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Truck Camper Forum _ Boon Docking _ Garbage storage?

Posted by: Desert Rat Sep 17 2009, 03:09 PM

As we find ourselves taking longer and longer boondocking trips, where to "put the garbage" until we return to civilization is becoming a bit of an issue. After a few days in the forests near the Grand Canyon, we had to air out the truck cab before we could get in, as we put our bagged (and tied, but not tagged) garbage up there to keep it out of the way.

Where does everybody put their trash until they can stash it in the roadside barrel?

Posted by: garbinator Sep 17 2009, 05:24 PM

QUOTE(Desert Rat @ Sep 17 2009, 01:09 PM)
As we find ourselves taking longer and longer boondocking trips, where to "put the garbage" until we return to civilization is becoming a bit of an issue. After a few days in the forests near the Grand Canyon, we had to air out the truck cab before we could get in, as we put our bagged (and tied, but not tagged) garbage up there to keep it out of the way.

Where does everybody put their trash until they can stash it in the roadside barrel?
*



Its part of meal [planning. Non-metalic means burn in the campfire. The rest I wait till the hours of darkness then stuff cans etc etc into my buds garbage can as he always has enough room to carry out both of our garbage. laugh.gif But seriously, we always limit out cans to plastic (Reusable w/lids) or Styrofoam. It may-not be in accordance with the EPA, but then They ain't around when empties get tossed into the fire. Aluminum cans can be stuffed in an old cotton or potato sack and tied to the ladder.

Posted by: Desert Rat Sep 18 2009, 03:01 PM

QUOTE(garbinator @ Sep 17 2009, 03:24 PM)
Its part of meal [planning. Non-metalic means burn in the campfire. The rest I wait till the hours of darkness then stuff cans etc etc into my buds garbage can as he always has enough room to carry out both of our garbage. laugh.gif  But seriously, we always limit out cans to plastic (Reusable w/lids) or Styrofoam. It may-not be in accordance with the EPA, but then They ain't around when empties get tossed into the fire. Aluminum cans can be stuffed in an old cotton or potato sack and tied to the ladder.
*



Well, I can see that, but often we don't have a fire to burn stuff in. I suppose we could shove garbage in a gunnysack and tie it to the ladder, but I daresay it might be a bit attractive to some wildlife we might not want in camp!

Posted by: garbinator Sep 21 2009, 02:39 PM

QUOTE(Desert Rat @ Sep 18 2009, 01:01 PM)
Well, I can see that, but often we don't have a fire to burn stuff in.  I suppose we could shove garbage in a gunnysack and tie it to the ladder, but I daresay it might be a bit attractive to some wildlife we might not want in camp!
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Sometimes there are no alternatives. But to burn. The other would be to bury your trash. But if your caught it would involve a hefty fine possibly even arrest as it could fall under environmental pollution laws within national parks monuments etc etc. I would never do it just because the hole would have to be rather large and I do not visit the wilderness so as to dig my time away.

When we head out I usually take an old washing machine tub with us to act as our fire pit. Most of the time I pull a featherlite all aluminum trailer so as to have the extra hauling room for extended stays. Yes they can be a maneuver problem, but offer plenty of area to haul wood out into the desert "pack-it in pack it out" etc. Being as light as they are, the trailer is easily removed by one person and maneuvered around to where you need it to be. In the desert during late afternoon to dark we us it a a patio deck. Never unhooking means running a 1X12 from the trailer to the camper bumper. It gives us the safety of being above any snake visits. The shinny aluminum easily reflects the moonlight, making even the tiniest detail visible.

Some years we have infestations of rattlesnakes. Sorry didn't mean waddle off topic here...

Posted by: Uncle Bob56 Nov 30 2009, 04:18 PM

Putting it in the fire is really the only way that I have never done it or wait for the roadside can.

Posted by: kevbo Oct 6 2010, 08:04 PM

Put it on the roof. Tie it down when you put it up there so you don't forget when you break camp. Garbage is light, and it is about the only thing I have found works well to carry on the roof.

Posted by: redrocker Oct 7 2010, 12:56 PM

QUOTE(kevbo @ Oct 7 2010, 01:04 AM)
Put it on the roof.  Tie it down when you put it up there so you don't forget when you break camp.  Garbage is light, and it is about the only thing I have found works well to carry on the roof.
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Put in in the bathroom till you see a trash can
that way you can wash the room next time you
take a shower

Posted by: Saskguy Mar 26 2011, 11:06 PM

QUOTE(redrocker @ Oct 7 2010, 12:56 PM)
Put in in the bathroom till you see a trash can
that way you can wash the room next time you
take a shower
*



I just use a strong glad EXL bag for each type of trash ie tin in one, paper in the other et cetera. The bags sit on the ground just outside the door. In my camp on as long a leash as possible is my King Charles Spaniel. We have been in bear country in northern Saskatchewan and I have never had a problem. In my lifetime i've only had one situation with a bear while camping. The King Charles chased it away. Bears and other wildlife don't want to mess with this bred of dog. It isn't that this bred is fierce but it will chase anything that moves and annoy the he'll out of it.

Posted by: Bird Dog Apr 6 2011, 05:30 PM

My solution to the garbage problem migh be a bit of over kill but it also solved many other problems: I stick my garbage and anything else I don't want in the camper or the truck cab in a big box on a camper porch I bought from an outfit called goboondocking.com

Posted by: Bird Dog Apr 15 2011, 07:27 PM

Here's a picture of the very expensive garbage can:

http://i1115.photobucket.com/albums/k547/lsligar/th_CamperPorchAdwords.jpg

Posted by: Velma92 Apr 17 2012, 06:42 AM

Well! It is very nice and not big garbage can. I think it worth to pay for it this amount of money.

Posted by: kategrin611 Jul 5 2012, 08:52 AM

In my lifetime i've only had one situation with a bear while camping. The King Charles chased it away. Bears and other wildlife don't want to mess with this bred of dog.

Posted by: Night_Sailor Mar 1 2013, 08:31 PM

My camping style is a lot like my sailing style. I like to go far off the beaten path and have maximum hang time. The farther I go, the more interesting things I see in nature.

At home I burn wood for heat and everything possible gets tossed in the fire. Burning is the only reasonable method when sailing or camping, as garbage piles up and is difficult to dispose of some places. Some yacht cruiser just dump their garbage on docks. I offer to pay people to take it. I don't believe in simply dumping it.

When sailing offshore, I use an empty gallon size coffee tin, with holes punched in it all around and on the bottom, big enough to stuff a propane torch, and for airflow. It is fast and easy but does need to cool and be stored in a bucket where it won't make a mess. These tins get to be pretty nasty after a while, so I toss and start over again with a new tin.

Regarding burning, I use a wire to support the tin and click on the torch. Burning plastic stinks a bit, but plastic can't ever be thrown overboard, like paper or left-over food. Often I'll wash plastic bottles out, crush and reseal them, and store in in the anchor locker on shorter trips. That works if you can keep it separate. It is far better to burn it though as space is always tight and newbies always mix the garbage with the plastic. Large plastic kitchen bags are ntoo big to burn. Ideally, you want to burn bucket big enough to hold a half full paper grocery bag. Pull out the bag, half filled is best, drop in the burn bucket, nice and neat. Have two places to store trash in your camper, both the same size so materials can be sorted into burn right now and can burn later. If they are small you might find it easy to simply toss them.

While driving, it is better to have these small bundles of trash, I use Home Depot plastic bags for this sort of thing. They can be tossed almost anywhere--service stations, department store parking lots, etc. No one objects to someone toss and tiny bag in a dumpster. They don't want you to be doing wholesale dumping, so spreading it out makes it unnoticeable. These small packages can be disposed of more easily as they fit in trash can's with narrow openings.

While sailing, I am pretty religious about not bringing things on-board that will have to disposed of later. For example, cereal boxes. I bring the plastic not the cardboard. I bring only the minimum of plastic--things that cannot be repackaged. I sometimes repackage foods into resealable stainless steel containers or more durable Tupperware. I have a few nice plastic containers with lids suitable for cereal and dry goods that seal really well and store compactly. I am a master at organizing space and containers.

All this is applied to my camping philosophy. I bring as little disposable packaging as possible, although I tend to be less concerned about paper.

I am restoring a Barth truck camper at the moment. I removed the heavy noisy furnace, the old water heater, and everything else. I plan to install a very small Sardine wood stove for heat, hot water, and cooking in the winter, and use that year round for burning of trash.

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