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View Full Version : The Bucket List... trying to find 101 RV/Camping uses for a 5 Gallon Bucket


Radio
06-11-2015, 05:33 PM
101 Campground/RV Uses for a 5 Gallon Bucket.

OK, I lied. I don't have 101. But I'm off to a good start.

1. Fire fighting – never have a fire without a bucket of water handy.
2. Furniture – as a chair or stool if turned upside down. Way more comfortable if you make a padded seat top for it.
3. Furniture – as a footstool.
4. Musical instrument – drum.
5. Rain collector – placed under RV downspouts or under the run-off corner of the awning. Rain collection and proper filtration can extend a boon docking trip.
6. Bait container – for minnows and so forth.
7. Caught fish container – bring the catch home in a bucket.
8. Animal transporter – turtles, snakes and such. We once rescued a half dozen baby bluebirds and took them to a shelter in a bucket.
9. Trash can – fits neatly under the trailer.
10. Emergency toilet. Put a trash bag in it if you want to use it for anything else later.
11. Kindling container.
12. Grey water tote. Many parks have grey water dumps scattered among the sites.
13. Organizer. We keep wooden leveling blocks together in the truck bed in a bucket. You can organize about anything by sorting stuff into buckets.
14. Awning ballast – fill a bucket with anything heavy and tie a rope to it as an anchor for awnings or anything else you don’t want blown away.
15. Bath house transporter – put your clothes, towels and toiletries in a bucket and take it with you to the bath house. Also good to sit on getting dressed (or in the shower) if you need that sort of thing.
16. Vermin resistant container – keep bugs and rats out of dog food and just about anything else.
17. Bear resistant container – if suspended properly above ground.
18. Child resistant container – I once saw a kid pitch a tantrum because whatever it was he wanted was in a bucket suspended from lantern hook. And some buckets have lids that are difficult for adults to remove, much less kids.
19. Washing machine – clothes, dishes, whatever fits.
20. Water warmer – a dark colored bucket will warm water a bit if left in the sun.
21. Mop bucket
22. RV wash bucket
23. Charcoal controller – to keep an open bag of charcoal in one spot and not all over the cargo bay.
24. Liquid spill controller – to keep liquids (and maybe powders) from accidently spilling in the cargo bay, or elsewhere, like charcoal starter, citronella oil, pesticides.
25. Fruit gathering bucket – in case you find wild blackberries or even some free peaches.
26. Target for Frisbees or bean bags.
27. Step stool – not recommended but doable.
28. Storm shelter for lantern or a shore power connection.
29. Wet umbrella holder.
30. Muddy shoe container.
31. Dump station aid – when there is no garden hose a bucket can rinse the black tank by dumping down the toilet, and rinse off the concrete pad as well.
32. Extra cooler capacity – ice down a few drinks in a bucket if your chest cooler is full.
33. Emergency Gear tote - when the tornado warning goes off and you have to head to the shelter. Then you can sit on it while the storm passes. No one else will likely have a chair.

And that's where I hit the wall. You're gonna have to help me get to 101.

NN5I
06-11-2015, 09:21 PM
A friend (W4DSW) told me he was working on his bucket list, but quit when he found out it isn't spelled with an "F".

coupevillefish
06-11-2015, 10:22 PM
34. Sewer hose storage. That's how I transport the extension.

ke0me
06-12-2015, 08:38 PM
dang, I was going to say that!

However, I have a story about that. Was merrily driving down the road about 60 mph, into a decent headwind. Bucket with sewer hose in back of truck bed, which is open since we have a 5th wheel.

You see now this isn't going to end well.

I guess the extra headwind caused additional lifting vector forces because the next I heard is a big rattle as the hose gets sucked out of the bucket and onto the freeway (I-10 in west TX I think).

The guy in the left lane fortunately was far enough back that he was able to avoid it, but I'm sure that was a real surprise for him. Next stop was Walmart for a replacement unit.

I don't carry the hose in the bed anymore, its inside the trailer, but I take extra effort to be sure it's rinsed out really really good before I store it.

Radio
08-10-2015, 06:33 PM
If you need a good $2 bucket (that holds 5 gallons, food grade) then head to Firehouse Subs. If there is a franchise in your area they sell their 5 gallon Official Pickle Buckets for $2 each. The money they raise goes to injured fire fighters, purchase of equipment like Jaws of Life, that sort of thing.

And they are bright red!

RCDON
08-11-2015, 09:27 PM
#?? Keep your rope lights in it.
# Store your electric cords in it
# suspend a light socket from the bail so that the bulb is about 1/2 way to the bottom, tie a light rope to the bail, toss the other end over a branch and you have a nice moon light for the after dark get together.

wa8yxm
08-12-2015, 01:12 PM
Now that is the kind of bucket list I like epically the first entry.. I use a pressure bottle myself but hey.. I'm often under a lot of pressure :).

Oh, Awning weight... one word of caution.. the bucket (used as an awning weight or as a tripod anchor) needs to be in contact with the cround.. If the bucket can swing in the wind, it may do more harm than good.

NN5I
08-12-2015, 01:30 PM
I often turn one upside down to use as a seat. Very handy, say, when replacing a burner orifice in a propane water heater. Surprised that wasn't in the original list.

Radio
08-13-2015, 03:29 PM
See #2.

NN5I
08-13-2015, 05:24 PM
See #2.

Uh, yeah.

Radio
08-28-2015, 12:29 PM
So last week I went to Firehouse Subs and got me a swell Philly Cheese Steak sandwich.

I also picked up 2 of their 5 gallon pickle buckets. Brought them home and there was a little puddle of pickle juice in the bottoms. No big deal. Rinsed them out with the hose out in the yard and set them up on the back deck to dry.

The back deck smelled like pickles, or worse, for a week.

Brought the buckets in and gave them a good scrubbing with dish soap in the bathtub. Set them out on the back deck to dry.

Now the buckets, the deck and the bathtub all smell like pickles.

I was hoping to use them for home, camping, emergency prep type stuff because the lids have a dandy rubber seal. But alas, unless I can get rid of the aroma, they will be relegated to the garden, I think.

Maybe a soaking for a few days in a bleach solution would help.

NN5I
08-28-2015, 05:43 PM
Try leaving them out in the sun for a while. If that doesn't do it, try distilled white vinegar for cleaning. If that doesn't work, ammonia. If that doesn't work, you're in a pickle.

Radio
08-28-2015, 05:57 PM
Try leaving them out in the sun for a while. If that doesn't do it, try distilled white vinegar for cleaning. If that doesn't work, ammonia. If that doesn't work, you're in a pickle.

They are soaking in a bleach and dish soap solution now. And they are outside on the deck waiting for the sun to reappear.

I don't think I need more vinegar... :whistle:

NN5I
08-28-2015, 06:00 PM
You could always try a fifth of Old Granddad. Don't waste it on the bucket -- just get pickled.