Your RV is “self-contained.” That means you have the ability to live in it for several days without hooking up to utilities—and you paid lots of extra money to have this capability. With the normal systems in your motorhome, you can boondock (often called dry camping) without connecting to the campground water, sewer, and power (commonly called “shore power”—a term from the boating industry).
It is important to note you do not have to deprive yourself of anything while boondocking. You live with the same comfort and convenience as you do when hooked up—the wine is perfectly chilled and, if needed, the furnace is toasty warm. When boondocking, you simply live a bit more conservatively without roughing it—I can assure you, we don’t rough it!
Boondocking is a great way to save money—after all, you stay free. With the average cost of a campground now close to $30.00 per night (my rough nationwide estimate), it is easy to save significant money annually by choosing to boondock on occasion.
I’m not “anti-campground.” When I need those things (utilities and space) the campground offers, I pay their fee, stay there, and appreciate the opportunity. Consider this... I only go to the grocery if I need groceries, only go to the barber if I need a haircut, and only go to campgrounds when I need campground services. I also use campgrounds when we stay two or more nights in one place.
However, the convenience of boondocking is significant. My wild guess is that you may have 10,000–15,000 additional places where you can stay overnight if you choose to boondock. After all, with just considering Wal-Mart, there are over 4,000 stores!
When we boondock, we are not doing this solely to save money, we are not making a political or social statement, and we are not mad at the campgrounds. We are, typically, just ready to pull off the highway, want someplace really close by, don’t care if we put our slides out or not, will cook dinner and watch TV, sleep for the night, get up, have coffee, watch some more TV, and finally pull out of that spot. We have no need at all to hook up to any utilities and we aren’t roughing it.
Articles
Why Boondock
Boondocking—Here's How
Disconnected RVing
Boondocking Required
Wal-Mart Rules
Take a One-Gallon Shower
Commercial Boondocking Sites
Boondocking Downtown Chicago
Top