Keeping the candle burning in the Window

ReneeG wrote:

laknox wrote:
I like the fact that there's 140w solar STANDARD, FROM THE FACTORY! I still can't figure out why ONE company here doesn't offer an "off-grid" or "boondock" package, with factory-installed solar and extra batteries; maybe even larger holding tanks. I know, I know; got some bad weed years ago and it still causes flights of fancy...

Lyle

I would suspect that it's not offered here because it's very expensive. "Most" new RV'ers aren't experienced and go for full hookups to begin with. As they "mature", they find out about boondocking and the advantages of it. We've boondocked for years but it wasn't until our fifth RV that we finally installed solar. It was very expensive because we had a dealership do it for us. We would never go back to not having it.

I don't think that's true out west. If your profile info is up to date as to your location just look around on an average summer weekend. There aren't very many campgrounds in Idaho with hookups and most people camp without them, whether they're in non-hookup forest service campgrounds or just in primitive sites dispersed throughout the national forests. The only time we ever use hookups is when we're vacationing in our fifth wheel, which is different than camping. Nationwide what you're saying may very well be true because there's much less public land in the midwest and back east, not to mention more people.

As far as solar goes, I think most folks just use a generator to charge up as needed. It's cheaper, it gives you the option of running your A/C or microwave, and a lot of people have them for other reasons as well so they're multi-tasking - whether it's for emergency power, running a welder or other power equipment off the grid, or etc. I own two different sizes of them.