2 RV Boondocking Basics For Newbies

Above, boondocking in the desert near Kingman, Arizona. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

At least twice a year, I dry camp with the Lost Dutchman Chapter of E Clampus Vitus. Generally, we're out somewhere in the desert. Thankfully, I have a self-contained Winnebago.

When one goes from tent camping to RV camping, there are some differences, but there's also some similarities.

For those who are new to RV camping but haven't yet dry camped (called boondocking these days), RV life has an article with the basics.

They start with:

To some RVers, dry camping is unthinkable. Camp off-grid? Never! It’s hard to give up creature comforts we take for granted, like water, sewer and electric on demand, but many of us find the benefits to be worth the sacrifice. The benefits of RV boondocking include: 

• Camping far away from crowds and noise  

• Getting closer to natural surroundings  

• Enjoying the slower pace of life in comfort, like sleeping under the stars on a real mattress! 

When my husband and I transitioned from tent camping to RVing twelve years ago, we couldn’t wait to try RV boondocking. But our earliest attempts to camp without hookups were epic fails. Our RV felt so home-like that we often forgot the backcountry conservation tips we practiced when we carried our home on our backs. 

For example, the two biggest hassles we repeatedly encountered in our first few years of RV boondocking were running out of water and firing up our Honda Super Quiet generator more often than we wanted. Twelve years later, we have the art of dry camping down to a science. 

Here are the two most basic RV boondocking tips we’ve learned that can reduce your learning curve to make camping easier and more enjoyable.

To read more, go here.