How Do You Blow Dry Hair while Dry Camping

[47WeeWind]

. . . in a strong wind . . .

[GMFL]

If DRY camping..... why is your hair WET?

[mpsgolf]

You're supposed to wash your hair!?

[Rocinante]

I huff and I puff, and I blow her hair dry!

Seriously, if blow-drying your hair while boondocking is critical to your enjoyment, you're gonna need more amp-hours in the batteries, solar on the roof, and a decent inverter...or a generator you can run while doing the hair.

[JimGolden]

We use a Honda EU2000i generator. Does just fine

[runswithdogs]

Ok, you all can laugh, but when you've got lots of hair, a hairdryer is a pretty helpful. There's a low power one tucked away in our AS for winter use. Will use the truck's 120 outlet when OTG.



Even though I much prefer to air-dry, I still can hear my grandmother's admonishment about running around with wet hair when it's cold: "you'll catch your death!!"

[Piggy Bank]

I know there are lots of "why bother" comments, but if you get cold easily, then sitting around waiting for you hair to dry for hours and hours is not very comfortable in cool weather.

It's not just a vanity question, it's a matter of comfort, of not getting sick, of falling asleep vs shivering all night.

I tend to use the plug in the campground bathroom if it's really hot out and I don't want to turn off the AC in the trailer. Most places we have camped even if there is no power at the campsite have power at the camp bathrooms.

If you truly are off-grid, then I would just plan on using the generator.

[MHammy]

I found a hairdryer that plugs onto the cigarette lighter on my car at Windish RV in Denver.

[76sovereign]

The table below lists the typical current used by must standard 110-VAC appliances.
If you are using a 30 amp hookup it's easy to see why the breaker might trip while using appliances.

Air Conditioner- 12.5 Amps

Coffee Pot, Electric- 9 Amps

Crock Pot– 1 to 2 Amps

Food Processor– 8 to 10 Amps

Frying Pan (Electric)- 8 to 10 Amps

Hair Dryer– 10 to 15 Amps

Iron– 10 Amps

Oven, Microwave– 10 Amps

Refrigerator 2 to 4 Amps

Toaster– 8 to 10 Amps

TV, Digital- 1 to 2 Amps

Vacuum (handheld) 2 Amps

Water Heater, 6 gal 8 to 12 Amps

These numbers are average numbers and vary by type of appliance, but you can see how they can add up and you can exceed your breakers current capacity if you are not very careful.

[AirMiles]

Originally Posted by tburnand

This is a ladies question usually. How do you blow your hair dry while dry camping? I don't want to look like the wicked witch from the north. I do have a butane curling iron that is really great.

I'm going to try to seriously answer this question because my wife had the same question and I did some testing.

My wife's hairdryer will "work" when plugged into our 1000W inverter circuit and set on low heat and low fan speed. Using these settings, the hairdryer takes about 700 Watts of power.

Now 700 Watts of power is a significant load when it is supplied by a 12 Volt power source. The formula is 700W divided by 12 Volts equals 58 Amps. A stock set of batteries will not have a very long life span when repeatedly subjected to a 58 Amp load while dry camping. The stock Airstream batteries only have 84 AH of storage. A pair will have 168 AH of storage. 168 divided by 58 rounds to 3, which is called a C3 discharge rate. This is a very fast discharge rate for a battery. Even a C8 discharge rate is considered fast. To get to a C8 discharge rate would require 480 AH of battery storage. 480 AH of storage is equal to four 6V golf cart batteries. In my opinion, to power a hairdryer without significantly shortening battery life, 480 AH of battery storage would be the minimum. Then you also need a method of recharging those batteries on a daily basis, such as a 400W solar array or a generator.

Maybe some of the suggestions of a shorter hairstyle, or using a generator, are reasonable solutions!

Further reading http://solarhomestead.com/battery-amp-hour-ratings/

[tburnand]

Thats good to know. Luckily we don't use all those electric appliances, but still worth noting. Thank you.

[switz]

Solar panels are marked with a laboratory theoretical capability. But they are at best capable of generating about 75% of that value. Thus my nine 100 watt solar panels installed on our 31' Classic on a bright day with the sun directly overhead could generate around 675 watts. I have seen 705 watts once. The discharge rate is immaterial to our 600 amp hour lithium battery.

We can see 375 to 380 watts out of our five 100 panels installed on our 2015 23D. The 300 amp hour battery (lighter than the two stock Interstate batteries and about the same foot print) can handle this discharge rate mentioned above.

Note that lithium batteries can be discharged nearly 90% versus the 40 to 50% of lead acid or AGM batteries.

[Len n Jeanne]

From the Tuff Luv Department:

So don't wash your hair at night, when you'd have to sleep on it wet. Just during early daylight hours. Then just let it air dry. So what if it doesn't look 100% as wonderful as with a blow drier-- if you're dry camping, do you really care? Just hum a few bars of "Born Free."

If by chance you run into anybody you know while your hair is still wet and they raise an eyebrow, tell them you've just been swimming. They may raise the other eyebrow if you're desert boondocking at the time, but do you really care????

If you're winter camping and don't want your wet hair to freeze, pull on a knit cap. Come to think of it, if you're covering your hair with a knit cap, you can let your hair go a lot longer without washing, because nobody will see it.

I don't suppose you'd have to put on makeup, too????? Nail polish???

From the Back of Beyond,

L & J

[Rocinante]

No need to be unpleasant about it, eh?

[Len n Jeanne]

Originally Posted by Rocinante

No need to be unpleasant about it, eh?

Sorry- my idea of camping humor.

[rmkrum]

Rotflmao!!!

[Piggy Bank]

L & J-Sorry that was not funny to me. I give you the benefit of the doubt that you meant as a joke since I have known you on here a long time and know you are well-meaning.

No shaming please.

How to blow dry hair while camping is a real problem, not a made-up one by people who don't have better things to do.

[karenjude]

I agree Piggy Bank. You asked a question about a need you had and so many replies were judgemental or made a joke of it. I’m glad you also got some helpful answers.

[Overstreet]

Originally Posted by bganso

Try this:

Well wife used to turn the AC fan on high in the truck and point the vent vanes her way. Takes about 18 miles to get an OK'ish dry on medium short hair.

Of course the question might be, IF boondocking can you afford to use the water to wash the hair in the first place? Another answer to that is use the dry wash available at the drug store we used to use on hospice patients. It made them feel better to have clean hair but we couldn't get them to the water, blow dryer, etc. All those cleaned better, but it is an option.

[HHPJ]

A lot of Streamers go Solar...