Community Forums

Donut lover · 05-13-2017, 02:50 AM

I'm still pretty new at this RV thing, but I have to admit, I'm beginning to get my fill of (some) RV parks. Someone suggested I look into dry camping somewhere comfortable and quiet. 'till now, there have been too many unknowns for me, but I'm willing to try it out, but where? I live in San Diego. Does anyone have any suggestions where?. I'd like to do it over a weekend, somewhere quiet, but not so far away from civilization. Just me, my wife and two dogs. I don't hunt and I don't fish, but I can drink a mean beer or two. But seriously, is it realistic to to expect batteries to hold up for two days and two nights if I keep power down to a minimum? I don't have solar but I do have a generator. Any input will land on very grateful ears...thanks.

Winemaker2 · 05-13-2017, 04:35 AM

Battys don't have to last the whole time when you have a gen. Don't be affraid to run the gen...more problems from under / improper use than over use.
When boating & anchoring out...sort of wet camping vs dry...I run in AM for coffee & then breakfast and it charges up the battys...then again for dinner and coffee. Both times will also heat water.
Best to have gens loaded around 50%...just batty charger not enough.
You didn't say what house battys you have but you can est what runs how long and the amp hr used...compare that to your batty bank capacity and plan to use only 50% before recharging.

Sweetbriar · 05-13-2017, 05:13 AM

As Winemaker2 posted don't be afraid to run the generator during daylight hours. A few hours in the morning and/or evening should be enough to maintain an adequate voltage level of your battery bank.

Considering your location in SoCal your options for dry camping are probably more plentiful than camp sites with services if you head east on I8 past El Cajon or CA78 east of Escondido. Maybe your first place to start is http://recreation.gov or https://www.reserveamerica.com/. With experience and talking with fellow campers, park rangers and such you can find the other areas that aren't advertise but you can set up for a quiet weekend or maybe a bit longer.

If you find dry camping is the way to go then start researching solar which could reduce or even eliminate the need to run the generator.

Kiawah · 05-13-2017, 05:22 AM

Until you get an indepth handle on how your coach batteries last with the loads you put on them, consider a plan to run your generator twice a day.

When you get up in the morning, start the generator. That'll power some high demand devices (coffee pot, hot water heater, toaster, etc) while you shower and have breakfast. It's also recharging your batteries while you are doing that. Run genny at least an hour. Take note of your starting SOC, and finish charging SOC. You may find you need to run your genny longer than 1 hour.

In the evening, run genny at least an hour again, while dinner is being made and you're starting to use lights and TV, and get the temperature the way you want it for the evening. It's also recharging your batteries again.

Some do a 'top off' genny run, right before going to bed, to be sure the batteries are well charged for the night.

momdoc · 05-13-2017, 05:42 AM

If you are talking about RV parks where it is basically a large parking lot with rigs right next to each other I can understand your feelings. We too try to avoid those. However we have found that State parks, City parks, National parks and forests offer a nice alternative. Usually with large sites with privacy, fire rings, a good number with water and electric hookup. Most with dump stations , which for us means 5 days or so before we need to break camp for the dump station.

You might consider this as a way to avoid the "RV resort" atmosphere with out be totally dry camping.

momdoc

S-n-L · 05-13-2017, 06:03 AM

Donut Lover,

Give Anza Borrego state Park a try. Vast areas of dry camping. You be on your own or around other rvs. Lots to do and see there.

vsheetz · 05-13-2017, 07:19 AM

We are from Escondido and take our Jeep often to the desert for a week or so at a time. You have lots of great options. Popular is about 4-6 miles south of Christmas Tree Circle in Barreggo - there is a large cell tower along the highway there that folks use as a landmark. Folks here have pointed to other good areas. Just go there and you will see others parked in the desert - follow their examples.

Do note that the 'desert season' is coming to an end, as temperatures there are rising.

As for genny running, I agree to figure on running it a couple three times a day for a couple hours. When preparing breakfast and dinner so as to have the genny already running for the microwave, etc.

ajohansson · 05-13-2017, 10:51 AM

Im in so cal and if you want to try it out without getting too far out there go into the cleveland national forest into their campgrounds. They are all dry. You can get a feel for what boondocking will be like. Get a feel for how long your water tanks last etc. i just bought an ORV black rock and its set up for more boondocking style. Its 23 feet total
Length and has 4 batteries, 66 gallons of water. I have a propane powered honda generator eu2000i and it can run the mach 1 AC in my unit of i want and charge batteries. I will be adding a portable 200 watt panel and inverter soon.

Have you purchased your rig yet?

AJ

UncleJamie · 05-13-2017, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donut lover

I'm still pretty new at this RV thing, but I have to admit, I'm beginning to get my fill of (some) RV parks. Someone suggested I look into dry camping somewhere comfortable and quiet. 'till now, there have been too many unknowns for me, but I'm willing to try it out, but where? I live in San Diego. Does anyone have any suggestions where?. I'd like to do it over a weekend, somewhere quiet, but not so far away from civilization. Just me, my wife and two dogs. I don't hunt and I don't fish, but I can drink a mean beer or two. But seriously, is it realistic to to expect batteries to hold up for two days and two nights if I keep power down to a minimum? I don't have solar but I do have a generator. Any input will land on very grateful ears...thanks.

First I'd like to offer my gratitude for your service! You have put in your time for sure.

With regards to your question.. it is like asking how fast is a car? There are many different cars and a vette will be faster than a fiesta. To find the answer you would have to know the size of your battery bank in amp hours, followed by the loads.. i.e. Residential fridge vs propane fridge, lights (leds?), do you have a basement freezer, etc. etc.

For example my last coach had 915 amp hour bank, with 150 watts solar, but the fridge was propane, no basement freezer, so we could dry camp for a week before needing the generator (as long as Ac wasn't needed). Compare that to my current coach which is all electric (no propane).. it has 840 amp hour battery bank with 200 watts solar, but with a residential fridge and a basement freezer I must run the generator on average of about 2 hours in the morning and 2 hour in the evening to keep the batteries happy.

My advice is to turn off the shore power in the park and run an experiment. Try not to let the batteries go below 50 percent state of charge, then just flip the breaker to charge them back up. This will give you an idea of how long you can expect when dry camping.

Good luck to you!

gabirdsall · 05-13-2017, 11:36 AM

Anza Borrego is a good suggestion...also lots of places around Ocotillo Wells...disbursed camping there, but it is getting kinda toasty for the low deserts. Maybe another month or 2 in the high desert before it's too hot. How far do you want to drive? How big is your rig? We are also 2 adults and 2 pups. We have 80 gal of fresh, 45 gal black and 45 gal Grey tanks, 2 six volt golf cart batteries, a normal size rv propane tank, and 320 watts of solar. We can go 5 or 6 days and nights without much trouble if we take navy showers...lim-fac is fresh water. If we are in a forest service campground and have access to a potable water source, we can go maybe 2 weeks before the black water tank is full. Propane has never been a limitation, nor has gray water (we occasionally dump Grey water as allowed by the USFS.) Before we added solar, we would run the genny for a couple hours in the am, and a couple in the evening as others have suggested, but with the solar, we never run it unless we need air conditioning. We don't watch a lot of TV, and try to dry camp where there is no cell service nor wifi, so we don't have a lot of electronic devices to power, either. Give it a shot. Nothing like the solitude of being away from everything!

dix39 · 05-13-2017, 12:36 PM

I would suggest getting some BLM and USFS maps of the area(s) you may want to visit, along with what has already been suggested.

IMHO, about the only way to determine the boondocking capabilities of your rig/habits is to try it. After a few trips you will be able to figure out what works and what may need a bit of modification.

For the most part we "boondock" (overnight) in rest areas, truck stops, Wal Mart's, etc. when on the road. Also in a few BLM/FS campgrounds if they are available and convenient.

We have also stayed for up to a month in the "boonies" along streams or wide areas near logging roads on BLM or USFS land while hunting or fishing. A stay this long generally required a trip to civilization every week or so to dump, fill, and to get whatever else we needed. We have been doing this in OR since the '70's with a tent, two TC's, and now a 26' Flair MH.

A few days have never been a problem with the campers or MH, even without gen use as long as there is minimal use of the electrical components, fridge on propane, no heater use, etc. With a gen that should not be a problem, just run it when the batts are low or when micro or AC are needed. Also, water supply/storage should be adequate for a few days even without careful management, just monitor it.

I think you will be fine, just do it.

Steve

HavingABlast · 05-13-2017, 01:35 PM

I also live near San Diego. With your genny, you should be good to go, as others have mentioned. Anza Borrego is certainly doable for you. As is the BLM land near Joshua Tree. The ambient heat comfort being a determining factor for you.

Another place that you may consider is a day's drive up the old 395 just outside of Lone Pine, CA. The place is called Alabama Hills. The site of many of Hollywood's Westerns of the '50's. Quite remote, yet near. A wonderful place to get away from it all.

Scottybdivin · 05-13-2017, 01:55 PM

We dry camp as often as we can. We prefer the larger quieter campsites. I will second Lone Pine. We were just there last month. At 4800' it is probably good for most of the summer. There are a few CG's higher up but Whitney Portal was closed while we were there and I don't think we could fit. It may be worth a little longer drive for you.

twogypsies · 05-13-2017, 01:58 PM

For your first try, go to a national forest campground. Here's a good site to find them. Begin with knowing the forest name and go from there:

Campground Directory and National Forest Campgrounds

I was also going to suggest Anza Borrego State Park at Borrego Springs. Miles and miles of boondocking. Winter is the best time though. It does get hot there.