Losing home & need to immediately relocate to truck camper

I don't have the luxury of years researching everything I need to know to get started.
Since I don't have roots and can work remotely, I want to hit the road ASAP.
I can't seen to find a source that gives a concise and exhaustive how-to guide.
I'm always left with questions.

For instance:
Everything I need to go off-grid?

Basic equipment everyone should bring such as
emergency repair kits, hatchets, saws, etc. ?

The best way to find caravan groups to start out with?

All the places you can safely & legally boondock?

Also curious as to what you think the best rig is for a small signature and versatility?

Is there a guide to must-see locales? Maybe a kind of itinerary on how to hit all of them?

Welcome.
Where are you located? The term caravan is not usually used in USA. I just wanted to make sure you got the best information.

It's unlikely you can find caravan groups to start out with. 

Where you are located is important because it is a lot easier to boondock or dry camp in the west than in the eastern part of the US.  Mostly, you will want to find national forests and Bureau of Land management locations, but there are a LOT of issues around just plain living, like carrying enough water with you, having big enough septic and grey water tanks, and managing things like refrigeration and electricity.  It is an awful lot to figure out in a hurry.

And the big concern is that if you are in a hurry, you are bound to make some expensive mistakes.  Is there somewhere you could stay for a few weeks until you have time to research what you want to do??

Also, do you already own a big enough pickup truck to put a truck camper on it??  And why a truck camper instead of a small trailer and pickup truck??

AEP offers free campsites but you have to move every two weeks and they have other rules like applying for a permit every year. It's been years since I've been there but recall the restrooms and roads were very rustic. I was there with a fishing buddy so security wasn't an issue but something you should consider.

https://www.aep.com/recreation/areas/recreationland

Also be aware truck campers are one of the lowest bang for the buck RV options out there, when you consider what you get space, cargo, etc. wise.

It seems like, for whatever reasons, you're in a rush. That's unfortunate, because RVing isn't necessarily "cheap" and it's easy to make expensive mistakes. It would help to know what your situation and plans are. Are you going to be by yourself, or...? Your budget is another unknown (and none of our business) but it would help when trying to know how big you want to go, and the amenities you want. Are you looking at new or used RVs? If you're looking at cab-over campers, how much can your pickup carry?

My "basic" tools include the same stuff I have at home, including a battery powered drill and chainsaw. I've never needed the chainsaw but I know as soon as I leave it home I'll need it.

If you're going to be boondocking a lot, you'll probably want to go solar. Having said that, it's nice to have a generator for those un-sunny days. We boondock a lot and rely heavily on solar power, but solar is another thing that isn't necessarily cheap. It really depends on your needs, budget and where you'll be camping. There are several people here who will be happy to help if you decide to go solar, but I'd strongly recommend that you do a lot of research on the subject before buying anything.

Your power requirements are just one of the limiting factors when it comes to boondocking. Your RV's holding tank sizes are another. I've always said that when the black tank is full, the camping trip is over. It's fairly easy to solve your off-grid power needs, but finding a place to legally dump your holding tanks, and finding fresh water can be a challenge - depending on where you are.

Good luck with your endeavor. Let us know how we can help.

Kev

A truck camper sufficiently large enough to live comfortably in will demand a dually truck.  Duallies are not really suited for off road use.  Can you go down a gravel road?  Sure.  But consider a truck and camper are going to weigh 12,000+ pounds.  Thats not the kind of load your going to get too far away from pavement with.  When you compare $$ per sqft campers are really expensive.  Yes, many folks accept the small space and high cost because  their goal is to tow some other toys that they spend their days with, using the camper as a place to wash up, eat and sleep off the ground.  For the price of a truck and large truck camper that is not already junk you could buy a pretty nice motor home, and have three times the living space.

There are people doing what you say you want to do but there is no Dummies guide to brain surgery for working from an RV in the boonies. The logistics fall into several categories...

The vehicle that will go where I want to go and that I can live and work from. There are like 100+ things to consider and probably 1,000 solutions.

"Survival" - Cooking, washing, drinking and vacating - Largely revolves around fuel (gas), water storage and waste disposal. There are limitations abound depending on what you do in the vehicle stage.

Working from the boonies - First is how you power everything.  Then how you connect to the internet.  Can be solved but it's not like you run to home depot and ask for the Boonie internet & power solution kit.

I would start with "something" cheap-ish that you can sell on and doesn't have massive tow vehicle requirements like a 24 foot travel trailer and plan to "live and stay" urban for a year while you learn this stuff.

You don't indicate that you have any experience being off grid. Even if you knew what that meant from a practical standpoint you'd have a leg up on this. Maybe you're McGivers cousin and can fix anything on your own already but you didn't say that. RV stuff breaks and if you are 50 miles into the desert you could die getting help.

I am sorry if this sounds blunt. We as a society are averse to telling people "no" and that YOLO and FOMO means you should just go do it because you will be a success.  Well there are still people dying in the American wilderness - usually from dumb-buttery but even seasoned and experienced "adventurists" make mistakes and die.

First,what truck do you have?  Second,why not a trailer?

Ex-Calif, people also drop dead near civilization, in August 2017 I was checking into a state park campground  (Queen Wilhelmina State Park, Arkansas, 17 miles outside Mena, Ar) when a ranger came running into the office to get the AED (automatic defibrillator).  Apparently some guy in the campground had collapsed, the police started showing up about 15-20 minutes later maybe longer, long enough for me to finish checking in and getting parked and setup at the other end of the campground, with the ambulance 20 minutes after that, it was close to sunset at that point and there was fog in the area.  I don't know the details but asked the next morning at the office and was told the guy had died.

Isaac-1 said:

Ex-Calif, people also drop dead near civilization, in August 2017 I was checking into a state park campground  (Queen Wilhelmina State Park, Arkansas, 17 miles outside Mena, Ar) when a ranger came running into the office to get the AED (automatic defibrillator).  Apparently some guy in the campground had collapsed, the police started showing up about 15-20 minutes later maybe longer, long enough for me to finish checking in and getting parked and setup at the other end of the campground, with the ambulance 20 minutes after that, it was close to sunset at that point and there was fog in the area.  I don't know the details but asked the next morning at the office and was told the guy had died.

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Yes - Hundreds of stories.  There was one a couple of weeks ago where an older gentleman was on a simple walk in the Ca. desert, Slipped, broke his hip and literally could not move the 2 miles to "civilization" - His family knew he went on a hike and a search was made - He laid in the desert for like 48 hours with no water...

Check out "Cheap RV Living" on utube.
Maybe just get a van. Many folks do as you are talking with just a van or small cargo trailer.

Sorry I've been gone for a couple of weeks soon after I posted.

And I got something- a 1994 Ford Econoline in pristine condition.
It's in process of being delivered. Before it arrives though
my first concern is trying to understand the energy usage of the camper and how to keep power off grid, whether to use solar panels, what kind and what kind of batteries I will need.

Thank everyone who has helped, sorry for the hiatus, but it looks like I'm back.

So you got a van rather than a pickup + truck camper?  Is it already equipped for camping? 

Energy usage is largely up to you, e.g. lighting, heating, hot water, phone, tv, etc.  Your life choices are going to be the main factors.

Did you just get a conversion van or is it an actual class B built on a ford can chassis? I grew up with two different Ford conversion Van's, and while they are comfortably for travel, i.e. rear couch and 4 captain chairs, they were not designed to actual camp or live out of.

CMKline said:

Before it arrives though
my first concern is trying to understand the energy usage of the camper and how to keep power off grid, whether to use solar panels, what kind and what kind of batteries I will need.

Click to expand...

1 - Develop an energy budget - You list each thing you will operate on DC power, how much power it consumes per hour and multiply by the hours it will operate.
2 - Once you know the energy budget you decide how the energy will be replenished each day - generator, solar, wind power or plug in
3 - Then you decide how long you plan to be off grid between charging at the worst case - that sets battery size.

Example  -
1a - Laptop/screens/printer, lights, water pump, etc = 80 amps
2a - 200W solar / 12V = 16amps X 6 hours collection = 100amps X .8 efficiency = 80 amps
3a - 2 days reserve = 160a / .5 (max discharge) = 320 a/h batteries
2b - 2000W generator backup to solar

Energy calc sample -
Printer/laptop/screen @ 3amps X 10 hours = 30 amps/day
Water pump @ 1 amp X 2 hours = 2 amps/day
4 X 40W bulbs = 120W / 12V = 10amps X 8 hours = 80 amps
Total budget = 112amps - Overbudget

Replace Incandescent bulbs with LED... Lighting is the worst consumer of energy and one of the easiest to fix.

Lots of suggestions to think about.  Unfortunately many require money to implement.  I don't get that you have much cash and if not your options will be limited.  I'm not sure how to go about it, but I think you'd get better advice from a forum of van campers if they exists.  I would start by searching things like Burning man and Slab City to identify forums that are likely made up of individuals with similar situations.  Good luck.