Boondocking in a diesel pusher

[profdan]

You probably already know this, but you can "scout" boondocking sites and roads on Google Earth from the comfort of your home computer. With a big rig, look for wide places that you can turn around in, or do a three point turn in.

Campsites are often visible -- look for fire rings.

Be sure to download the Motor Vehicle Use Maps for your national forest. (Or as we now call them in California, "national charcoal pits.")

And yes, as many folks have suggested, when you get to the area, scout with your toad (or in my case, my tow vehicle) and verify that the turnarounds are really wide enough. We carry a long wind-up tape measure in the tow vehicle to make sure we have enough room, when there is any doubt. We seldom need it but are glad we have it when we are in doubt.

The goal is to never get stuck on a narrow road with no place to turn around, and then having to back up a long way. If you think that's a hassle in a big rig, try it with a small squirrelly single axle trailer -- lots of fun!!

Don't ask me how I know all of this. Let's just say that misteaks were made.

[jrs]

We can get a week out of our rig running generator 2.5hrs am and 3 hrs pm. It's an all electric rig with 8agm house batteries. As mentioned above, if not sure, check with you toad first.

[paul65k]

So boondocking in a class A is just fine. As others have said know where you're going before you go down the "Wrong" road.....hey that's what the Toad is for

We boondock by preference as we like to have space around us when we camp....sometimes all by ourselves and sometimes in small groups with room between coaches.

We invested to be able to live well when off the grid....hey that's why we have a class A right?? We can easily go 2 weeks with 100 Fresh/Grey and 75 Black, like others we carry our drinking/coffee water separately.

We have 1600W of solar, 840Ah of Lithium batteries, and dual inverters so we can run everything in the coach including both rooftop ACs....we spent >12K on the electrical upgrades but we had that planned when we started remodeling our coach!

Don't give up on your class A as you should be able to do 90% of what you'd likely do anyhow with a smaller unit and.............be doing it in style

[grldst]

We did lots of boondocking on BLM, National Forest and Corps lands. Its best to always scout out new areas with the toad first.

[dix39]

We went from a 4wd 11.5' TC to a 26' gas A to a 30' DP back to a 4wd 11'3" TC. IMHO, when it comes to boondocking there is no comparison. I would rate the 4wd TC best, gas A next, and the DP last, at least for the ones we had/have. After being used to the TC, I have a hard time driving the DP around the neighborhood without dragging the rear of it on something.

I guess the compromise is comfort/style in exchange for off road ability. My thought would be, like some others, that some boondocking would be possible but be careful because there are some very expensive parts hanging down not too far above the road surface.

Best of luck.

Steve

[Onetime12]

This is our first trip w/ our DP, we frequent the desert in Southern California. Just have to take it slow and get out of foot to scout the best possible route. We run the genny in the morning and evening, that will change with solar that is waiting to be installed.

We did this previously in our gasser Class A without any issues.

[GKW]

Originally Posted by profdan

You probably already know this, but you can "scout" boondocking sites and roads on Google Earth from the comfort of your home computer. With a big rig, look for wide places that you can turn around in, or do a three point turn in.



Campsites are often visible -- look for fire rings.



Be sure to download the Motor Vehicle Use Maps for your national forest. (Or as we now call them in California, "national charcoal pits.")



And yes, as many folks have suggested, when you get to the area, scout with your toad (or in my case, my tow vehicle) and verify that the turnarounds are really wide enough. We carry a long wind-up tape measure in the tow vehicle to make sure we have enough room, when there is any doubt. We seldom need it but are glad we have it when we are in doubt.



The goal is to never get stuck on a narrow road with no place to turn around, and then having to back up a long way. If you think that's a hassle in a big rig, try it with a small squirrelly single axle trailer -- lots of fun!!



Don't ask me how I know all of this. Let's just say that misteaks were made.

I did a three mile long backup on a narrow single lane dirt mountain logging road with a 45ft DP, after following a faulty gps route before coming to a huge Boulder blocking the road. Unhooked the Jeep Wrangler and managed to get it turned around for the DW to drive back while I backed out following her. Very stressful but doable. Scouting your route with the toad before trying it in the RV is good advice.

[Phil G.]

Originally Posted by Lurker60

Hello,

I have a 36’ diesel pusher. I am interested in doing some boondocking. So far all I have done is overnight at Walmart. I don’t plan on going way of the beaten path but would like to do some BLM and forest service land. I know my rig is not ideal for this kind of camping. I would like to here from others that may have a larger DP and boondock.

What issues or precautions do you have to take with your larger rigs? How deep into the outback are you comfortable going? Is there anything you don’t have on your RV that would make boondocking easier?

I have 400-amp hours of 6-volt batteries but they don’t seem to last very long before needing a charge. It may be due to the fact that I have a residential refrigerator. It may be that they are getting old. They are about 5 years old. I have a on board generator and a 3000-amp inverter. It will power everything in the RV but I only have the Ref. tv and a couple of outlets on it.

I appreciate the feedback. I am trying to decide if I can do this with my current rig or if I should downsize to a smaller class A or maybe a class C.

Thanks
Phil

Of course it depends upon what kind of boondocks you want to camp in.

Here's a spot we camped in with our small Class C that most Class A rigs should not try to get into. It was quiet and beautiful:

[Vette Racer]

We boondock every winter in SW Arizona, either in the LTVA or the free areas. We always checkout the areas available in the jeep so we know where to go. We can go up to a month without moving the trailer to go dump, love boondocking.

[HopsBrewster]

I've seen 40' DPs miles from the nearest paved road, towing OHV trailers, but the dirt roads they were on were still pretty good.
As mentioned several times, scout ahead via Google Earth, toad, and or other means. and pay close attention to the weather. A wet dirt road adds another day or 3 to your campout.

[BillJinOR]

I'll add to the rest that we boondocked a bit for a couple winters in AZ and N Calif. 41' Tag MH with a 25' Utility/ Car hauler. 960 Watts of solar,the main 12 KW gen hardly used and a 2000 watt Quiet portable generator for early am quick charging. We had no issues, always knew where we were going in advance (scouted it out).
The Motorhome was more suited to long terms of boondocking with 100 gal onboard water 75gal ea black and gray tanks Drinking water was bottled. 2 weeks without much effort. Short showers/ Less flushing Our friends in smaller rigs had much less endurance before restocking. The added fact we had the TV/lights on if inside for local news and nightly movies .. hardly roughing it. DW had excellent cellular data (verizon and ATT) and had multiple Zoom/ Go to meeting daily sessions for her consulting work before they became "normal"

[POPPASMURF]

A few things we learned with our DP of the day. They seem to use much finer fins on all radiators on DP. When we went down a dry dusty (dust was 6 to 9" deep) we noticed our engine and trans temps were rising. Upon checking we found all the rad fins were dusted and needed to be washed, thank you DP for good pump pressure. Another item of note, in the shorter DP, try to look for a longer wheel base with shorter rear over hang. While the longer wheel base is less convenient for turning, it makes a little more safe over road ruts. I liked the larger tank capacities of the DP over gasser.

[JohnLoves2Sk]

Originally Posted by ByeTheWay

Phil
I'm 40' DP and boondock mostly. Having a HydroHot I am careful not to drag bottom and damage the HH. How far off the main road depends on the length of stay. If I'm going to stay a week or two I'll drive several miles, but I check the road out with my toad first. A res fridge could be a challenge, but solar can help. I removed my start batteries which made room for 6-6v batteries which give me 672ah, for starting or running the appliances. I do have solar. Thus I park in the sun and use window awnings. We too thought about downsizing but did not want to give up the comfort.


Regarding rough roads, I've been to Alaska and Newfoundland and would not hesitate to go again. Both have extremely rough roads. Many gravel for 20-50 miles.

You removed your start batteries?
Are you starting off your house batteries??