Boondocking, what you need to know. What is Boondocking you may ask? Boondocking is camping in your RV without the use of hookups. It is also known as dry camping, camping off the grid, and of course Boondocking. So, when your boondocking, all of your power water and sewage must be self-contained within your RV. Now this is typically not a problem for an RV as most RV’s are built with this premise in mind. “Self-Containment” So camping off the grid or Boondocking is just using your RV’s built-in capabilities to be self-contained.

Every RV is going to be different in how it handles dry camping. The ability for your RV to go without hookups will greatly depend on your tank sizes and your conservation efforts. Of course if your RV is a Class A or a 5^th wheel then your capabilities for dry camping are greatly increased, as these RV’s tend to have the largest holding and fresh water tanks; along with a good supply of propane too boot. If you’re in a TT (Travel Trailer) or drive a Class B or C then your ability to stay off the grid is more modest.

When we were selecting our RV four years ago, one of our criteria was for the RV to be able to dry camp for at least 7 days. Now that is a tall order for a Class C RV. In our old RV The best we could get was four days before we had to dump and take on fresh water. So with the new RV it was important to get large tanks. Our conservation abilities were well honed after years of camping, so it was up to the RV to help increase our camping days. Now Our RV does not have the biggest tanks available in a Class C, instead they are mid-road with the gray tank, black tank, and water tank maxing out at 45gal each. But that also meant that we would have room to refill the fresh water tank when empty once, and we would still have room in our waste tanks. There were a few other things to consider like power, batteries, solar. The RV at the time did not have good batteries, or an inverter (essential for off grid power), no solar, but did have a decent sized generator (just a little bit noisy). These things could be fixed; the tank sizes were the critical thing because you can’t change out your tank size without great difficulty if at all.  In the end after adding new batteries, an inverter, and solar, we find we can now camp off grid for a period of 8 days before we have to dump and take on water. Which is perfect! because by the end of 8 days we are ready to move on to the next adventure anyway.

Of course getting to those 8 days of camping bliss takes a few tips and tricks to know how to conserve and use your RV’s abilities to their maximum potential. Here are a few ideas on how to Boondock better.

 

• Buy an RV that is ready to Boondock: Now most RV’s are ready to boondock on some level, but most will not have an inverter installed or extra batteries to store the extra power you will need to boondock with. Then there is also the solar question too. Most RV’s will have a generator, and of course holding tanks. Try to figure out how long you want to be able to boondock for then go look at RV’s that have the capabilities to camp that long. If you’re on a budget and can’t find the perfect RV (Hint: There are no perfect RV’s) then laying in a budget for upgrades will be essential to creating your perfect boondocking RV. Every RV I have purchased I have had to do upgrades too, in order to get the RV capable of boondocking to my standards. With every RV there will be tradeoffs, and compromises. Try to get the RV that best matches your criteria and that will offer the least cost in upgrades.

 

• Learn to conserve water: Water is probably the most important commodity that an RV can carry. For without water, a camper can’t last very long boondocking. So it is important to know how much water you can carry, and how long that water will last you. Having large water tanks in your RV is helpful but not always available. Carrying extra water in approved water containers can help to extend your stay, providing your holding tanks can carry the extra water. In our case our tanks are 45gal a piece. We typically find (Showers not included) that our water splits evenly between Black and Grey, so once we go through our fresh tank of 45gal we in theory, have 22.5gal of waste water capacity left in each holding tank. This allows us to refill the fresh water tank using five 5gal water jugs, giving us another 25gal of water. This is how we help to extend our stay. Of course we also practice water conservation. We catch all dish water and throw it outside. We catch the first cold flow of shower water and use it to flush the toilet. We use quick flushes on the toilet versus long flushes. The quicker the better, this greatly reduces the amount of water going into your Black tank. By using these tips, you can greatly increase your boondocking time.

 

• Always leave with Full Tanks: Well this should be a no brainer… Always make sure you have a full tank of gas, full propane and fresh water tank before you head off to the boonies. The only exception to this would be if water is available at or near your destination. This would allow you to travel with minimal water in your tank to help conserve fuel millage. Another tip is to always fil up your gas tank before you park at your destination. Generators are fueled from the RV’s on board gas tank. Once that tank drops below ¼ full the generator will stop working. So I always find it best to top up the gas tank before I hit my final destination…just in case.  Now how much fuel your generator will use depends on you and how long you run it. For us we only run our generator for a few hours in the morning and evening. Just long enough to charge batteries etc.. When its sunny out we use our solar array which greatly reduces the hours we use the generator. So Fuel for us is usually not an issue as long as my tanks are full.

 

• Leave with a clean & maintained coach: This tip is always the best, if you keep your coach clean, and maintained, then most likely you will have no issues with your RV while out traveling the country side. Is this not what it’s all about eh? We want to enjoy our RV and the camping experience it gives us, not having to fix issues that go wrong while we are supposed to be relaxing. Now this tip does not always work as RV’s will break and systems do fail. I have certainly had my share of dead batteries, broken sewer hoses, engine troubles, flat tires, and a myriad of other issues with my RV while on the road. Though, I find that this rule more likely than not holds true. A well maintained and clean rig has less issues.

 

• Meal Prep: Making a menu for your trip is the best way to control meal prep stress. It also allows you to efficiently use your kitchen and fridge storage optimally because you are not loading the cupboards and fridge with non-necessary items. Remember your storage is limited. Always you must think smaller and compact. Your menu will allow you to also keep control of your food budget, so that you’re only buying what you need for the trip, and the length of time you will be gone.

 

• Dishes: This one seems silly but it falls under conservation and is probably the third worst offender of wasting water. When washing dishes use paper towel to wipe the dishes down and remove all food debris to the garbage. Then place a sink tub into your sink and fill it half way with water. Set a second tub up to rinse the dishes in. Now wash and rinse your dishes in the tubs. When done throw the tub water outside. Now you’re not really saving a ton of water, but you are saving that water from not going down into your grey water holding tank.

 

• Shower: The shower is the second worst water waster in an RV, but who wants to go for days without a shower? I think the RV shower is probably one of the top ten reasons to buy an RV. The good thing is there are ways to turn your shower in to a water conserver. The first thing, get rid of that stock shower head. They are just terrible and don’t really provide a good pressure flow. Purchase an Oxygenics RV shower head. These are specifically designed for RV’s and provide an exceptional shower experience in your RV. They also have an on/off valve so you can control the water while having a shower without having to touch the taps. Being able to turn off the water to lather up is a huge water saver. Another tip is before you get in the shower, get a bucket and as you turn on the water to the shower and adjust the temperature, catch the cold water in the bucket and use it to flush the toilet. If you purchase the Oxygenics shower head once your temperature is adjusted you can turn off the water flow at the shower head, keeping your perfect temperature.

 

• Toilet: The toilet is probably the worst offender at wasting water. Why, because it is so subjective, it depends on the individual and how long they flush the toilet for, and that varies between person to person. So trying to control the water flow takes education, time, and practice. Learning how to quickly flush the toilet so the least amount of water is used is a skill. This practice is the most effective with liquids (Urine). A quick flush is all that is necessary here. For the solids, using the stored water you collected from your shower or even dish water, can help in creating a quick flush. By pouring this water into the toilet bowl you are creating pressure that will be released when you flush. This can help to push the solids down the drain quicker, thereby using less water from your fresh tank. Just be mindful to only use the amount of water necessary to flush; remember once your black tank is full it’s time to move and go dump.

 

• Power: Next to water power is one of the most important systems in your RV that allows you to boondock for extended periods of time. In an RV power comes from two systems. The 12-volt system and the 120-volt system. The 12-volt system will typically run from your batteries while the 120-volt system will run from your generator or shore power connection. Now this topic is very complicated and there is not enough space in this article to talk about power, that is a different discussion. Let’s just say that learning to control your power, conserver it and make it are extremely important to having a great boondocking experience. I think that the boondocking nirvana when it comes to power, is trying to run everything off of your batteries. Why? Because generators are noisy, and that not only disrupts your enjoyment of the serenity of nature it also disrupts your neighbors. So how do you get to power nirvana? Well that takes conservation and a good power system in your RV. Having good batteries that can be charged by the Generator and solar can greatly reduce the hours you need to charge and thereby run your generator. So what do I need? Well first off let’s say this will cost money. Upgrades are expensive but in the end worth it to be able to stay out longer. The first thing to get are the batteries. Most RV’s will come with one or two batteries. That is just not sufficient to camp on for extended periods of time, unless the batteries are lithium. Lithium though, is really expensive so for the most us Lead acid or AGM batteries are the way to go. I use four 6-volt Lead Acid batteries from Canadian Tire. They each have a 230-amp hour capacity and cost around $200/battery. I connect then in series/parallel and this gives me a total of 460 amp hours of capacity. Cut that in half because you should not run your led acid or AGM batteries below 50% that gives me an effective 230 Amp hours of power. For us that can run us for a 24hr to 48hr period. Once you have the batteries now you need an inverter. An inverter will take 12-volts from your batteries and turn it into 120-volt for your coach. This allows you to use all of the amenities of the coach that run on 120-volt without having to turn on your generator. This comes in handy at night when turning on a generator is highly frowned upon. One piece of advice don’t skimp on your inverter. Get at least a 2000w inverter and one that can also charge your batteries and replace the stock charger that came with the RV. Now you have the basics for generating and making power. As you use the power in your batteries you can use your generator to recharge them during the day. Now if you want to charge your batteries without the noise of a generator you will need solar. Solar can be expensive but there are ways to get it without breaking the bank. I created a portable solar array for our RV complete with charger, panels, and monitor for just over a $1000.00. The DIY install was not complicated or difficult, just time consuming to get it right and tidy.

 

Equipment to invest in for boondocking

• Invest in an inverter/Charger
• Invest in at least four good batteries
• Invest in portable solar
• Invest in Water containers
• Invest in a new shower head

 

As you can see there is a lot to think about when boondocking, the good news is that most RV’s already have most of this stuff covered, and are boondock ready. If your RV is not, then a few dollars put into a renovation budget can transform your RV in to a boondocking machine. It does not take much money, and the time to modify an RV is not overwhelming. If you’re a DIY’er then converting an RV into a boondocking RV will not be too hard to accomplish. Plan It out and price out your upgrades, and then do it as the budget allows. Every little improvement made will get you closer to that boondocking nirvana.

 

Happy Trails

 

The Glampurs

 

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