Something the Mrs and I have talked about frequently is why folks do not use their own RV bathrooms. Seems like one of the top complaints about RV parks is always related to toilets/showers i.e. dirty, pay for use, public uses them as well as guests etc.... With all of the diseases out there nowadays , the inconvience of having to pack up your toiletries and clothes, and how nice many of the RV bathrooms are nowadays we don't see why anyone would want to subject themselves to a public washroom. Not knocking you folks that don't use your own facilities, just thought it'd be a good topic for a thread.
We use our shower and bathroom in our 5th wheel. But, when we took our 3 sons, they, as well as my husband, would use the campground bathhouses. They always wore shower shoes. Five people waiting to use one shower takes a lot of time. Also, there are a lot of tenters out there, they would need bathhouses.
There are several reasons why we usually use the campground showers. The main reason is that we travel with our 2 cats, and our shower is the only convenient place to keep the cat box. Going to the cg shower is a lot easier than moving that *&$%# box every time. Also although we have a fairly good size bathroom in our motor home, most cg facilities are more spacious and have better water pressure. Additionally my husband likes to run very early in the morning, and he likes to get cleaned up before coming back into the motor home. He also does this because he knows if he uses our shower it will wake me up long before I want to be awake. (Isn’t he a sweetheart?!) Course we have stayed at a few places where we wouldn’t think of setting foot in the bathrooms. In those cases we've moved that %&^# box.
I too, have wondered about that. I see people all around us heading to the showers and to me, it would be terribly inconvenient. When we were at the Grizzly in Yellowstone a month or so ago, I would see the man in the rv next to us, head to the shower every morning He would wear his bathrobe and slippers there and back. I have actually never set foot inside a campground restroom. I hate showers, and fortuneately, our motorhome has a bathtub. It isn't anything like my big jacuzzi tub here at home but certainly gets the job done. I just hate public restrooms in general. I hope that doesn't make me sound like a snob
Personally. I'd rather shower in my own shower. Problem is with most campgrounds that I have been to is the lack of privacy. I was staying at a pricy campground near Dallas Texas that was right off Interstate 35 and I was very uncomfortable using their shower (as my husband says, "burn their propane!") as anyone from the Interstate could just wander in there. It seems to me that it could be a liability if someone was to get assaulted.
I definitely agree with your comments about convenience, cleanliness, privacy, and safety, and we do take a few precautions to achieve these. We try to pick places with highly rated facilities. We prefer and try to find the ones that have individual bathrooms so that you can lock yourself in for safety and privacy. This site is a big help in finding those. Also my husband usually goes with me to the showers and waits outside until I'm finished. Fortunately we're rarely on a tight schedule so we can usually shower at a time when the bathrooms aren't busy making it a bit more private. I sometimes check the cleaning schedule and go just after they have finished. We always use shower shoes, and I take a can of Lysol spray with me. My husband even made me a small portable wooden platform to stand on after my shower. And despite our precautions if the cg facilities are dirty or look unsafe, we use our own. If all this sounds inconvenient, it is a bit. But it is the price we pay for the joys of having our animals travel with us. Truthfully I would rather use my own shower, and if we can ever find a better place for that *%^$# litter box, I'm sure I will do just that. (PS I'm jealous of your tub, Cheryl Fuller. Something to consider for our next RV.)
We use onboard facilities & take long showers, using the parks electricity to heat the water. We don't have a problem with trying to keep the bathroom spotless. When boondocking, the showers are much shorter.
We only use our onboard facilities. Never use showers or bathrooms in RV park. I do check showers and bathrooms in every park we visit so I can write up information in reviews. Someone may need this information to help pick a nice park to vist.
We don't use our mh shower except for storage. I've stepped inside it and it would be very difficult for me (6'5" tall) to take a shower in it. Besides the places we stay the showers are clean and IF we came across one that wasn't, I guess I'd skip the shower until that night at another campground. We always wear sandals and keep them on during our showers. Good question, it's interesting to read other comments on this subject.
As a general rule, my wife uses our shower, while I tend to use the public showers. Getting in and out of the shower in our trailer is a chore for me, with a bum leg, and fitting under the shower head would require me to be either a gymnast or a contortionist. My wife fits nicely in the shower, and uses it with gusto. for me, its Sponge Bob, or the public showers.
Like some others I use our shower and my husband and boys use public. They want to get moving It does depend on location and condition of facilities for my husband. Thanks to this forum and others with campers comments we know before we go usually what to expect.
We use our shower when we are at a full hookup site. But if you did that at just an electric site your fresh water tank would be empty and your grey water tank would be full in a matter of minutes.
d1h: That would depend on the capacity of your rig. We regularly go for a full week, using only the tanks, and enjoying regular water usage (showers, dishwashing, toilet, etc.). We do try not to use excessive water during that period, but do not cut back on anything.
We have a 6-gallon tank and that doesn't make for a very long shower! I have to be FAST. It's not very big either. My husband can't fit into it comfortably. I often opt for the park facilities, assuming they're nice. Try shaving your legs in an RV shower with a 6-gallon tank. Not an easy accomplishment.
While we don't have a shower in our popup we have no problem using the campground showers. We don't stay at places that have bad shower facilities. The key is to take your shower in the middle of the day or very early in the morning before everyone gets up so it's not very busy. Someday when we upgrade we may get a bathroom on board just in case and for boondocking but it's not a priority for us at all.
It's funny, my husband and I were talking about this the other day, but in reverse. We have a pretty small travel trailer, so the shower is minute. I'd rather get the exercise and walk to the shower than clean our little triangle of plastic. I've never felt unsafe in a shower, even at state parks, etc, though I tend not to shower at 3am or stay in places I don't feel safe in general. I use the other bathroom facilities "in the house", but my hubbie, who works from the trailer, uses the walk to the pottie as a break. Sounds like this preference is pretty dependent on the size of your RV. If we had a big coach, we might use our own, but for now it's me and my little green carry all to the showers!
We use the campground showers when there is no sewer hookup. We always wear shower shoes and for the most part I don't find it inconvenient at all. I like to have continuously running water rather than navy showers. I also have thick hair and the force of the campground showers is usually better than our own. I agree with the guy who said 'use their propane' rather than yours. Sandra
Taking a shower in campground facilities has always been a sore spot in my camping experiences. We have had many different configurations of camping units. The last 3 camping vehicles, Tent, Truck camper and a small 26’ RV always had me trucking to the shower house. It was always an exercise in mental preparedness. You never knew what to expect when you got there. You had to pack a duffle bag with all the necessities. You would dread finding, no hangers, no benches, no shower curtains, etc, etc… Once we learned to plan our trips and camping stays around COE parks and Passport America parks that claimed “Clean Restrooms”, the shower situation seemed to be less of a hassle. I have found that you will always find (on holiday weekends) groups of people that have either never seen a shower or don’t respect the needs of others that may follow them into the bath house. Also, parents allow their kids to just go and trash the restrooms or anything they come in contact with. This is especially true with State Parks. They have the worst kept bath houses of all the campgrounds we have stayed. I avoid them at all cost. We finally sprung for a MH with a stand-up shower. How sweet it is to take a nice hot shower and come out and dry off in an air-conditioned area and stay dry. I figure I deserve this luxury at this stage in life. Happy camping, oldcutup
We just bought a travel trailer with a 6 gallon water heater. It will be good for short showers where you get in and get wet then turn the water off while you lather up and turn it back on to rinse. I will have no problem using it but it is still nice to be able to take a more relaxed shower at a campground facility. It is always nice to know what their restrooms are like. I mean if their restroom are trashed all of the time what is the rest of the park going to be like?
