Hi from Quebec, I have been full timing for 7 years since retiring. I live on my bush lot in Quebec in the summer and in southern Arizona/California in the winter. I used to have a 38 ft 5th wheel but now have a home built 16x7x7 cargo trailer to RV conversion. I boondock 100% of the time in the winter. Between the panels on the roof and 3 ground solar panels, I have 2050 watts and 900 amp hours of lithium iron phosphate batteries. This allows me to have a full sized home 120 volt fridge with ice maker and drawer freezer. I also have a 32 inch computer monitor that uses a fair amount of power. My fresh water is a 100 gallon plastic farm tank that lives in the bed of my Ram 3500. A short hose runs to the V nose of the cargo trailer, where there is a water inlet fixture. It takes seconds to hook up when I arrive at my destination, whether that is a boondocking site or a Walmart parking lot. My water is heated by a propane fueled on demand water heater on the bathroom wall. Long hot showers in the middle of nowhere with no rationing or worries about running out of hot water. This is a boondocking rig only, so I have no holding tanks, except a small 6 gallon grey tank under the kitchen sink. The sink and shower normally drain straight to the ground. Although 90% of the time I prefer to do the dishes in a plastic tub of hot soapy water on the tailgate of the truck out in nature. I have a drain board for drying and the fresh 100 gallon tank has a Y valve so one hose goes to the RV and one short hose gravity feeds and gives me running water at the tailgate for rinsing dishes and filling water dishes for the dog. The gollon or two or dishwater is dumped in the desert where it quickly vanishes. So about the only water draining out of the kitchen sink drain is from washing hands. But for nights at places like Walmart, I flip a valve and divert the sink water into the 6 gallon Gerry can. This is big enough to get me across the country twice a year while staying every night at Walmarts. I have an Airhead compost toilet, so I have no black tank. The two gallon pee jug is discreetly dumped in the desert once or twice a week as needed. The solids tank media (coco coir) is changed out once every 4 to 6 weeks, and the used media is legal to throw in a green garbage bag and taken to the dump. Just think how many disposable diapers are tossed out daily. I no longer need a dump station..ever. Heat is from a Big Buddy heater that is hooked permanently to the RV propane lines. Oven and stove are propane and are from the fifth wheel. My total cost per month last winter for heat, hot water, and the stove/oven was $21 US a month. That is my only utility bill as long as the sun is shining. The trailer is very well insulated with polystyrene with 4 inches in the ceiling. I can very easily stay two or three weeks in one remote location and not want for anything. I do carry a propane generator but rarely ever need to use it over the winter. Two years ago I switched from Verizon to Starlink. My desert playground tripled in size overnight. The more remote my location, the faster the internet. I can now stream HD video on a 32 inch monitor out in the middle of nowhere. No RV parks, no dump stations, and because I built this RV myself, no shady RV repair shops to navigate. If something breaks I will fix it, but so far in about 3 years nothing has needed to be repaired. When I had the fifth wheel, it was one expensive repair after another. My Golden Retriever is my travel buddy, and even though I am usually boondocking alone, I am rarely lonely. And last but not least, Google Maps satellite view is your best friend. Using a full size desktop and the mouse I can tilt and turn the view and zoom in on any dirt road I am considering driving down to take a really good look at it without having to commit to it sight unseen. I have found fantastic boondocking sites from 300 miles away, then driven right to them after dropping a pin on the location in my iPhone Apple Maps/GPS.
Id like to get tips on your build, sounds like a good build. I'm convinced I need to build my own too. Ive designed on paper a 13'6"x7'6" interior. Inside will include a42"x24" removable eating tabletop area from the 42"x24" shower bay area.A permanent queen bed with removable bunks above make up sleeping quarters. My sleeping quarters, queen below and bunks above, with bike garage will measure out 80"x90". Galley will be 7'6" long counter with sink and 12V Domectic fridge,$1100. Ha An eating area converts to shower 40"x24", and additional 24" of space for a compost toilet like yours. The closet, adds another 24" for total shower length, 64 inches. Length will be a standard house size tub/shower combo. I plan on having outside panel access to behind galley and toilet for ease of maintenance. And a fold down rear door. I want the top 3 feet to collapse for easy garage storage but find this tough engineering. Bottom will be a 4' feet high, permanent structure. Hope to keep under 3000# and have an airbag suspension for off road camping too. I want to be off grid for a week at a time. Any insight or resources would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Oh yea a 55" fully reclined recliner can fit to complete a total man cave RV. Ha
@@jamesconnor9142 Hi there, My new and empty 16x7x7 ft Orion cargo trailer was bought in Phoenix and weighed 2750 lbs. I will soon be running it over the scale again and expect it is now around 6000 - 6200. I will be close to the max of 7000 lbs when I am done with all the cabinetry. I am pulling it with a Cummins Ram 3500 so I don't really care about the weight and heavy maple that I am using. Collapsing for garage storage sounds incredibly challenging and expensive. I have no idea how to do this. It would require some ingenuity to still be able to have windows, which are pretty essential. Sleeping 4 in a trailer this small is going to be tricky. When you remove the bunks, they will also have mattresses and bedding. Where will this go during the day, especially in rainy or windy weather? Where will the tabletop go during the day? You might have this all figured out already, but these are the questions that come to my mind. The big challenges of off grid boondocking for more than just a night or two are electrical power, black and grey water, and fresh water. Electrical power is the big one and the most expensive to deal with. Solar power with an inverter/charger and a lithium iron phosphate battery bank is pretty much essential unless you don't mind running the generator most of the time. And the gas or propane and replacing generators gets expensive pretty fast. If you are pulling the trailer with a pickup truck, then I recommend doing as I did and putting a big farm tank in the bed of the truck for your fresh water. My 100 gallon water tank is over 800 lbs when full, and I have a lot more weight left that I can put in the bed of the Ram than I do on the trailer. The bonus is when you run into town for something your water tank is with you and you can top it off if needed without breaking camp. A compost toilet is the way to go for off grid boondocking, though with 4 people you will likely have to change the solids tank once a week. Go to Walmart and buy animal bedding wood shavings for very cheap to use as toilet media. Pee jug can be dumped in the desert discreetly. If you want to be able to charge batteries from a generator, and if you want 120 volt power, you will need an inverter/charger. To control the electricity being generated by the solar panels and sent to your batteries, you will need a solar charge controller. If I were starting from scratch I would use all Victron components, as they talk beautifully together and keep you in the loop with a very cool display. These essential components for generating and distributing electricity are expensive, though they last a long time and pay for themselves eventually. I ran the minimum Pex plumbing line from the water inlet in the V nose to the 12 volt water pump and water heater on the bathroom wall beside the shower stall. All the Pex piping is run on the bathroom wall and both it and the water pump are easily accessible if anything needs repaired or replaced. Just past the shower stall is the kitchen sink and that is as far as the plumbing has to go. All fittings are easy to get to. I found planning the electrical difficult because it has to be done very early in the build - after the insulation but before closing in the walls. Where is every electrical outlet going to go? I have ten 120 volt outlets in the RV, 3 with USB. They are everywhere they are needed, and all but two are hidden from view inside cabinets, etc. Polystyrene insulation..one inch in the walls, two in the floor and rear ramp, and four in the ceiling. I use very little propane to stay warm in the desert in the winter when it gets down to around zero at night. I get it nice and warm in the evening, but the heater never runs at night when I am sleeping as it is not needed. And yes I do have a recliner and I am sitting in it now. At the end of the chair at my feet is a countertop with a 32 inch computer monitor. Have you thought about how much storage you are going to need for four people for a week? My bed is a raised queen platform across the back of the trailer. Underneath is all storage..and the solar system and battery bank and my astrophotography gear. The three 250 watt ground solar panels also ride in there when I am driving. Clothes are in plastic totes stacked.
Great video! It appears the biggest safety concern you'll encounter while boondocking is falling off your porch. Ha, Ha. Glad you're healing well, Darlene. Don't beat yourself up; we all make silly mistakes from time to time. It could happen to any of us, and it could have been much worse, thank God. We're experienced FT boondockers who love this lifestyle. We have been living without hookups now for about 19 months straight. We don't use much propane anymore since we switched from our old Dometic propane fridge that used about a lb. a day to a residential fridge, saving us over $300/yr. in propane, paying for our new fridge in a single year. We make do with our 35ft motorhome's onboard 25-gallon propane tank and a portable 20lb tank with an extend-a-stay kit. This lets us go into town with our toad and either replace or refill our portable tank as well as our 65-gallon water bladder without moving our motorhome. After we installed our big solar system and mini split heat pump, we hardly ever use propane for space heating too, so we get about a month now on a 20lb tank. These 2 changes cut our propane use by more than half. Once you get used to this lifestyle your fill and dump chores, water management, etc. gets much easier - and this is from an overweight 68yr old with a barely ambulatory wife. So, if we can do it, practically anyone can. Where there's a will there's a way. We go places that even amazes me, after all these years. We once drove our big rig 9 miles down a rutted, wash boarded forest service road, so we could boondock overlooking the N. Rim of the Grand Canyon. The view was beyond amazing, and we enjoyed it by ourselves for the full 2 weeks we were there. We've had other equally amazing boondocking experiences too, far too many to list, all over the US, but mainly out west. We started with the 2-lead acid golf cart batteries that came with our coach, with only 620 watts of solar, using our generator as needed. We boondocked this way for 3 years before we swapped them for lithiums. You make do with what you have. We save so much money living this way, strictly off our meager SS retirement funds that after 5 years of boondocking and saving our money, we were able to upgrade to our huge solar system that runs everything in our RV including 2 A/Cs entirely off the sun, spending zero money to run our generator. We built our entire system with over 5kw of solar and 23.5kwh of batteries for only $10k (not counting our high efficiency heat pump), by doing everything ourselves, even building our own batteries. For a prebuilt battery though, it's hard to beat the $165/kwh Redodo. Now that we're retired, we have more time than money, so we fully researched, designed and built our dream system ourselves. If we can do it, so can you. Now that it's finished, we save even more and can live more comfortably off grid regardless the season, though we avoid snowy weather and icy roads too - for comfort as well as safety's sake. For us, the upsides of FT boondocking far outweigh the downsides. One day we'll have to settle down in an RV park somewhere, but for the foreseeable future, we'll continue to live this way as long as we're able.
I've been boondocking since 1964. I do stay in parks as well, based on price, and at times for a single night. I never realized it was a "thing!" I started as a child, my Dad was an avid outdoors man, my mom a city girl. She wasn't camping with a bedroll or even a tent. We started in a 15' Hi-Lo trailer. In 1973, we upgraded to a 22' Winnebago Brave. I now have a 36' ORV 5th wheel. Love being out camping. Also, different RV brands do round-ups. I love to meet other ORV owners in Quartzite, AZ!
Big tip we always tell people when newbies ask us about boondocking is to try it out while at an RV park. Unplug (if you have an inverter/batteries, since you can’t run a genny in a park) and disconnect from water. Let’s you really see your needs and always have a backup by having the ability to just hook back up. 👍🏻
We are tent campers and are so ready to get out there. We have done a practice run in our backyard, which was interesting. The whole toilet thing is still a big ? for us. Great video, beautiful location! Would you tell me where y'all are in Colorado?
We were super sad this summer when we thought we'd installed enough solar & batteries to be able to spend the summer in utah. We quickly realized it was too hot & could barely run the ac without overheating our system. We decided ro install a mini-split ac/heat unit h it saved our whole summer! We tested it out at 117 outside and it was 83 inside without overheating our system. Currently it's 102 out and 71 in here. If you want the ability to boondock without having to fear the temps, the mini split absolutely was worth it and it was only $550 on Amazon. We had to lose a couple of cabinets but it was well worth it to be able to complete our summer plans more comfortably.
We’ve talked about it but we never stay anywhere quite that hot (or we will move). But maybe when the budget allows. We would need multiple since we have three separate sections of living with the toy hauler. It’s definitely on that someday list. Thanks for sharing. So glad to hear it was a good move
@adventuresontheroad1969 copy & pasting from our Amazon purchased list "Victron Energy MultiPlus-II 2X Pure Sine Wave Inverter Charger for 120 amp Battery, 120V, 3000VA 12-Volt" Batteries: "ECO-WORTHY 12V 280Ah 2 Pack LiFePO4 Lithium Battery, 6000+ Deep Cycles Lithium Iron Phosphate, 7168Wh Energy, Support in Series/Parallel, for RV, Off-Grid, Solar Power System, Home Backup, UPS, Marine" and we purchased 4 of them. For solar we bought in Kingman Arizona & got 6 panels of 375 bi-facial. We've been able to run our ac unit non stop with no issues. Side note, we also do have an Onan 5500 generator that came with our grand design momentum.
@thomashunt8757 it was in Laughlin, NV in August. we actually posted a video showing our test because we are so pleased with the performance. I wish we'd know about a minisplit years ago!
We don’t do a ton of National Forest dispersed csmping because of our 40,000 lb weight…but we still do a good amount of “dry camping” in NPS or NF campsites with no utilities, or in Q where we don’t want to move the rig more than once every two weeks. Our ultra water conservation mode (2 weeks on 1-100 gallon tank) means paper plates, cups. Cooking on the grill and/or the cast iron pan (which you wipe out, no soap). Navy showers alternating with baby wipes. Peeing? If it’s yellow, let it mellow…you know the saying. One thing we definitely do if we’re parking on dry grass, and using the diesel furnace or the generator..we use a fire blanket under any hot exhaust.
We purchased our 43 foot 5th wheel 2+ years ago to go full time in our retirement. One big thing that had me choose this rig we bought was the solar/inverter set up. 800w on the roof and then I changed the 6v battery system with 4-100ah lithium. I thought it would work just fine. I WAS WRONG......, The 800 might be "okay" but to double that would be a lot better, especially when the sun isn't up as much as it is now even here in Arizona. Then the batteries..... No where near what is needed in this "luxury" 5r with the residential fridge, the washer/dryer along with the other stuff going on in it. Ideal solar is going to be quite a bit more on top when we upgrade this year and the ah is going to be A LOT more than it is now.... enough to run AC all day and still have power for the night. Like mentioned here.... The tanks are a bit of a pain and keeping them able to take more of what ever or keeping some fresh water on board. Other than that boondocking is fantastic! It's just a matter of having to change usage habits and realizing the tanks are gonna have to be filled/emptied once a week or two., (I wanted to show the details of the solar to show someone new and what to look into what is needed. More than mine!)
Thanks for sharing your experience - it's great to hear firsthand how much power you need. It sounds like you're putting a lot of thought into your upgrade!
AGREE WITH EVERYTHING YOU SAID. We've been boondockking for 4+ years with 1800 watts of solar and 7 100 ah Battle Born batteries. (We didn't know better) Compostong toilets work. On demand wayer heater can open up an electrical circuit. All sorts of ideas are out there. That's where meet and greets come in. You guys are great. Thanx
We have 800w on top and 400ah. Your 1800 is something closer to what we'll have on the upgrade we're doing this year but the 700 ah.... is that enough? Inverter size?
We love Boondocking. It is so much easier than folks think. We’ve had three campers over the last 25 years. We have no solar, no lithium, and just bought our first generator two years ago. It’s a balancing act for sure, but well worth it. We are only weekend warriors, so we aren’t out for extended periods often, but hopefully that will change in a few years 😎. Safe travels 🇺🇸
Great video, thanks. I am not quite a full timer, but I boondock a lot. An idea: For folks who have not tried it. A good place to learn is in your driveway. Disconnect, unplug and move into your rig for a day or two. See what works and if you like it.
Hello. Creativity RV - she says never stay within a certain miles (now I can't recall) of a town as that is where people who are up to no good (per se) will hang out. Further out, is too far from town for them. All great info. Thanks for sharing. Safe travels. Glad you are doing better, Darlene.
Interesting! See her point but we are about 25 minutes from a. Small mountain town. Not an issue. Now, 30 minutes from a bigger city and I would totally agree. I am doing so much better thank you so much.
REDODO!! Me too. 2, 24 volt 100 amp hour batteries (equivalent to 400 amp hour with 12 volt) hooked to an all in one charger/inverter from MPP Solar. Right now there is 600 watts of solar on the roof and will be adding more panels later as needed. We are still in the building stage (skoolie) but have been running the system for tools while building and so far, everything looks good.
This big issue for us is living in the southeast. It’s hot and humid here and you must have A/C to sleep comfortably. With your rig I imagine you would need a massive generator to run all 3 a/c units.
We live in Georgia. We love dry camping in the north Georgia mountains in the summer. We go to national forest campgrounds mainly for a cost of $3.50-10.00/night with our senior pass. We get by fine at night with using a small fan. But we are not really hot natured people and hate being cooped up in air conditioning.
Fairly new subscriber & I'm happy to have found you guys!!! Happy to see your recovering! Gotta say THANK YOU up front for all the valuable info you are giving us ❤ I just finished your RV expenses vid from 4 mo ago & it is fantastic. I've watched alot of those type & yours is SO good. Your solar info is a God send as well. Please keep these types of videos coming. There are still plenty of people getting started that don't have a clue & could use your help! We have sold the house, got a 40ft RV now but are looking for a truck & solar so once again Thank You for your help. You guys are entertaining & lovely to watch but you are helping this community as well!!!Sending best wishes from Clearwater area❤❤❤❤
Well hello Clearwater. Barry’s band frequently played there back when we lived in Sarasota. Thanks so much for your encouraging words and support. We truly appreciate it.
I have to agree with you on the Redodo Batteries. We have been using them for several years before they changed names and they work flawlessly. We are running our 12 volt refrigerator off one battery 24 hours a day for over 2 years and it just works.
Great vid....thank you. My wife and I started our "got to conserve" lifestyle costal cruising on our trawler, and it can be quite fun. The challenges are almost the same, from scouting on our tender, to water and waste management. We learned to think of it like a big puzzle and that is the trick. We are headed towards a full Super C with a trailer for our dirt bikes and golf cart, and your vids are a nice resource. Thanks!
Have you done a video on how to find boondocking locations? I try using all the usual sites and apps but still find it hard to find sites, even in the mid and SW states. Also, you may travel further than you can scout out beforehand. We don't have e-bikes to ride up the dirt road first and it's never convenient or smart to unhitch and drive up first either. Boondocking is something we really want to do but just can't seem to figure it out. HELP!
Nice video. We boondock every weekend on the property we hunt. We learn every weekend and try to get better at it. We try stuff and if it works then great. If not the it's a lessons learned. But we love it.
Thank you guys soooo much for all your information. I've been wanting to go full time and really looking at being next year or so. Just trying to decide like you guys did what to do with my apartment and furniture, what rig to buy and camper. So I'm investigating all the possibilities and options. I would live to boondock!
It’s a big decision and we are so excited for you! We have a ton of videos on fulltime living. In fact, we have an online course coming soon. Stay tuned
As far as temperatures go, chase the butter!!! If it is too hard to spread on toast, head south (or lower elevation), if it needs a brush to baste on the toast, it it too warm and you need to head north (or higher in elevation)!
Love the butter test! We do coconut oil. We have it on the shelf and Barry uses it daily. lol we have this same discussions as we travel. Gotta go, it’s runny😜🏃💨
@@liketheresnotomorrow I can’t tell you how happy I am your injury wasn’t worse. Berry will just have to be the one to dump out the dish water from now on. Be safe. See y’all soon.
So happy see you out of the collar We just got a popup it’s a start We use to be tenters now we’re moving up Plan to rv full time in 3 yrs so trying the popup way now
When I use my 34 gal. CAMCO sewer tote to empty my black & gray tanks at campsite without sewer connections it takes at least 4 trips to the dump station. Your rig has more and bigger tanks than mine. Your video makes it seem like you only need to make one trip to the dump station, (if you mentioned additional trips to dump gray tanks, I missed it, sorry).
We didn’t elaborate on how many times we need to go to empty all tanks. We just go when we need to. The tanks don’t all fill the same and it depends how long we are staying. I guess we just assumed people would know their tank size vs their tote size. Thanks for the question: it’s a good one.
I like to use the philosophy, if there’s snow on your trailer or you have to use the a/c, your trailer is in the wrong spot. BTW, we’ll see you at Romp it Up!
I am sooooo guilty of washing my dishes with the water running (at home). I have to change my evil ways. LOL I love your content. We have tossed the idea of Lithium but the $$$ is usually high with the big brands. Are these Redodo made in the US? We also worry about waste. And buying a lesser brand that is not going to last and have to chunk it in the landfill is a consideration for us. I will go check out the website as well. I have to say.....this was a great video overall. Good solid information. And Darlene....you are free of the neck brace !!!! So glad your recovery is going well. Thanks guys for sharing as always.
Thank you. I am feeling much better these days. We have had the Redodo batteries for over a year and are very pleased. Almost all batteries are originally Chinese made but us brands relabel them. Redodo has two us warehouses and great customer service. Watch our solar video. We really detail it more there. A very reputable solar consultant recommended this brand and uses it in two different of his own rvs.
Great video! Im working right now while watching your vid on my shore power install for my cargo conversion. You are making me want to leave tonight! I love the Collegiates area in CO. We travel back and forth to CO quite a bit currently as I still have a band up there (currently live close to beach in Texas). That round up sounds fun. I wish we could make it. Trying to knock out insulation, power, and rudimentary kitchen before end of month. We have an off grid property in Colorado, as well. Hopefully we will see you out there somewhere!
Thanks for the video. Great job. We are building an expedition truck and have always boondock. It's the only way. Welcome to the area. We work in BV. Enjoy it, it beautiful here.
What a beautiful spot!! We are tent campers, that would be perfect, it looks nice and level. I have to admit, we have never done any dispersed camping. Thank you for sharing your video, I'll be watching more
We’ve had them about a year and half. I think. No, we do not have that bay heated. We generally never stay anywhere cold enough or hot enough for issues. lol
I really appreciate you telling us what apps you use. We are preparing for full-time rving in 3 years after our son graduates from college. I'm so excited!! Next weekend we are going camping and gonna go daydream over full-time possible RVs ❤❤ I want to buy soon so we are comfortable with the payment. We are probably going to keep our house as a rental for income and security until we decide where we'll land after traveling for a few years. 💙
That is awesome! We leased our home for a year and after that we decided it wasn’t worth it. If it was generating a decent income vs the expense, we would have kept it. Florida home insurance was killing us in the end and we couldn’t get the same price for the rental as the first year. Ya just gotta roll with what’s best. I’m excited for ya.
@@liketheresnotomorrow oh ok cool! We own in west Tennessee so normally no hurricanes but Francis just came over us yesterday as a tropical depression and it's still raining lol I heard about the insurance companies pulling out of Florida! That's so sad that they can do that. It doesn't seem right. We are both from Florida originally buty hubby grew up in the panhandle and I was moving all over as a military brat and we landed in the PNW in Washington State and omg my heart yearns for the mountains and the Pacific coast. 💙💙
The shower routine would be easy for me, I spent 15+ years having to shower just like that. And because of that life, I always take short showers, even with full hook-ups
Hi guys, really enjoy your great videos and am so happy to see the neck brace is gone, glad you’re feeling better. You mention in this video that you use a macerator sometimes to fill your portable waste tote. I’m assuming you use it to pump your black water tank up into the tote you’ve loaded into your truck bed empty for hauling to dump stations too far away to simply hook the full tote to your hitch? Do you have a video giving more detail on this, I couldn’t find anything on this in your recent tote filling video? Thanks for all your videos, keep up the good work! We really enjoy your channel and website.
Composting toilet would save on water and dumping issues. a simple bag with cover compost is cheap and effective essentially a out house in doors. You will have to take bag out every two or three days but it mean you can combine the black and grey tank as well.
@@liketheresnotomorrow incinerator toilets are very expensive and a nightmare when they break. Build your own compost toilet and you do not have to separate, use saw dust. It will cost less than 300 dollars to build.
@@liketheresnotomorrow BTW- we have the same friends! Dan is a good friend of ours and couldn’t ask for a nicer human being! Dave and Jacqueline are great friends as well and have boondocked a lot with them too! Hope to cross paths with you guys sometime. We couldn’t make it to Romp It Up due to my doc appointments to get my injury taken care of in Los Algodones. Great to see you out of your brace!
I would love a short video of HOW you find these sites. Have you considered a quick connection to your onboard propane tanks for your generator? Thank you, guys, love watching all of your travels
I went over it a little in this video. th-cam.com/video/VMn0X0_HnDU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=WCeGg56V5dCCyMcA We finally determined that the gen works better with gasoline. It’s nice to have the option of both in case we run out of one.
We always boon dock, cities, Waffle House, blm land, Walmarts in SD to Florida. Parks become too expensive. We stayed at a Loves RV in Montana that was awesome. 40.00 full hookups
We're a little bit of a special case, but perhaps our rig setup can help. We converted a 30' school bus and we're 100% off-grid. Water is 100 gallons onboard and we use extreme water management, which sounds bad but isn't. Things like wiping off your dishes with paper towels before using a spray bottle with soap to wash them. Our only real water use is rinsing. And gray water is easily dumped in place. Just make sure every "product" you use is environmentally friendly. There is no food waste in the gray because .... well, you wiped it off. LOL! We also keep several large bottles of drinking water on-board, so I suppose technically we have a bit more than 100 gallons. Showers use minimal water. Water, turn off, wash, rinse, turn off. It's easy. And honestly, get a Planet Fitness membership and between spots take as long a shower as you want. But daily long showers are not necessary, even in the worst of desert conditions. We have no black water, it's a composting toilet and lasts weeks before a change is needed, It's also extremely easy to deal with. Electrical is all solar with a generator backup. And unless we hit a solid week of gray skies, we don't need it. As far as cooking, we are probably 50/50 between using electrical (Instapots are your friend!) and propane cooktops. Heat comes from a diesel heater and is very economical to run when you're too slow to drive far south enough to escape the cold weather. We rarely boondock in a place more than two weeks, so refilling/emptying/etc is between spots. BLM land is basically two week stays anyway, so it all works out fine. And should you find yourself in Baja ... 🙂... there are no limits on beach camping and it's free, free, free. Some bookdocks are in the middle of no one and no where. Some come with people who are doing just what you are doing. We limit ourselves to places that aren't 4x4 adventures because ... it's a 20,000 pound school bus. It's hard enough to drive where it's supposed to be driven. Overall, boondocking is our #1 choice and we avoid parks unless we absolutely have to. And strangely, when we do meet fellow boondockers, they are a dozen times more friendly than RV park dwellers. Each and every time. Just our $0.02. Safe travels!
And I forgot to mention ... we use Starlink and wifi calling and have never had an issue anywhere. Well maybe one time when Nikki booked us in a tree-filled state park. LOL! But with Starlink ... and yea yea I know (Elon!) ... connectivity is absolutely not an issue.
Just subscribed to you channel since the video content is interesting and valuable. I have been RVing in Class C’s and now a Class A since 20 years and never boondocked for more than 1-2 days. I would love to stay in a place like where you are staying in your video, just awesome. Only thing I need is to get the lithium batteries, solar and a more powerful converter. Have a 5500 Onan generator ( really that heavy ??).I like your portable dual fuel generator. All other I think I can manage. Would like to meet you guys sometimes. Safe travels!
You’ve totally got this! We’ll be throughout NM, AZ and Central CA through early December. If you’re in that area let us know. Oh, and we’ll be at the Tampa RV show in January. Would love to meet you! Thanks for tuning in. We appreciate it.
@@liketheresnotomorrow I have to convince my wife to travel to Central Ca or Tampa from Michigan in mid Dec./Jan. 😁. Greetings from Sleeping bear dunes, Michigan!
I am putting for my retirement as I speak and I have been building my camper from scratch for the last 4 years purpose built off grid. Maybe I may run into you guys at some point.
@@liketheresnotomorrow Thank you! This helps me know if we should take our rig on the same roads you are experiencing. We do not have that nice of suspension I am learning.
Hard to say. We see lots of rigs on the back roads that probably don’t have what we have. They just go super slow. This is why we scout it out before we attempt to drive it. If it looks too rough, we just pick something else.
Might be in another video but could you tell me an approximate cost breakdown of all things needed for boondocking. I wrote down the prices mentioned in this video but unless i missed it i didnt hear cost of the water bladder, the dump tank thing and the solars themselves. Trying to prepare for when our house sells and we go full time!
We have a Solar video that I think we talk about some of it, but it will really depend on what you choose. th-cam.com/video/UpwgAYhqx7I/w-d-xo.htmlsi=nUyl977KwHAAPvxi The water bladder and camco tote each have their own video on how to use but both are in our Amazon store under boondocking. www.amazon.com/shop/liketheresnotomorrow th-cam.com/video/b_jtAKlYxT4/w-d-xo.htmlsi=1ey_u3yngHML7rUx th-cam.com/video/b_jtAKlYxT4/w-d-xo.htmlsi=1ey_u3yngHML7rUx
We have a couple of videos on remote work. Hope they help. th-cam.com/video/tAWgfwFljF8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=WTKB5jRl6_n4PZCW th-cam.com/video/8bAByD6jKMw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=18cEwvlBNe19sSt7
Join boondocking groups on Facebook, and the apps iOverlander and Campendium. I think I talk about it in this video. th-cam.com/video/VMn0X0_HnDU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=79G4v4zrkioO-VhM
Just a question about ethonal fuel. You indicated stay away from it. I’m just curious why? We’re from Canada and we are planning on going full time in 2025. Planning on spending winters in the US south. I aways use high octane fuel in my equipment. Is it because of the altitudes.
Alrighty, y'all!! Wish me luck as I start warming up the hubs to this idea of meeting up with y'all in Senoita! I'm calling it my birthday present (which is 10/2) and then we can truck on over to Phoenix to visit his mama. Win-Win.....right??? 😊 Another great video, thanks so much!!
Looks like you guys were parked with a view of Mount Shavano/chalk cliffs, in Chaffee County, CO (between Salida & BV). Browns Creek? Raspberry Gulch? It also looks like it was about 12 days ago, and if that's accurate timing, I'm pretty sure we drove right by you guys while we were bumming around for the day. We literally live one road over. If that's not where you are, well, it's still pretty. PS - I commented right before I heard the part of the video where you confirmed that. Hope you guys enjoyed our little towns.
re generator fuel- gasoline is far more energy dense (less physical space per unit of energy) and gasoline is more readily available than propane. I use ethanol fuel without issues- the trick is to always run the tank dry so the carburator is dry when you put the generator away.
I am boondocking full-time with the 29 ft Class C and I'm towing a Nissan truck so far so good 4 months in I haven't had to pay and I have found some wonderful dispersed campgrounds however I am at the Tetons headed north and I can't find anything good around Gardener Montana or even closer to Livingston is fine any suggestions please or do you have a list or a database or ?
Other than Campendium, iOverlander, and our friends who have this boondocking map, we don’t have much noted for that area. Sorry. I’ll look in this big rig boondocking fb group I’m in. thewanderingshores.com/free-camping-site-reviews
Maybe it would be smart to boondock intermittently with staying at a campground so you can dump every other week or so. Without having to make trips to town.
We stay at places 14 days plus. We wouldn’t make it that whole time without dumping. We totally do that for a week. It’s really not that big of a deal to dump once with the tote.
I might have stayed in that RV park you mentioned. Was it the one between the highway and a creek, with a city walking trail beside it? (Trying to ask without blasting the place’s name all over.)
Nothing like being out boondocking and someone firing up their generator. Absolutely kills the setting for me. Spend enough to run everything on batteries to keep it quite for those of us that don’t run generators.
I hear ya. We only run it in a pinch. Like for some reason, our solar is having issues. We are waiting for a part. So we have to run it a little bit. But no one is anywhere near us. If we were close to people to where they could hear our gen that well, we’d move. lol
I'm curious what you plug your generator into. It appears you connect to the standard RV 50 amp. If so, how do you ensure no load when starting/stopping the generator? I don't know how you have have your battery/inverter system configured. For my setup I use EG4 48v 100ah batteries (as primary). My RV 50 amp connects to my EG4 inverters and only connect that at home or if at a campground with 50 amp service. If I connect to 120v at a campsite I connect into an EG4 chargeverter to charge batteries. If I use a 240v generator, it connects to the EG4 Chargevertor. I have a couple of small 48v chargers for smaller generators. The EG4 chargevertor starts at 0 amp and slowly builds up to the amount programmed. Max of 45 amp with 120v and 100 amp with 240v. Because I use chargers, I know that I am at no loaf when starting or stopping a generator. I also don't have to worry about using an ATS and my electric is isolated. As for batteries, they vary alot. I'm not saying Redodo is bad. From what I've heard they are a higher quality low end battery. Cheap batteries tend to lie about ah and/or BMS. I've seen in-depth reviews where a 100ah rated battery is actually a 70, 80, 90 ah battery and/or a 100 amp rated BMS is really 50 amp. Higher end batteries com with added features. Usually the offer battery comms to your inverter/charger so that the inverter/charger knows exactly how much ah is available, the battery voltage and how many amps the battery wants for charging/discharging. Some offer bluetooth/wifi connectivity and some have built in fire supression. The EG4 batteries that I use have battery comms, an lcd display that show ah, % full, cell voltage, etc per battery. They have a built-in breaker and 2 fire supression systems. These batteries are 19 inch rack mountable. They have a 12v 400ah, 24v 200ah, and 48v 100ah version. They weigh about 100 pounds each. Each is rated at 5120wh For the 12v version, for a smaller system, a single 5120wh battery means not having to run parallel cables and only securing a single battery. Redodo offers a 12v 410ah battery for $1050 on sale. It weighs 83 pounds, with a maximum 4p4s connectivity. It has a 4000 cycle lifetime and 5 year warranty. The EG4 12v 400ah battery is $1300. 7000 full cycles 10 year warranty. A max of 16 in parallel. Is $250 each worth the extra features? I think so, especially having 2 fire supressors and the ability to use a Rapid Shutdown System (RSD). The additional monitoring of the battery from the battery and a built-in breaker for each battery are large bonuses. If a battery goes bad, i simple open it's breaker and turn off the BMS. The rest of the batteries continue to work like normal (if the primary goes bad I will need to shutdown another battery in order to make it primary for the battery comms).
Sorry but this sounds crazy to sell your house to live on the RV full time. With millions of people fighting to get into a home along with rising housing prices and interest rates, it will be even more difficult to get back into a house once you get tired of this lifestyle. Most people quit this RV lifestyle after a few years for many reasons. Just remember that every year your RV is depreciating in value while real estate continues to go up in value. For example, say your house is worth 700K and you sell it now. Years down the road when you get sick of this lifestyle and want to go back into a house again, an equivalent house that you want to live in may cost you $1.2M and with an even higher interest rate! On top of that, you now have to pay an even higher property tax just to live in the same kind of house that you lived in before. So unless you got $10M in the bank, this lifestyle is not practical.
@@liketheresnotomorrow I did not mean to insult your life choices but I wanted to warn others about selling everything and living in RV full time. My wife and I are planning to retire early and travel the U.S. in a van. We will be staying in mix of KOA and motels. We are not selling our house and will rent it out. Most RVs are built like trash today and are very unreliable money pits. We will be traveling in a new Toyota Sienna van as Toyota is the only van we trust. We purchased our old 1300sqft 3bed 2bath home in San Jose CA for 800K. Now it is worth $1.4M. We work in tech and got lucky with our stock and we are planning to cash out and retired early. Good luck to you guys.
@@TacoGrande007 Yea I agree dont sell. I have an asset increasing., but cant use funds unless sell. But if sell Im out of the game I plan on keeping the house, maybe finance the 2nd home, (RV.) And then after one, or two or three years cut my loses for the cost of this lifestyle Im sure Ill enjoy.
@TacoGrande007 you don't need to explain yourself to them. They are obviously not opened to comments, criticism, etc and instantly got defensive. Their channel won't go far with their attitude.
You have a valid point, however, I have to respectfully disagree. Living in our house for 25 plus years house as we did and raised our 3 kids, that 2400 square ft house was toooo big in addition to the yard to maintain. We sold it and purchased a similar setup as Barry and Darlene and have been essentially doing the exact same thing they have for 2 years. We have made soooo many unbelievable memories and experiences that would have nevvvvahhhh been attained by the same old dull and boring routine of that lifestyle. We are making memories and we have the freedom and autonomy that most people dream about. We are making memories and we can travel to our 3 kids location with our house. And, they have flown to be with us in the various beautiful locations around the country such as Utah, Montana, Idaho, and Key West. We are living life and experiencing the beauty and magic this country and its people. You come in this life with nothing and will leave with nothing. We could care less about how much our RV is worth 5 or 10 years from now. We are living the dream!!! 👍😃🍻
Guys, I hate being that gut, but I really tried watching this video and couldn't. The Audio Clipping is really bad and hurts my ears. I love Boondocking, but you guys really need to watch the clipping.
No worries, and please, I meant this with the most kind of intentions. Audio clipping is a form of distortion which chops off the highest levels of a waveform when recorded. What it means is that the ae) audio that is being collected (your voice in this case) is louder than what your audio gear can accept, and that causes part of your voice (the top end) to be distorted before recorded, causing the "scratching/crackling" that can be heard. Usually, this is a simple Gain setting. Auto gain will prevent this, but when in manual mode, you don't want the audio bars (peak meter) you see on your camera to reach the top. You want them about a 1/3rd from the top or between -12dB and -6dB.
Not really. We are never really that close to anyone… but everyone is very friendly. I think if you made more of an effort than we do, you may find people that want to hang out. Probably just depends on the situation:
We use the iOverlander app or find out from other campers. I usually pick the boondocking spot based on where the water and dump is located. I try and stick with something within 20-30 min or closer. Sometimes we will stay at an Rv park close by and fill up on water before we leave to boondock. Just depends.
FTLOG - Don't promote to everyone how nice & easy it is to BD-:) Fortunately there will 'always" be more campground queen campers! Last winter in Ajo Az you pass at least 3 '"full"parking lot style campgrounds to get to some of the BEST BD'in you will ever experience...👍
lol Yes, Boondocking is NOT for most (thank goodness or we wouldn’t have this peaceful and beautiful option open to us as we do). But we were the campground people at first (again, nothing wrong with that) and now, after experiencing it, we prefer boondocking. Your Rv journey certainly changes as you go along. Thank you so much for watching. ❤️
@@liketheresnotomorrow I started my Van / mountain biking journey (8 years ago) in campgrounds about 50% of the time. Now I pay for an overnight stay less than 10% of the time & only when the stars line up. (French Quarter - Ocean Camping in Ca - Death Valley etc)
@@TerryManitoba #goals. We struggle in the summers. I don’t do hot so we end up at state parks and some campgrounds. Fall, winter, spring is our fave time to hit the mountains and southwest. So much boondocking.
so im trying to save money by giving up on rent and i live in a small city with only 21k people only like one decent park but its full and 2 others medicore,,,,,,one of the parks said its 458 dolllars a month but they said they only have 30amps so if my rig is 50 amp i can still do it with that plug u said???
🥇Don't forget to register to win the FREE Snappads. Go here and scroll down a bit for the form- liketheresnotomorrow.net/
Hi from Quebec,
I have been full timing for 7 years since retiring. I live on my bush lot in Quebec in the summer and in southern Arizona/California in the winter. I used to have a 38 ft 5th wheel but now have a home built 16x7x7 cargo trailer to RV conversion. I boondock 100% of the time in the winter.
Between the panels on the roof and 3 ground solar panels, I have 2050 watts and 900 amp hours of lithium iron phosphate batteries. This allows me to have a full sized home 120 volt fridge with ice maker and drawer freezer. I also have a 32 inch computer monitor that uses a fair amount of power.
My fresh water is a 100 gallon plastic farm tank that lives in the bed of my Ram 3500. A short hose runs to the V nose of the cargo trailer, where there is a water inlet fixture. It takes seconds to hook up when I arrive at my destination, whether that is a boondocking site or a Walmart parking lot. My water is heated by a propane fueled on demand water heater on the bathroom wall. Long hot showers in the middle of nowhere with no rationing or worries about running out of hot water.
This is a boondocking rig only, so I have no holding tanks, except a small 6 gallon grey tank under the kitchen sink. The sink and shower normally drain straight to the ground. Although 90% of the time I prefer to do the dishes in a plastic tub of hot soapy water on the tailgate of the truck out in nature. I have a drain board for drying and the fresh 100 gallon tank has a Y valve so one hose goes to the RV and one short hose gravity feeds and gives me running water at the tailgate for rinsing dishes and filling water dishes for the dog. The gollon or two or dishwater is dumped in the desert where it quickly vanishes. So about the only water draining out of the kitchen sink drain is from washing hands. But for nights at places like Walmart, I flip a valve and divert the sink water into the 6 gallon Gerry can. This is big enough to get me across the country twice a year while staying every night at Walmarts.
I have an Airhead compost toilet, so I have no black tank. The two gallon pee jug is discreetly dumped in the desert once or twice a week as needed. The solids tank media (coco coir) is changed out once every 4 to 6 weeks, and the used media is legal to throw in a green garbage bag and taken to the dump. Just think how many disposable diapers are tossed out daily. I no longer need a dump station..ever.
Heat is from a Big Buddy heater that is hooked permanently to the RV propane lines. Oven and stove are propane and are from the fifth wheel. My total cost per month last winter for heat, hot water, and the stove/oven was $21 US a month. That is my only utility bill as long as the sun is shining. The trailer is very well insulated with polystyrene with 4 inches in the ceiling.
I can very easily stay two or three weeks in one remote location and not want for anything. I do carry a propane generator but rarely ever need to use it over the winter.
Two years ago I switched from Verizon to Starlink. My desert playground tripled in size overnight. The more remote my location, the faster the internet. I can now stream HD video on a 32 inch monitor out in the middle of nowhere.
No RV parks, no dump stations, and because I built this RV myself, no shady RV repair shops to navigate. If something breaks I will fix it, but so far in about 3 years nothing has needed to be repaired. When I had the fifth wheel, it was one expensive repair after another.
My Golden Retriever is my travel buddy, and even though I am usually boondocking alone, I am rarely lonely.
And last but not least, Google Maps satellite view is your best friend. Using a full size desktop and the mouse I can tilt and turn the view and zoom in on any dirt road I am considering driving down to take a really good look at it without having to commit to it sight unseen. I have found fantastic boondocking sites from 300 miles away, then driven right to them after dropping a pin on the location in my iPhone Apple Maps/GPS.
Wow. That’s amazing. Thanks for sharing your setup and story. Love it
Mmm
Id like to get tips on your build, sounds like a good build.
I'm convinced I need to build my own too.
Ive designed on paper a 13'6"x7'6" interior.
Inside will include a42"x24" removable eating tabletop area from the 42"x24" shower bay area.A permanent queen bed with removable bunks above make up sleeping quarters.
My sleeping quarters, queen below and bunks above, with bike garage will measure out 80"x90".
Galley will be 7'6" long counter with sink and 12V Domectic fridge,$1100. Ha
An eating area converts to shower 40"x24", and additional 24" of space for a compost toilet like yours. The closet, adds another 24" for total shower length, 64 inches. Length will be a standard house size tub/shower combo.
I plan on having outside panel access to behind galley and toilet for ease of maintenance. And a fold down rear door.
I want the top 3 feet to collapse for easy garage storage but find this tough engineering. Bottom will be a 4' feet high, permanent structure.
Hope to keep under 3000# and have an airbag suspension for off road camping too.
I want to be off grid for a week at a time.
Any insight or resources would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Oh yea a 55" fully reclined recliner can fit to complete a total man cave RV. Ha
@@jamesconnor9142 Hi there,
My new and empty 16x7x7 ft Orion cargo trailer was bought in Phoenix and weighed 2750 lbs. I will soon be running it over the scale again and expect it is now around 6000 - 6200. I will be close to the max of 7000 lbs when I am done with all the cabinetry. I am pulling it with a Cummins Ram 3500 so I don't really care about the weight and heavy maple that I am using.
Collapsing for garage storage sounds incredibly challenging and expensive. I have no idea how to do this. It would require some ingenuity to still be able to have windows, which are pretty essential.
Sleeping 4 in a trailer this small is going to be tricky. When you remove the bunks, they will also have mattresses and bedding. Where will this go during the day, especially in rainy or windy weather? Where will the tabletop go during the day? You might have this all figured out already, but these are the questions that come to my mind.
The big challenges of off grid boondocking for more than just a night or two are electrical power, black and grey water, and fresh water. Electrical power is the big one and the most expensive to deal with. Solar power with an inverter/charger and a lithium iron phosphate battery bank is pretty much essential unless you don't mind running the generator most of the time. And the gas or propane and replacing generators gets expensive pretty fast.
If you are pulling the trailer with a pickup truck, then I recommend doing as I did and putting a big farm tank in the bed of the truck for your fresh water. My 100 gallon water tank is over 800 lbs when full, and I have a lot more weight left that I can put in the bed of the Ram than I do on the trailer. The bonus is when you run into town for something your water tank is with you and you can top it off if needed without breaking camp.
A compost toilet is the way to go for off grid boondocking, though with 4 people you will likely have to change the solids tank once a week. Go to Walmart and buy animal bedding wood shavings for very cheap to use as toilet media. Pee jug can be dumped in the desert discreetly.
If you want to be able to charge batteries from a generator, and if you want 120 volt power, you will need an inverter/charger. To control the electricity being generated by the solar panels and sent to your batteries, you will need a solar charge controller. If I were starting from scratch I would use all Victron components, as they talk beautifully together and keep you in the loop with a very cool display. These essential components for generating and distributing electricity are expensive, though they last a long time and pay for themselves eventually.
I ran the minimum Pex plumbing line from the water inlet in the V nose to the 12 volt water pump and water heater on the bathroom wall beside the shower stall. All the Pex piping is run on the bathroom wall and both it and the water pump are easily accessible if anything needs repaired or replaced. Just past the shower stall is the kitchen sink and that is as far as the plumbing has to go. All fittings are easy to get to.
I found planning the electrical difficult because it has to be done very early in the build - after the insulation but before closing in the walls. Where is every electrical outlet going to go? I have ten 120 volt outlets in the RV, 3 with USB. They are everywhere they are needed, and all but two are hidden from view inside cabinets, etc. Polystyrene insulation..one inch in the walls, two in the floor and rear ramp, and four in the ceiling. I use very little propane to stay warm in the desert in the winter when it gets down to around zero at night. I get it nice and warm in the evening, but the heater never runs at night when I am sleeping as it is not needed.
And yes I do have a recliner and I am sitting in it now. At the end of the chair at my feet is a countertop with a 32 inch computer monitor.
Have you thought about how much storage you are going to need for four people for a week? My bed is a raised queen platform across the back of the trailer. Underneath is all storage..and the solar system and battery bank and my astrophotography gear. The three 250 watt ground solar panels also ride in there when I am driving. Clothes are in plastic totes stacked.
9
Great video! It appears the biggest safety concern you'll encounter while boondocking is falling off your porch. Ha, Ha. Glad you're healing well, Darlene. Don't beat yourself up; we all make silly mistakes from time to time. It could happen to any of us, and it could have been much worse, thank God.
We're experienced FT boondockers who love this lifestyle. We have been living without hookups now for about 19 months straight. We don't use much propane anymore since we switched from our old Dometic propane fridge that used about a lb. a day to a residential fridge, saving us over $300/yr. in propane, paying for our new fridge in a single year. We make do with our 35ft motorhome's onboard 25-gallon propane tank and a portable 20lb tank with an extend-a-stay kit. This lets us go into town with our toad and either replace or refill our portable tank as well as our 65-gallon water bladder without moving our motorhome. After we installed our big solar system and mini split heat pump, we hardly ever use propane for space heating too, so we get about a month now on a 20lb tank. These 2 changes cut our propane use by more than half.
Once you get used to this lifestyle your fill and dump chores, water management, etc. gets much easier - and this is from an overweight 68yr old with a barely ambulatory wife. So, if we can do it, practically anyone can. Where there's a will there's a way. We go places that even amazes me, after all these years. We once drove our big rig 9 miles down a rutted, wash boarded forest service road, so we could boondock overlooking the N. Rim of the Grand Canyon. The view was beyond amazing, and we enjoyed it by ourselves for the full 2 weeks we were there. We've had other equally amazing boondocking experiences too, far too many to list, all over the US, but mainly out west.
We started with the 2-lead acid golf cart batteries that came with our coach, with only 620 watts of solar, using our generator as needed. We boondocked this way for 3 years before we swapped them for lithiums. You make do with what you have. We save so much money living this way, strictly off our meager SS retirement funds that after 5 years of boondocking and saving our money, we were able to upgrade to our huge solar system that runs everything in our RV including 2 A/Cs entirely off the sun, spending zero money to run our generator. We built our entire system with over 5kw of solar and 23.5kwh of batteries for only $10k (not counting our high efficiency heat pump), by doing everything ourselves, even building our own batteries. For a prebuilt battery though, it's hard to beat the $165/kwh Redodo. Now that we're retired, we have more time than money, so we fully researched, designed and built our dream system ourselves. If we can do it, so can you. Now that it's finished, we save even more and can live more comfortably off grid regardless the season, though we avoid snowy weather and icy roads too - for comfort as well as safety's sake.
For us, the upsides of FT boondocking far outweigh the downsides. One day we'll have to settle down in an RV park somewhere, but for the foreseeable future, we'll continue to live this way as long as we're able.
I love your comments❤️Thank you for sharing your experience and wisdom- Darlene
I've been boondocking since 1964. I do stay in parks as well, based on price, and at times for a single night. I never realized it was a "thing!" I started as a child, my Dad was an avid outdoors man, my mom a city girl. She wasn't camping with a bedroll or even a tent. We started in a 15' Hi-Lo trailer. In 1973, we upgraded to a 22' Winnebago Brave. I now have a 36' ORV 5th wheel. Love being out camping. Also, different RV brands do round-ups. I love to meet other ORV owners in Quartzite, AZ!
Awesome. Thanks for sharing.
I've been boondocking my whole 73 year life and never stayed in a campground
That is awesome. Many are scared of it, mainly because they just don’t know anything about it. I betcha we could all learn a thing or two from you. ❤️
Boondocking for 73 years, you - kidding, right?😊
@COO415 not kidding
Big tip we always tell people when newbies ask us about boondocking is to try it out while at an RV park. Unplug (if you have an inverter/batteries, since you can’t run a genny in a park) and disconnect from water. Let’s you really see your needs and always have a backup by having the ability to just hook back up. 👍🏻
Excellent advice!
We are tent campers and are so ready to get out there. We have done a practice run in our backyard, which was interesting. The whole toilet thing is still a big ? for us.
Great video, beautiful location! Would you tell me where y'all are in Colorado?
That’s a great idea. I’m going to try this
We did this and it let us know our usage to determine how much solar and battery bank we needed off-grid. 👍🏻
We were super sad this summer when we thought we'd installed enough solar & batteries to be able to spend the summer in utah. We quickly realized it was too hot & could barely run the ac without overheating our system. We decided ro install a mini-split ac/heat unit h it saved our whole summer! We tested it out at 117 outside and it was 83 inside without overheating our system. Currently it's 102 out and 71 in here. If you want the ability to boondock without having to fear the temps, the mini split absolutely was worth it and it was only $550 on Amazon. We had to lose a couple of cabinets but it was well worth it to be able to complete our summer plans more comfortably.
We’ve talked about it but we never stay anywhere quite that hot (or we will move). But maybe when the budget allows. We would need multiple since we have three separate sections of living with the toy hauler. It’s definitely on that someday list. Thanks for sharing. So glad to hear it was a good move
That is awesome!
How big is your inverter to do this? How many amp hours do you have in the battery storage?
@adventuresontheroad1969 copy & pasting from our Amazon purchased list
"Victron Energy MultiPlus-II 2X Pure Sine Wave Inverter Charger for 120 amp Battery, 120V, 3000VA 12-Volt"
Batteries: "ECO-WORTHY 12V 280Ah 2 Pack LiFePO4 Lithium Battery, 6000+ Deep Cycles Lithium Iron Phosphate, 7168Wh Energy, Support in Series/Parallel, for RV, Off-Grid, Solar Power System, Home Backup, UPS, Marine" and we purchased 4 of them. For solar we bought in Kingman Arizona & got 6 panels of 375 bi-facial. We've been able to run our ac unit non stop with no issues.
Side note, we also do have an Onan 5500 generator that came with our grand design momentum.
Where in Utah was it 117?!???
@thomashunt8757 it was in Laughlin, NV in August. we actually posted a video showing our test because we are so pleased with the performance. I wish we'd know about a minisplit years ago!
We don’t do a ton of National Forest dispersed csmping because of our 40,000 lb weight…but we still do a good amount of “dry camping” in NPS or NF campsites with no utilities, or in Q where we don’t want to move the rig more than once every two weeks. Our ultra water conservation mode (2 weeks on 1-100 gallon tank) means paper plates, cups. Cooking on the grill and/or the cast iron pan (which you wipe out, no soap). Navy showers alternating with baby wipes. Peeing? If it’s yellow, let it mellow…you know the saying.
One thing we definitely do if we’re parking on dry grass, and using the diesel furnace or the generator..we use a fire blanket under any hot exhaust.
Super smart. Great info. Thanks for sharing👍
We purchased our 43 foot 5th wheel 2+ years ago to go full time in our retirement.
One big thing that had me choose this rig we bought was the solar/inverter set up.
800w on the roof and then I changed the 6v battery system with 4-100ah lithium. I thought it would work just fine. I WAS WRONG......,
The 800 might be "okay" but to double that would be a lot better, especially when the sun isn't up as much as it is now even here in Arizona.
Then the batteries.....
No where near what is needed in this "luxury" 5r with the residential fridge, the washer/dryer along with the other stuff going on in it.
Ideal solar is going to be quite a bit more on top when we upgrade this year and the ah is going to be A LOT more than it is now.... enough to run AC all day and still have power for the night.
Like mentioned here....
The tanks are a bit of a pain and keeping them able to take more of what ever or keeping some fresh water on board.
Other than that boondocking is fantastic! It's just a matter of having to change usage habits and realizing the tanks are gonna have to be filled/emptied once a week or two.,
(I wanted to show the details of the solar to show someone new and what to look into what is needed. More than mine!)
Thanks for sharing your experience - it's great to hear firsthand how much power you need. It sounds like you're putting a lot of thought into your upgrade!
AGREE WITH EVERYTHING YOU SAID. We've been boondockking for 4+ years with 1800 watts of solar and 7 100 ah Battle Born batteries. (We didn't know better) Compostong toilets work. On demand wayer heater can open up an electrical circuit. All sorts of ideas are out there. That's where meet and greets come in. You guys are great. Thanx
Awesome and great info. We have been thinking about the on demand water heater and I can totally see the benefit of compost toilets. Maybe someday.
We have 800w on top and 400ah. Your 1800 is something closer to what we'll have on the upgrade we're doing this year but the 700 ah.... is that enough? Inverter size?
We love Boondocking. It is so much easier than folks think. We’ve had three campers over the last 25 years. We have no solar, no lithium, and just bought our first generator two years ago. It’s a balancing act for sure, but well worth it. We are only weekend warriors, so we aren’t out for extended periods often, but hopefully that will change in a few years 😎. Safe travels 🇺🇸
Very cool. Thanks. For sharing
Great video, thanks.
I am not quite a full timer, but I boondock a lot. An idea: For folks who have not tried it. A good place to learn is in your driveway. Disconnect, unplug and move into your rig for a day or two. See what works and if you like it.
Love that tip, thanks for sharing!
Hello. Creativity RV - she says never stay within a certain miles (now I can't recall) of a town as that is where people who are up to no good (per se) will hang out. Further out, is too far from town for them. All great info. Thanks for sharing. Safe travels. Glad you are doing better, Darlene.
Interesting! See her point but we are about 25 minutes from a. Small mountain town. Not an issue. Now, 30 minutes from a bigger city and I would totally agree. I am doing so much better thank you so much.
REDODO!! Me too. 2, 24 volt 100 amp hour batteries (equivalent to 400 amp hour with 12 volt) hooked to an all in one charger/inverter from MPP Solar. Right now there is 600 watts of solar on the roof and will be adding more panels later as needed. We are still in the building stage (skoolie) but have been running the system for tools while building and so far, everything looks good.
Sounds awesome!
I’ve been enjoying your channel. You put a put a lot of effort into the videos and they are worth watching and enjoyable. Thanks.
We so appreciate that! Thank you Gary
This big issue for us is living in the southeast. It’s hot and humid here and you must have A/C to sleep comfortably. With your rig I imagine you would need a massive generator to run all 3 a/c units.
That's why we only boondock in cooler temp areas. If it goes past 80... we're out. lol
We live in Georgia. We love dry camping in the north Georgia mountains in the summer. We go to national forest campgrounds mainly for a cost of $3.50-10.00/night with our senior pass. We get by fine at night with using a small fan. But we are not really hot natured people and hate being cooped up in air conditioning.
Fairly new subscriber & I'm happy to have found you guys!!! Happy to see your recovering! Gotta say THANK YOU up front for all the valuable info you are giving us ❤ I just finished your RV expenses vid from 4 mo ago & it is fantastic. I've watched alot of those type & yours is SO good. Your solar info is a God send as well. Please keep these types of videos coming. There are still plenty of people getting started that don't have a clue & could use your help! We have sold the house, got a 40ft RV now but are looking for a truck & solar so once again Thank You for your help. You guys are entertaining & lovely to watch but you are helping this community as well!!!Sending best wishes from Clearwater area❤❤❤❤
Well hello Clearwater. Barry’s band frequently played there back when we lived in Sarasota.
Thanks so much for your encouraging words and support. We truly appreciate it.
I snowbird for 3 to 4 mths each winter and have only been to a paid campground for maybe a week. Love boondocking and its not just the price.
For sure!
For dishes. Sail boat hack.! Use a small weed sprayer for rinsing. Wow you'll save so much water it will blow your mind, !
looove that! Thank you
Glad to see you both on the road, hope your recovery is much better
Thanks so much. Doing much better
I have to agree with you on the Redodo Batteries. We have been using them for several years before they changed names and they work flawlessly. We are running our 12 volt refrigerator off one battery 24 hours a day for over 2 years and it just works.
Woot Redodo for the affordable win!
I lived in Beuna Vista, Fairplay, and Salida, CO. Mt. Shavano is one of my favorite mountains in the area.
Good to know. We are thinking about staying longer. We really like it here.
So glad to see you back - not that you weren't . But amazing how you kept going. We love you and are happy to see!
Thank you so much! I’m not outta the woods yet, but getting better every day.
Great vid....thank you. My wife and I started our "got to conserve" lifestyle costal cruising on our trawler, and it can be quite fun. The challenges are almost the same, from scouting on our tender, to water and waste management. We learned to think of it like a big puzzle and that is the trick. We are headed towards a full Super C with a trailer for our dirt bikes and golf cart, and your vids are a nice resource. Thanks!
That is awesome! Good luck on that transition👍
Have you done a video on how to find boondocking locations? I try using all the usual sites and apps but still find it hard to find sites, even in the mid and SW states. Also, you may travel further than you can scout out beforehand. We don't have e-bikes to ride up the dirt road first and it's never convenient or smart to unhitch and drive up first either. Boondocking is something we really want to do but just can't seem to figure it out. HELP!
Yes! I really need to do this vide for you guys. I think I get the question about once a week. I’ll put it on my list for sure.
We are SOOOO looking forward to retiring and going full-time in a Paradigm 385FL later this winter!
Yeeessssss! Not much longer
Glad to see ur healing, Grace be with you
Yes I am. Slowly, but getting there ❤️
Nice video. We boondock every weekend on the property we hunt. We learn every weekend and try to get better at it. We try stuff and if it works then great. If not the it's a lessons learned. But we love it.
That is awesome! We also learn something new every time we boondock for extended periods. Thanks for watching.
We love that spot and have been going there for years. Hope to see you there!
We are loving it. Might even stay longer
Thank you guys soooo much for all your information. I've been wanting to go full time and really looking at being next year or so. Just trying to decide like you guys did what to do with my apartment and furniture, what rig to buy and camper. So I'm investigating all the possibilities and options. I would live to boondock!
It’s a big decision and we are so excited for you! We have a ton of videos on fulltime living. In fact, we have an online course coming soon. Stay tuned
Great video. Love the idea. We attended a seminar at Hershey and it discussed how to find boondocking locations. Pretty cool
Very cool. Once you get the hang of it, it’s heavenly compared to campgrounds
Great info! So happy to see you without your neck brace and doing well! Happy camping!
Thanks so much!
As far as temperatures go, chase the butter!!! If it is too hard to spread on toast, head south (or lower elevation), if it needs a brush to baste on the toast, it it too warm and you need to head north (or higher in elevation)!
Love the butter test! We do coconut oil. We have it on the shelf and Barry uses it daily. lol we have this same discussions as we travel. Gotta go, it’s runny😜🏃💨
Thank you for all your tips. Great to see you are doing so much better...
You are so welcome. I am doing better each day. Thank you❤️
Another great video! Thanks! We’re all set for the Romp it Up as well. Looking forward to meeting another Valor owner and getting to know y’all.
Right on! Wooot. Shelly we are so excited to see you there. Really, been looking forward to it (without a neck brace:-)
@@liketheresnotomorrow I can’t tell you how happy I am your injury wasn’t worse. Berry will just have to be the one to dump out the dish water from now on. Be safe. See y’all soon.
Yes indeed he will. Thanks so much.
So happy see you out of the collar
We just got a popup it’s a start
We use to be tenters now we’re moving up
Plan to rv full time in 3 yrs so trying the popup way now
Great plan guys!
Great video. We are planning on doing the same thing starting in about another year
You can do it! Woo hoo
When I use my 34 gal. CAMCO sewer tote to empty my black & gray tanks at campsite without sewer connections it takes at least 4 trips to the dump station. Your rig has more and bigger tanks than mine. Your video makes it seem like you only need to make one trip to the dump station, (if you mentioned additional trips to dump gray tanks, I missed it, sorry).
We didn’t elaborate on how many times we need to go to empty all tanks. We just go when we need to. The tanks don’t all fill the same and it depends how long we are staying. I guess we just assumed people would know their tank size vs their tote size. Thanks for the question: it’s a good one.
I like to use the philosophy, if there’s snow on your trailer or you have to use the a/c, your trailer is in the wrong spot. BTW, we’ll see you at Romp it Up!
💯❤️ yay about Romp It Up!!! Be sure to find us.
So excited to watch we want to Boondock in California need some tips
There are several other video links in the description that may you out as well. Thanks for watching
I am sooooo guilty of washing my dishes with the water running (at home). I have to change my evil ways. LOL I love your content. We have tossed the idea of Lithium but the $$$ is usually high with the big brands. Are these Redodo made in the US? We also worry about waste. And buying a lesser brand that is not going to last and have to chunk it in the landfill is a consideration for us. I will go check out the website as well. I have to say.....this was a great video overall. Good solid information. And Darlene....you are free of the neck brace !!!! So glad your recovery is going well. Thanks guys for sharing as always.
Thank you. I am feeling much better these days. We have had the Redodo batteries for over a year and are very pleased. Almost all batteries are originally Chinese made but us brands relabel them. Redodo has two us warehouses and great customer service. Watch our solar video. We really detail it more there. A very reputable solar consultant recommended this brand and uses it in two different of his own rvs.
Great detail and awesome video. Glad you are doing better.
Thank you❤️
Great video! Im working right now while watching your vid on my shore power install for my cargo conversion. You are making me want to leave tonight! I love the Collegiates area in CO. We travel back and forth to CO quite a bit currently as I still have a band up there (currently live close to beach in Texas). That round up sounds fun. I wish we could make it. Trying to knock out insulation, power, and rudimentary kitchen before end of month. We have an off grid property in Colorado, as well. Hopefully we will see you out there somewhere!
Thanks for the video. Great job. We are building an expedition truck and have always boondock. It's the only way. Welcome to the area. We work in BV. Enjoy it, it beautiful here.
We are loving this area for sure.
What a beautiful spot!! We are tent campers, that would be perfect, it looks nice and level. I have to admit, we have never done any dispersed camping. Thank you for sharing your video, I'll be watching more
Glad you liked it! You'll be surprised how beautiful boondocking spots can be!
Great content, your batteries are they heated? How long have you had them?
We’ve had them about a year and half. I think. No, we do not have that bay heated. We generally never stay anywhere cold enough or hot enough for issues. lol
Nice to see you not wearing a brace! Great information! New subscriber! Thank you.
Thanks for the sub! I’m doing much better thank you.
I really appreciate you telling us what apps you use.
We are preparing for full-time rving in 3 years after our son graduates from college. I'm so excited!! Next weekend we are going camping and gonna go daydream over full-time possible RVs ❤❤ I want to buy soon so we are comfortable with the payment. We are probably going to keep our house as a rental for income and security until we decide where we'll land after traveling for a few years. 💙
That is awesome! We leased our home for a year and after that we decided it wasn’t worth it. If it was generating a decent income vs the expense, we would have kept it. Florida home insurance was killing us in the end and we couldn’t get the same price for the rental as the first year. Ya just gotta roll with what’s best. I’m excited for ya.
@@liketheresnotomorrow oh ok cool! We own in west Tennessee so normally no hurricanes but Francis just came over us yesterday as a tropical depression and it's still raining lol I heard about the insurance companies pulling out of Florida! That's so sad that they can do that. It doesn't seem right.
We are both from Florida originally buty hubby grew up in the panhandle and I was moving all over as a military brat and we landed in the PNW in Washington State and omg my heart yearns for the mountains and the Pacific coast. 💙💙
Good to see you both out there boondocking again! Very impressive! I'm happy for you, Darlene!
Thank you so much. Finally back in our happy place❤️
Thanks for sharing your boondocking experience.
Our pleasure!
The shower routine would be easy for me, I spent 15+ years having to shower just like that.
And because of that life, I always take short showers, even with full hook-ups
Hi guys, really enjoy your great videos and am so happy to see the neck brace is gone, glad you’re feeling better. You mention in this video that you use a macerator sometimes to fill your portable waste tote. I’m assuming you use it to pump your black water tank up into the tote you’ve loaded into your truck bed empty for hauling to dump stations too far away to simply hook the full tote to your hitch? Do you have a video giving more detail on this, I couldn’t find anything on this in your recent tote filling video? Thanks for all your videos, keep up the good work! We really enjoy your channel and website.
I’ll put this pump/tote video on our list! We haven’t showed that yet.
Good to the brace off, hope you continue to feel better!
So good to have that thing off. Not outta the woods quite yet, but doing much better. Thank you
Composting toilet would save on water and dumping issues. a simple bag with cover compost is cheap and effective essentially a out house in doors. You will have to take bag out every two or three days but it mean you can combine the black and grey tank as well.
We've heard many good things about composting toilets and incinerator toilets
@@liketheresnotomorrow incinerator toilets are very expensive and a nightmare when they break. Build your own compost toilet and you do not have to separate, use saw dust. It will cost less than 300 dollars to build.
We feel weird going to an RV park now. I think it’s been almost a year now. Still find it funny I knew exactly where you were. Great video!
So true! We do the same thing at Rv parks after a long stint off grid. lol
@@liketheresnotomorrow BTW- we have the same friends! Dan is a good friend of ours and couldn’t ask for a nicer human being! Dave and Jacqueline are great friends as well and have boondocked a lot with them too! Hope to cross paths with you guys sometime. We couldn’t make it to Romp It Up due to my doc appointments to get my injury taken care of in Los Algodones. Great to see you out of your brace!
@@WheelinwiththeWendes that is awesome. Keep in touch and maybe we can connect. We’ll be in Az and Ca a bit before heading to NOLA for Xmas
I would love a short video of HOW you find these sites. Have you considered a quick connection to your onboard propane tanks for your generator? Thank you, guys, love watching all of your travels
I went over it a little in this video. th-cam.com/video/VMn0X0_HnDU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=WCeGg56V5dCCyMcA
We finally determined that the gen works better with gasoline. It’s nice to have the option of both in case we run out of one.
Awesome information! Thank you😊
Glad it was helpful!
We always boon dock, cities, Waffle House, blm land, Walmarts in SD to Florida. Parks become too expensive. We stayed at a Loves RV in Montana that was awesome. 40.00 full hookups
We hear ya, isn’t it great to have the options.
We're a little bit of a special case, but perhaps our rig setup can help. We converted a 30' school bus and we're 100% off-grid. Water is 100 gallons onboard and we use extreme water management, which sounds bad but isn't. Things like wiping off your dishes with paper towels before using a spray bottle with soap to wash them. Our only real water use is rinsing. And gray water is easily dumped in place. Just make sure every "product" you use is environmentally friendly. There is no food waste in the gray because .... well, you wiped it off. LOL! We also keep several large bottles of drinking water on-board, so I suppose technically we have a bit more than 100 gallons.
Showers use minimal water. Water, turn off, wash, rinse, turn off. It's easy. And honestly, get a Planet Fitness membership and between spots take as long a shower as you want. But daily long showers are not necessary, even in the worst of desert conditions.
We have no black water, it's a composting toilet and lasts weeks before a change is needed, It's also extremely easy to deal with.
Electrical is all solar with a generator backup. And unless we hit a solid week of gray skies, we don't need it. As far as cooking, we are probably 50/50 between using electrical (Instapots are your friend!) and propane cooktops. Heat comes from a diesel heater and is very economical to run when you're too slow to drive far south enough to escape the cold weather.
We rarely boondock in a place more than two weeks, so refilling/emptying/etc is between spots. BLM land is basically two week stays anyway, so it all works out fine. And should you find yourself in Baja ... 🙂... there are no limits on beach camping and it's free, free, free.
Some bookdocks are in the middle of no one and no where. Some come with people who are doing just what you are doing. We limit ourselves to places that aren't 4x4 adventures because ... it's a 20,000 pound school bus. It's hard enough to drive where it's supposed to be driven. Overall, boondocking is our #1 choice and we avoid parks unless we absolutely have to. And strangely, when we do meet fellow boondockers, they are a dozen times more friendly than RV park dwellers. Each and every time.
Just our $0.02. Safe travels!
And I forgot to mention ... we use Starlink and wifi calling and have never had an issue anywhere. Well maybe one time when Nikki booked us in a tree-filled state park. LOL! But with Starlink ... and yea yea I know (Elon!) ... connectivity is absolutely not an issue.
That is an amazing setup and thanks for sharing!
@ same here
WHAT size tanks do you have. thank you so much
100 fresh, 2x50 black and 2x 50 grey
Just subscribed to you channel since the video content is interesting and valuable. I have been RVing in Class C’s and now a Class A since 20 years and never boondocked for more than 1-2 days. I would love to stay in a place like where you are staying in your video, just awesome. Only thing I need is to get the lithium batteries, solar and a more powerful converter. Have a 5500 Onan generator ( really that heavy ??).I like your portable dual fuel generator. All other I think I can manage. Would like to meet you guys sometimes. Safe travels!
You’ve totally got this! We’ll be throughout NM, AZ and Central CA through early December. If you’re in that area let us know. Oh, and we’ll be at the Tampa RV show in January. Would love to meet you! Thanks for tuning in. We appreciate it.
@@liketheresnotomorrow I have to convince my wife to travel to Central Ca or Tampa from Michigan in mid Dec./Jan. 😁. Greetings from Sleeping bear dunes, Michigan!
I am putting for my retirement as I speak and I have been building my camper from scratch for the last 4 years purpose built off grid. Maybe I may run into you guys at some point.
That is awesome! We have seen some of the coolest scratch builds while we have been on the road. I admire anyone that can do that. Good for you!
What kind of suspension do you have on your rig?
MorRyde CRE3000
@@liketheresnotomorrow Thank you! This helps me know if we should take our rig on the same roads you are experiencing. We do not have that nice of suspension I am learning.
Hard to say. We see lots of rigs on the back roads that probably don’t have what we have. They just go super slow. This is why we scout it out before we attempt to drive it. If it looks too rough, we just pick something else.
Might be in another video but could you tell me an approximate cost breakdown of all things needed for boondocking. I wrote down the prices mentioned in this video but unless i missed it i didnt hear cost of the water bladder, the dump tank thing and the solars themselves. Trying to prepare for when our house sells and we go full time!
We have a Solar video that I think we talk about some of it, but it will really depend on what you choose. th-cam.com/video/UpwgAYhqx7I/w-d-xo.htmlsi=nUyl977KwHAAPvxi
The water bladder and camco tote each have their own video on how to use but both are in our Amazon store under boondocking. www.amazon.com/shop/liketheresnotomorrow
th-cam.com/video/b_jtAKlYxT4/w-d-xo.htmlsi=1ey_u3yngHML7rUx
th-cam.com/video/b_jtAKlYxT4/w-d-xo.htmlsi=1ey_u3yngHML7rUx
@@liketheresnotomorrow perfect you are amazing! Thank you!
Great video. So much so I subscribed to your channel.
Awesome! Thank you! We appreciate your support.
Why did you not get a 50 amp generator?
Money and the fact that we only use it to top off the batteries. Not power everything.
I want to start SO badly but I need a remote job before I start. I’d pack up and go literally tomorrow
We have a couple of videos on remote work. Hope they help.
th-cam.com/video/tAWgfwFljF8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=WTKB5jRl6_n4PZCW
th-cam.com/video/8bAByD6jKMw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=18cEwvlBNe19sSt7
Is this public land where you boondock? How do you find these free camping spots ?
Join boondocking groups on Facebook, and the apps iOverlander and Campendium. I think I talk about it in this video.
th-cam.com/video/VMn0X0_HnDU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=79G4v4zrkioO-VhM
I clicked on the generator link provided and it seems to show a gasoline powered unit. Maybe I missed something? Thanks.
Hummm it should be a dual fuel. Let me check
Yes that’s a dual fuel gen. You can choose either propane or gas
Just a question about ethonal fuel. You indicated stay away from it. I’m just curious why? We’re from Canada and we are planning on going full time in 2025. Planning on spending winters in the US south. I aways use high octane fuel in my equipment. Is it because of the altitudes.
We have found that regular gas causes the carburetors to gum up. In a nutshell…it can reduce fuel storage issues and engine damage risk:
If you google “why non ethanol gas for generators” you’ll see a more thorough explanation,
Great video. I just happened on to you're channel. I've been looking for someone who boondocks in a 5th wheel.
Glad we could help! Welcome aboard!
Where was this boondicking spot near Buena Vista?
Raspberry Gulch. I think I detailed it in this video. th-cam.com/video/VMn0X0_HnDU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=YqiJJcXQdiwGo24e
Alrighty, y'all!! Wish me luck as I start warming up the hubs to this idea of meeting up with y'all in Senoita! I'm calling it my birthday present (which is 10/2) and then we can truck on over to Phoenix to visit his mama. Win-Win.....right??? 😊
Another great video, thanks so much!!
May the force be with you❤️
May the force be with you❤️
Looks like you guys were parked with a view of Mount Shavano/chalk cliffs, in Chaffee County, CO (between Salida & BV). Browns Creek? Raspberry Gulch? It also looks like it was about 12 days ago, and if that's accurate timing, I'm pretty sure we drove right by you guys while we were bumming around for the day. We literally live one road over. If that's not where you are, well, it's still pretty.
PS - I commented right before I heard the part of the video where you confirmed that. Hope you guys enjoyed our little towns.
Cool! We loved it!
How do you find boodocking sites?
I detailed that in this video th-cam.com/video/VMn0X0_HnDU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=3Z3AQkSSr8CAxWg7
Awesome video very good info well done 🛠️🇨🇦🛠️🇨🇦
Thanks for watching!
re generator fuel- gasoline is far more energy dense (less physical space per unit of energy) and gasoline is more readily available than propane. I use ethanol fuel without issues- the trick is to always run the tank dry so the carburator is dry when you put the generator away.
Agreed, but it’s so nice to the option of either (like last night when we ran out of gas and could switch to propane).
@@liketheresnotomorrow I can totally see that, especially if you are a big propane user for other things.
That looked like a really nice spot.
I am boondocking full-time with the 29 ft Class C and I'm towing a Nissan truck so far so good 4 months in I haven't had to pay and I have found some wonderful dispersed campgrounds however I am at the Tetons headed north and I can't find anything good around Gardener Montana or even closer to Livingston is fine any suggestions please or do you have a list or a database or ?
Other than Campendium, iOverlander, and our friends who have this boondocking map, we don’t have much noted for that area. Sorry. I’ll look in this big rig boondocking fb group I’m in.
thewanderingshores.com/free-camping-site-reviews
Why people don’t keep a homebase (be it land, home, etc), I don’t know? It’s the best solution, and you keep equity.
It’s smart to do that if you can afford it. Many cannot. Everyone’s situation and comfort levels are different.
I per in a small bucket with a sealed lid. Poop in a big bucket and plastic bag with a lid. I use a camp shower. Cold. Shiver my pod. .
Video how to find these gems!
good job you 3, enjoy. Working towards that BD'ing life as well. Sean from MOntreal
Awesome. Thanks a bunch for watching
Maybe it would be smart to boondock intermittently with staying at a campground so you can dump every other week or so. Without having to make trips to town.
We stay at places 14 days plus. We wouldn’t make it that whole time without dumping. We totally do that for a week. It’s really not that big of a deal to dump once with the tote.
I might have stayed in that RV park you mentioned. Was it the one between the highway and a creek, with a city walking trail beside it? (Trying to ask without blasting the place’s name all over.)
Hmm I don’t think so. It was Peak RV Resort by the airport
I have a fifth wheel and I’m so frustrated because I can’t find boondocking sites with easy access. How do you find your spots???
Watch today’s video. I go over it.
You guys seem cool and real. Lot of these rv camping life channels just suck and unbelievably corny and fake. Have fun and safe travels.
Awe thanks. We appreciate you watching
Buena Vista has great energy
💯❤️
Great to see the collar is off.
Thank you, doing so much better
Nothing like being out boondocking and someone firing up their generator. Absolutely kills the setting for me. Spend enough to run everything on batteries to keep it quite for those of us that don’t run generators.
I hear ya. We only run it in a pinch. Like for some reason, our solar is having issues. We are waiting for a part. So we have to run it a little bit. But no one is anywhere near us. If we were close to people to where they could hear our gen that well, we’d move. lol
Would like to have more contact with musicians doing Vanlife/RV life.
Follow The Border Hookups. The Rv music fest they just did was awesome. Open jam as well as scheduled music.
Beautiful area, glad you are feeling better.
I'm curious what you plug your generator into. It appears you connect to the standard RV 50 amp.
If so, how do you ensure no load when starting/stopping the generator?
I don't know how you have have your battery/inverter system configured.
For my setup I use EG4 48v 100ah batteries (as primary). My RV 50 amp connects to my EG4 inverters and only connect that at home or if at a campground with 50 amp service.
If I connect to 120v at a campsite I connect into an EG4 chargeverter to charge batteries.
If I use a 240v generator, it connects to the EG4 Chargevertor. I have a couple of small 48v chargers for smaller generators.
The EG4 chargevertor starts at 0 amp and slowly builds up to the amount programmed. Max of 45 amp with 120v and 100 amp with 240v.
Because I use chargers, I know that I am at no loaf when starting or stopping a generator.
I also don't have to worry about using an ATS and my electric is isolated.
As for batteries, they vary alot. I'm not saying Redodo is bad. From what I've heard they are a higher quality low end battery.
Cheap batteries tend to lie about ah and/or BMS. I've seen in-depth reviews where a 100ah rated battery is actually a 70, 80, 90 ah battery and/or a 100 amp rated BMS is really 50 amp.
Higher end batteries com with added features. Usually the offer battery comms to your inverter/charger so that the inverter/charger knows exactly how much ah is available, the battery voltage and how many amps the battery wants for charging/discharging. Some offer bluetooth/wifi connectivity and some have built in fire supression.
The EG4 batteries that I use have battery comms, an lcd display that show ah, % full, cell voltage, etc per battery. They have a built-in breaker and 2 fire supression systems.
These batteries are 19 inch rack mountable. They have a 12v 400ah, 24v 200ah, and 48v 100ah version. They weigh about 100 pounds each. Each is rated at 5120wh
For the 12v version, for a smaller system, a single 5120wh battery means not having to run parallel cables and only securing a single battery.
Redodo offers a 12v 410ah battery for $1050 on sale. It weighs 83 pounds, with a maximum 4p4s connectivity. It has a 4000 cycle lifetime and 5 year warranty.
The EG4 12v 400ah battery is $1300. 7000 full cycles 10 year warranty. A max of 16 in parallel.
Is $250 each worth the extra features? I think so, especially having 2 fire supressors and the ability to use a Rapid Shutdown System (RSD). The additional monitoring of the battery from the battery and a built-in breaker for each battery are large bonuses.
If a battery goes bad, i simple open it's breaker and turn off the BMS. The rest of the batteries continue to work like normal (if the primary goes bad I will need to shutdown another battery in order to make it primary for the battery comms).
Your neck it Free!
Indeed it is… and it’s glorious ❤️👍
Sorry but this sounds crazy to sell your house to live on the RV full time. With millions of people fighting to get into a home along with rising housing prices and interest rates, it will be even more difficult to get back into a house once you get tired of this lifestyle. Most people quit this RV lifestyle after a few years for many reasons. Just remember that every year your RV is depreciating in value while real estate continues to go up in value. For example, say your house is worth 700K and you sell it now. Years down the road when you get sick of this lifestyle and want to go back into a house again, an equivalent house that you want to live in may cost you $1.2M and with an even higher interest rate! On top of that, you now have to pay an even higher property tax just to live in the same kind of house that you lived in before. So unless you got $10M in the bank, this lifestyle is not practical.
Why are you even watching Rv videos?
@@liketheresnotomorrow I did not mean to insult your life choices but I wanted to warn others about selling everything and living in RV full time. My wife and I are planning to retire early and travel the U.S. in a van. We will be staying in mix of KOA and motels. We are not selling our house and will rent it out. Most RVs are built like trash today and are very unreliable money pits. We will be traveling in a new Toyota Sienna van as Toyota is the only van we trust. We purchased our old 1300sqft 3bed 2bath home in San Jose CA for 800K. Now it is worth $1.4M. We work in tech and got lucky with our stock and we are planning to cash out and retired early. Good luck to you guys.
@@TacoGrande007
Yea I agree dont sell.
I have an asset increasing., but cant use funds unless sell. But if sell Im out of the game
I plan on keeping the house, maybe finance the 2nd home, (RV.) And then after one, or two or three years cut my loses for the cost of this lifestyle Im sure Ill enjoy.
@TacoGrande007 you don't need to explain yourself to them. They are obviously not opened to comments, criticism, etc and instantly got defensive. Their channel won't go far with their attitude.
You have a valid point, however, I have to respectfully disagree. Living in our house for 25 plus years house as we did and raised our 3 kids, that 2400 square ft house was toooo big in addition to the yard to maintain.
We sold it and purchased a similar setup as Barry and Darlene and have been essentially doing the exact same thing they have for 2 years.
We have made soooo many unbelievable memories and experiences that would have nevvvvahhhh been attained by the same old dull and boring routine of that lifestyle. We are making memories and we have the freedom and autonomy that most people dream about. We are making memories and we can travel to our 3 kids location with our house. And, they have flown to be with us in the various beautiful locations around the country such as Utah, Montana, Idaho, and Key West.
We are living life and experiencing the beauty and magic this country and its people. You come in this life with nothing and will leave with nothing. We could care less about how much our RV is worth 5 or 10 years from now.
We are living the dream!!!
👍😃🍻
👍🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Guys, I hate being that gut, but I really tried watching this video and couldn't. The Audio Clipping is really bad and hurts my ears. I love Boondocking, but you guys really need to watch the clipping.
You are the only and first person who has ever said this, but we sure will try and understand what you are talking about and adjust accordingly.
No worries, and please, I meant this with the most kind of intentions. Audio clipping is a form of distortion which chops off the highest levels of a waveform when recorded. What it means is that the ae) audio that is being collected (your voice in this case) is louder than what your audio gear can accept, and that causes part of your voice (the top end) to be distorted before recorded, causing the "scratching/crackling" that can be heard. Usually, this is a simple Gain setting. Auto gain will prevent this, but when in manual mode, you don't want the audio bars (peak meter) you see on your camera to reach the top. You want them about a 1/3rd from the top or between -12dB and -6dB.
I watched this video on my iPad and experienced no distortion or any other kind of problem with the audio. It sounded fine to me.
Do you ever socialize with boondocking neighbors? Are people friendly?
Not really. We are never really that close to anyone… but everyone is very friendly. I think if you made more of an effort than we do, you may find people that want to hang out. Probably just depends on the situation:
Where do you get your water from and where do you dump your waste water/sewer?
We use the iOverlander app or find out from other campers. I usually pick the boondocking spot based on where the water and dump is located. I try and stick with something within 20-30 min or closer. Sometimes we will stay at an Rv park close by and fill up on water before we leave to boondock. Just depends.
FTLOG - Don't promote to everyone how nice & easy it is to BD-:)
Fortunately there will 'always" be more campground queen campers!
Last winter in Ajo Az you pass at least 3 '"full"parking lot style campgrounds to get to some of the BEST BD'in you will ever experience...👍
lol Yes, Boondocking is NOT for most (thank goodness or we wouldn’t have this peaceful and beautiful option open to us as we do). But we were the campground people at first (again, nothing wrong with that) and now, after experiencing it, we prefer boondocking. Your Rv journey certainly changes as you go along. Thank you so much for watching. ❤️
@@liketheresnotomorrow I started my Van / mountain biking journey (8 years ago) in campgrounds about 50% of the time.
Now I pay for an overnight stay less than 10% of the time & only when the stars line up. (French Quarter - Ocean Camping in Ca - Death Valley etc)
@@TerryManitoba #goals. We struggle in the summers. I don’t do hot so we end up at state parks and some campgrounds. Fall, winter, spring is our fave time to hit the mountains and southwest. So much boondocking.
so im trying to save money by giving up on rent and i live in a small city with only 21k people only like one decent park but its full and 2 others medicore,,,,,,one of the parks said its 458 dolllars a month but they said they only have 30amps so if my rig is 50 amp i can still do it with that plug u said???
Yes but you’ll have to learn not to run too much at a time or you’ll blow a breaker.
@@liketheresnotomorrow i could run one ac?? its a 1994 holiday rambler