to put into my Nemo foot pump shower. Worked great, but I switched from backpacking to overlanding for a number of reasons, and comfort was one of them. Overlanding seems all about the $$$, so it does depend on budget. I first went with a fridge since I use it every day during a trip, and my food choices are much more stable and don't either freeze solid with those amazing purple blocks or thaw out when too far away. Domestic 35 CFX makes me happy. But, I did just this year replace my Nemo with a RinseKit Pro as you are pondering. Did I need either? Certainly not. But they sure are the next step in convenience, and the RinseKit does dishes, cleans the windshield, washes hands, etc. as well as rocks the shower. Mea culpa - I picked up a heater as well, so I doing boil water anymore either. Good luck!

 

[Rgmaguire]

One other thing about a battery. Goal Zero is moving on from the 'X' series batteries to a new version, so prices are dropping on their batteries. I mention then because you can also pick up a Yeti Link that lets me charge my batter directly from the alternator at, not kidding, 600 watts when driving. I don't worry at all about electricity now. Yes - a battery/link is $$, a shower is $$, and a fridge is $$, but you can also save quite a bit by forging a lot of the other available overlanding comforts and have really nice basics. Again, good luck.

 

[Downs]

If all you're running is a fridge, a 500wH battery should be plenty for one or two nights. If you're charging between sites then even more good to go. DC Blanket? I'd say that's probably not a common consumer of power for most people. You're in SOCAL, so I don't see a big call to run an electric blanket, having lived in San Diego and Lakeside for 3 years. Keep in mind, the fridge doesn't run constantly. It cycles like your fridge at home, so it may consume 30-50 watts while running but won't do it for the full time you're camping. It greatly varies based on external temps.

Testing I did with a no name Amazon fridge combined with a Jackery 300 until it was down to 25% power, and temps confirmed with a thermal camera, showed 8 hours of run time in a 140 degree enclosed Jeep XJ, 11 hours in a 95 degree space and 2 days straight in a climate controlled 70 degree space.

My Jackery 300 has worked fine for me with recharging between campsites. Like you, I rarely camp in one spot for too long. 500 would be great for a bit of buffer. 1000 or more is a luxury in the use case you described.

 

[Nickel]

I was in the same spot a while back using an Orca cooler with purple freezer things and boiling water to put into my Nemo foot pump shower. Worked great, but I switched from backpacking to overlanding for a number of reasons, and comfort was one of them. Overlanding seems all about the $$$, so it does depend on budget. I first went with a fridge since I use it every day during a trip, and my food choices are much more stable and don't either freeze solid with those amazing purple blocks or thaw out when too far away. Domestic 35 CFX makes me happy. But, I did just this year replace my Nemo with a RinseKit Pro as you are pondering. Did I need either? Certainly not. But they sure are the next step in convenience, and the RinseKit does dishes, cleans the windshield, washes hands, etc. as well as rocks the shower. Mea culpa - I picked up a heater as well, so I doing boil water anymore either. Good luck!

How are you liking the RinseKit Pro and the heater? I was looking at that, Kakadu, or Joolca (Spelling is butchered). I like that the Rinsekit is all self contained. Water, water pressure, heater with external power source).

For heating, do you use the 12v adapter or do you use the trailer hitch power cord? I'm trying to understand the trailer hitch. Do people plug it in and then route the cord up into the bed and heat the water while driving?

Seems most of the reviews I have read say they worry about the hose being a crimp fitting. But, I live right near their offices and I see repairs are $40 (website implies that is regardless of what is broken?). If I ever had an issue I can drop it off for repair and save on shipping back and forth.

 

[Rgmaguire]

How are you liking the RinseKit Pro and the heater? I was looking at that, Kakadu, or Joolca (Spelling is butchered). I like that the Rinsekit is all self contained. Water, water pressure, heater with external power source).

For heating, do you use the 12v adapter or do you use the trailer hitch power cord? I'm trying to understand the trailer hitch. Do people plug it in and then route the cord up into the bed and heat the water while driving?

Seems most of the reviews I have read say they worry about the hose being a crimp fitting. But, I live right near their offices and I see repairs are $40 (website implies that is regardless of what is broken?). If I ever had an issue I can drop it off for repair and save on shipping back and forth.

Hey Nickel, thanks for asking. Like you, I tended toward the RinseKit over the Joolca and BougeRV because it had its own tank, battery, and pump, which is perfect for me. I haven't tried the 12 volt heater because I have a 7-pin trailer plug, and the supplied flat chord lets me hook it up and run it through the tailgate without much issue. So long as you have at least your running lights on, it will start heating. It does work, but you kind of need to shower an hour or two of your drive or you'll need to heat it a bit more. Can't have everything, right? However, I also ended up getting the propane kit, and that's luxury given it's crazy fast and only when I need it. The routing of the hose is a little odd, and I bet they change that at some point. I've not had issues, but the awkwardness of it does seem a strange solution given how everything else is really well thought out. It's not a flimsy connection, so the thought it might fail seems minimal. I did like my Nemo, but this is so much more useful for how I overland. Hope this helps.

 

[Bwarren86]

Hi All - looking for opinions.

Current situation on solo trips:

1. I have a RTIC soft sided cooler that I can get 3 days, sometimes 4 depending on weather and how often I open it
2. I have a home made pressurized camp shower that works fine but to get hot water I usually have to boil 3 pots of water (my camp cookware is small for packing light)

I am looking at investing in one of the following - can only afford one:

1. Self contained, heated, pressurized camp shower like RinseKit Pro
2. A power camp cooler, refrigerator

If you were to splurge on one over the over, what would it be?

I love my fridge freezer combo

 

[Outdoordog]

Personally, I never showered on long camp trips, luckily I don't have body odor (Asian thing), and I'll use body wipes (hospital kind works best).
Fridge is much more useful IMO.

 

[danwyandt]

Hi All - looking for opinions.

Current situation on solo trips:

1. I have a RTIC soft sided cooler that I can get 3 days, sometimes 4 depending on weather and how often I open it
2. I have a home made pressurized camp shower that works fine but to get hot water I usually have to boil 3 pots of water (my camp cookware is small for packing light)

I am looking at investing in one of the following - can only afford one:

1. Self contained, heated, pressurized camp shower like RinseKit Pro
2. A power camp cooler, refrigerator

If you were to splurge on one over the over, what would it be?

I would absolutely go for the fridge setup.
My wife and I went for years just heating up water and using a privy tent. Also used some kind of wash towels, "Sudz" maybe?
Having food stay cold and DRY while being able to replenish drinks to get cold is awesome. Not to mention, you can carry much more in the same space when ice isn't taking up room.

We have since added a Geyser shower system, and a truck mounted privacy tent.

If I had to do it all over I would still go fridge-first.

 

[Soapy]

A fridge freezer setup would be my first choice. You might be tempted to get one with a ice maker, don't. It wastes space for the little use you get out of it. And do not get to big of fridge freezer. Get a smaller unit that has a freezer option. If you need more storage space use the freezer portion to freeze water bottles then put them in a small cooler that you can put your food in. As the water unfreezes put new frozen bottles in the cooler or drink the thawed out ones. i have a 5 gallon rinse kit which works fine but I also just bought the new Bouge RV water heater/pressure unit that is one unit and has a battery that you can charge for the pump like the rinse kit.