boondocking

[MFOX]

We have been loving our new to us travel trailer this summer. This weekend we are boondocking/no electric hookup. We had moved up from a popup so we know ways to conserve a little, but I was wondering if anyone had additional ideas that will help. We really can't afford a generator, so this year not really an option. Thanks

[Huntindog]

Huntindog wrote:

Crabbypatty wrote:
Use portable lights instead of house lights. The water pump will kill the battery for sure, so use it sparingly. Your tow vehicle will charge the battery when plugged in. So hook it up and run car for an hour a day. Depending on your TT charger that could put 30 amps back in the battery. Use the campground showers or use baby wipes. When you get some extra cash add a second battery. As for a future generator stay away from the cheap loud ones and wait until you can buy a Yamaha or Honda inverter series gen. They run for a long time, use little fuel and as importantly they are quiet. So you and your neighbors will get along better.

Plugging into the car will NOT run the TT charger (convertor). You need 110 AC for this (shorepower)
It will charge a little off of the altenator.. But is so slow as to make it pretty much useless.
I tried this when I first started out and measured 1.6 amps going to the battery. About as inefficient as it gets for a V8 powered generator. :B

I wouldn't worry about the water pump draw. Sure it draws a lot of amps, but it can only do it until the water runs out.
At 2.8 gallons a minute, a 28 gallon tank is empty in 10 min. 42 gallons in 15. Water consumption is more of a problem than the 12 volt power the pump uses.

[Huntindog]

DP

[JiminDenver]

You will get a much better charge via the jumper cables than the 7 pin.

[Crabbypatty]

Use portable lights instead of house lights. The water pump will kill the battery for sure, so use it sparingly. Your tow vehicle will charge the battery when plugged in. So hook it up and run car for an hour a day. Depending on your TT charger that could put 30 amps back in the battery. Use the campground showers or use baby wipes. When you get some extra cash add a second battery. As for a future generator stay away from the cheap loud ones and wait until you can buy a Yamaha or Honda inverter series gen. They run for a long time, use little fuel and as importantly they are quiet. So you and your neighbors will get along better.

[pawatt]

Go to eBay for your led bulbs

[profdant139]

Most important boondocking tip -- ease into it. Don't try a big boondocking trip till you have worked out the kinks.

Head over to the boondocking forum if you have specific questions -- and here are some ideas to get you started:

Some boondocking tips

[fairfaxjim]

LED lights make a bigger difference than many realize.

If you are REALLY boondocking, a trench shovel with a roll of TP on the handle for all daytime needs.

I find that running the furnace a short while just before going to bed and a nice heavy down comforter allows us to turn the heater WAY back at night. If you have a digital thermostat, set it to run for a short while just before you get up. That way you can get undressed, sleep, and get dressed in the morning warm with little furnace time.

[shenandoahvalle]

Obviously you want the fridge and the water heater to work so try not to use any thing else that uses a lot of juice. Fan motors use a lot so don't run vent fans any more than necessary. Keep light usage to a very minimum buy using lanterns or flashlights, use the water pump as little as possible. If your battery is well charged when you set up you should be able to make it through the weekend. Really not much different than your popup.

[korbe]

In preparing to camp in conserve mode, the only mod was to replace some of the lights to LED. The two of us can dry camp comfortably for 6 days with our setup.

We also use wash basins in the kitchen sinks to maximize water usage before it goes down the drain.

[MFOX]

Thank you all for your advice. I haven't been able to find LED lights I will look at the websites you posted. I forgot about water pump. We do have water this weekend. Thank you again

[beemerphile1]

FWIW there is an entire section of this forum dedicated to "Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping". Lots of tips, techniques, and even pictures of favorite locations. The stickies in that section would probably be a great help to new boondockers.

[Opie431]

We keep a large water container with a small faucet on picnic table. If anyone has to wash their hands, they wash them there, pump is not running. Heat water on gas stove. Lots of little things you can do. They all add up.
You do that say if you are camping in the back of beyond or if you are at a campground with toilets, showers but no electricity. Makes a big difference.

[Shadow_Catcher]

We spent 8 days boondocking on the north shore of Lake Superior last year.
There are two components to this, saving energy,I designed the trailer for this exact purpose with all LED lights very efficient Morningstar 300W inverter to power DVD/TV. We use a french press for coffee...
We do have a 185W solar panel which powers as well as the rest of it a Waeco 12V refrigerator. I would also recomend the use the TV and a set of jumper cables idea and have mine set up so I can do that if bad weather/clouds prevent the solar panel doing its job. I alos have a Victron batter monitor which tells me if we approach the 50% depth of discharge below which you do not want to go.

[Golden_HVAC]

SunElec.com Look for 12 volt panels, and a simple PWM controller. You might need to call them, as there are not many 12 volt panels listed online, yet they stock more than they update the online list. In other words they get in more panels weekly, but update the website only a couple of times a year.

With a 120 watt solar panel, you can extend your dry camping by weeks.

If you change to LED light panels, you can cut down on your battery use too!

AliExpress.com THen search for 24 LED 5050 panel. I bought 50 of them for $1.20 each. These are used to light up my RV, and also along the exterior of my house! They only use about 0.15 amps each, compared to a 1.2 amp regular light!

Fred.