Boondocking - Fact, Fiction, and Must-haves.

[DG822]

Hi Everyone!

New to the community but addicted to reading the threads and learning from everyone!

My husband and I are planning to begin full-timing and boondocking as much as possible this Fall. We are looking to be as energy efficient as we can (I’m sure we will have many hiccups, and will refine the process throughout our trials - but I find it best to be as prepared for what may come)

I wanted to reach out and ask what are some of the facts/fiction of boondocking that you’ve heard/experienced?

Also what have you found are the must-haves for boondocking/full-timing? Do you need to be fully loaded up on solar panels or can you get by with a portable set?

Thanks in advance!!

[SCOTTinNJ]

Not to be smug, but you need to balance incoming watts with outgoing watts. So if you use a lot of power you'll need a lot of power. We get by pretty well with 400w of solar on the roof and a 300 ah lithium bank. Others can manage with half that while still others need double.

Good way to start is to calculate your expected loads. Will you be running TVs, computers, non LED lights? How about heavy loads like microwave and induction cooktop?

Then go from there.

We also carry a 2000w generator but I've only used it to loan to neighbors thus far. That's also a good way to start.

[SCOTTinNJ]

This is a bit outdated but it paints a good picture.

http://www.advodna.com/2015/02/consi...ar-on.html?m=1

[Len n Jeanne]

There are many threads on boondocking on this site that will hopefully make entertaining winter reading.

We don't have solar power (yet) but, with a 19-foot trailer, we upgraded to 2 really good 6-volt batteries, with a Honda 2000 generator. We've gotten water, waste water tanks, and power conservation down to an exact science. When we're away from the AS for the day, we often shut down the main battery to conserve power.

I do have a battery pack recharger for my cell phone and Kindle, but if you're really boondocking you may not have cell phone service.

Then a lot depends upon where you plan to go camping. A lot of winter snowbirds in the Southwest camp on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land that is either free, or close to it, especially if you have a federal government seniors pass, which gives you half fees for camping in public lands if you stay in a campground.

I don't know if you'd consider some of these primitive campgrounds boondocking or not: your site basically contains a gravel pad, picnic table, and fire pit; with a pit toilet over yonder. There may be no drinking water or sani-dump on site.

We usually travel with a really good first aid kit, extra water in jerry cans, a bucket, ax or hatchet, shovel, maybe a saw of some description. If you boondock in popular areas, you will definitely have company; but if not, it is important to be self-contained and prepared for difficult road conditions.

A good rule of thumb is that if you really count on something, bring along a back-up in case the main system konks out. For example, we've had electrical problems that basically meant we had no lights. Solution: extra flashlights & lanterns.

If you are old backpackers or canoe trippers, you have a lot of good ideas and skills already. If not, maybe start off in a more primitive campground managed by the state or federal government, and see how you get on.

[pteck]

Something rarely talked about for boondocking, but is way up there in must haves.

Real boondocking involves some offroad travel. One of the best things you can do for the rig, TV and airstream, is to air down the tires. Conservative to ~70% of their on-road pressures (can air down more if you're comfortable). This will soften the ride for passengers, TV, and trailer dramatically to avoid bouncing and shaking apart the trailer. It also protects the tires from punctures and point loads as they can now distort to match the terrain. It's also super important for flotation in situations like sand.

In order to air down, one has to air up. So one should have a good compressor, that clamps directly on the battery posts in order to have sufficient power/performance to air up 8 tires in a reasonable amount of time.

Separately, water and water management is ultimately the constraining resource.

[TheGreatleys]

Solar according to your needs. We have 400 watts and only a 100 AH AGM at the moment (still saving up for that lithium bank). It works fine as long as we have a good view of the sky and don't have more than two cloudy days in a row. It doesn't work well in the forest, which limits our stays in certain locations. We don't have a generator, but that could certainly help supplement in certain situations.

Enough water to get you through however long you plan to stay. For extended camping, you either need to move your rig to fill, or need a means to transport water, either Jerry cans or one of those water bladders for your truck bed.

Extra gray water storage is nice, since you can't always just percolate it into the ground. Full gray tanks is usually our deciding factor for when we need to move our rig.

Most people seem to consider it an extravagance, but our dishwasher helps save us a ton of water while boondocking. It runs just fine on our solar, and makes full time living feel a lot less like camping.

A composting toilet will extend your ability to stay, since you aren't tied to a dump station. Otherwise, you'll need to move your rig when the tank is full, or use a blue boy to haul out your waste.

Rubber boots. Boondocks are frequently muddy, and rubber boots are easy to slip off as you step in the door.

One of those trash grabber wands. Free camping tends to attract people who don't respect the land, and since it's free, there's often nobody to clean it up but other campers. With a grabber, it typically takes less than an hour to thoroughly clean your immediate area. In most places, if people spent half as much time picking up trash as they do complaining about it, there would be no trash.

If you're winter camping, a powerful dry heat source is a must. We love our wood stove, but wood heat isn't for everyone. A propane furnace is a reasonable heat source if you have easy access to refills in the area, and you have enough electricity to spare. A direct vent propane fireplace can also be a good choice. Electric heat with a generator would work, but electric heat on solar, like A/C on solar, is usually a nonstarter without a massive array.

[Acheron2010]

YouTube is your friend, where there are numerous video blogs on Airstreamers that boondock.

[Shermy1987]

Its as simple as this. Load up with food and water and go do it. you'll work out all the rest along the way.

[Len n Jeanne]

Shermy, I have no doubt that your boondocking trips have worked out great with minimal prior planning. Since we like heading out to places where the nearest town is a long ways off, and cell phone service poor-to-non-existent, we think some prior preparations are essential.

pteck, I don't know where you boondock, but on a lot of public lands, true off-road driving for any distance is not only prohibited to protect the resource, but nearly impossible towing a trailer due to rocks, vegetation, &c. A lot of folks do take the dirt back roads, for sure, where your cautions about tires apply and seem really helpful.

We have limits as to how badly we're willing to beat up the truck and Bambi, so we're more apt to look for graded roads with sites accessible from them. We can always drop the trailer and take the truck for more of an adventure..

On grey water disposal-- we have to figure on it being contaminated. But we've been known to put grey water into a bucket, walk a long ways off into the bush, and then dump it discretely. Better yet, we have a minimal water dish-washing system, wash dishes outside in plastic tubs when we can, and then discard this water in the vegetation. If really isolated, it's kind of fun to use the outdoor shower. For a long stay in a really isolated situation, it might be best to set up adiscrete outdoor latrine, properly covered with dirt before leaving.

Yes, to bringing some way of dealing with prior slob campers' trash-- not to mention cow pies on BLM lands. A bucket, work gloves, shovel, and extra trash bags can be really helpful in tidying up an otherwise good site.

The Greatleys-- do you have a composting toilet? Can you say something about it?

[TheGreatleys]

Originally Posted by Len n Jeanne

Shermy, I have no doubt that your boondocking trips have worked out great with minimal prior planning. Since we like heading out to places where the nearest town is a long ways off, and cell phone service poor-to-non-existent, we think some prior preparations are essential.

pteck, I don't know where you boondock, but on a lot of public lands, true off-road driving for any distance is not only prohibited to protect the resource, but nearly impossible towing a trailer due to rocks, vegetation, &c. A lot of folks do take the dirt back roads, for sure, where your cautions about tires apply and seem really helpful.

We have limits as to how badly we're willing to beat up the truck and Bambi, so we're more apt to look for graded roads with sites accessible from them. We can always drop the trailer and take the truck for more of an adventure..

On grey water disposal-- we have to figure on it being contaminated. But we've been known to put grey water into a bucket, walk a long ways off into the bush, and then dump it discretely. Better yet, we have a minimal water dish-washing system, wash dishes outside in plastic tubs when we can, and then discard this water in the vegetation. If really isolated, it's kind of fun to use the outdoor shower. For a long stay in a really isolated situation, it might be best to set up adiscrete outdoor latrine, properly covered with dirt before leaving.

Yes, to bringing some way of dealing with prior slob campers' trash-- not to mention cow pies on BLM lands. A bucket, work gloves, shovel, and extra trash bags can be really helpful in tidying up an otherwise good site.

The Greatleys-- do you have a composting toilet? Can you say something about it?

Yes, we have the Air Head and use it full time. What would you like to know?

[Len n Jeanne]

Thanks-- like installation. We're not so handy, so we'd probably see if our nearest AS mechanic would do it.

Did you order yours from the manufacturer?

Does it require a power source or minimum temperature to operate efficiently? Winterizing?

OK, sorry to get down-and-dirty about this, but the product is what it is.

Is this the kind of composting toilet where you have to bodily separate one's "liquids" from "solids" while "in the act" for it to work properly? (How easy for women of a certain age and weak bladders?) I did find this: https://airheadtoilet.com/the-air-head/female-friendly/

And frankly, it's not just with boondocking in mind. We've had two icky-poo problems at campgrounds: one with hookups and the other at a sani-dump, partly due to a black water tank diagnostic that doesn't correlate well to the actual tank level; and also due to a poor waste-water hose connection.

Funny, my husband just offered to buy me some nice jewelry for an upcoming birthday. Would I seem unappreciative or non-romantic if I asked for a composting toilet instead?????

Jeanne

[TheGreatleys]

Len n Jeanne - In order to avoid hijacking DG822's thread, I'm going to answer your questions on my build thread here:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f265...on-179352.html

[blkmagikca]

Originally Posted by Len n Jeanne

Thanks-- like installation. We're not so handy, so we'd probably see if our nearest AS mechanic would do it.

Did you order yours from the manufacturer?

Does it require a power source or minimum temperature to operate efficiently? Winterizing?

OK, sorry to get down-and-dirty about this, but the product is what it is.

Is this the kind of composting toilet where you have to bodily separate one's "liquids" from "solids" while "in the act" for it to work properly? (How easy for women of a certain age and weak bladders?) I did find this: https://airheadtoilet.com/the-air-head/female-friendly/

And frankly, it's not just with boondocking in mind. We've had two icky-poo problems at campgrounds: one with hookups and the other at a sani-dump, partly due to a black water tank diagnostic that doesn't correlate well to the actual tank level; and also due to a poor waste-water hose connection.

Funny, my husband just offered to buy me some nice jewelry for an upcoming birthday. Would I seem unappreciative or non-romantic if I asked for a composting toilet instead?????

Jeanne

I have the Nature's Head composting toilet which I had Brian (Dorchester RV) install for me. It was ordered via Amazon. Brian, at our direction, modified the installation so that the liquid waste (urine) gets piped back into the black holding tank; a new Valterra waste valve was attached to the end of the waste pipe so that by leaving the original gray valve and black valve open we now have a combined gray tank of 65 gallons. As well, we no longer waste precious fresh water flushing the toilet.

There are several youtube videos showing how this was done.

[pteck]

Originally Posted by Len n Jeanne

pteck, I don't know where you boondock, but on a lot of public lands, true off-road driving for any distance is not only prohibited to protect the resource, but nearly impossible towing a trailer due to rocks, vegetation, &c. A lot of folks do take the dirt back roads, for sure, where your cautions about tires apply and seem really helpful.

I can only speak for California. Outside the major cities, there are swaths of BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land where one can boondock off the beaten path. Many with fire roads. Mostly tame, but often can get rutted out, sandy, or corrugated. The latter which can really beat up the trailer if rode on for any duration without airing down.

Especially in sand, one must air down or run the risk of sinking in AND bogging down the TV causing that to also sink in. We have places like Pismo Beach (imagine desert on the beach) where one can RV. Many many newbies towing RV's get stuck here. Lots of fun videos to watch on youtube. Universally, it's because they don't air down -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnT0ob0pDOs

[vintageracer]

A few GOOD Battery powered tools with charger such as an Impact for tire service, drill/driver for repairs and a small chainsaw for trails/wood when "bookdocking".

A pair of "Maxtrax" can be invaluable when stuck out in the middle of BFE.

https://us.maxtrax.com.au/

You will be surprised how often you will use all of these battery powered tools when camping in da "Boondocks"!

[wulfraat]

Originally Posted by SCOTTinNJ

Not to be smug, but you need to balance incoming watts with outgoing watts. So if you use a lot of power you'll need a lot of power. We get by pretty well with 400w of solar on the roof and a 300 ah lithium bank. Others can manage with half that while still others need double.

Good way to start is to calculate your expected loads. Will you be running TVs, computers, non LED lights? How about heavy loads like microwave and induction cooktop?

Then go from there.

We also carry a 2000w generator but I've only used it to loan to neighbors thus far. That's also a good way to start.

I agree - power is the biggest item to address for boondocking - all depends how much you want to cut back on amenities, what those amenities are and what you need and like to glamp in comfort. Everyone is different.

It took us 8 years to find our sweet spot - which turns out to be a lot of power [emoji4] 600ah of lithium batteries and 800w of solar.

We enjoy the airstream with always on full residential power for everything - we don’t need to sacrifice even when we are in the middle of nowhere.

Before you spend $20-$30k on a huge power system - take your time and get a good generator. Use it. Evaluate your needs. Take it slow. You may be just fine with 2 small batteries and a generator. You may want more. Go out and camp - only your personal experience, needs and wants will determine how to evolve on your journey.

I’m jealous - I’ve got another 10-20 years before I retire [emoji4] have fun, airstreams are awesome.

[Len n Jeanne]

Thanks, guys!

[TouringDan]

Originally Posted by wulfraat

Before you spend $20-$30k on a huge power system - take your time and get a good generator. Use it. Evaluate your needs. Take it slow. You may be just fine with 2 small batteries and a generator. You may want more. Go out and camp - only your personal experience, needs and wants will determine how to evolve on your journey.

I completely agree with the above statement. We don’t use much power. We have camped the last few years with a 1,000 watt generator, 2 golf cart batteries and a 1,000 watt inverter. With our 1,000 inverter, we can power cell phones, tv, hair dryer on low, toaster, fan and rice cooker (and anything else heater upper). We have gone a week camping in the forest without using our generator. We have recently upgraded to two lithium batteries, a 2,000 inverter and 200 watts of portable solar. The only advantage to the 2,000 watt inverter is that we can now run the microwave. Start small and upgrade as needed. Only you can determine what will work for you and what you will need.

Dan

[Mollysdad]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwm06C23sLw

[gator.bigfoot]

I can do up to 3 weeks with 300 watts (sun or shade). The limiting factor is the black tank. Once it's full I'm out. Mind you the food only lasts 3 weeks as well. I don't need a chainsaw, microwave, induction stove, 27" TV, toaster, or coffeemaker. Just piece and quiet. I do use the TV occasionally and listen to the stereo softly in the evenings. But mostly it's about getting away with nature and losing all the "stuff" that seems to complicate our lives.