Quartzsite LTVA questions

[calico]

I'm preparing to spend about 4 months in Quartzsite next fall/winter, so a couple of questions.
I have been watching YT videos about every day and one of the common complaints I'm hearing is about the wind and cold. I am leaving the northeast to go to what I thought would be warmer and sunnier temps (I was originally planning to go to the Philippines). Is the wind and cold in Quartzsite typical that time of year?
Which leads me to my next question.
I have an Aliner Expedition which has all of the amenities, except an indoor shower. There is an outdoor hose and shower head. I planned to erect a shower tent but I understand the rules prohibit the discharge of grey water, which is in contrast to the many shower tents I've observed used and discussed in the YT videos I've watched. Is this one of those rules that is generally not enforced? I'm aware that there are shower facilities in town and I do plan to utilize them, but I had hoped to do so only as a supplement to my own camper shower, and particularly on them COLD days.
As always, any insight is greatly appreciated.

 

[RvNaut]

It is all relative. Dec-Jan the lows *can* be in the 30's but no lower, little chance of a freeze hard enough to be a concern, and highs in the 50s to 60s with an occasional 70....

 

[eDJ_]

In the AutoServices portal link below there is now a section on Newspapers as so many are online free now days.
You could learn of news, weather, and developments ahead in your travels through this.

Newspapers: USA UK Global

Here is the paper for the Quartzsite, AZ area:

Desert Messenger com

 

[maki2]

Quartzsite is not in the “tropical” weather zone of the USA. But in no way does it resemble winters in the Northeastern USA or even winters in Northern Arizona. Tens of thousands of RVers come here because the weather is pretty decent. Storms come along sometimes but they come in from different directions. The ones from the North bring colder air, the ones from the South and West do not. Storms from the East are very uncommon.

Unless it is very windy or rainy lots of people are outside, walking around and enjoying the days. Today in Quartzsite at midday my little travel trailer go so hot inside I needed to open the windows to cool it down inside. I do like having some extra heat in the early mornings or in the evenings in December and January. Many times just making breakfast or dinner is enough extra warmth and I do not need to turn on my diesel heater.

Yuma Arizona being further South is about 5 degrees warmer than Quartzsite Arizona. There is an LTVA near there as well as one over further west of Yuma near El Centro, California. El Centro area is about 7 degrees warmer than Quartzsite. There is also a LTVA about halfway between Quartzsite and Yuma. But those LTVAs are further from towns and do not have as many amenities available in them. So choose your priorities, warmer weather or more conveniences. Your LTVA pass lets you stay at any of them as well as move between them.

 

[maki2]

LTVA and shower tents. There are lots of shower tents around at the Quartzsite LTVA areas. What they do enforce is making people who do not have obvious holding tanks in their rig camp within approximately 500’ of a vault toilet. There are some LTVAs that are strictly for self contained rigs as they do not have any vault toilets at them.

 

[tx2sturgis]

You can enjoy outdoor camp showers in the LTVA but you kinda need to be at least somewhat discreet about it.

If you set up a privy tent and heat some water and take a shower on Monday, and think that will be fine until Thursday, then it's not a bad idea to take down your privy tent and not advertise to the rangers that you are flaunting the rules. A large puddle of soapy water is not what they want to see.

Having said that, many campers leave privy tents and easy-ups the entire time.

 

[Tony's Dream]

Cold is a relative term. I just spent a few days at Quartzite and I found the temps comfortable. Yes it was cool in the morning, but it was something I could live with. Most days started out with sweat pants and by mid day I was wearing shorts.

 

[Malamute]

The weather, watch it for a while. it looks pretty darned nice to me.

https://www.weatherforyou.com/report/quartzsite-az
Does anyone use evaporative basins for their grey water?

 

[rruff]

The weather, watch it for a while. it looks pretty darned nice to me.

I recently spent a couple weeks camping SW of Terlingua TX, and had a couple nights in the teens and highs in the high 40s... and wind. The bag and blankets were fine at night, even warm enough that getting dressed in the morning wasn't bad (it was 30 in the camper). I eventually turned on a propane stove and used a few ounces of propane to heat the place til it became tolerable outside.

I've seen conditions that cold when I camped NW of Tucson many years ago, but never in the southern CO river valley.

 

[Malamute]

I moved to the Northern Rockies almost 35 years ago. I used to go visit friends in Az in the winter, but its been 25 years since ive done that. Im pretty sick of winter at this point. Im determined to never spend another winter in the N Rockies again.
First my supply line to my kitchen water heater froze up, then my main water line,..and broke, then my drain line to the septic system froze, so i cant use the sink to wash up and do dishes in even heating water on the stove or woodstove. Im done with this. Barely freezing at night and shirtsleeves in the daytime looks pretty good.

 

[bullfrog !]

After all the thread title is about LTVAs but I have used a cheap Harbor Freight blue tarp folded over on the edges as a catch basin and allowed it to dry. Usually only takes a few minutes especially if you soak up puddles with a microfiber towel. The less drying time the better as bees and other flying insects really seek out wet areas.

 

[maki2]

The weather in the Philippines sounds nicer

 

[calico]

The weather in the Philippines sounds nicer

Yes, it is, and after watching too many videos of people dressed in heavy jackets and wrapped in blankets, "rainouts," and dust storms due to the high winds, I've decided to switch course and head to the Philippines and do some island hopping in shorts, t-shirts and flip flops. (Condos and hotel rooms are already reserved and paid for, which means I'M GOING.)
My number one hobby is saltwater fishing and I spend a significant amount of money each of the warmer months enjoying it. BUT, no matter how much I enjoy it, when the temps start to drop I simply will not go.
It's somewhat sad because I was actually looking forward to going to Quartzsite, almost as a "bucket list" type of thing. But I know myself well enough to know what makes me happy, and what causes me regret.

 

[maki2]

Next year you could head to Baja California for some salt water fishing. “Baja California” is the name of one of the states in the country of Mexico. You can drive there in an RV and stay right in the beach in your own RV. It is a “thing” the fishing enthusiasts like to do every winter instead of hanging out in dry as a bone Quartzsite looking at a bunch of rocks.

 

[RonDean]

Next year you could head to Baja California for some salt water fishing. “Baja California” is the name of one of the states in the country of Mexico. You can drive there in an RV and stay right in the beach in your own RV. It is a “thing” the fishing enthusiasts like to do every winter instead of hanging out in dry as a bone Quartzsite looking at a bunch of rocks.

I am not usually worried about much but... according to the US State dept. (see below) Are they wrong? Honestly, I don't know.

Do Not Travel To:

• Colima state due to crime and kidnapping.
• Guerrero state due to crime.
• Michoacan state due to crime and kidnapping.
• Sinaloa state due to crime and kidnapping
• Tamaulipas state due to crime and kidnapping.
• Zacatecas state due to crime and kidnapping.

Reconsider Travel To:

• Baja California state due to crime and kidnapping.
• Chihuahua state due to crime and kidnapping.
• Durango state due to crime.
• Guanajuato state due to crime and kidnapping.
• Jalisco state due to crime and kidnapping.
• Morelos state due to crime.
• Sonora state due to crime and kidnapping.

Exercise Increased Caution When Traveling To:

• Aguascalientes state due to crime.
• Baja California Sur state due to crime.
• Chiapas state due to crime.
• Coahuila state due to crime.
• Hidalgo state due to crime.
• Mexico City due to crime.
• Mexico State due to crime.
• Nayarit state due to crime.
• Nuevo Leon state due to crime and kidnapping.
• Oaxaca state due to crime.
• Puebla state due to crime and kidnapping.
• Queretaro state due to crime.
• Quintana Roo state due to crime.
• San Luis Potosi state due to crime and kidnapping.
• Tabasco state due to crime.
• Tlaxcala state due to crime.
• Veracruz state due to crime.

 

[calico]

Next year you could head to Baja California for some salt water fishing. “Baja California” is the name of one of the states in the country of Mexico. You can drive there in an RV and stay right in the beach in your own RV. It is a “thing” the fishing enthusiasts like to do every winter instead of hanging out in dry as a bone Quartzsite looking at a bunch of rocks.

I have actually thought about that, except that I want to be somewhere where English is widely spoken and, yet, not a tourist trap.
I still want to do Quartzsite but as I just retired last May, sun and warmth (something I thought I'd find in abundance in Quartzsite) is a priority for me right now.

 

[rruff]

I am not usually worried about much but... according to the US State dept. (see below) Are they wrong? Honestly, I don't know.

If you don't worry much, then no reason to start....

I haven't been to Baja since '96, and since my favorite isolated beach has been overrun I'm not real excited about it. But back then the teenagers with machine guns (the grossly underpaid federales) were the most annoying factor. And I had a few 2nd hand accounts of the arbitrary nature of the law... shake downs and outright theft... though that didn't happen to me. I was with my girlfriend at the time (who actually spoke a bit of Spanish) which surely helped.

Don't know what it's like now... but I do think it's a good trip to take at least once. I saw some amazing things while camped on the beach (east side). I think Dec is best since the water in the Sea of Cortez will still be warm enough for comfort.

 

[rruff]

I have been watching YT videos about every day and one of the common complaints I'm hearing is about the wind and cold.

Some people will bitch about the wind and cold if it's below 80 and not totally calm....

This time of year, Quartzite's average temps will be high 60s for the high and low 40s for the low. And the average wind looks like this...

It's calmer in winter than pretty much any place in the US... and sunnier and warmer of course. But it will occasionally be freezing and windy.

 

[Morgana]

It would be interesting to know more about those State Department ratings. NOT to suggest they're unreliable, just, for example, there's a big difference between tourist areas and back streets, also between seasoned travelers and clueless folks who treat traveling like one giant Disney theme park.

From a different angle, I've been looking at crime maps for the town I'm thinking of moving to (in the States), and thinking "omg those are all red zones" and then I looked up the town I'm currently living in (very peacefully and feeling reasonably secure) and guess what I'm in a red zone already. How to interpret this info and use it wisely = a challenge.

A lot of border areas do have high crime but the criminals also tend to give tourists a pass because people recognize that if the tourists go away the money dries up. A lot comes down to common sense, just like it would in New Orleans or New York or any other attractive but high-crime US destinations.

Not sure where you could find lots of people speaking English in a /non/touristy area. Belize maybe?

 

[calico]

Not sure where you could find lots of people speaking English in a /non/touristy area. Belize maybe?

Umm, the Philippines. Although there are many dialects spoken throughout the country, English is considered the 2nd language and taught in the schools. Quite frankly, it's the main reason I decided to go there; the beauty of their islands being second.