When did boondocking become weird?
I always thought RVs were supposed to be self-sufficient; that they had water tanks and generators and waste tanks so that you could use them to go camping wherever you wanted and be independent. Now,...
Forum Discussion
ohhell10339 wrote:June 14, 1966. That's when the 1000th person converted an old bus into a "RV". :W That started the progression to larger and larger professionally built units.
What happened, exactly? When did boondocking start being weird?
Now they weren't all so big back then. Take a look at the campgrounds in the NP's. Most were built when tents were the norm, truck campers a luxury, and only a few pulled something like an Airstream. Size limitation does preclude someone pulling a 35' 5er from many NFS and NPS campground sites.
For some people, their rig is their primary residence and they want to be able to use them as such with water for their washing machines and dishwashers. For others, they have purchased a rig instead of a cabin or beach front condo but still want similar amenities.
In many mountainous locations, access is simple too difficult for larger units, and many don't want to beat up their rigs going down a rough dirt road to get there. Of course access is easier in other places and people do get their rigs in there. In the deserts north of Moab, I seen groups of ten or more 40' RV's towing jeeps or trailers with ATV's boondocking in the boonies.
But to answer the question "When did boondocking become weird?", it hasn't. Boondocking is more popular than ever. Decades ago I could pack up on a Friday afternoon and get to any number of boondocking locations that evening and still have a choice of sites. Now, one must have a spot by Thursday afternoon to have a chance. Boondocking places around Silverton CO that used to have 5 or 10 groups now have 50. Here in CO at least, boondocking is booming.
