How To Dry Camp in Your RV
By RV Stuff - Ron Jones
Nearly all RVs are “self-contained.” That means you have the ability to live in it for several days without hooking up to external utilities and you paid lots of extra money to have this capability. With most RV's “normal” systems, you can boondock (also called dry camping) without connecting to the campground water, sewer, or power (commonly called “shore power”—a term borrowed from the boating industry).
It is important to note you do not have to deprive yourself of anything while boondocking. You live with the same comfort and convenience as you do when hooked up—the wine is perfectly chilled and, if needed, the furnace is toasty warm. When boondocking, you simply live a bit more conservatively without roughing it. You can “rough-it” if you want but I can assure you, we don’t rough it!
Boondocking is a great way to save money, too—after all, you stay free. With the average cost of a campground now close to $30.00–$45.00 per night (my guess at a nationwide estimate), it is easy to save significant money annually by choosing to boondock occasionally.
I’m not “anti-campground.” When I need those things (utilities and space) the campground offers, I pay their fee, stay there, and appreciate the opportunity. After all... I only go to the grocery if I need groceries, only go to the barber if I need a haircut, and only go to campgrounds when I need campground services. I usually always use campgrounds when we stay multiple nights in one location.
However, the convenience of boondocking is also significant. My estimate is that you may have 20,000–25,000 additional places where you can stay overnight if you choose to boondock occasionally. After all, by just considering Walmart and Sam’s Club, there are over 5,000 potential locations!
When we boondock, we are not doing this solely to save money, we are not making a political or social statement, and we are not mad at the campgrounds. Typically, we are simply tired of driving, ready to pull off somewhere, want someplace really close, don’t care if all our slides are out, will cook dinner, watch TV, sleep, get up, have coffee, watch some news on TV, and finally drive away. We have no need at all to hook up to their utilities for the night and we aren’t roughing it since we have everything needed on board.
Here’s how and why you should try this...
It is important to note you do not have to deprive yourself of anything while boondocking. You live with the same comfort and convenience as you do when hooked up—the wine is perfectly chilled and, if needed, the furnace is toasty warm. When boondocking, you simply live a bit more conservatively without roughing it. You can “rough-it” if you want but I can assure you, we don’t rough it!
Boondocking is a great way to save money, too—after all, you stay free. With the average cost of a campground now close to $30.00–$45.00 per night (my guess at a nationwide estimate), it is easy to save significant money annually by choosing to boondock occasionally.
I’m not “anti-campground.” When I need those things (utilities and space) the campground offers, I pay their fee, stay there, and appreciate the opportunity. After all... I only go to the grocery if I need groceries, only go to the barber if I need a haircut, and only go to campgrounds when I need campground services. I usually always use campgrounds when we stay multiple nights in one location.
However, the convenience of boondocking is also significant. My estimate is that you may have 20,000–25,000 additional places where you can stay overnight if you choose to boondock occasionally. After all, by just considering Walmart and Sam’s Club, there are over 5,000 potential locations!
When we boondock, we are not doing this solely to save money, we are not making a political or social statement, and we are not mad at the campgrounds. Typically, we are simply tired of driving, ready to pull off somewhere, want someplace really close, don’t care if all our slides are out, will cook dinner, watch TV, sleep, get up, have coffee, watch some news on TV, and finally drive away. We have no need at all to hook up to their utilities for the night and we aren’t roughing it since we have everything needed on board.
Here’s how and why you should try this...
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