Our KOFA Boondocking Experience

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phil-t said:
Thanks for the detailed write up.  It will help us a great deal this coming summer, when we head to Alaska.
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Hi Phil-t,

If you haven't already done so, I would suggest you look in the library and search the forum (in the trip section) for forum members who have taken and documented their trips to Alaska. That will be quite helpful to you as well. I know you have to watch out for stones that flip up from other vehicles that can break your windshield and maybe have something in place to prevent this. I believe I read something on Sarge's trip related to that. Good luck and let us hear about your trip when you get back!
 
>showers, dishes and that sort of thing. I also filled two blue water containers 6 gallons each for eating, drinking and I also had 9 - one gallon jugs of drinking water, so I am not as talented as you might think. We didn't fill up with water the whole 4 weeks though
<

We bring drinking water separately as well. You are still my boondocking heroes for doing 4 weeks on 55 gal!! ?

Use propane for heating needs. It is more efficient than running a whole lotta moving parts to generate electricity. Take extra propane tanks and take them to town in your towed vehicle for a refill.

For us, boondocking is not to save money, but to enjoy the REAL quiet. And saving money does not require a test of endurance. Before solar (BS :) we would Boondock for a few days, then take ONE night in a campground with services and make liberal use of the facilities we were paying for. Then back to boondocking for a few days. THAT saved money.




 
Wally, Desert Bar is a neat place. Would have been fun to meet up there with you.

We took three nights away from the Yuma RV resort the meet up with a couple friends in KOFA.  What a great time we had.

Back at the resort now.

 
I don't think RVers should waste their time trekking to such an isolated part of the country. So much could go wrong... mountain lion attacks, isolation, no access to the grid and nothing but blowing dirt. The place is so isolated, you might never be heard from again. The only reason we've gone there several times a year for the past 25 years is to save others who've stumbled into such a dangerous place! heck, we spent several days there last week rescuing Tom, Theresa, and Jeff and Judy.
 

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Kevin Means said:
I don't think RVers should waste their time trekking to such an isolated part of the country. So much could go wrong... mountain lion attacks, isolation, no access to the grid and nothing but blowing dirt. The place is so isolated, you might never be heard from again. The only reason we've gone there several times a year for the past 25 years is to save others who've stumbled into such a dangerous place! heck, we spent several days there last week rescuing Tom, Theresa, and Jeff and Judy.
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It's the definition of Hell; all that desolation and sad faces!!!  ;D ;D ;D
 
Hi Kevin and all,

I wish you had told me that BEFORE I went there!! Next you'll be telling me I shouldn't be dragging raw meat behind me when I hike ;D I do tend to worry just a bit when out at night looking through the scope. I do have bear spray, assuming I would get the upper hand if attacked (that's mountain lions, not RV Forum members)  ;D

Looks like a great group camping there now!

Hi IBTripping,

Or Heaven, depending on your prospective. Best!
 
jackiemac said:
Looks great Kev.  Missing you in the back room!  Hope new business going well.
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Hi Jackie. I miss the back room too. I just thought it was the right thing to do. The business is going well, very well - far better than we even imagined. Unfortunately, it's become a seven-days-a-week thing ever since Quartzsite, which is why we took a few days off to "rescue" some friends at KOFA. Like they say, you have to be careful what you ask for. :)

Kev
 
Kevin Means said:
Hi Jackie. I miss the back room too. I just thought it was the right thing to do. The business is going well, very well - far better than we even imagined. Unfortunately, it's become a seven-days-a-week thing ever since Quartzsite, which is why we took a few days off to "rescue" some friends at KOFA. Like they say, you have to be careful what you ask for. :)

Kev
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Well deserved I'm sure and like Marty says if you get an investor that might ease the pressure a bit! Best of luck.
 
Frank B said:
For us, boondocking is not to save money, but to enjoy the REAL quiet. And saving money does not require a test of endurance. Before solar (BS :) we would Boondock for a few days, then take ONE night in a campground with services and make liberal use of the facilities we were paying for. Then back to boondocking for a few days. THAT saved money.
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Hi Frank and all,

I agree boondocking isn't about saving money (well maybe for some people) but enjoying the super nice environment and being away from things. For us it was also seeing how long we could go and how comfortable we could remain. More of a challenge than money related.
 
My desire to boondock is based on being able to set outside and play my guitar.....And not be chased off by our neighbors.

The bonus is if our S/B power goes out we can just go out to the TT. And if needed fire up the generator to run the AC.
 
> For us it was also seeing how long we could go and how comfortable we could remain. More of a challenge than money related.
<

Got it. It is always good to know what is feasible.

My dear wife was going over her diary from several years ago, and we did 10 days with no services and no solar or generator with our previous much smaller 5th wheel. Guess we're getting soft! :)



 
The important issue to me to to be totally self contained.  That is, we can stay anywhere we want at any time (local rules/regulations permiting) and we don't need to be concerned about if there is electric, water or sewer connections. 

This is why I installed 650 watts of solar along with 400AH of lithium battery. 

This really came in handy on our 4 1/2 month trip in Canada and Alaska in 2016.  137 days without any hookups and only needing to run our generator for about 2 hours one day to charge the batteries.  Only 2 nights in an RV park.  The remainder was dry camping or boondocking.  No worries about campgrounds being full or paying $40-$50 a night for a campsite. 

The main exception is when we must have air conditioning.  We do seek out electric hookups then. 
 
We are more like Al and Sharon. I just want to keep my options open, and being self sufficient does that. We were traveling back to Iowa from coastal Alabama, and we intended on staying in a campground on a specific night. However all the well-reviewed campgrounds were full for rigs our size (spring break on a Friday), so we just stayed at a Walmart. Don?t get me wrong - I love boondocking just for its own joy of quiet and beauty (at least most of the time). But it is nice to have options. We can go 5 days without making any real concessions, 7 days with minor concessions, and 9 days with more concessions. Which we do depends on how far it is to the dump station.
 
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