RV Trailers desgined for extended boondocking

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I've found ones like this that are big enough for 4 people and under 5000 lbs loaded. I would think I would just need a variant with bigger tanks.
Well, 4 people can live in a one room apartment, if your definition of "living" is flexible enough.  :-\  And I suppose they can exist without using much water either, or using other methods of carrying and disposing of water.
It's my opinion that your notions are wildly optimistic, both in what that Volvo can tow and how 4 people (family?) can live, but your standards are probably different than mine. A LOT different.  I know you don't want to hear that, but that's the value of asking questions here, i.e. getting opinions form others with experience.
 
I took a look at the X213 2017 Jay Feather yesterday, it seemed like it would be plenty big enough for us(although we would probably have to bring some extra water tanks in the back of the SUV and ration water pretty quite a bit).

UTTransplant said:
Those fresh and waste water tanks are 1/2 to 1/3 what is takes for two experienced boondockers (DH and me) for a week. Think carefully. Have you thought of a pop up with two king sized beds and a porta potty with a separate enclosure? With the weight savings you could carry a lot more water and other supplies.
I think a pop up would not work that well due to the lack of proper insulation for AC.

Gary RV_Wizard said:
Well, 4 people can live in a one room apartment, if your definition of "living" is flexible enough.  :-\  And I suppose they can exist without using much water either, or using other methods of carrying and disposing of water.
It's my opinion that your notions are wildly optimistic, both in what that Volvo can tow and how 4 people (family?) can live, but your standards are probably different than mine. A LOT different.  I know you don't want to hear that, but that's the value of asking questions here, i.e. getting opinions form others with experience.
Yeah, we're fairly flexible there, it's for a group of young adults(for events like burning man).

Sun2Retire said:
I agree. Notwithstanding Volvo's seemingly optimistic numbers, there's no way I'd use a small, car-based SUV to tow a long 6000# trailer through the Rockies (or anywhere actually - out on the flat Plains with a little breeze and the tail would be wagging the dog)
It's not exactly a small SUV, I'm going to check with the hitch manufacturer to see what they think.
 
The hitch manufacturer has little or nothing to do with it, they will simply regurgitate the specifications on their website. Just because the hitch is strong enough when installed properly does not mean that that SUV will handle it nicely under adverse conditions like high winds, mountain driving, etc. Will it be a pleasant experience? Maybe, under excellent conditions. Will it become a 'white knuckle experience'? Very likely under less than ideal conditions. Will the vehicle break? Not likely, Volvo's are well made in most cases, but the shorter wheelbases found in most SUV's and longer, heavier trailers are a recipe for problems.

Remember, water is heavy, at least 7 lbs/gal, and that has to be added to the load carrying ability of the vehicle as are the weights of all people,  cargo, and the trailer tongue weight.

Ahhh but you are probably young and invincible, go for it!! :D
 
Alfa38User said:
The hitch manufacturer has little or nothing to do with it, they will simply regurgitate the specifications on their website. Just because the hitch is strong enough when installed properly does not mean that that SUV will handle it nicely under adverse conditions like high winds, mountain driving, etc. Will it be a pleasant experience? Maybe, under excellent conditions. Will it become a 'white knuckle experience'? Very likely under less than ideal conditions. Will the vehicle break? Not likely, Volvo's are well made in most cases, but the shorter wheelbases found in most SUV's and longer, heavier trailers are a recipe for problems.

Remember, water is heavy, at least 7 lbs/gal, and that has to be added to the load carrying ability of the vehicle as are the weights of all people,  cargo, and the trailer tongue weight.

Ahhh but you are probably young and invincible, go for it!! :D
Yeah, hard to say how it will perform in practice, the vehicle does have Trailer Stability Assist system as well. I plan to fill the water tanks only once I'm close to the destination.
 
Well, just don't forget, when starting out, to say the immortal words:  "Hold my beer!  I wanna try something!"  :)
 
lightsword said:
I've found ones like this that are big enough for 4 people and under 5000 lbs loaded. I would think I would just need a variant with bigger tanks.
Yeah, I figured that would probably be what I would need to do.

By the time you have full propane tanks, and the batteries needed to boondock for as long as you want, you WILL NOT be able to safely tow it with your vehicle.  The posted dry weight is with absolutely nothing on the trailer.  Realistic hitch weight is easily in the 700-800 pound range for that trailer. 
 
Correct me if I am wrong fellow rvers, but we have a 26 gallon fresh water and 30 gallons each for grey and black tanks. For a small trailer, I believe we have quite large tanks.

Within 3-4 days, we are full and need to dump. And this is using a water hookup, not living off 26 gallons of fresh water tank. So this is us living off 60 gallons of water, so to speak.

I think your expectations on boondocking that long without accessible dumping stations will be rather difficult. We have a family of four, two adults and two kids in double-digits (who know how to be sparingly in water use). And I am the only one who may have one or two quick ?shower rinses? within these 3-4 days.
The other three family members use the shower facilities.

Will you have access to outhouses or bathhouses?
 
My vote is for a cargo trailer, outdoor camping equipment, and a good size tent. or two.
 
I think I'm going to try renting one of the ones near my weight capacity for burning man and see how it works out.

BikerFlex&HappyJen said:
Correct me if I am wrong fellow rvers, but we have a 26 gallon fresh water and 30 gallons each for grey and black tanks. For a small trailer, I believe we have quite large tanks.

Within 3-4 days, we are full and need to dump. And this is using a water hookup, not living off 26 gallons of fresh water tank. So this is us living off 60 gallons of water, so to speak.

Will you have access to outhouses or bathhouses?
Well 26 gallons of fresh water seems to be on the smaller side, most of the ones I'm looking at are closer to 50 for fresh. There is sometimes limited outhouse access and dumping services available. We plan to just ration water extremely carefully, probably only 1 very short shower per person per trip.

pip said:
By the time you have full propane tanks, and the batteries needed to boondock for as long as you want, you WILL NOT be able to safely tow it with your vehicle.  The posted dry weight is with absolutely nothing on the trailer.  Realistic hitch weight is easily in the 700-800 pound range for that trailer. 

I've still got about 2000lbs of capacity with that one before I'd be at my weight limit. Hitch weight is mostly a matter of cargo weight distribution from what I understand. The biggest unknown seems to be how much margin I have and how well the Trailer Stability Assist system my vehicle has will perform.

Lou Schneider said:
It's not a good idea to add weight to the back of a trailer ... especially a lightweight with limited hitch weight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jk9H5AB4lM

Yeah, I'm thinking it's best to just put the generators right inside the main door or something like that.

muskoka guy said:
Get a bigger truck, and get a toy hauler. They have all the things you listed, plus you can bring along a toy.

For long trips it would be hard to find a truck that's anywhere near as nice to drive as my Volvo SUV, it has a feature called Pilot Assist(similar to Tesla's autopilot) that really make a huge difference since it essentially drives itself once on the highway.
 
If you tell the rental company you are going to Burning Man, they probably won?t rent. If you don?t tell them, expect a huge cleaning fee. The playa dust gets everywhere, and it is almost impossible to get rid of.

Good luck.
 
UTTransplant said:
If you tell the rental company you are going to Burning Man, they probably won?t rent. If you don?t tell them, expect a huge cleaning fee. The playa dust gets everywhere, and it is almost impossible to get rid of.

Good luck.

We found one that's Burning Man friendly(the owners would go themselves some years).
 
50 gallons of water - an additional 417 pounds of weight.  Now, add all the other stuff to the trailer. 

I think you are fighting this one, and avoiding all the signs that this is not a good idea. 

Any mistakes can be putting lives at risk, keep that in mind as you go through this.
 
I think the industry is listening. They will be coming out with units made for extended boondocking.

Units with larger water tanks, fuel tanks, generators and solar power. Also set up for the future sat web connection that will be everywhere soon. 5g will be the last land base web provision.
 
markandkim said:
I think the industry is listening. They will be coming out with units made for extended boondocking.

Units with larger water tanks, fuel tanks, generators and solar power. Also set up for the future sat web connection that will be everywhere soon. 5g will be the last land base web provision.

So what corners will they further cut to carry the additional weight of these larger water tanks, generators, etc?  They're already thinning the walls and eliminating most of the wall and ceiling framing in some of these "lite" trailers to keep their weight below the SUV tow limits.
 
Lou Schneider said:
So what corners will they further cut to carry the additional weight of these larger water tanks, generators, etc?  They're already thinning the walls and eliminating most of the wall and ceiling framing in some of these "lite" trailers to keep their weight below the SUV tow limits.
There are lots of trailers suited to extended boondocking that will sleep 4 adults, but they just aren?t towable with a small SUV. Water, solar or generator, propane, waste waste tanks - they all add weight. Add to it that a unit suitable for boondocking should be actually quite rugged to go off the paved road to where the good places are. To be towable by a small vehicle they would have to address the issues Lou identified.
 
UTTransplant said:
There are lots of trailers suited to extended boondocking that will sleep 4 adults, but they just aren?t towable with a small SUV. Water, solar or generator, propane, waste waste tanks - they all add weight. Add to it that a unit suitable for boondocking should be actually quite rugged to go off the paved road to where the good places are. To be towable by a small vehicle they would have to address the issues Lou identified.

This makes sense UT! Basically what I was thinking when I read it was an SUV tv and wanting to boondock.



My comment earlier about our tank sizes was in reference to lightweight travel trailer options/accommodations which I immediately thought would be what the op would lean toward when shopping for a trailer when the tv is an SUV.
 
My son-in-law does a lot of boondocking with the family. He used a 20 foot at 3700lbs for years with no problem. He took extra water with them, solar panels and a generator.
If you are way out in the bush you don?t want to spend it in a trailer, so battery work well for what he needed to run.
He just pick up a Coleman 24 foot that was built to go deep in the back county that sleeps up to 8 of them.  They are out there if you look. Don?t know the model but it?s a lite.
 
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