I have now put my 21' '75 Terry TT up on it's stands. There it will stay for the foreseeable future. It is in too rough of shape to continue to keep towing all over the land.So, now, it sits in a campground.The campground is off the grid. No electricity, unless by generator or by batteries. No running water, no sewage hookup...Absolutely heaven.So, now for my questions:1) Electricity: How small of a generator would give me full access to the power needs of the trailer? I would keep the fridge on propane. It would be for lights and the various outlets.2) Sewer: I plan on completely removing the shower and toilet, and the black water tank. I would like to run the kitchen sink line down and out of the trailer. I would like to run the line into the ground. Many others do that with their entire system. Since I am removing most of it, how would you suggest I protect the line from allowing bugs and other critters in?3) Water: I would like to set up a gravity feed system from an external tank, outside the trailer. How high above the sink do I need to put it for it to have reasonable flow? 4) Hot water: It would be nice not to have to boil water to wash dishes. What systems have you built that worked?Anything else that can make my off grid camping comfortable?

Solar panels. If you will not be living in the RV in the winter, then solar panels will keep the battery full, without the noise of the generator, or maintenance.A pair of 140 watt panels should do the trick. $229 each. Consider they will still be making power 30 years from now, that is less than $20 a year for power. And you should be able to sell these panels in 10 years for close to what you paid for them!SunElec.comLook for 12 volt panels and a PWM controller - 20 amp ones should be in the $35 price range. AS for the black tank, I would not remove it. It might be useful someday. For the grey tank disposal, what I did was buy 30' of drain line. It has 3/8" holes spaced every couple of inches, and 4" outside diameter. Cost was nominal - like $8 per 10' section. I installed a clean out tee, so it has 10' one direction and 20' the other direction. It was buried about 15" underground, and handles all my grey water needs while living in the RV full time. Black water could have been drained into the same line, if it had been buried about 4' deep. But I did not want the smell to come back to the surface, and worried about it clogging with debris should I drain the black water into it. If you used about 60' of the drain line, and buried it around 3' deep (using a trencher or other thing like a backhoe) then you could fairly safely put the small amount of black water down that hole, and it will dissipate. Not 20 gallons a week, but the amount that a RV puts out on a weekly basis. Have fun full timing!Fred.

You are basically turning your TT into a cabin in the woods. Your problems now are the same as any wilderness cabin. I suggest a trip to the library to see how other off grid folks have done it.

Hi,Switch the lighting to LED. Add 300 watts of solar. You may wish to have a smallish inverter for cell phone charging and the like.

1)Solar, far superior to generators in a lot of ways. Maybe a small 1000w generator for a spell of rainy days.2)screen on the outlet.3)Anything higher than the sink and with an adequate size pipe will have water flowing.4)In the Summer, a tank painted black and positioned in the sun will make incredibly hot water. If you want to extend the seasons for water heating, make one of the solar collection boxes, of which there are a hundred videos on you tube. Basically, an enclosed box with pipe inside, the bottom and pipes painted black, a piece of glass or Lexan across the face that faces the sun.

I will add, even though you don't have to worry about the frame, etc at this point---absolutely DO keep the roof in good shape! Check your caulking around all penetrations and seams. Otherwise your trailer will be rotted in a few years.An overhead shelter would save you a lot of grief and make the trailer last longer. But any solar panels would have to be on top of it.

Camping off the grid | Good Sam Community

12 Replies

rbpru
Explorer II
May 26, 2015
You are basically turning your TT into a cabin in the woods. Your problems now are the same as any wilderness cabin.

I suggest a trip to the library to see how other off grid folks have done it.
Golden_HVAC
Explorer
May 26, 2015
Solar panels.

If you will not be living in the RV in the winter, then solar panels will keep the battery full, without the noise of the generator, or maintenance.

A pair of 140 watt panels should do the trick. $229 each. Consider they will still be making power 30 years from now, that is less than $20 a year for power. And you should be able to sell these panels in 10 years for close to what you paid for them!

SunElec.com

Look for 12 volt panels and a PWM controller - 20 amp ones should be in the $35 price range.

AS for the black tank, I would not remove it. It might be useful someday.

For the grey tank disposal, what I did was buy 30' of drain line. It has 3/8" holes spaced every couple of inches, and 4" outside diameter. Cost was nominal - like $8 per 10' section. I installed a clean out tee, so it has 10' one direction and 20' the other direction. It was buried about 15" underground, and handles all my grey water needs while living in the RV full time. Black water could have been drained into the same line, if it had been buried about 4' deep. But I did not want the smell to come back to the surface, and worried about it clogging with debris should I drain the black water into it. If you used about 60' of the drain line, and buried it around 3' deep (using a trencher or other thing like a backhoe) then you could fairly safely put the small amount of black water down that hole, and it will dissipate. Not 20 gallons a week, but the amount that a RV puts out on a weekly basis.

Have fun full timing!

Fred.

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Camping off the grid

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