Intro
The different types of camping
This Nomad life isn't just about finding a nice RV Park and setting up there. When we decided to head out into the great USA, we knew we wanted to do some primitive camping. I installed a solar system for this very purpose.
So besides the typical RV Park, you have Boondocking which has quite a few alternate names (dry camping, Wild camping, to name a couple) and also has different degrees of "off-gridness".
Here are the few different ways we have enjoyed Vixen on our quest to see the Nation.
Home Base - Shore House - Moochdocking
We still have our house in Maryland, so it has been designated Home Base. My daughter is living there now and taking care of things and helping with the mortgage, earning some equity as they do it. When we purchased Vixen, it was delivered to the driveway at Home Base and that is where it sat until we purchased a truck and I installed the modifications I wanted. When in the driveway, we can hook up to water and 15A of service, which is enough to keep the batteries charged and the fridge running on electric.
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| Home Base |
Since we started out, we have returned to Home Base twice to take care of things and visit with the kids. We didn't park in the driveway, but across the street. This means we are actually boondocking, but can run an extension cord from the house, across the street to charge up the batteries if they fall behind in their cycle. I have had to do this both times. It was because of a couple of factors. First, it is fall and the sun in flying a more southern route this time of the year. Unfortunately, we park facing west so we can open the slide and this is the worse setup for our solar panels. Throw in a couple of rainy and cloudy days, and we get behind in the recharge.
It wasn't a big deal, as I only had to run the cord for a couple of hours and our street doesn't get a lot of traffic. We fill our water with jugs and I now have a portable dump tank (aka Blue Boy) that I can use to dump our tanks into Home Base's sewer cleanout fitting.
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| Shore House Moochdocking |
We have a house in the family down in Cape May, NJ and there is a good amount of space in the grassy yard where we can park. Parking at the edge of the fence, I can run a 20A extension cord to Vixen and use it for the fridge and keeping the batteries topped off. I was able to run the AC at Home Base when in the driveway, but for some reason, we get a low voltage error when we try at the Shore House, even though it is on a larger breaker. I think it is the length of the extension cord which is causing the voltage drop, but fans work fine and are a must if you plan on true boondocking in the heat of the summer.
I was able to rehab the sewer cleanout fitting at the house and this was when I bought the portable dump tank. It worked perfectly. Water either from the hose or jugs and we were good to go for a month of "visiting".
Moochdocking is almost self-explanatory. The two above examples can fall into this category. It is basically staying is either a friend's or relative's driveway or yard. With or without hookups. It is a valuable asset to use on your travels.
Boondocking
True Boondocking is going out into the forest or desert and staying for as long as you can with only what your tanks can hold. It is possible to extend stays if you can find more water and dump your tanks. Some people Boondock with generators, but we don't have one and this was why I spent thousands of dollars to install 525 Watts of solar panels, a 2000W Inverter and 300Amp Hours of Lithium batteries. Silent power with no moving parts. When those babies are sitting in full sun, you can just feel them filling up your batteries. So far, we have experienced several levels of boondocking.
Early this summer, just as the first lockdown was coming to an end, we headed to Shenandoah National Park and spent a week boondocking in one of their campgrounds. Water and restrooms are nearby, but no site has any hook up at all. There was also a camp store nearby which comes in handy.
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| Shenandoah Boondocking |
Our first real boondocking was the first eight days we spent full timing. The first night we headed up to my old stomping grounds near the Appalachian Trail Museum and camped on Piney Mountain. It is an ATV parking lot with a grassy field behind it. No water, but there is a new pit toilet on the premises.
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| Piney Mountain Boondock |
The next day, we headed to Delaware State Forest for our first week of true boondocking. We had nothing but a nice place to park, a table and fire ring. (I guess you can get even more hard core and find a place without those two amenities).
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| Delaware State Forest (PA) |
It was a true test of our set up and it performed perfectly. We had a few days of low sun which means low batteries and it made it fun to figure out what we had to do to save battery. We made it through the week and at this point that seemed to be our max limit (but I want to find a way to double that). Our waste tanks were full and we needed to move on. Luckily it was an easy thirty minute drive to our next camp and all went well.
We just finished up our second (and latest) Boondocking experience, here in Camp Lejeune at Onslow Beach. They have seven Dry Campsites here that provide no hook ups. We were able to get water at a nearby gazebo, walk 1 Kilometer to the shower when we needed and the dump station was a couple hundred meters away where we could dump our tanks easily using the truck to tow the blue boy.
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| Onslow Beach - Camp Lejeune, NC |
Being Hiker observant, I was able to find and use a lone GFI outlet that was just standing at the one corner of an old basketball court. I ran our long cord to the trailer and we were able to use our electric heater on the cold nights. We stayed here seventeen days and dumped our tanks twice with the blue boy and on the way out. We never had to use the extension cord to charge the batteries because I was able to tilt the panels towards the south and a lot of days we would be at 100% around noon or early in the afternoon. On days we didn't fill up, we would conserve.
State Parks
We have stayed at two State Parks, and have another reserved for early next year. The first was in PA and the second VA. They are similar in amenities, but vary greatly in what is available and also, what you can do when camping there. Usually there is a museum or visitor center and trails to walk and bike. The first one we stayed at, Promised Land State Park in PA only had electric at the site, but restrooms and showers were not too far away and water was less than 50 meters away. We hit the dump station on the way in and out. We stayed here a week.
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| Promised Land State Park, PA |
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| Pocahontas State Park, VA |
Unfortunately, because of Covid, most visitor centers and museums were closed or on really short hours. That was ok, though. We just like sitting around camp, making a fire and enjoying the woods.
Private Campgrounds
Private campgrounds have as many varieties as grains of sand. They can provide any manner of hookups including no hook ups at all.
Our first private campground was in Maine. We had water and electricity at the site and were right across the street from a restroom.
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| Hadley's Point Campground |
Our week here was perfect. We got to explore some of the trails and sights of Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor.
Our second (and current) Private Campground is here at Onslow Beach FamCamp at Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base near Jacksonville, NC. This site has the most hookups we have had so far and the price (off season) can't be beat. Unfortunately for muggles, this campground is truely private as you have to have served in or for the military or government to gain access.
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| Onslow Beach FamCamp - Camp Lejeune, NC |
We have water, electric, sewer and cable TV. We are totally smoothing it here (not roughing it). We walk on the empty off-season beach every day and watch and listen as the Marines train all around us. Nothing beats the thump that reverberates through Vixen when they shoot off their heavy artillery. And when an Osprey flies directly over your trailer, you can feel the props beat on the roof of the trailer. I'm loving it. Seeing a bunch of Marines in fox holes pointing their weapons towards the road as we came back from food shopping was a trip. It almost makes me want to go out and join them. Naw. On second thought. I'll just keep smoothing it here.
Boondockers Welcome
Boondockers Welcome is a subscription service where you pay an annual fee and gain access to Hosts, who are just plain people who offer their homes for you to park overnight or for a few nights.
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| Our first Boondockers Welcome experience |
Sometimes it's in their large driveway and others it is a field or large yard. Some offer hookups at all levels, but usually you just need to be self contained. We used this service exclusively on our way back down from Maine, staying four nights at four different Host's houses.
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| Next to a Host's barn |
It's a mixed bag. I really enjoy the convenience of having a place to spend the night safely as we travel, but sometimes it isn't perfect. We are figuring what type of BWs we like as we try them out.
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| In a Host's field |
Requesting a night is very easy and all can be done on-line, along with communications with the Hosts.
Harvest Hosts
Harvest Hosts is another subscription service where this one is offering overnight camping at wineries, farms, distilleries and other businesses that have the space for a few rigs. It costs more than Boondockers Welcome, and you are also expected to give the Hosts some business while you are there, and you usually have to call to reserve a site.
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| A Harvest Host Winery |
It is another resource to use when we are traveling. We signed up just before leaving Home Base the last time and stayed at a Winery on our way to North Carolina.
Overnight Parking
One final resource that we have used is the Overnight parking method. Walmarts are a popular spot, where you park at the back of the lot and try to remain respectful. For different reasons, Walmarts are becoming less available due to bad behavior or local ordinances.
Cracker Barrel is a spot that we used on the way up to Maine. They actually have about four or five spaces designated for RVs and Busses and it is ok to spend the night. Buying a meal while there, is a nice way to say thanks.
Service Plazas are another place we tried out on the way up to Maine. When we arrived, there was only a few other trucks and RVs around. In the morning, the lot was full to overflowing. Just remember, you are competing with the truckers at the service plazas, so stay respectful and stick to your lane. Don't extend out over your space, or you may have a rude awakening.
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| Overnight in a Service Plaza |
Some people don't like the constant rumble of the diesel trucks running all night, but it kind of reminds me when I was on a ship and the noises of fans, motors and other things were a constant companion. It actually lulls me to sleep.
There are other overnight places that we haven't tried yet, but are on our list of possibilities. Casinos, Cabela's, Bass Pro, etc.
In Conclusion
We are having a blast figuring out where we will be spending the night as we travel along, Homeless on Wheels. Planning our stays and building our adventure is all a part of the fun of being a Nomad.
Peace,
EarthTone and LoGearAnd Ginger
And Vixen. :)
