A Guide to Living Without Hookups
ICANRV Publishing, Olympia WA
Copyright 2003, 2004
Skyrocketing fuel prices and the ever increasing costs to stay in full service campgrounds are forcing both fulltime and recreational RVer’s to find ways to cut expenses to continue their camping lifestyle. Over the years, thousands of campers have perfected the way they “dry camp”. The terms coyote camping, dry camping, and boondocking have become interchangeable. They all mean camping without hookups or services. No electric, no water, no dumping facilities, just a camping spot amongst the most beautiful landscapes in America. The US government has provided free and little cost camping at venues such as The Bureau of Land Management areas, National Forests and National Parks. Popular boondocking areas for Snowbirds such as Quartzsite Arizona, and The Slabs in Niland, CA are filled with thousands and thousands of RVer’s during the winter months. Being “off the grid” is a goal for many hearty and diehard boondockers and there are several national clubs and organizations that have membership boondocking chapters.
So how do today’s sophisticated RVer’s boondock in the wild without the usual electric pole to run the various electronic devices, fresh running water and sewerage facilities manage. Most RV’s are self-contained; that is they have water tanks to carry fresh water, appliances that run off a supply of propane, or battery provided 12 volt electric and pumps that help fill the sink to do dishes and to flush toilets for a sanitary camping experience. Most RV’s today have optional generators that provide full amperage to run everything from the microwave to the TV to the electric fry pan.
Russ and Tina DeMaris have provided RVer’s with a concise and informational book that helps the “wanna be” boondocker with all sorts of ideas and help to make camping without traditional hookups easy and economical. RV Boondocking Basics covers all the topics including solar power, wind power, how to utilize the RV’s 12 volt battery systems, conserving water and keeping the fresh water tanks potable. Simple to understand language and concise in its systems information, this book is a must have for any weekend or fulltime RVer. For example, understanding the amperage required to run the morning coffee pot is spelled out for those readers who may be a bit math challenged, such as myself. How does one find out how many amps it takes to run this coffee pot? A simple to understand chart provides an easy assist. Throughout the book, the DeMaris’ provide real information and real life experiences from a personal perspective.
This is a great gift for the RVer in your life, or for your own RV bookshelf. Thumbs up on this one.
PLEASE NOTE:
After reviewing this book, I found that the book is not available new (at least anymore) from Amazon.com. I apologize for the link that indicated that is was! I have removed that link. There are used editions on Amazon, however pricing appears to be unusually high for a paperback edition. You can purchase this book directly from ICANRV Publishing!
