Set-up for Boondocking

[cpatinjones]

Hi Ladies,

Any of you boondock? If so, how is your RV set-up for boondocking?

Thanks.

[sharon]

Generator, inverter and solar panels. I boondock 10-12 days at a time in the winter.

[BirdbyBird]

Not really set up well. I do it but I only have one battery so I don't use much electric or of I do need some I turn the generator on briefly. I would really like at least a second battery. Solar is wonderful and quiet but I really don't have the space for the battery bank and buying a little more gasoline is still cheaper than the cost of installing solar. I am just not that green. I have run the generator all night in order to support heat (at a dog show in cold snowy Michigan one April. I have also run it in order to run the aircondition while parked in the parking lot of what was then my daughter's apt complex in NC. After listening to all the apt units cycle oon and off mine was not going to distract anyone any more. I have learned that this particular rig is real picky about how much gas I have to have in the tank in order to operate the generator. It definitely wants much more than the old quarter tank. Just ask Carol who had to finish heating up some of the dinner I offered to fix when we were boon docking. I have done more camping in the cold seasons heading south out of Ohio. The propane heater will keep me warm. If I have plug in electric I will use a little ceramic heater. The frig works off of propane when I am not plugged in. I have a small inverted that allows me to use my computer and the TV works on 12 volt if I need it to. My black tank has lasted a week when I needed it to. I seldom connect to sewer and have never stayed anywhere longer than a week anyway. I don't have a toad so I like to make driving away to see stuff as easy as possible. I have but generally don't shower in my rig. I am very good at taking a sink bath..... much less water. My hair is short and does not require much and if absolutely necessary I have the rinseless dog shampoo I can use to spiff up.

[avalen]

back when I had my cabin....we didn't have running water, the pump was the kind
you had to prime and pump that big old long handle but we did have the plumbing
in, just not hooked up to the pump. We used to fill a solar bag and hang it on the
deck in the sunshine, it would get really hot and we had hair washing parties off
the deck. The stove was wood burning and although we had electricity and I had
a little electric two burner setup, it was much more fun to wash our hair over
the edge of the deck. When I had my van, I only had one house battery and I
never did run it so low that I needed to charge it. It always charged when I ran
the van. But I had a coffee maker that hooked up to the cigarette lighter type
socket and of course my tv did too, and a cd player too. My ceiling vent fan
also ran off the house battery. I did have my little one burner propane stove and
oven. That served as heat if I needed it. The oven part had a little catalytic
burner and I actually used it one year up at my cabin to heat the place and it
kept us toasty warm. I only went a few days at a time so my porta potti had
its own little holding tank in the bottom and it came off like a little suitcase
you could carry into a gas station bathroom to empty. Now, with my fifth wheel,
although I've been parked for 3 years now, the holding tank doesn't need dumped
but every other weekend. The grey tank fills up much faster but I leave it open
when I'm hooked up.

[retiredhappy]

Have a generator, three coach batteries and a 5gal propane bottle (my rig has the propane built in so need to take the entire rig to get propane) with and Extend-a-Stay. Don't put paper in the black tank if only doing number one. Bring extra bottles of water for the dogs. Use a dishpan for dishes then throw the water outside and not in my grey tank. Also use the dishpan to collect the "cold" water while waiting for the "hot" - give to dogs to drink.

[Bethers]

I boondock all the time - basically 2 1/2 months of it in the Baja. I have a generator and before I do it again will get solar for that type of boondocking. I only have one battery- no more is needed for my size rig. Just had to run the generator to keep the battery charged. Also need to use the generator if I used my microwave. I don't use tv and rarely use the microwave when boondocking. Stove and oven are good. Solar with a good invertor will allow me to keep my battery to the coach charged, as well as keep things like my computer and rechargeable batteries charged easier.

For boondocking like I did in AK, I'd like to have solar, also, but not as important as in MX - as I did use my generator a lot more.

It all depends on how you're going to boondock. How long at a time, where, etc. Solar is great - if you're in areas with enough sun to charge. When in AK, I was travelling lots of days - that kept my batteries charged. Overnight boondocking (or even 2-3 days at a time) you don't need the same things as you do for long term.

All that said - I'd never want to be without my generator, and am looking forward to getting solar one of these days. For my size rig, I only need one panel - have already checked it all out. The bigger your rig is, and the more you want it to do, the more panels you'll need.

[WickedLady]

Beth, what size would that one panel be? And how much could you run off it?

[Bethers]

I don't remember the size - the panels are pretty standard sized. I wouldn't be using it to "run" a lot - but using it to keep the battery charged and to charge other minor things. If I had my tv set up to run on the inverter, it should do it - but I don't use my tv when boondocking - however if I did, would probably do so during the day while the solar panels are gathering power - so that the battery wouldn't run down. Again, if I wanted to do that, I'd need more battery power. I make it fine without solar with my one battery - so don't see any reason to take up space and weight with more batteries. Now, if I got another rig, I'd probably look for one that has 2 batteries, although that wouldn't be a necessity for me. When I get my solar though, that will come with me And you can always ADD panels if you need more. Solar is also getting much more affordable.

One thing I learned - you see all these rigs who get up there and aim their solar panels and make a big effort out of it. You'll find lots of the solar junkies have their panels flat and never fool around with them. Why? Because aiming them isn't necessary and really doesn't "get" more energy. Parking in the shade, that is a problem - but if parked in the sun, the sun sees it whether flat or angled. Actually, those who angle should actually turn their rig from morning to evening - hahahaha - unless they also think the sun in either morning or evening gives them more power. Oh, I'm being snotty. I actually asked all these questions when I looked to buy the panel last winter. It wasn't in my budget but was very close - but will force it into my budget in the near future.

[bikerchic777]

[b]We boondocked in Key West, at the Navy base for a few weeks in Jan. We had that nice Itasca Ellipse diesel pusher, so it was easy. The solar panel puts a trickle charge to the coach batteries during the day. Since we didn't need AC then, we rarely had to start up the generator during the day, unless I needed to run the microwave or something. We ran it in the evening to use the computer, top off the batteries, as well as recharge all of my batteries in rechargers, computer, and cordless vacuum cleaner. We found out how to fill the water tank, without driving down to the spigot, by using the winterizing tube and the water pump to suck water out of a rolling cooler that we filled at a spigot. That way, we could use regular dishes and wash them. If there was a line at the showers, I could shower (conservatively) in the mh. I did have a big camping water jug on the bathroom counter to use for washing hands. We used a toter every couple of days to tote the grey and black waters to the dump station. The furnace or ceiling fan worked at night without draining the batteries much. We did have an inverter, but forgot to use it. Most places where you boondock want generators off at 11:00 PM 'til 7:00 AM.

I boondocked right after I bought Myrtle. I went to meet Barbie (Barabara Rose) and stayed in her apt. parking lot, with mgr. approval. She let me shower in her apt. and do laundry in her apt. bldg. I did pretty good. I have a large fresh water tank, so it lasted fine for one person. I do have a solar panel on the front AC, but it's not working right now. I hope it does after I clean the panel. You have a fifth wheel, don't you? You should be able to fill your water tank from a hole in the side. I have that on Myrtle. Not all mh's do. I can use a hose or pour water in using a funnel. I also have a smaller toter. They get heavy when theyre full, so don't use a big one. Boondocking intimidated me until I tried it. Now it's no big deal. The most important thing is to make sure you check the water in your coach batteries once a month so they don't go dry. You will figure out your own tricks. It makes you think more.(/b]

[Bethers]

I did look into using one of the small solar panels used to give a trickle charge. But for the cost, would rather get a regular sized one - that would allow me to use my computer, etc without the genie.

I never use all the water in my water tank before I need to dump - so never need to bring extra water to the rig. I can probably go a month without dumping and filling - but am not sure that I've gone more than 3 weeks. If the dump and water are available, no reason to wait that 4th week .

RIght now, I'm staying monthly, but without dump. I know I could go longer - went close to 3 weeks before going to dump the first time, but now have myself on a once every 2 week schedule. It does mean I'm using their showers (the one thing I hate but do when doing this) most of the time. I know I can take 3 showers on a dump - so do get to use mine - and do the last quickie shower just before going to dump. No, I'm not boondocking now, but this is something sometimes necessary. The guy across from me has one of those totes. He watched me and said I unhook and go dump and come back and park/rehook just as fast as he gets that tote ready, pulls it with his truck, dumps it, brings it back, etc. He's rethinking using the tote

[bikerchic777]

You're good, Beth My fresh water tank is pretty big, so I don't need to fill it as often as I need to dump...especially my gray tank! I'm not used to such a small one. As long as you have a shower to use, it helps a lot. Dishes is where I use the most water, which fills up my gray tank so fast. I'm not a big fan of paper plates and such. I've been keeping my gray tank open to the sewer,since I'm hooked up now, until my black tank is about ready to dump. Then I close it so I get enough in there to chase the black water through the sewer hose

One tip I forgot to add about boondocking...When it's yellow, it's mellow. When it's brown, flush it down. That helps conserve water and fill your black tank slower. My laptop can go for a couple of hrs on a full charge so I can charge it, my phone, vacuum battery, and anything else rechargeable back up when running the generator.

[Bethers]

You learn hot to take "spit" showers. I also prefer not using paper plates, but when I have to worry about my tanks, I use them. I get the cheapest, thinnest ones, to try to be more green, but do use them. And when I do dishes, I fill a pot with water, and have another for rinsing - then continually dump the water from both outside, not going into my tanks. If there's a source outside for water, I use it for rinsing. It takes practice, but unless I take showers, it takes my gray tank a long, long time to fill up. I purchase the waterless stuff for both hair and body - so I can use it on my hair and give myself that type of bath also. It works.

When I'm not hooked up to sewer, I put very little toilet paper down - have a sealed container it goes in and when I'm taking garbage out, I empty that container. It's amazing what a difference that alone makes to the black tank. I tried this a long time ago and couldn't do it - but since I started using a sealed container, I can.

[Deonne]

Good morning, all. I had a guy come out and look at Sadie regarding setting her up for solar. There's so little roof space that I could only get a 55-amp (I think it's amps) panel on her, meaning I could run lights, fan, and outlets, but that's it. Not AC or fridge, though I can run the fridge off propane.

My question is this: is it worth it? For parts and labor it will run close to $1,000, and if I went off-grid it seems like I'd still need a generator. I don't see myself boondocking for big chunks of time, maybe just a couple/few nights at a time in a pinch. I love the idea of solar, but am just not sure it's worth it right now. I don't have a microwave or TV or coffeemaker or even use a blow dryer, so really the only power I need is for my laptop and to charge electronics, and I can even charge my camera in my car.

Anyone want to weigh in? I have solar on my house (for my radiant floor heat) so I'm an advocate, but I'm not sure about it for Sadie.

[Yakn1]

Deonne,
You need to check out the Fiberglass RV site.
I think you may get a lot of your questions answered, as they all have small fiber eggs.
They have forums on boondocking, solar power and lots more. A great site for us "eggers".
I think you can get solar power for much less than $1000.
Good luck!

Vicki

[Bethers]

Deonne - when I add a panel to my rig - that's all I think I'm adding. I don't need it to run the fridge or air (I don't know anyone who uses it to run the air on one or two panels). It keeps the batteries charged so you don't need to run the generator for that. To me, after extensive boondocking, it will be worth it before I do anymore extensive boondocking. Also, I have to replace my lone battery more often because it gets used soooooo much - this will help save it. And I HATE using the generator just because my batteries need charging. It's loud to me, let alone to others. And I hated it on the beaches when someone would start their loud generators. Rarely saw the ones there long periods of time doing that. Now, it doesn't mean I won't use my generator on a rare occasion because I "just need to" use the microwave. But that will be rare. I can live without it. And be a good neighbor in the boonies

My answer is it would be worth it - but that's not necessarily your answer.

I boondock lots and with it will feel even more comfortable doing so.

(Speaking of batteries, mine is no longer holding enough of a charge - Auto Zone, here I come).