RV Upgrades for long term boondocking.
I'm new to the forum, and have found a lot of help with google searches that land me on this site a lot, so thought I'd give back a little on what I've done with the information I have gathered. I ...
Forum Discussion
We boondock drycamp if needed when rock hounding, using our 24 foot E450 V10 Itasca Class C. With this small Class C, the E450 chassis gives us around 2000 lbs. of extra weight carrying ability above what would be "normal" trip loading, so we can load every nook and cranny up with whatever extra we want without any overweight concerns. We start each trip with every tank full that should be full and every tank empty that should be empty.
I don't carry anything off the rear bumper so as to not unload the front suspension and hence adversely affect the highway handling. Our built-in fresh water capacity is 45 gallons and we don't drink out of the tank, so we carry along up to another 6 gallons of drinking water. Our main fuel tank is 55 gallons, which we keep near the top when starting out off the pavement so that the built-in generator will have plenty of run-time off this tank if needed. We also carry along a portable generator with it's tank full, along with another 2 1/2 gallons for it in a steel safety container carried in one of the exterior storage cabinets. Our main propane tank is 18 gallons ( 60+ useable pounds of propane), but we bring along another 2 gallons of propane for the outside BBQ and firepit. We don't have any solar, but our 230 amp hour AGM battery bank can be charged 5 different ways with the equipment combinations we bring along for that purpose. We bring along a full spare and full tire changing capability, plus have equipment along to repair small puncture holes in any tire without removing it from the chassis. We also bring along a large assortment of tools, spare parts, and engine fluids. We try to start out every trip with at least a full week's supply of food on board, but could get by longer in a pinch. In addition to the built-in air conditioner and propane furnace, we bring along an electric heater and a high volume 12V fan with a 20 foot extension cord for outside use if needed. One of the two roof vents has a 12V 3-speed reversible fan in it. All roof vents have covers over them so we can ventilate the interior in pouring down rain. We carry a small pure sine wave inverter for specific power needs, but some of our equipment is powered directly from 12V receptacles. We bring along rolled up plastic insulation for every window in case we wind up camping in cold weather. All coach lighting is LED. Everything is carried inside the coach in storage cabinets and outside the coach in 7 exterior steel lined and carpeted cabinets. No equipment is strapped on the roof ladder in the rear, or carried on the roof in carriers. Our equipment includes 100 feet of freshwater filling hose, 80 feet of outside hookup cabling, 35 feet of accordion sewer drain hose, extra sewer valves, and various electrical hookup and water hookup adapters. Both of our walkie talkies ave electronic compasses and weather radios built into them. The dash radio also has full weather band capability, and can be remotely controlled from anywhere inside the coach. The outside radio has it's own roof antenna and remote control. The outside shower has a water pump switch on the wall right next to it.
We start out every trip this way, so as to be as much as possible ready for any thing at any time .... except for fishing gear. We don't bring this along unless we're sure we might be doing some fishing!
I don't carry anything off the rear bumper so as to not unload the front suspension and hence adversely affect the highway handling. Our built-in fresh water capacity is 45 gallons and we don't drink out of the tank, so we carry along up to another 6 gallons of drinking water. Our main fuel tank is 55 gallons, which we keep near the top when starting out off the pavement so that the built-in generator will have plenty of run-time off this tank if needed. We also carry along a portable generator with it's tank full, along with another 2 1/2 gallons for it in a steel safety container carried in one of the exterior storage cabinets. Our main propane tank is 18 gallons ( 60+ useable pounds of propane), but we bring along another 2 gallons of propane for the outside BBQ and firepit. We don't have any solar, but our 230 amp hour AGM battery bank can be charged 5 different ways with the equipment combinations we bring along for that purpose. We bring along a full spare and full tire changing capability, plus have equipment along to repair small puncture holes in any tire without removing it from the chassis. We also bring along a large assortment of tools, spare parts, and engine fluids. We try to start out every trip with at least a full week's supply of food on board, but could get by longer in a pinch. In addition to the built-in air conditioner and propane furnace, we bring along an electric heater and a high volume 12V fan with a 20 foot extension cord for outside use if needed. One of the two roof vents has a 12V 3-speed reversible fan in it. All roof vents have covers over them so we can ventilate the interior in pouring down rain. We carry a small pure sine wave inverter for specific power needs, but some of our equipment is powered directly from 12V receptacles. We bring along rolled up plastic insulation for every window in case we wind up camping in cold weather. All coach lighting is LED. Everything is carried inside the coach in storage cabinets and outside the coach in 7 exterior steel lined and carpeted cabinets. No equipment is strapped on the roof ladder in the rear, or carried on the roof in carriers. Our equipment includes 100 feet of freshwater filling hose, 80 feet of outside hookup cabling, 35 feet of accordion sewer drain hose, extra sewer valves, and various electrical hookup and water hookup adapters. Both of our walkie talkies ave electronic compasses and weather radios built into them. The dash radio also has full weather band capability, and can be remotely controlled from anywhere inside the coach. The outside radio has it's own roof antenna and remote control. The outside shower has a water pump switch on the wall right next to it.
We start out every trip this way, so as to be as much as possible ready for any thing at any time .... except for fishing gear. We don't bring this along unless we're sure we might be doing some fishing!
