The Dark Side

[mister_d]

I'm looking for testimonials from people that have stayed at CGs without electric hu. Several national parks are on our bucket list and staying on site is appealing to me. However, we have only stayed places with electric thus far. Years ago we tented but we've become accustomed to the luxury and I'm worried about spoiling a vacation.

[brulaz]

Dennis Smith wrote:
All hook ups give me is ac and microwave. Here in Colorado I can live without either one.
...

X2, and a hair blower. But we both now keep our hair cut short and dry it over a covered range burner (no open flame!).

One thing about Western-made trailers is they tend to have big tanks which makes boon-docking much easier. My Timber Ridge has 66gal fresh, 80gal grey and 40gal black.

And you can often get bigger frigs (8 cuft) and stoves (22").

[Dennis_Smith]

All hook ups give me is ac and microwave. Here in Colorado I can live without either one. Have 3 battery's and can go 5 days with 38 gallons of water. We can watch a movie every night. And we still have lots of power left. Live simple, on the road and at home.

[mister_d]

I've read all the replies and appreciate each and every one of them. I like the idea of starting small and seeing how it goes. I'll definitely check the boondocking forum.

[mister_d]

mtofell1 wrote:
The best things I've bought are a Honda 2000W generator, 2 heavy duty deep cycle batteries and a gray water tote. A lot of the campgrounds here that don't have hookups will have water from a pump and a place to dump gray. I can survive for days/weeks with that setup. And the water thing is really only a big deal for me because I have 3 small kids. It's nice to be able to give them a bath every couple days.

In addition to what I have on board for water I also carry three 6 gallon jugs full. Last time I was out for a week I never even needed to go to the pump. The 40 on board plus the 18 in the 3 cans was more than enough.

I was mostly concerned with the AC and night temps but the shower thing was a question too.. tnx(:

[profdant139]

Jim, you are so right about the addictive quality of boondocking. Ordinary campgrounds, which used to seem so pleasant to us, are now mildly annoying -- noisy and crowded by comparison. It's like skiing on really dry snow in the Rockies -- it makes it very hard to go back to the wet cement we have in the Sierra. We are badly spoiled. But just as Tennyson said "it is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all," it is better to boondock once in a while than never, even if we can't boondock all the time.

(I am fairly sure that "Tennyson" and "boondock" are rarely used in the same sentence. Tennyson did not have an RV, either.)

[toedtoes]

JiminDenver wrote:
Once you have done it a bit, come back and look at the thread, plus others here to see how we all do it. Don't take any one setup as gospel, they tend to be tailored to each users needs and budget. Rather look at all of them on a whole and find the options that fit your needs and budget. Properly set up, you can drop the rig anywhere and have people wondering where the power cord is.

X2. I think this is the best advice. Look at what others do and then customize it all for the best setup for you and your family.

[JiminDenver]

One word of caution, one week of real boondocking out in the middle of no where, with no neighbors and you may find it addictive. What was just background noise that you were use to in a campground becomes annoying after you have become accustomed to hearing nothing but nature. Any site no matter how big will feel cramped and you will wonder why you are paying to be there. That is the true dark side, one you can not return from.

Once you have done it a bit, come back and look at the thread, plus others here to see how we all do it. Don't take any one setup as gospel, they tend to be tailored to each users needs and budget. Rather look at all of them on a whole and find the options that fit your needs and budget. Properly set up, you can drop the rig anywhere and have people wondering where the power cord is.

[chr_]

JiminDenver wrote:
There are a lot of different solutions to dry camping depending on how often and how long you do it. Starting with the battery, it can be as simple as a heavy set of jumper cables so that the truck can charge you up, a rented generator will do it and you wont have to spend thousands or maintain it for that occasional trip.

X2

Your TV's alternator will charge the Trailer battery much faster with the jumper cables connected between the batteries.

I camp with 2 GC2's and They do last a long time on LED's. I run the Genset for an hour or so every second day to keep from discharging the batteries too much, usually when running the furnace. The fan takes a lot of juice, and I used to have a AC/DC compressor fridge...

[camper19709]

Solar to recharge your batteries and replacing your bulbs with LEDS is great. That's what I have and love it. In the meantime just power down to minimum usage. Use one light. Maybe even using a battery powered lantern. A battery powered radio. Limit water pump usage. Leave home with empty holding tanks and a full tank of fresh water. You can do it! I have done it in the past.

[toedtoes]

I'm not a fan of generators either. But I still haven't seen a need for one.

I had picked up an O2Cool 12v fan that came with a battery pack. The fan didn't make it, but the battery pack is great. It uses 4 D size batteries and has a cigarette lighter socket and a USB socket. I use it to charge my cell phone. I've charged my phone over 10 times, plus a friend's about 4 times and it is still on its first set of batteries.

I also have one of those car jumpstart/air compressor powerpacks. I charge it while on the road to my site, then use it to charge my netbook (if I use it) and run my mp3 player and speakers. I can also use it to run a small fan if needed.

All that leaves very little taking a charge out of my Group 31 AGM deep cycle battery. I use my RV lights at night when cooking, visiting with a friend, etc. If I'm just reading for a while, I use a AAA puck light - it doesn't keep the dogs awake. Outside, I use battery powered lanterns and flashlights.

That leaves the water pump using the battery on a regular basis. It only runs when a faucet is running, so I don't worry about it.

[rbpru]

Do you want convenience or opportunity? I like my cable with the evening news and weather, I like the microwave, I like the air conditioning etc. but I am willing to forgo all of that for a couple of days in the woods and being limited to battery power if the opportunity is right.

With the battery set up that came with my TT, I will go about three days on the battery but it is just my wife and I. If I were planning on an extended stay or frequent boondock trips we would have to improve on our electrical resources.

I am not a fan of generators but I am in the minority on that issue. Most of our travel is camp for a few days and see the sights then move on; so an occasional non-electric site is not an issue.

[toedtoes]

Dry camping is not that difficult. For me, that's pretty much all I do. Here are my tricks:

1. Only turn on lights when I need them. The inside lights do not need to be on if I'm sitting outside.

2. When it's convenient, use the campground bathroom facilities. During the day, it's not a terrible thing to walk a bit through the campground to use the bathrooms. At night, etc., use your RV facilities.

3. Try the campground water. Usually, it's pretty decent water (unlike RV Park water). You can use it for cooking, coffee, etc. That reduces your use of the fresh tank water.

3. Simplify. People have lived for centuries without a microwave or hair dryer. It's not that difficult to get back to that world. Use your power for necessities and skip the conveniences.

As for ruining the trip, my first camping trip with my TT, I discovered a crack in the hot water tank (so no TT water at all) and my battery wouldn't hold a charge (so no electrical). I had a great time. Lanterns, flashlights and LED puck lights covered lighting needs, propane covered cooking and fridge, and the campground water spigot covered my water needs. Sure it would have been more convenient had those things worked in the TT - but it didn't make it impossible to stay for the duration and enjoy my trip.

[lizzie]

We have just returned from a 9 week trip, mostly in the Canadian Maritimes. We don't specifically choose to boondock but we like to be prepared because it gives us more freedom and we aren't tied to making reservations. We camped without services several times for overnight, during Hurricane Arthur in New Brunswick, and for four days in Ontario on the way home. All we need is full fresh water tanks and our little generator. We run the gen about an hour in the evening. lizzie

[wbwood]

If we can do it, so can you. Last year we stayed at Julian Price Memorial Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway (just outside Blowing Rock, NC) for a weekend. Before the trip we added a 2nd house battery, 2 fantastic fans and LED bulbs. I did run the genny for about an hour on the Saturday morning because I was afraid of the batteries dropping too low. But we survived fine. lol