Community Forums

OffGridCirc · 11-07-2019, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by followingsea

If you are off grid you do not heat water with electricity, cool beer with electricity, or blow air around with electricity.

You can design your system how you like, but I DO heat water, cool my fridge, and use my fans with electricity. I find propane appliances to be annoying, unsafe, unreliable and why use them when I have solar to do it. The idea of a burning fire inside my wall to cool the fridge was disconcerting. Anyway, my Norcold failed two months in from new.

cfred · 11-07-2019, 04:47 PM

Use Nat'l Parks off Blue Ridge Parkway quite frequently as we hike a lot. Usually dump our Winnie View every 8-10 days. Then on to next site. BTW, none have water, electric. sewer hookups, available water & dump stations though. They're quiet, scenic and Golden Age Pass price is great.

freestyle_freddy · 11-07-2019, 05:14 PM

A little over 2 weeks with a fifth wheel in the desert north of Yuma, AZ. I have large fresh & waste water capacities, plus a 90 gal vinyl fresh water bladder I fill up before going to the site & a 35 gal waste tank & a macerator in the rv. I can pump the 90 gal into the rv to extend my stay & can empty some of my grey waste water up in to the 35 gal tote in my truck bed with the macerator. My rv has 85 gal fresh & 70 gal each grey & black capacities. We park in the desert & can stay put for months, because I can just haul away my waste or bring fresh water in when we go to town for groceries or laundry in our truck. The place we stay is a BLM long term visitor area called Imperial Dam. They have a 6 lane dump station & fresh water right there in the desert, within a mile of wherever we choose to park.

profdan · 11-07-2019, 05:19 PM

Six lanes!! That is real luxury.

You know you might be a serious RVer if . . . . a really well-equipped dump station sounds like Heaven.

Paul Foster · 11-07-2019, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OffGridCirc

I have 1800 Watts solar that runs all my power including fridge and water heating.

What size solar panels do you have? Are they all on the roof? Can you provide more specifics about your setup?

I am thinking of doing a bit more modest arrangement with 3 350W panels and 4800W of LiFePO4 in probably a 24V configuration. But that would be with the fire-in-the-wall propane fridge and hot water setup.

stuccosteve · 11-07-2019, 06:16 PM

Boondocking for us is primarily in the winter, and I guarantee you we are self sufficient. Like 7 days at over 10,000 feet at A Basin or all snuggled up in front of Al’s Run at Taos. The Colorado Rockies will test your coaches ability to survive at altitude, one year in Durango we were seeing sub zero like -20, crank up all the heaters and run the Jenny 1/2 time. Nothing froze then, can’t say the same when we were up in the Adirondacks at Lake Placid, had to abandon the cause when we saw -30, not worth the risk, the difference was the temps weren’t going anywhere but down in Lake Placid.

NolaWilliams · 11-07-2019, 06:51 PM

This summer we have boondocked several times 5-10 days. 2 things I will buy before our next adventure is a macerator pump to fill tote while in back of truck and a 12 volt pump to fill fresh water from the bottles. I believe this can easily extend our stay. Some day I will add solar to lessen the need of our generator

mdstudey · 11-07-2019, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TXTiger

I am fulltime. I have an all electric RV, no propane. I hardly ever boondock. I may stop for a night in a rest stop when traveling from place to place, does that count? I have been to Quartzsite many times and boondocked once there for a week. Before I had an RV I would ride my Harley cross country. I had a Bekins blanket bunged to my bike and would roll it out in a corn field for the night. Did many 3 or 4 week trips. Do they count as boondocking?

A kindred soul. If it weren't for arthritis on a Harley I would be. DH and I (my own) never in a 1,000 years thought we would be spending retirement pulling a trailer other than our little tiny one behind his bike. There is nothing better that that. It was never about the destination, it's the journey. It's how we travel now still.

Radioranger · 11-07-2019, 08:26 PM

Like many others who winter at BLMs LTVAs we usually stay between 6 and 7 months.
No hookups. Travel for water and dump stations.
Simply "out in the desert" .

OffGridCirc · 11-08-2019, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Foster

What size solar panels do you have? Are they all on the roof? Can you provide more specifics about your setup?

I am thinking of doing a bit more modest arrangement with 3 350W panels and 4800W of LiFePO4 in probably a 24V configuration. But that would be with the fire-in-the-wall propane fridge and hot water setup.

That's a good set up. I had six 300 Watt panels on the roof. I just totaled my rig a couple weeks ago(yes, really) and removed all the panels. I'm going to get another class A soon and rebuild the solar power system a little different. It was working so well, after the accident it was still producing 100%. The new coach will also be a 24V design. You should have no problems with that much battery. I converted my fridge to a compressor style (Via Dutch Air Mod) and the hot water heating was handled with a dump controller modification I designed.

Woodwalker · 11-08-2019, 09:34 AM

4 months Alaska , as a campground host , water from a hand pump ,solar panels and hand cart sewage. It was a experience for sure!

Pyropete · 11-08-2019, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by followingsea

That is what this mechanical engineer keeps trying tell people. Except you measure what you use. For example, my computers and TV use 30 watts each.

If you are off grid you do not heat water with electricity, cool beer with electricity, or blow air around with electricity. It is a mechanical engineering thing. If the electricity comes from batteries, find a chemical engineer.

If you have a gaming computer that uses 750 watts turn it off when you are boondocking.

So I use about 1200 watt-hours or 1.2 kwh or about 10 cents of electricity a day on grid. It does cost more to make electricity off grid.

Of course I spent $100 getting of grid and $100 back on grid.

How much food water and fuel you can take with you depends on the design of your RV. There are lot of discussions about the importance of weighing so you do not overload.

The bottom lines is conservation with everything if you want to stay in one place longer.

oh NoHo ho ho ho.. The purpose of lugging the desktop computer around is so I can play while boondocking. I used to be a "professional" gamer before I got all old and slow in regards to reaction time, but yah playing on my computer a couple hours a day will be a must

vermilye · 11-08-2019, 10:30 AM

91 days is the longest between stops with hookups. That said, at Quartzsite, I headed to the dump station & water fill between every 25 - 28 days. I travel solo, have 29 gallon tanks, 320 watts of solar, and had 232 amp hours of battery at the time. Currently have a pair of Battleborn lithium batteries.

Pyropete · 11-08-2019, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vermilye

91 days is the longest between stops with hookups. That said, at Quartzsite, I headed to the dump station & water fill between every 25 - 28 days. I travel solo, have 29 gallon tanks, 320 watts of solar, and had 232 amp hours of battery at the time. Currently have a pair of Battleborn lithium batteries.

Was looking through your trip.. wow! You have been doing it for a while. I am VERY envious. 4.5 years until I can do this. Looks like your having the time of your life though! I will be solo too.