Boondocking Etiquette

[Scooper31]

Hello!
We're just getting started with a new ClassB+ RV and have had one nagging question that we can't seen to easily find an answer for in the ethosphere....When boondocking in a Federal Park etc what is the accepted way to "hold" your parking spot when you travel into town or away sightseeing for the day? Should we bring along some foldable sawhorses, maybe leave a couple of cheap camp chairs set up? We intend to use our Class B as general transportation and don't intend to tow a second vehicle. Thanks and Happy New Year to all!!! Jim & Kellie

[JonWalter]

Yes, you can leave your rig for the day. It isn’t considered a dick move unless you leave it all week and come back only on weekends.

My website

[2oldman]

philh wrote:

pitch wrote:
Dang, I never new that there were so many rules around this activity. Dang sure a big bunch of hall Monitors making sure that we use the super cool lingo in the proper fashion.
So we have the weight police
we have the dog police
we have the all important "Quiet Hour" police.
and now the terminology police have showed up.

This Rv,ing **** sure was easier before the interweb

You forgot generator police

And the police police.

[2oldman]

bikendan wrote:
agree, the OP needs to understand the differences between boondocking and dry camping.

OP is long gone.

[mwachel]

Matt_Colie wrote:
So, I am guessing I was wrong to not understand that all that was wanted was a place to park overnight when he said boondock?

So, if someone asks again, I will suggest the nearby highway rest area or any place else that is kind of level and he might not get chased away.

That makes me wonder if there is anything else that I should try to understand the very open definition of....
Some of these people are so specific about other things like, a tow vehicle verses a towed vehicle, or a semi-trailer verses a trailer.

I will just keep doing what I have been doing.

Matt

You keep doing what you’re doing. You do you.

Most folks would just ask for clarification when approached with a Boondocking question. ???????

But hey, I’m not here to judge. Keep on keepin on.

[Boon_Docker]

^
The best advice is to just ignore the clowns on the site.

[propchef]

This *is* the "Beginning RV" section. Maybe a little gentle education rather than ridicule? Unless, of course, you're just doing it to entertain yourself, in which case, carry on. Karma is always watching.

Maybe someone should post the Official RV Dictionary in this thread to help out the newbs, myself included. That way I won't embarrass myself.

[Matt_Colie]

So, I am guessing I was wrong to not understand that all that was wanted was a place to park overnight when he said boondock?

So, if someone asks again, I will suggest the nearby highway rest area or any place else that is kind of level and he might not get chased away.

That makes me wonder if there is anything else that I should try to understand the very open definition of....
Some of these people are so specific about other things like, a tow vehicle verses a towed vehicle, or a semi-trailer verses a trailer.

I will just keep doing what I have been doing.

Matt

[Grit_dog]

mwachel wrote:
Bookdocking is any place you can drain gray water on the ground, right?

That would be a good qualification of a boondocking site, but not mutually exclusive to boondocking. I've dumped alot of gray water in established campgrounds.
That should start a good conversation, lol!
And I'd bet a weeks pay that noone ever knew or noticed....nor did it harm anything unless irrigating some dry grass or woods is harmful.

[mwachel]

Bookdocking is any place you can drain gray water on the ground, right?

Just kidding, just kidding!

There are always going to be people that want to be jack wagons, it's just in their nature. Some of these terms drive me nuts but I don't say a word to people that use them...it's their prerogative (as Bobby Brown put it).

Wally-docking, lot-docking, mooch-docking...basically, anything other than boondocking bugs me. But hey, you do you! I don't care.

[philh]

pitch wrote:
Dang, I never new that there were so many rules around this activity. Dang sure a big bunch of hall Monitors making sure that we use the super cool lingo in the proper fashion.
So we have the weight police
we have the dog police
we have the all important "Quiet Hour" police.
and now the terminology police have showed up.

This Rv,ing **** sure was easier before the interweb

You forgot generator police

[propchef]

Matt_Colie wrote:
Grit Dog,

If by pompous and/or self-righteous you mean those that refuse to think of lot-docking and black-topping as boondocking instead of dry camping, then you could well be correct. People have gotten away from the old fashion thinking of "words have meanings" if favor of "any word means what I want it to and if you don't understand it's your fault".

Recently someone asked me if there was anyplace to boondock near where we live and I told him there was not. He said he was surprised that there were no Walmart or other. To which I replied that there were plenty of places they could over-night-park for free, but those sure were not boondocks.

If someone has a different definition, he is welcome to it but he should have no expectation of his private meaning being universally understood.

Matt

You understand you're talking about slang, jargon, and lingo, right? The meaning of which is literally words or expressions used in particular situations or professions that are hard for everyday people to immediately understand. If you are demanding that everyone use the literal definition of a word then you're using "boondock" incorrectly, and "boondocking" isn't even a word. Neither is "lot-docking" or "black-topping." Making a noun a gerund does not make it a verb.

You knew what they meant, you were being intentionally obtuse.

[mr_andyj]

You can't "save seats" as we said as kids...
If you leave then you are no longer camping, and the spot is open. It is free camping, no registration, no reservation and no holding, otherwise people would block off all the spots forever.
If you have a tent left behind then that is considered active camping and people will generally not take your spot unless tent is abandon overnight.
If you leave a chair, good luck with that, as you not only are giving up your camp spot but maybe the chair too.
Again, generally people are considerate and there are plenty of camp spots so a note or some stuff left behind that does not look like it was forgotten or abandon will suffice.
The hard rule is that the camp spot is only yours as long as you are there, when you leave it becomes open and if you leave junk behind then you are a litter bug.
What you will want to do is break down camp, go touring around then find another spot the next night. Don't try to hold spots while you are not there, as someone else might want to enjoy that spot during the day instead of you left-behind trash, also, since it is not a real campground there is another rule: finders keepers, which goes for your abandon stuff too. Rarely there might be someone who will argue that it is not your chair. You will be buying a new chair if that ever happens.

[pitch]

Matt_Colie wrote:
Grit Dog,

If by pompous and/or self-righteous you mean those that refuse to think of lot-docking and black-topping as boondocking instead of dry camping, then you could well be correct. People have gotten away from the old fashion thinking of "words have meanings" if favor of "any word means what I want it to and if you don't understand it's your fault".

Recently someone asked me if there was anyplace to boondock near where we live and I told him there was not. He said he was surprised that there were no Walmart or other. To which I replied that there were plenty of places they could over-night-park for free, but those sure were not boondocks.

There are non complimentary names that people like you are called. You do know this about yourself correct?

If someone has a different definition, he is welcome to it but he should have no expectation of his private meaning being universally understood.

Matt

[pitch]

Dang, I never new that there were so many rules around this activity. Dang sure a big bunch of hall Monitors making sure that we use the super cool lingo in the proper fashion.
So we have the weight police
we have the dog police
we have the all important "Quiet Hour" police.
and now the terminology police have showed up.

This Rv,ing **** sure was easier before the interweb