Boondocking is essentially camping without services. The term started with camping in the “boonies” or boondocks and has since been redefined into camping without services.
Why should you boondock?We enjoy boondocking for the experiences. Some places we have stayed have had sights and experiences we would not have found in a campground. We get to spend time in our RV in remote locations and enjoy the solitude of nature without neighbors — or, with a group of lively friends without worrying that we will annoy other campers.
Oftentimes, when we attend rallies or festivals, we have to boondock. If you have attended an FMCA convention, you may have already experienced boondocking. Again, it’s not about being in the middle of the forest — it’s more about camping without services.
Boondocking is often free, or at least less expensive than a full-hookup campground. We like saving our money for more important things, like savoring local fare or buying souvenirs. Or, you know, maybe even paying our bills. Bleh.
Where to find boondocking
Boondocking means camping without services. That type of camping can be done pretty much anywhere. One of the fears related to boondocking is finding locations where it is legal and safe to camp. There are a lot of places where you can boondock in safety.
Memberships
There are membership services such as Harvest Hosts, Boondockers Welcome, and Hipcamp where property owners offer a space on their commercial or private property for campers to park for a night or two. Most of these services offer a safe place to spend a night or two, without offering any sort of amenities. Of course, there are exceptions, and some of these locations do offer power, or water, or sometimes even allow connecting to the property Wi-Fi. For the most part, though, these locations simply offer boondocking space. A benefit to this sort of membership is that you know you are welcome to stay, because you have made prior arrangements.
If you belong to a lodge, like the Elks or the Moose then you may be able to find campsites or boondocking opportunities at those locations. Some people join a lodge primarily to have access to a safe space to overnight while they are on the road.
Government Locations
In the West, there are a lot of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) open spaces. In the eastern states, there is not much BLM land. However, US Forest Service (USFS) lands can often be found in that part of the country. Generally speaking, these federally managed lands are available for free camping. There are exceptions, and it’s a good idea to check with a local ranger or visitor center before choosing a site.
In many states, if you camp at a state park campground, you’ll be boondocking, because state parks often do not have hookups available. I grew up in California and thought this was a fact about all state parks. When I started traveling around the country, I was surprised to find hookups in some state park campgrounds! This is likely also true of federal parks, though we haven’t been to very many of those.
Army Corps of Engineers parks likewise tend to have no hookups, or to offer partial hookups. These government facilities are good places to boondock, places where you know you are allowed to spend a night or two.
Moochdocking
While the locations mentioned above are, to various extents, sort of “formal” or “established” places to boondocks, there are other options. We call these “moochdocking” sites.
Many people like to overnight in parking lots of places like Walmart, Cracker Barrel, or other restaurants and businesses. While this is a fairly common practice, it does take a fair amount of planning. Walmart, as a company, is very supportive of RVers spending a night in their parking lots. However, more and more city and county jurisdictions have banned overnight parking within their boundaries. Therefore, it is very important to check with the specific location where you would like to spend a night. Call the store or restaurant and speak to someone who knows the answer. Then, when you arrive, check in with the manager of the store or location to let them know you are there. It’s considered most polite to make a purchase or otherwise patronize the hosting business.
Another moochdocking option is to call a relative or friend who lives in an area you wish to visit and ask them if they have room and would be willing to allow you to park in their driveway or otherwise on their property. As mentioned, some cities and especially some HOAs may forbid this overnighting, so make sure you and your host know the rules.
How to practice boondocking
If you aren’t sure whether you are ready to boondock, try this practice technique. Go to a full-hookup campground and simply don’t hook up. Use your RV as you are accustomed to. Take note of how long and how well your systems work for you. This will give you an idea of how long your RV and you can get along without those amenities.
Test your systems
Fill your freshwater tank instead of hooking up to city water. Pay attention to your water usage. Note how long it takes to empty your freshwater tank. Also very important: note how long it takes to fill your gray and black tanks. For us, the gray tank fills two or three times more quickly than the black tank, depending on how diligent I am when taking my showers.
Note that when you are not hooked up to shore power, unless you have an inverter in your RV, many of the 120-volt alternating current (AC) appliances and devices will not work on battery alone. Decide whether you can live without those amenities. Often, this includes the microwave, air conditioner, and power outlets.
You’ll still be able to use the 12-volt system: lights, water pump, and the like. If you have a 12-volt refrigerator, note how much of your battery is used up. Those refrigerators have a lot of advantages but also use quite a bit of power. Likewise, the fan on the furnace seems to be power-hungry. The heat, for the most part, comes from propane, but the fan is 12-volt.
Later, we’ll talk about how to extend your 12-volt power for more flexibility in boondocking.
Fill Your Tanks
When you are ready to go boondocking, and you have your location arranged, there is still some preparation to take into consideration.
Water
Start your boondocking with a full freshwater tank. Some people worry about traveling with full water tanks, and we have heard of tanks breaking free from the frame when they are heavy from being full of water. If you don’t want to travel long distances with a full tank, you’ll need to find a nearby source of fresh water before you reach your boondock destination. Many travel stops, like Love’s or Pilot Flying J, have potable water available. Other places with dump stations might also offer fresh water. If you are going to a state park, they may have a fill station somewhere, though perhaps not at your campsite.
We carry extra water in bags made by Wolverine Tuff Bottles. If we are unable to find a freshwater source to fill our tank directly, Wolverine has a transfer pump system that can be used to fill from the bags. The benefit is the tank can be filled on site, with no full-tank driving at all.
One way that we have found to really save water when boondocking (and all the time really) is the Geyser Shower System. The system includes thin tubing and a sponge. The water comes through the tube to fill the sponge. A typical shower with the Geyser System uses only about a gallon of water! In fact, Tony likes this system so much that he bought one for the house shower as well.
Propane
You’ll want to be sure you have plenty of propane. Your stove, oven (if you have one), water heater, and furnace will need propane. If it’s summer, you may not use your furnace. You also may not want to use the oven. However, you may need the stove. We boil water on the stovetop to make our coffee with AeroPress coffee systems.
It’s unlikely your water heater will work on the electric setting if you aren’t hooked to shore power. Even our power package, which will run everything else (yep, even the air conditioner) will not power the electric water heater.
Batteries
If you have lead-acid (flooded) batteries, make sure they are well-maintained before heading out — particularly if you plan to boondock far from other people. You don’t want to get stuck with a dead battery and no way to get help!
You may want to consider lithium batteries if you plan to be off grid a lot. Lithium batteries charge faster and can be discharged more deeply without consequence compared to lead-acid batteries. While lithium batteries are more expensive to purchase, they save money in the long run because they last much longer than flooded batteries.
Charging Batteries
Whichever batteries you choose, you’ll need to keep them charged up. Since you won’t have shore power while boondocking, alternative methods of battery charging are needed.
Solar panels are a very convenient way to charge batteries. Solar panels can be mounted permanently on the roof of your RV, or portable panels can be used. The advantage of portable panels is that if you need to follow the sun, they can be placed in a location and at an angle to make the most use of the sunlight.
A generator provides power to charge batteries, as well as supplying a source of 120-volt AC power to run a microwave or air conditioner, if it is sized correctly. Another benefit of generators is that if the day is cloudy and the solar panels don’t work, the generator still can. Disadvantages include the noise and possibly smell of running the engine, and the maintenance needs, which vary by machine.
Portable power stations can also charge batteries, though they often are more limited than generators. Portable power stations can typically be recharged with solar panels, as well. They also provide limited amounts of 120-volt AC power.
Are you ready?
Hopefully, you found these boondocking tips helpful. If you were thinking of boondocking, maybe you feel more confident. If you never considered boondocking, perhaps this helped change your mind. It’s not necessary to go deep into the woods and camp for days. Sometimes it’s just convenient to find a safe overnight space without paying for a campsite.
| Peggy and Tony Barthel are RV industry veterans who travel part-time in a Rockwood MiniLite 2205S travel trailer, looking for fun and unique destinations as well as tips, tricks, and discounts to turn the American RV adventure into StressLess Camping. You can catch them Thursday mornings on their podcast, or any time at www.stresslesscamping.com |
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