Last Updated on July 4, 2023
BOONDOCKING. Not a term familiar to everyone, it refers to stealth camping or dry camping, which means no electrical or water hookup for the RV. Typically boondockers will park overnight at a large store parking lot or campground, even truck stops and casinos. People boondock also on BLM (public) Lands where you can usually stay for 14 days at times. I know people who exclusively boondock so they have no housing expenses. They still have to make sure to fill up their water, dump their tanks and have the appropriate way to generate power, but it’s possible.
So how do you find the free sites? There are numerous resources available, such as Campendium or Boondockers Welcome, for those looking for boondocking sites and they offer members free parking at over 800 different places across America and Canada. The point of these services like Boondockers Welcome is to connect like-minded people with a passion for travel and boondocking.
Once you are a member you can search for spaces using several different parameters to locate what you need. You can search according to the size of your rig, the location of the parking space, outdoor activities you like to do, whether pets are allowed or not and Wi-Fi availability. I like places with nearby biking trails, I always carry my bicycle with me. You will be able to find a place that meets your needs and you can easily communicate with the site owner to request permission to park overnight. The owners will check their calendar, review your request and get back to you promptly.
Some members offer boondocking space regularly throughout the year whereas others are more restricted. Some hosts choose to hang out wither guests and often provide useful information about the area but this is not a requirement. Members can also restrict the use of generators, slide-outs and grills if they so choose. It is not much different than getting accommodations through Airbnb; you make contact and arrangements through the website and get a place to park your RV for the night. It is critical that all hosting members make sure they have adequate liability insurance coverage in the event there are any accidents or injuries on their property.
In addition to this, RV owners also want to have good insurance because state and province regulations vary greatly and you want to be sure you are covered. Once all is said and done, boondocking is a useful tool for RVers everywhere. Paying for campgrounds can get costly over time, especially if you are only staying a night at a time. Boondocking allows for free camping so you can focus on the more important aspects of your trip. For the most part, even though it is not mandatory, most host members offer electrical and water hookups for their guests, so it really makes it a more economical option over campgrounds.
So what’s the better way to get into boondocking?
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Article provided by OffGridSpot a website for all off grid.
