Boondock RV Poll - If Spartacus had an RV...

meaningful_meanderings

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If Spartacus had an RV...?

Just trying to get an idea of what is out there and what you guys see that I'm missing.

What are you boondocking in (RV model)?
What is great about it?
What would you make better about it?
Other interesting stuff about it good or not so good?
 
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We boondock preferentially over campground whether public or private. We get space, quiet, and beautiful views. We don’t need a pool or an activity room to enjoy our time in the motorhome. We take our 40’ DP places people are usually surprised about, but ours is well built. We made sure when we selected our motorhome that we had big enough tanks to manage for a week or more. Kevin installed solar and lithium batteries for better off-grid performance without a noisy generator. Note there are some impacts to the motorhome for our rough travels, but we have a guy in Red Bay, AL who makes sure things get put back together if needed. Mostly it is just a bit of trim work that comes loose.
 
Hello meaningful_meanderings and all,

Here is a picture of our boondocking RV for Astronomy.
Astro Camp 2023.JPG
Pictured is a Pentax 4 inch refractor. and 15 inch Obsession reflector in the eastern area of Oregon.
 
If Spartacus had an RV...?

Just trying to get an idea of what is out there and what you guys see that I'm missing.

What are you boondocking in (RV model)?

Arctic fox 25R.

What is great about it?
small enough to navigate down forest service roads, big enough for a couple
without being too cramped. easy tow with 3/4 ton truck.

What would you make better about it?
could do with more internal storage. it's a compromise solution, we thought about buying a MH but that's not conducive to our camping style, we camp in places that a MH could not possibly go due to ground clearance and other factors. MH is great for desert and open space.

Other interesting stuff about it good or not so good?
had to coat the frame with fluid film underneath, Northwood are a bit light on coatings, evidence of rust only after a few years.

Morryde steps are just retarded, any dirt/sand on them ends up inside the trailer unless we clean it before retracting. just one more job to do before moving.
onboard generator is a big plus.
a/c is the usual noisy garbage, considering a mini split replacement.
 
Part of the answer depends on how you define "boondocking." If you consider all dry camping to be boondocking, then we do occasionally spend a night in a parking lot when we are stopping only for the night. Over the years we have spent a lot of time in national forest campgrounds that have only an outhouse and no hookups of any kind. We did that because of the scenic locations or access to trout streams and other things of that sort. We don't care much for the desert dry camping at places like Quartzsite or other BLM Long Term Visitor Areas (LTVA) as they are just not our thing.
 
Truck camper. 2003 Fleetwood Angler and 2007 Chev 2500HD. Solar, 440 watts into a Bluetti Elite 200 V2.
 
Just trying to get an idea of what is out there and what you guys see that I'm missing.
Sounds like you've been out in the boonies and don't like the experience. It's not for everyone. We have a 35 foot motorhome and enjoy the peace and quiet that is difficult to find in a campground. The two things I don't like about boon docking are the challenge in finding a suitable spot and the road conditions getting to that spot.
 
We have a 38' 5th wheel and enjoy desert boondocking. It's a bit more challenging to find a spot in our home State of Minnesota but we might try a spot near International Falls that's adjacent to a large section of homestead property that been in the family for decades. Very wild up there.
 
Sounds like you've been out in the boonies and don't like the experience. It's not for everyone. We have a 35 foot motorhome and enjoy the peace and quiet that is difficult to find in a campground. The two things I don't like about boon docking are the challenge in finding a suitable spot and the road conditions getting to that spot.
No, that statement was about RVs. I've been looking at a lot of different ones on the market and am figuring out the industry has a slightly different interpretation of what boondock means. I still tent camp and feel sure I've tent camped in harsher conditions than some of these RVs can handle, but getting too old for that now; I need someplace out of the elements for sleeping, cooking, and bathroom (3am bathroom that doesn't include a hike.) Too, I want the wife to accompany me, tent camping is something she will not do (that's my fault, I didn'think to ask before we got married. I've added that to the list for next time.)
 
Very good topic. Reading closely to learn more. We have a 36 foot Motorhome. Recently upgraded to Lithium batteries to do more "boondocking", which to me is to be at a site without any hook ups. We like areas with lots of trees so solar isn't the greatest option for where we like to go...near our home in western South Dakota.

Boondocking or not depends on what we are looking for. Sometimes we want full hook ups especially if we are just passing through. If we want to get away to a natural peaceful setting then boondocking is great. It's fairly simple and pictures say it all.

We like these type of sites that usually don't have any hook ups and are spread out..in wonderful locations.

IMG_6095.jpeg
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Rather than this type of site...which we stayed in Yellowstone fishing bridge RV park.

3C83B45D-1DD8-B71B-0BC0712AD66E9837.jpg


We have found pretty sites with some hook ups (usually electric and maybe water) but these are generally unusual in the RV world...like this site at McDowell Mountain regional park in AZ.
IMG_2268.jpg
 
Below are some drone videos taken in Jan. of desert boondocking. A RVForum group hold a unorganized rally on BLM land south of Quartzsite AZ.


 
Fifth wheel owner here. We don't boondock. We are East of the Mississippi River and, unless overnighting at Wall Mart or a Cracker Barrel, public lands to boondock on just don't exist.

We have been in a few situations where we do not have electricity. But that is usually just a short period of time. March 2025 we arrived at our location in Louisiana and was not able to park in our designated site because they planned on cutting a large tree at the side. We stayed in the parking lot for 2 overnights, too far for any "hook-ups". We knew about this "going in" and planned for it. We had our Onan Generator running for almost 3 days and nights straight. Water tank full full and I had my Barker Blue Sewer tote if we needed to dump tanks. Once the tree was completely removed, we were able to move on the side and were there for a total of 4 months.

But, if we know we will not have full hook-ups, I always have in the camper and bed of the pick-up truck the generators (I have 2 of them for 50 amp), a 35 gallon external fresh water tank, and the 32 gallon Barker Blue sewer tote. These 3 things are always with us, even when we have full hook-up sites.

Again, East of the Mississippi River, there's not much opportunity for public land boon-docking. So the need is simply not there.
 
While not an inveterate boondocker, I've done it all over the USA and western Canada, in both trailers and motorhomes. More often with our motorhomes simply because they were better equipped for i, e.g. bigger tanks and battery banks, inverter & generator, etc. We've done everything from overnights in parking lots to several day stays in prepared sites with no services or little clearings down some wilderness path. Parking lots, of course, are just a convenience stop while traveling, but the others are purely for enjoyment of a more isolated and natural camping experience. And, I'll confess, I like meeting the technical challenges involved with maintaining a modern living style while off-grid.

Opportunities east of the Mississippi are more limited than further West, but isolated camping areas with no services are available once you get off the beaten path. I've found pleasant boondock spots in NY, VT, NH and ME, along the Blue Ridge Pkwy, western NC, VA WV, and GA, to name a few.

Our most enjoyable boondock locations were in Alaska, British Columbia, and Yukon. Splendid isolation in gorgeous locations, often at the waterside. We were traveling with good friends who had their own coach, so we had company at nearly every stop too. Isolation but with company of our own choosing.
 

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I still tent camp and feel sure I've tent camped in harsher conditions than some of these RVs can handle, but getting too old for that now; I need someplace out of the elements for sleeping, cooking, and bathroom (3am bathroom that doesn't include a hike.)
I do understand that situation. We started our married life with tenting, then a popup, and worked our way up in RVs. I camped with our 3 sons in BSA and the entire family joined friends in MT for a 2-week horseback trip into the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area, living out of backpacker tents. When we went full-time, we pretty much gave up most forms of dry camping but that was some years ago, when one could still find an RV park or campground pretty much on the spur of the moment. If I were buying a new RV to do that today, I would definitely get one with everything needed to be able to spend several successive nights, if not longer, without any type of hookups. The reason is that campsites are getting more and more difficult to find on short notice and the availability of dry camping sites from people like Harvest Hosts and such, which can be a great experience as well as saving some money. Age and infirmity have caught up with us now, but we still miss it and there are so many opportunities now that either didn't exist or we didn't know about, as well as the ability to travel and stop spontaneously without preplanning. While I'm not one to spend months, or even weeks out where there are no campgrounds, I would want some solar and tank sizes to allow the kind of travel that we did when we went on the road 25 years ago. The ability to live in comfort without hookups for a week or so will give you far more freedom.
 
We boondock in our 43 foot Winnebago Tour. It is (by far) our favorite way to camp. We're fortunate to live out west where BLM camping is plentiful, so our limiting factors are the size and angles of the roads leading to the campsites, and our black tank's capacity (53 gallons) We added 1300 watts of solar and 900 AH of lithium to avoid having to listen to the generator, but we think it was worth it.

Kev
 

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Basic stock 2004 F53 motorhome 50A chassis, 2- 6V T 225ah LA batteries, 55W Onan generator, 75 gal. Fresh 45 gal waste & 60 gal Grey tanks. A new 24 hour tested 200W portable solar panel.

The two of us usually empty tanks every 7 days but can do 9 days. The black tank is the limiting tank. We do practice water conservation.

Last year we lengthened normal boondocking stay at Quartzsite, AZ desert from ~ 2 weeks to a month. We do run the generator at night to watch TV and charge up house batteries and electronics.
 
I don't get the attraction to hard scrabble land.
Pretty sure the reason for that is in your username. :cool:
I've been to the spot in Kevin's picture, or one within a 1/2mile.
If my kids would let me go back to the Q, I'd spend as much time there as the law would allow. My wife wasn't big on KOFA camping so we stayed in town. Now that she's gone I'd change that in a heartbeat.
 

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