Boondocking Adventure Ahead

Sam-We do have some throw rugs down, and there's a strip of permanent carpet on the floor. With three dogs going in and out we like to have things where we can shake them out or wash when they get too dirty. It's funny you mentioned the towel at the door, as we were talking about that on the way home. We need to add to our night routine to go around and make sure vents are closed and temps set on heater and air conditioner.


Papa-We do have a propane stove/oven in the camper, and we could have used it. We were looking to have more of that outdoorsy experience. Our camp meals were all done in Lodge cookware set over the campfire. We usually like cooking/grilling outside if at all possible. So far we've only used the stove & oven when we've been in campgrounds.

Speaking of which we kinda lucked out on another aspect of our boondocking experience. I was sweating where we were going to dump our tanks. Not a lot of places around. One said they had full hook-up sites for that purpose, but they wouldn't be available till Monday.

We found a campground about 10 miles away from our property that allowed us to do it. When we drove in both of us were amazed with the setting. It's a small campground, but all lots are right on a nice big creek, full hook-ups, etc. The camp host was very interested to know about our Hi-Lo. We'll definitely be back there in the near future.

I always bring my backpacking stove for coffee in summer- like to be outside and not irritate my wife by moving and banging around. But- a few weeks ago with temps hitting below freezing over night I did what papa does and the heat from the stove top helped a bunch.

With a single starter battery as your electric you were lucky to last as long as you did. Dual deep cycle, group 24 or 27, will take you much much further. I also carry a smokey joe weber grill and charcoal for it an my Lodge dutch oven. Saves messing with wood fires for food.

If you can tolerate the noise and have nobody else to bother- a generator and two decent batteries will keep you happy a long time. Also- see back posts for transferring water- I got a small 12v pump per Jack's suggestion and it works great for moving water into the fresh water tank.

Rick

hilltool said:

I always bring my backpacking stove for coffee in summer- like to be outside and not irritate my wife by moving and banging around. But- a few weeks ago with temps hitting below freezing over night I did what papa does and the heat from the stove top helped a bunch.

With a single starter battery as your electric you were lucky to last as long as you did. Dual deep cycle, group 24 or 27, will take you much much further. I also carry a smokey joe weber grill and charcoal for it an my Lodge dutch oven. Saves messing with wood fires for food.

If you can tolerate the noise and have nobody else to bother- a generator and two decent batteries will keep you happy a long time. Also- see back posts for transferring water- I got a small 12v pump per Jack's suggestion and it works great for moving water into the fresh water tank.

Rick

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It sounds like a Three Dog Night. I agree with Papa and Hilltool - With LED lights and not using the furnace to heat the outdoors you should be OK. I always carry the 6 gal water jug empty due to weight - It sounds like the Campground would let you fill it as you get there. I always carry a separate fully charged deep cycle with me in a RV battery box. Then if the one drains I just swap it out with the other. That has always been enough for our needs. I have a piece of pipe foam insulation that I cut to seal the gap between the doors. Nothing beats the smell of coffee on the stove when it's cold and you are camping. I loved the smell from when I was 6 years old in my parents trailer.

Dry camping

Generators are great for Dry Camping, which we enjoy for the lack of noise. Yes I bought one of those Red ones around 3000 watts, dual purpose, to be used at the house when/if we loose power again. It is heavy so I have a lift to get it on/off the truck. NOTE: make sure that the output of the generator is stable and clean because the modern electronics will fail sooner if the output is not clean, by experience. So went with The Red one and it really is quiet!!

Boondocking and cooking.

Cook something for breakfast in your propane oven. Leave your vent cracked a little bit. The fringe benefit is it will produce heat and take the cold chill out.

I guess we were really caught up in the campfire cooking scheme. Neither of us considered using the stove/oven. We will next time, or use the Coleman stove if we're really feeling outdoorsy. Everything should be cleaner with that approach. We're still scrubbing soot off our camp coffee pot.

Hint: Coat the outside of the coffee pot with dish cleaning liquid. The soot will come off easier the next time you use it over the fire.

Rich-I haven't heard that technique before, but will give it a go next time out.

I went through just one partial
tank of propane running the fridge all summer ---covering maybe 9-10 days of camping and if I leave it on 3 or above stuff freezes in fridge. I still prefer carrying a coleman extreme cooler for beverages- and not emptying the melted water. Less effect opening and closing constantly and If I am out and about its usually not hard to grab an extra bag of ice or two at a gas station.

Nat forest and state cgs with no hook-ups but, a dump station, are turning into my favorites for economy and best sites for up to five day stays. Its pretty comfortable living under those circumstances. A couple of water containers that I fill and haul back to site with a small 12 volt pump which connects to the battery gives me more water for five days than my waste tanks can hold. I tend to view my hi-lo as luxurious tent camping on steroids. I envy the fact you have that much property to camp on. I have six acres in the mountains of West Texas but it takes me three days to get there.

Rick

hilltool said:

I went through just one partial
tank of propane running the fridge all summer ---covering maybe 9-10 days of camping and if I leave it on 3 or above stuff freezes in fridge. I still prefer carrying a coleman extreme cooler for beverages- and not emptying the melted water. Less effect opening and closing constantly and If I am out and about its usually not hard to grab an extra bag of ice or two at a gas station.

Nat forest and state cgs with no hook-ups but, a dump station, are turning into my favorites for economy and best sites for up to five day stays. Its pretty comfortable living under those circumstances. A couple of water containers that I fill and haul back to site with a small 12 volt pump which connects to the battery gives me more water for five days than my waste tanks can hold. I tend to view my hi-lo as luxurious tent camping on steroids. I envy the fact you have that much property to camp on. I have six acres in the mountains of West Texas but it takes me three days to get there.

Rick

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I like that "luxurious tent" as we got older we went from Tent to Truck Camper to HiLo. One other thing we do to save battery power is we have lanterns that run on AAs. They provide enough light as we sit around and talk in the evening. It kind of ads to the ambiance. If we are outside a Coleman propane lantern provides a lot of light - never tried it but it would provide some heat inside at night.

hilltool said:

I went through just one partial
tank of propane running the fridge all summer ---covering maybe 9-10 days of camping and if I leave it on 3 or above stuff freezes in fridge. I still prefer carrying a coleman extreme cooler for beverages- and not emptying the melted water. Less effect opening and closing constantly and If I am out and about its usually not hard to grab an extra bag of ice or two at a gas station.

Nat forest and state cgs with no hook-ups but, a dump station, are turning into my favorites for economy and best sites for up to five day stays. Its pretty comfortable living under those circumstances. A couple of water containers that I fill and haul back to site with a small 12 volt pump which connects to the battery gives me more water for five days than my waste tanks can hold. I tend to view my hi-lo as luxurious tent camping on steroids. I envy the fact you have that much property to camp on. I have six acres in the mountains of West Texas but it takes me three days to get there.

Rick

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Rick,

I'll will take me about 3 hours to get there. I'm just sayin'.