Breaking the umbilical cord

[Veebyes]

Met a couple this past weekend who would like to go to Alaska but are deathly afraid of not having all of the unlimited utilities of a FHU CG.

We have been to AK twice using the state parks & provincial parks & only going to a private CG when we really needed WIFI & laundry.

These folks have a largish class A so they have the machine for dry camping for more than a few days. Their only problem would be their sheer size restricting them. They have 100gal fresh water capacity, 4 6V batterys, 2kw inverter, generator, large fridge, drycamping in comfort.

Still the fear of being 'unplugged' is hard to believe. I know they are not unusual. Many others will not explore the world of dry camping.

My suggestion to wean themselves off the utilities was to continue to use FHU CGs, hookup, but don't turn anything on. Drycamp with the security of utilities right there.

[NinerBikes]

I bought a 21 ft travel trailer last November, and I pretty much travel by myself in a VW TDI Touareg as a tow vehicle. Not sure how long 33 gallons of fresh will last me, but I did think it worthwhile right from the get go to pick up a little used Honda EU2000i, which I pair with a Honda EU1000i that I already had, just in case I wanted to run the A/C when dry camping. Turn them both to Eco Mode turned off, and cool the place down, just fine with a Dometic 13,500.

I'd rather spend money on diesel getting 16 mpg towing and and a dump fee every now and then, than $30 + a night for full hookups every night. The travel trailer concept works for me, just a little bit of set up and tear down time leveling things out, lock the trailer up, and I'm back to getting 33 mpg while exploring in the SUV, or fishing, or a run into town for groceries and to dump trash, etc. 33 gallons of water can last 1 guy a long time with short showers.

It's all in how you budget and want to spend it on a trip, with or without FHU... anything I save on FHU is also the option to go out for dinner a bit while on vacation. That price tag of a night at a FHU for one person is pretty spendy per person, it's a better value if the whole family is staying with you at a FHU set up.

[Rice]

I was amazed how many people hooked up their water and sewer for one night. Then had to fight with unhooking and putting it away the next morning in cold and near darkness. And sometimes rain! It seemed crazy to me. You've got several days worth of fresh and sewer water storage, it's no big deal to use them for a day or two. Be brave!

Maybe that's what they'd been doing, and it was time to dump the tanks, and they left them hooked up overnight so they could do laundry in the evening.

In fact, chances are, if I'm in an RV park for only one night, it's pretty much just so I can dump the tanks and do laundry. So if I'm the one-night-hookup person you see, it's likely that it's because I'm coming off a couple of weeks of no hookups at all, and not that I have to have them at all times.

[narcodog]

I have a couple of friends that just spent 90 days in Montana and Idaho. The only time when they did not hook up is when they met up with me in WY. They were in a TC just like mine. They were on the battery one night and he could not believe how few amps they had used that night, including running the furnace. The whole dry camping experience was strange to them. I estimate they spent 4K on C/G's. They also drove hundreds of miles passing up places to stop for the night just so they could get to FHU's.

I just spent six weeks in the west and spent $66.00 on C/G fee's. Those were NP's and a NWR.

[mlts22]

Maybe it was me, and out of 30-35 nights camping, only three of them were at a FHU site, so I learned to watch tanks and be careful with showers.

For me, the only real difference between dry camping and FHUs is not having to run the water pump and the generator. I always leave the dump valves closed, only doing a complete dump/rinse of tanks when about to leave.

[Veebyes]

This varied from a couple doing a u-turn at Prince George, claiming that the roads were far too rough to continue, to several other folks who were far more interested in spending days cleaning and waxing their rigs while parked in some of the most beautiful places on the planet.

I always wondered how those class As always seem to look so clean. It is as if dirt does not dare touch them.

When we travel we try not to worry about how dirty the truck or trailer get. If we come across a CG that allows washing, great, we will stay an extra day just to wash. Getting dirty is no reason not to travel off the beaten path.

[soren]

Roy&Lynne wrote:
Folks who are "deathly afraid" of anything probably should get on a cruise ship and see Alaska that way. Roughing it isn't for everyone, even if its in a $100,000 RV

X2 I have spent several summers traveling in AK. and have met a small handful of folks, strictly Class A owners, who were mentally unprepared for the situation and were having a horrible time. This varied from a couple doing a u-turn at Prince George, claiming that the roads were far too rough to continue, to several other folks who were far more interested in spending days cleaning and waxing their rigs while parked in some of the most beautiful places on the planet.

[Veebyes]

Maybe it is lazyness but I can't be bothered with it all even when it is available. I am sitting in a FHU site right now. The only thing hooked up is the power. Have to leave tomorrow so we will dump. Been 6 nights since the last dump. May or may not water up. As long as a few days worth is onboard we are happy. Can't remember the last time we used city water. We fill the tank, running it through a water softener then use our own pressure system. The pump has lasted over 500 days so far. We do carry a spare.

[JiminDenver]

We see lots of the big rigs up where we go boondocking. They make our 25 ft TT look tiny.

As for the cord, when we started there was none. The few CGs we have used might have a tap or hand pump but some of those were red tagged so we got use to conserving the water. Now 50 gal last us 10 days including showers.
The rest of my family OTOH does nothing but FHUs and even though they love looking at the pictures of where we go, they wont even consider unplugging. They like long hot showers, washing dishes in a full sink of water while running the tap for rinsing and never even thinking of the batteries. To each their own I guess.

So how do you get people to unplug? You have to get them to want too. One buddy of mine only started doing it after he asked me how much our spot cost for 10 days and I said nothing. After discussing the how to, they started out for a weekend, then a week and recently came back after a two week trip without hookups and you would have thought he was a new proud papa he was so pleased with himself. They had just never considered it because they didn't know how or where. They have bigger tanks than we do and more room for solar so I bet next year they will be able to stay out longer than we can.

[mena661]

Veebyes wrote:
It is rather strange that the vehicles best suited for drycamping such as the big class As & 5ers with their high capacity 100gal water tanks are the ones seldom seen drycamping

I don't know how many times the DW and I would show up at a CG in the mountains or somewhere and we were the longest trailer in the park (30 ft 5er) but at the FHU's we were the shortest (or close to it). One of the upsides to the MH is the large FW tank. We can easily go three days with 4 showers and full sinks for washing dishes. Might be able to do 4, don't know.

[spacedoutbob]

I almost never stay in a campground. I like to dry camp or boondock. The only times that I stay in a campground is when I want to use my Air Conditioning all night.

Bob in Calif.

[Roy_Lynne]

Folks who are "deathly afraid" of anything probably should get on a cruise ship and see Alaska that way. Roughing it isn't for everyone, even if its in a $100,000 RV

[Veebyes]

It is rather strange that the vehicles best suited for drycamping such as the big class As & 5ers with their high capacity 100gal water tanks are the ones seldom seen drycamping unless at a really special event like the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta or Oskosh Air Adventure.

I come from the boating world where every night out was 'on the hook', no marinas, so water & power conservation were learned early.

Water capacity & battery bank capacity separate the weekend resort RVer from the traveler.

[johnwalkerpa1]

Veebyes wrote:
Met a couple this past weekend who would like to go to Alaska but are deathly afraid of not having all of the unlimited utilities of a FHU CG.

.

If they are really wanting/needing hookups, its really not that hard to find them, even in Alaska 🙂 Well, I guess I should say that it's real easy to find water/elec sites, a little harder to find sewer some places but dump stations are common.

Of course, they may miss some of the nicest areas to camp that way, but if hookups is the only way they'd go, don't let that stop them.

[RVToadless]

I learned to dry camp when I went to what I call a..... "half and half" campground. I found this lovely but VERY REMOTE campground in Washington State. You could only get electricity between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM, and it was from a generator in the campground. After 8:00 PM, generator off, you are on your own.

Also, along I-84 on the WA/OR border, there is an exit in Rufus, OR, where there is some BLM land on the Columbia River that you can dry camp on. I will only stop there if there are at least 3 RV's there. Find something like that, and ask others if you need help.