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Old 10-02-2012, 02:25 PM   #1
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Name: Graeme
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Water Heater????

So we're deciding on what we need for our egg Boler 17'. We are thinking we will take out the shower but leave the toilet. This leads us to thinking I may take out the water heater as we would only need it for dishes.

Any thoughts. We are in Canada and will primarily camp at provincial parks where there are comfort stations etc...

I'd like to get some thoughts before progressing to pulling stuff out.

BTW This forum is awesome!!! I don't know where I'd be without it. Although I was on it before I bought and I probably would never have bought an egg without it!
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Old 10-02-2012, 02:36 PM   #2
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I have a Coleman outdoor on demand water heater. It works great. It is kinda bulky, so you may not save much space vs. the built in one.
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Old 10-02-2012, 02:38 PM   #3
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What's the upside? Weight saved. More stowage. What if you suddenly develop an insane need to washes dishes. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, but this man tends to get rid of only the stuff that just does not work rather than all the stuff that doesn't always "work for me" in a certain situation. If it works, I let it live til it doesn't.

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Old 10-02-2012, 02:38 PM   #4
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Tea Kettle

Eventhough we have a gas water heater we use an electric tea kettle for all our hot water needs. It is very light and stores above the stove or sink. Provides more than enough water for cooking instant stuff or cleaning dishes. If you don't shower in the trailer it is all you need if you have electricity.
http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach...ric+tea+kettle
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Old 10-02-2012, 04:28 PM   #5
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A pan on or tea kettle on the stove is all I need to make coffee, instant oatmeal, and wash a pot or two. No dishes to wash for us most of the time, disposable works just fine. No electricity for us either.
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Old 10-02-2012, 04:33 PM   #6
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Your going to gain two square feet of storage and, loose $1000 in valve.
I wouldn't, one can talk themselves into a tent if enough tell then too!
I wouldn't trade my hot water and shower for anything.
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Old 10-02-2012, 05:05 PM   #7
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Wow $1000 in value really? I would not have thought that given that the unit is 1979 original equipment. We may rethink the shower and heater but not for resale value as we're doing this as a trailer to keep after the kids are gone and we want to travel with it.
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Old 10-02-2012, 05:25 PM   #8
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You have a jewel of a trailer, 17 footers don't grow on trees.
People are wanting trailers like yours. I looked for two years for a Boler 17 and couldn't find one.
I'm sure you paid a premium for that heater and shower, use it.
We don't use our shower often but, I'm glad I have it when we need to.
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Old 10-02-2012, 06:45 PM   #9
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I decided a long time ago to leave all the appliances in my trailer.. even the ones I don't use at all.. or often. I was reminded, that I was fortunate to own a fully self-contained trailer and if I ever needed to bug out... because of loss of electricity (especially in winter), fire, earthquakes, wind damage, etc. etc. I'd have a comfortable place to sleep/rest or live. I had never thought of it in those terms, but it make sense because none of us has a crystal ball about what the future may hold and we know Mother Nature can get really angry at times. We have several members that have had to leave their homes for various critical reasons...

YMMV.
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Old 10-02-2012, 07:26 PM   #10
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My two peices of advice or really my thoughts:
1) It appears you just bought your trailer, use it and make sure you don't want the water heater before you remove it. I know when we first got our Boler we had ideas on what we thought we wanted but those ideas changed.

2) It is your home away from home .... do what works best for you
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Old 10-02-2012, 08:04 PM   #11
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There are two trains of thought on the topic of showers and hot water tanks. Some people never camp anywhere there isnt power or showers, often those folks only have a few weeks at a time of travel. There is whole other group who are able to take off for a few months or more at a time and they tend to want to have a trailer that is set up to give them the greatest amount of flexablitiy when doing long trips. It may be they decide that a quck sleep over on the road at a freeway rest stop is needed - its very nice to be able to get up in the morning and have a quick shower before hitting the road. Then once you get into certain areas people are going to point you to some nice and often free or cheap camping spots - but the odds are there are no showers. You may also find yourself in some areas where the cost of a shower is high. For example in Death Valley a shower was $3 or $4 dollars - starts to add up if you stay for more than a day or two.
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Old 10-02-2012, 08:16 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by Carol H View Post
There are two trains of thought on the topic of showers and hot water tanks. Some people never camp anywhere there isnt power or showers, often those folks only have a few weeks at a time of travel. There is whole other group who are able to take off for a few months or more at a time and they tend to want to have a trailer that is set up to give them the greatest amount of flexablitiy when doing long trips. It may be they decide that a quck sleep over on the road at a freeway rest stop is needed - its very nice to be able to get up in the morning and have a quick shower before hitting the road. Then once you get into certain areas people are going to point you to some nice and often free or cheap camping spots - but the odds are there are no showers. You may also find yourself in some areas where the cost of a shower is high. For example in Death Valley a shower was $3 or $4 dollars - starts to add up if you stay for more than a day or two.

As shower every day is not a necessity of live. You're not going to die if you don't have that daily shower. If you were you're grandparents would never have lived long enough for to exist.
Look around for alternatives. A sponge bath with a little water heated on the stove uses a lot less water and what it needs to do. Even better is "Fresh Bath" body wipes work very nicely. Wet wipes will do in pinch. I don't have an on board shower, hot water heater or toilet and have been out for almost 100 days at a time. You what, I'm still alive without that daily shower.
I usually use hand sanitizers rather than wasting water washing hands.

I wonder how anybody can manage without a water hookup?

I have to refill my fresh water tank in about 10 day, by then I've used 10 of 12 gallons the tank holds.
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Old 10-02-2012, 08:33 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Crackedegg View Post
Wow $1000 in value really? I would not have thought that given that the unit is 1979 original equipment.
Don't think in terms of 1979 depreciated value, think in terms of today's replacement cost. Every 1970s era appliance that is still functioning is is worth what buying a new one to replace it costs.
I have witnessed several situations over the years where removing equipment wound up being counter-productive.
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Old 10-02-2012, 08:47 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman View Post
As shower every day is not a necessity of live. You're not going to die if you don't have that daily shower. .
LOL not me! I cant wake up without a shower in the morninig even if its just a very quick scamp one. Even a simple sponge bath works better if you have a hot water tank and a shower head to rinse off quickly with. Being a long term kayaker and back packer I do know about the alternatives but I purchased a trailer with a water heater and a shower to avoid them when possible - not to say I dont ever do the alternatives. I also do go without water hook ups all the time. Can get by for a fair number of days even with my quick showers without having to top off the water tank using portable water totes.
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Old 10-02-2012, 09:37 PM   #15
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I really like having a hot water tank and a shower. We often camp without hookups and I like being able to turn on the tap and get hot water. Easier than heating the kettle on the stove and also puts a lot less steam into the trailer which can be a problem in certain climates like the damp Pacific Northwest (a blessing in others though, like the desert). We also have a shower and while we don't use it very often it has come in really handy a few times. When we get to a campground we light the water heater and then we turn it off once we break camp. The water will stay hot all day long even in pretty cold weather. I too think you should use your trailer a bit before you decide to take out the heater and shower. We were just up in Canada and stayed at two Provincial parks while there. One had no hook ups of any sort and just pit toilets. The other was the same but had flush toilets. We appreciated having our own toilet, shower and hot water heater in those situations.
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Old 10-03-2012, 03:44 AM   #16
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I have never used my hot water heater in any of my last 5 rigs over the past 15 years. That being said I would never consider taking it out mostly for resale reasons. If you pack up and just can't live without that extra space do it, but don't butcher it where it would be difficult to put back in when needed.
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Old 10-05-2012, 06:52 PM   #17
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Awww Crap now I don't know what I want!!! Actually I think I'll be taking it out... Although it will depend on whether or not we can find a cheap bathroom as the one we have is cracked and will need to be replaced.
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Old 10-05-2012, 07:13 PM   #18
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You can absolutely fix the floor pan. If that's the only thing cracked... anything fiberglass can be fixed. That's what makes eggs so terrific!
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Old 10-05-2012, 08:02 PM   #19
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ok,if you want to hear what others have to say I will add my 2cents worth. We have boomdocked with the campers and tents.Used different ways to heat water...took showers in the camper & in the shower tent...gone without showers & just washed up some or as we said in the "ole days...took a spit bath" .We have had campers without bathrooms & without hot water heaters.As you know you can very well do without both.Right now we have both. Do we always use them NO! Would I take any part of them out to gain space? NO,No and No......I often do not light the hot water heater unless we are going to shower. I use my coffe pot to heat water for the few dishes we have.That way I get my pot cleaned & HW to do wash dishes,by the time it is ready for rinse them I have another pot of HW ready as well as a clean coffee pot.
My thinking is that if I did not have the HW heater I would just carry more stuff that I most likely would not ever use.Those 2 items I could use every day if I want to ( or am boomdocking)

So I have to agree with DonnaD....keep it...or with the others that said camp in it one year(or season) then decide if you need the space for stuff or want to keep it as is. It is your home away from home you need to know how it feels and works for you before you make any major changes.

Happy Camping
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Old 10-05-2012, 09:35 PM   #20
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I certainly can't imagine taking a shower and hot water heater out of my trailer, but to each their own. Not a big boondocker, but the times we have, it's so easy to heat a kettle on the stove and step into the shower to wash off with a kettle of hot water. With the shower and hotwater heater you have options, without your options are limited to the services provided by the particular campground!


But agree with other's, camp with it for a season, before taking drastic measures.
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