How do I get started with boondocking?

[SolarPoweredRV]

Go to a FHU site, but don't connect to anything. Try going without the tv and other things like the coffee pot, etc.

See how long you can go before plugging in. KEN

When Boondocking you are going to find out the limitations of your camper, one system at a time...

Generally speaking, your first limitation is going to be Electricity, a single 12v Lead Acid battery doesn't hold very much energy, a pair of Deep Cycle 6v batteries will double the amount of energy you can use and store (this would be the minimum I would consider for Boondocking). Generators address this limitation, however, they can be loud and annoying to both your family and other campers. Please do not get a "Contractor's" open frame generator, they are extra noisy and they are not good for the electronics in your coach, you need an "Inverter" style Generator, these are safe for your electronics and they are much quieter (your neighbors will appreciate the quieter Generator, as will your Family). I recommend the Champion Dual Fuel Generators because you can run them on Propane and you don't have to worry about storing extra gasoline for the Generator.

Your next limitation will center around water and waste. You and your Family will need to learn to be frugal with your fresh water. You will need to do things like wiping off your dishes with a napkin before you put them into the sink for cleaning and using a sponge to wash a few dishes at a time before rinsing them, using a low flowing water stream. You will need learn to take "Navy" showers and wash your stinky bits with baby wipes between showers. You can also reuse your rinsing dish water by collecting it to use to flush the toilet, etc.

Regarding your waste water, you will find that one of your tanks will fill up faster than the others. Whether it is your Grey or Black tank, that becomes your camping time limiting factor, plan to move to a new campsite, or dumping your tanks a day or two before that tank fills up (you don't want it filling up in the middle of the night). As far as having the boys use the trees and bushes for their needs, I wouldn't recommend that plan, because, you need liquid waste to mix with your solid waste to break it up and let everything flow out of the tank.

Your next limitation will probably be Propane, most campers can get seven to ten days (or more) out of a pair of Propane tanks, unless you are using the Furnace a good bit. Propane is fairly easy to replenish by simply taking the empty tank into a nearby town for a fill up.

Using the above thoughts as starting points, I would strongly recommend going to a campsite with hookups and not use the hookups to test how long your Family can run without Electric (instead of using a generator, you can easily plug in for a few hours each day to charge your battery(ies)) and how long it takes to deplete your fresh water supply and how long you can last before needing to dump your tanks (for us, our Grey [Galley] tank always fills up first). Testing your Boondocking skills in this manner is a safe and anxiety free way to "Test Drive" Boondocking before venturing out into the Wild !!!

Good luck and let us know how your adventures turn out.

[SolarPoweredRV]

I would definitely recommend upgrading to a pair (or more) of Lithium batteries.

[TheLexx]

Thank you, excellent advice. Yes, we definitely plan on testing it all out in a commercial campsite with full hookups before we venture into boondocking. And yes, I do plan on getting an inverter genset. The dual fuel option is an excellent idea. We've found that generally our propane tanks last several weeks at the very least. When we're camping in rv parks, our tanks actually last an entire summer since we use the fireplace heater. We just use propane for the heater when it's super cold outside, and also for cooking and the fridge. Since the pin weight of the fiver is so light at 1700 lbs, I could easily carry another 100 gallons of fresh water in a rectangular tank that sits under the bedcover of the truck. Yeah it's another 800 lbs but we have the payload capacity. The bigger issue is dumping the gray water. I've read both sides of the issue. It seems like if we're using biodegradable soap, there's no harm in dumping the water on the campfire nightly to put it out. We only intend to boondock for no more than 4-5 days at a time anyway. We like to move from location to location so we can see more.

When Boondocking you are going to find out the limitations of your camper, one system at a time...

Generally speaking, your first limitation is going to be Electricity, a single 12v Lead Acid battery doesn't hold very much energy, a pair of Deep Cycle 6v batteries will double the amount of energy you can use and store (this would be the minimum I would consider for Boondocking). Generators address this limitation, however, they can be loud and annoying to both your family and other campers. Please do not get a "Contractor's" open frame generator, they are extra noisy and they are not good for the electronics in your coach, you need an "Inverter" style Generator, these are safe for your electronics and they are much quieter (your neighbors will appreciate the quieter Generator, as will your Family). I recommend the Champion Dual Fuel Generators because you can run them on Propane and you don't have to worry about storing extra gasoline for the Generator.

Your next limitation will center around water and waste. You and your Family will need to learn to be frugal with your fresh water. You will need to do things like wiping off your dishes with a napkin before you put them into the sink for cleaning and using a sponge to wash a few dishes at a time before rinsing them, using a low flowing water stream. You will need learn to take "Navy" showers and wash your stinky bits with baby wipes between showers. You can also reuse your rinsing dish water by collecting it to use to flush the toilet, etc.

Regarding your waste water, you will find that one of your tanks will fill up faster than the others. Whether it is your Grey or Black tank, that becomes your camping time limiting factor, plan to move to a new campsite, or dumping your tanks a day or two before that tank fills up (you don't want it filling up in the middle of the night). As far as having the boys use the trees and bushes for their needs, I wouldn't recommend that plan, because, you need liquid waste to mix with your solid waste to break it up and let everything flow out of the tank.

Your next limitation will probably be Propane, most campers can get seven to ten days (or more) out of a pair of Propane tanks, unless you are using the Furnace a good bit. Propane is fairly easy to replenish by simply taking the empty tank into a nearby town for a fill up.

Using the above thoughts as starting points, I would strongly recommend going to a campsite with hookups and not use the hookups to test how long your Family can run without Electric (instead of using a generator, you can easily plug in for a few hours each day to charge your battery(ies)) and how long it takes to deplete your fresh water supply and how long you can last before needing to dump your tanks (for us, our Grey [Galley] tank always fills up first). Testing your Boondocking skills in this manner is a safe and anxiety free way to "Test Drive" Boondocking before venturing out into the Wild !!!

Good luck and let us know how your adventures turn out.

[Always Learning]

TheLexx

You state, “We've found that generally our propane tanks last several weeks at the very least.”

You will use more propane running the fridge on propane. We dry camp more than we plug in and we have a 2020 12cf Norcold. I figure 1 gallon of propane a day for fridge, cooking and every other day showers. If I run the furnace it takes more.

[TheLexx]

Ugh, thanks for reminding me about that! Yes, when we're at a commercial rv park we're running the fridge on electricity.

OK so that sounds like 60 lbs of propane comes out to 13.7 lbs of the stuff. If we go through 1.5 lbs/day, we'd have enough for 9 days. I'm ok with that, especially since propane is pretty cheap. Good thing you mentioned that though. Thank you!

TheLexx

You state, “We've found that generally our propane tanks last several weeks at the very least.”

You will use more propane running the fridge on propane. We dry camp more than we plug in and we have a 2020 12cf Norcold. I figure 1 gallon of propane a day for fridge, cooking and every other day showers. If I run the furnace it takes more.