I find the sprinter based motorhomes kind of interesting. From what I've seen most have around 30 gallons fresh water and 30-35 gallons grey/black capacity. How long could a single person boondock with that kind of capacity before having to drain the tanks and fill back up with fresh?

That totally depends upon the person and his/her habits.I have 33 gallons of fresh water to use for washing and flushing, plus I supplement with drinking water from gallon jugs. 17 gallon black tank, about the same for gray. This setup can carry me easily for a week or 10 days without using any outside facilities. I use sponge baths or baby wipes rather than showering, although I do spend some water on washing my hair in the sink. I minimize water for kitchen use, have no pets, and have enough clothing to get me through that time period without washing. That said, water and waste are not my limiting factors. Electricity is. No generator, no solar - my choice and I'm sticking to it. LED lighting, minimal water pump use, a fan if it's hot, no television, very little furnace use. Those conserving measures usually leave me plenty of electricity for CPAP use and for charging my various electronics and phone if I stay up to 3 or 4 days in one place. Any longer, I need to drive so the truck alternator can charge the coach batteries (2 6V Lifeline AGM's).I hope this helps. Do try boondocking. Maybe start with 1-2 days and work up as you learn how it goes.

Beloved Spouse and I (and the cat) tend toward the "glamping" side, that is, we cook real meals, wash real dishes, and take daily hot showers. We have about 40 USG of fresh water and that gets us a minimum of four days. So I would argue that you should budget about 5 USG per person per day. As our grey tank is under 15 USG, probably closer to 10, that is our limiting factor.With a composting toilet we have no black tank and a dump cycle of two to four weeks. (Cat box is generally good for a month with daily care. ;) )With big solar and big batteries we generally cook all electrically and usually cannot use all the energy we create unless we get a lot of rain or snow, in which case we simply idle the engine while cooking. We do not have a generator.Our heating system, hot water, and back up stove are all diesel, sipping from a 60 USG tank. Most folks with big propane tanks get one to three months, so that is not usually an issue.Fresh water in, grey water out, and waste tend to be the limiting factors.

Dave, Your question is kind of like "How deep is a river?" It really all comes down to how good you are at conserving your resources. And that is the end story. We have about the same capacity you do and we can always go 3+ days (about 7 person/days). We have gone as long as 5 days and had some reserve, but we end up dry camping at music festivals where re-supply is not simple and the available facilities are overwhelmed. We have hit the home port with no potable remaining. So, you might do 10 if you are careful. DW likes to cook in the coach and that uses more water than not doing so. Matt

Paper plates and minimal water use. Take every opportunity to use bathrooms at public locations such as Walmart and gas stations.I don't drink water from the tank. I use 1 gallon jugs for all my potable water needs.Wipe down silverware with paper towels. Don't fill the sink with water for dish washing. I sanitize by using 1/8 cup of water and a frying pan with a tight fitting lid.For cooking I use a small George Foreman grill. That is cleaned with paper towels. I sanitize it with a web paper towel plugging it in until I hear the hiss of the steam. Then I wipe it clear of grease. Finally I plug it in again until it cycles to kill any bugs.I heat and cook in the microwave using paper towels to prevent spatters.For bathing I place a wet wash cloth in the microwave and use that for my ablutions. I rinse it out, and then sanitize it in the microwave.I should buy stock in a paper towel company!

Holy cow Pianotuna! I never thought of any of that. Genius.

Sprinter motorhome boondocking | Good Sam Community

Tiger4x4RV
Nomad
Aug 27, 2016
That totally depends upon the person and his/her habits.

I have 33 gallons of fresh water to use for washing and flushing, plus I supplement with drinking water from gallon jugs. 17 gallon black tank, about the same for gray. This setup can carry me easily for a week or 10 days without using any outside facilities. I use sponge baths or baby wipes rather than showering, although I do spend some water on washing my hair in the sink. I minimize water for kitchen use, have no pets, and have enough clothing to get me through that time period without washing.

That said, water and waste are not my limiting factors. Electricity is. No generator, no solar - my choice and I'm sticking to it. LED lighting, minimal water pump use, a fan if it's hot, no television, very little furnace use. Those conserving measures usually leave me plenty of electricity for CPAP use and for charging my various electronics and phone if I stay up to 3 or 4 days in one place. Any longer, I need to drive so the truck alternator can charge the coach batteries (2 6V Lifeline AGM's).

I hope this helps. Do try boondocking. Maybe start with 1-2 days and work up as you learn how it goes.
DiploStrat
Explorer
Aug 27, 2016
Beloved Spouse and I (and the cat) tend toward the "glamping" side, that is, we cook real meals, wash real dishes, and take daily hot showers.

We have about 40 USG of fresh water and that gets us a minimum of four days. So I would argue that you should budget about 5 USG per person per day. As our grey tank is under 15 USG, probably closer to 10, that is our limiting factor.

With a composting toilet we have no black tank and a dump cycle of two to four weeks. (Cat box is generally good for a month with daily care. ;) )

With big solar and big batteries we generally cook all electrically and usually cannot use all the energy we create unless we get a lot of rain or snow, in which case we simply idle the engine while cooking. We do not have a generator.

Our heating system, hot water, and back up stove are all diesel, sipping from a 60 USG tank. Most folks with big propane tanks get one to three months, so that is not usually an issue.

Fresh water in, grey water out, and waste tend to be the limiting factors.
Matt_Colie
Explorer II
Aug 27, 2016
Dave,

Your question is kind of like "How deep is a river?"

It really all comes down to how good you are at conserving your resources. And that is the end story.

We have about the same capacity you do and we can always go 3+ days (about 7 person/days). We have gone as long as 5 days and had some reserve, but we end up dry camping at music festivals where re-supply is not simple and the available facilities are overwhelmed. We have hit the home port with no potable remaining. So, you might do 10 if you are careful. DW likes to cook in the coach and that uses more water than not doing so.

Matt
pianotuna
Nomad III
Aug 27, 2016
Paper plates and minimal water use. Take every opportunity to use bathrooms at public locations such as Walmart and gas stations.

I don't drink water from the tank. I use 1 gallon jugs for all my potable water needs.

Wipe down silverware with paper towels. Don't fill the sink with water for dish washing. I sanitize by using 1/8 cup of water and a frying pan with a tight fitting lid.

For cooking I use a small George Foreman grill. That is cleaned with paper towels. I sanitize it with a web paper towel plugging it in until I hear the hiss of the steam. Then I wipe it clear of grease. Finally I plug it in again until it cycles to kill any bugs.

I heat and cook in the microwave using paper towels to prevent spatters.

For bathing I place a wet wash cloth in the microwave and use that for my ablutions. I rinse it out, and then sanitize it in the microwave.

I should buy stock in a paper towel company!
missouri_dave
Explorer
Aug 27, 2016
Holy cow Pianotuna! I never thought of any of that. Genius.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Aug 27, 2016
Hi dave,

Thanks--but these are just ideas I've gleaned from various web sites--and my own personal experiences.

The other essential for boondocking is lots and lots of power. I have a modest solar system and would encourage you to have 600 to 1000 watts, a large battery bank, and a large pure sine wave inverter. That will run everything including the roof air (but not very long on air).

I have a much smaller inverter that I use for running my laptop computer--or sometimes a heating pad.
GizmosMom
Explorer
Aug 27, 2016
When dry camping we use these baby washcloths

In the shower we run water over ourselves, use the wet washcloths, rinse.

We use very little water with this method. Works for us.
Dakzuki
Explorer
Aug 27, 2016
Camp as if you are in a tent and you will conserve resources and tank capacity. On my RV I can fill the main water tank using the winterizing system. Set the valves to the desired position, turn on the pump and I can suck water from a collapsable 5 gallon jug into the tank. As far as electricity, it depends on what you feel you need. We don't watch TV or movies in the RV so our power requirements are pretty low.
Naio
Explorer II
Aug 27, 2016
I wash dishes (including pots and pans) with babywipes, rinse with about 2 tablespoons of water and a paper towel.

I don't have water tanks at all. I drink about 1/2 gallon a day, from jugs.
2oldman
Explorer II
Aug 27, 2016
4 days for 'normal' living. 4 weeks for the kind of spartan living mentioned above. Not my style; I'd rather dump and fill.