Boondocking Difficulties

Boondocking definitely isn’t for everyone. It wasn’t for us when we started out on this adventure a little over two years ago. We had certainly done a lot of boondocking in our lifetime. You can ask our kids if they ever boondocked and they might say “no”. However, they were boondockers before the word “boondocking” became so popular. Of course, we didn’t call it boondocking then. We called it …. Camping! That’s what camping was. We pulled a tent trailer or trailer someplace under trees and there we sat for a few days. Many times we didn’t have power and only had the “john” down the road. This was real camping. It just wasn’t called boondocking.

As years went along we discovered how nice it was to pull into a park and hook into their electrical outlets. We still used the bathroom and shower facilities provided by the park but now we thought this was a much better way to camp because we had all the conveniences we really needed right inside whatever rig we were in.

I had never heard the word “boondock” until I discovered there are millions of full-timing RV’ers and many of those choose not to stay at RV parks. They boondock. That’s what self-contained is all about -- doing it on your own with what you are providing. Of course, my first thought was the money. Was it because they were too cheap or just didn't have the funds? Cheap wasn’t the right word. Many boondockers have invested a ton of money in their rigs just so they can boondock away from everyone with peace and quiet. It’s not cheap to get set-up to boondock. It can be very expensive.

In January of 2009 we had our first real experience in modern day boondocking. We had boondocked (if you want to call it that) at Wal-Mart's and Flying J’s for a night on the road while traveling. This was to be really boondocking and it was supposed to be for two full weeks --- that’s 14 full days without power and without water and not sitting on a dump.

We had been corresponding with other new RV’ers for many months. We knew a lot about each other but just hadn’t met in person … yet. The first club outing was planned for Quartzsite. Quartzsite is surrounded with BLM land and flooded with winter RV’ers. Some of the BLM is free but limited to a 14-day stay. Other areas are developed and fee based at $40 for 2-weeks or $180 for 6 months. The area is patrolled by Park Rangers with even water and a dump provided.

We were very worried about boondocking. After all, we weren’t equipped. Upon arrival in Quartzsite we rented a space in town for a month figuring we’d go back and forth. With a 27’ 5th wheel we had small tanks and a noisy 3500 generator for emergencies. We didn’t know about batteries, inverters, solar or even the quiet Honda generators. We were definitely newbies.

Our group arrived and huddled in the circle. We went back and forth for a couple days. However, with so many impromptu minglings … we were missing so much and we wanted to be in the middle of things. We moved from our safe little full hookup site that we had paid for next to our soon-to-become RV family. Actually, this one event with this group is what turned our whole RV adventure around. Had we not moved into the desert with them …. it wouldn’t have happened. Oh, we would have met everyone and we would have continued to email each other. We would have missed the morning coffee, the unplanned outings, the walks, the gab sessions, many of the evening campfires and most importantly -- the bonding.

How did we get along? We got along just fine and even received a lot of education in the process. I had really drug my feet on this whole no-power adventure. Some of the folks were solar users so parked away from the generator users. Most had already done a lot of boondocking. We ended up taking our noisy generator to the consignment shop in Quartzsite and found our first quiet Honda. It was a Honda 1000 but other than a microwave or air conditioner it was all we needed for the time. We still weren’t really equipped to boondock with small tanks and two house batteries. However, we managed just fine. Other folks do. Why couldn't we?

We learned a lot that first January on the BLM. We learned how to conserve water, we learned about BLM’s, COE’s and other places to go. We learned that there’s a lot to be said about not being in a park with your neighbors just inches away. We learned we could do it, we liked the wide open spaces occasionally and we made some very good friends aka our RV family. This first experience still remains the best adventure we ever had on the RVing road.

Oh, we still like those full hookups best but it’s nice to be able to spend a few days boondocking here and there in great locations. Through the next year we made some changes and looked forward to the next outing in Quartzsite scheduled for January of 2010.

January of 2010 brought more RV’ers to our little group. Again, most people who hung around got to know each other and our RV family grew. This time we weren’t quite so hesitant to boondock but still we had a lot to learn. We met many more people then and also reconnected with some throughout the year.

We even attended an RV boondocking roundtable in Yuma to try to learn more. However, it was a big bomb -- no moderator, no staying on subject! The best learning experience was actually doing it.

Now our next outing with the same group plus many more is just around the corner. We’ve learned a lot in the last couple of years since our first outing. What do we have on-board today that we didn’t have in January 2009 when we did our first trial run at boondocking? It’s not a lot different but just enough to make it easier. We still have our challenges and we still don’t have solar. Since we actually aren’t without full hookups most of the time, it’s hard to justify the expense for us and we still certainly like full hookups! Remember many times with a full hookup park we also get a hot tub and a swimming pool!!

We do have larger tanks and have learned to conserve water a bit better. We’ve swapped out generators again and carry a Honda 2000 with us. The Honda 2000 is an improvement over the Honda 1000 since it will allow us to use our microwave, keep the noise level down and be able to run it longer on less fuel than our on-board generator. We actually have an inverter and 4 6-volt batteries allowing us to run that television set without starting up the generator. Terry seems to think we need two more batteries so we might be adding those soon.

That’s not a lot more but it is a significant improvement over our first time boondocking in the desert. This time we also know what to expect. Maybe that's even the biggest part. We don't have the "fear of the unknown" inside us.

Let the good times begin ….. We have new friends yet to meet.