Boondocking In An RV Without Electric Hookups

I enjoy boondocking in beautiful remote locations without hookups, but it has taken my wife many years to get on board with the idea. We used to primarily go to RV parks, but now we enjoy the freedom and independence of camping almost anywhere without the need for electrical power hookups. In this video we explain how we got there.

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My early attempts at dry camping (camping without hookups aka boondocking) were not great. I was always worried about running out of power and water. This would drive my family crazy as I would follow them around turning off lights. This made the experience of boondocking not very enjoyable. Each morning we would run our generator for an hour or so to recharge our batteries, which it would not. Eventually, we would run low on power and our other resources.

Eventually, I doubled my battery capacity and started learning about solar. I installed 120 watts of solar and then double it to around 250 watts. I even installed an MPPT solar charge controller and pure-sine power inverter. This setup seemed to improve our boondocking experience significantly for several years.

For the next few years, we continued to put our boondocking skills to the test. We were able to watch TV, use our laptop computers, and even use an electric coffee pot through our inverter. We still had to run our generator periodically for certain things like using a hair dryer or running the microwave. Nevertheless, this setup enabled us to slowly pull away from the full-hookup RV park style of RVing. What I soon realized though, is once you start adding solar to your RV, you will always want more.

In the last couple years, I again doubled our solar capacity adding three more 100 watt flexible solar panels. I also more than doubled my battery capacity and upgraded to 4 AGM deep-cycle batteries. With 450 amp hours of batteries and roughly 550 watts of solar, we can now power most things we use. My wife can even use her high powered blow dryer without needing to start the generator.

RVing for us now, is a completely different experience that it was when we first started ten years ago. We can now camp off-the-grid without sacrificing comfort and convenience. We rarely ever stay at RV parks and have the freedom to enjoy everything our RV provides wherever we happen to be. As for my wife Melissa, she’s totally on board now.

So that’s our boondocking story. I hope it inspires you to become self-sufficient in your own RV and enjoy the freedom it provides. Happy RVing!!

#rvwithtito #boondocking #diy #rvlife #vanlife #solar #offgrid #tinyhouse #doityourself #howto

DISCLAIMER
The opinions expressed in our videos are our own or from a contributor. Before taking on any project or making a large purchase, we recommend you do your own research and consult a professional for advice. We are NOT liable for any damage to your RV or injury incurred as a result of following our tips, advice or instructions. We are not RV professionals or certified technicians. We are simply RV owners who work on our own RVs and have a desire to share what we learn with others. Be responsible and know your limits.

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[RVwithTito]

When the gray water tank fills up though, we have to go find a dump station. Once your gauge reads full you can generally go a little longer. You'll know when it's maxed out when it starts to come up in your shower (the lowest point). You can always go to your RV gray water dump and fill a bucket to dump in your black tank (through the toilet). I also always try to find ways to use the bathroom elsewhere or go for a lake swim (in lieu of a shower) to save water in the RV. We mostly use paper plates to minimize washing. We also collect excess water from dishes and showering (while water is heating up etc) and dump it in the toilet. Melissa probably uses the bulk of the tank water though for short showers and other things. Overall, we conserve pretty well and can go at least 5 days. We're generally ready to move on after about 4 days in a location anyway so that works out well.

[NomadicNative]

We've been off grid in our class A, 50 miles South of Orlando Florida, for 45 days now at a camping cost of about 8 cents per day. The RV has not moved an inch, love it!!

[AmericaFirst]

Happy for both of you. My wife and are a few months into this venture. She is not crazy about the RV life so I am trying to make her happy. Glad to hear it is possible.

[Zephyr]

Hi, thanks for the video. We’ve been full-timing for about 2 years and now that we have 4-100w panels and a 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter my wife can use her hair dryer and we can watch Netflix whenever we want for just about as long as we want. We only have two 6v batteries [wired in series] and the work well. Our 30’ Airstream is REAL comfortable when we are out without anyone around. I love to boondock and dry camp in parks. Your ideas have helped us get to this point. Thanks again. Happy New Year.

[jeffreyrichard]

Nice!! The fact that forks go with little if any generators running makes many of us smile!!

[crv]

I appreciate your honesty, sense of humor and kindness with each other. Thanks for posting.

[stevejewell]

You guys are great, I love all the info you out. We have dry camped for over 20 years in the sand dunes near Glamis and in the eastern Sierras, we bring extra water in the desert . It is way better than being side by side in a RV park.

[adriangleprin]

We started out boondocking in 2003, when there wasn’t LifePo4 s or Solar power . An interesting time, like you guys, trying to figure out how to power and conserve energy . Then we only had heavy duty truck batteries . These only lasted one year in severe use . How things have moved on . Now I am planning our next RV, to have 1500 watts of Solar, 1000 Amp Hours of LifePo4, and large tanks .

[JTSOUTDOORLIFE]

We just finished our first boondocking trip and we so enjoyed it! We don't have the solar set up yet but we do have a new generator that was broken in very well!

[PRACERZ]

We are trying it and actually loving it ! The big picture we look at is, we are away, we are together and at that time all the stresses did not matter ! Thanks for the vids !!

[rivertownrider]

Really awesome video. My wife and I watched together and there is now hope to get her to want to boondock!

[fordfan]

This video will be mandatory watching for my Mrs. Thanks!

[paulbearbradford]

Glad she is happy, it means everything.

[murda]

A great topic that I haven't really seen addressed. Making it work for both people is very important.

[willscreekrvpark]

Great video. Had kind of forgotten why I wanted to boondock until I saw some of the places you stayed. I remembered that I get tired of looking at my neighbors RV. We have had some great neighbors but wouldn’t it be nice to look out and see something natural. You guys tell your story very well. I need some solar. Will probably start small and build into what we NEED. I bought two generators and have used them once. Met a guy with 2400 watts of solar and 1k ah of lithium. He ran his ac... all day! Keep them coming.

[nick]

We totally agree with you guys! we have been living in our RV for about 5 months and are still trying to figure out the boondocking part of it. I feel like once we get the solar set up we will be a step closer! thanks for the inspiration

[dallaspowwi]

The 63 people that gave this a thumbs down are nuts. You heard me you are nuts. This was a great video. I just found you and am so impressed with your content. Your wife's perspective made me laugh. Your faces Brian were every man's face. Great stuff!

[Pamela-rovh]

Your wife is just lovely. Dry camping rocks!

[gsl]

Glad to see you're doing more videos I'm curious about boondocking but don't know exactly where to start

[thecasualrver]

Good honest video on boondocking and your issues. I was the same way (electric and water police) but know we know our limits and the RV's limits. Thanks!