theboondork's RV blog

Back in Quartzsite

12/27/2022

Clicking the pics, it's the thing to do, if you don't have anything else to do.

Back boondocking in Quartzsite again. It sure is good to be out in the desert around my own kind.

I left the Bluewater casino this morning, picked up some diesel fuel, even though I didn't need it. Then I stopped at Walmart while I was in town. It was only 35 miles to Quartzsite, where I pulled into the RV Pit-Stop and got a few gallons of water. The Pit-Stop was busy this morning, not as active as during the Big Show, but a lot more alive than when I left before Christmas.

And speaking of being busy, I pulled into McDonald's in Quartzsite, and cars were lined up at the drive-through, and when I went inside, the lines were so long that I left without any food. But that's okay. I have plenty of food in the Lance, but I was looking forward to something different.

I moseyed over to Dome Rock boondocking area, and again, it did appear there were more people at Dome Rock than when I was here before Christmas. Dome Rock is one of the prettier areas because it's kinda hilly and not flat like most of the boondocking areas. The downside is that you almost always have to level up your RV when boondocking at Dome Rock. And Dome Rock is a magnet for off-road folks, both motorcycle and 4 x 4's, but they don't bother me; they're mostly retired folks, and I like to see folks outside enjoying their life. I think I'll probably be here two or three days before I shamble on down to Yuma.

It's good to be in the desert again, where everybody has room to spread out. While I love Lake Havasu, the area where I enjoy staying the most was very crowded when I was there and was pretty much the same as staying at the Bluewater casino boondocking areas.

But Quartzsite is different; there's so much room here there's always plenty of space to spread out, and the closest it comes to being crowded is during the Big Show in January, and even then if you don't mind getting half a mile off the main roads, there's still plenty of room.

Theboondork

Dome rock boondocking area, if you click the pics you can see a lot of RVs boondocking out there.

Boondocking in the desert, Quartzsite Arizona

This is a Schoolie that I took a picture of this morning as I was leaving Bluewater casino. There's something about it that doesn't look like a normal school bus but I'm not sure what it is. But it does have a Krackin crawling out of the water trying to grab the driver.

You don't see this every day, a gas station that sells hundred octane racing fuel, which costs a pretty penny. This is in Parker Arizona, and Parker is a hot-bed of off-road racing. A lot of big time professional desert racing starts in Parker.

8 Comments

OFM

12/27/2022 05:24:08 pm

That is one extremely good looking and desirable rig in that first picture. I am a bit envious.

Tom

12/27/2022 06:37:22 pm

Well thank you Barney. Every day I'm learning what it takes to turn the Lance into a comfortable boondocking machine, and almost every day I think of changes I would like to make so it's a work in progress.

But there's no substitute for living in it while trying to turn it into a comfortable long-term boondocker, but the very size of the Arctic Fox made it easy to have as many batteries or as many solar panels I could afford, and that gave me all the power I needed to run everything but the air conditioner and an electric heater. But my radiant propane heater solved the heater problem, and the air conditioner I seldom used anyway.

But the weight limitations I have using a three-quarter-ton truck prevents me from using too many batteries, and the square footage of the roof limits how many solar panels I can put up there. So I have roughly half the amount of amps I can produce and store in the Lance that I had in the Arctic Fox.

And since the weight of the camper prevents me from adding more batteries, and the size of the roof prevents me from adding more solar panels. That means instead of being able to go for about five days, like I've done before, with no or very limited solar charging, now I can probably go for two or three days with limited charging.

But I'm learning as I go, and I'm probably going to learn pretty quick because there's a bunch of cloudy days coming up pretty quick.

Tom.... Happily ensconced in the boondocking capital of the world.

Judith

12/27/2022 08:01:22 pm

Yes indeed. The first photo shows a fine abode able to go on a road. (I know. Couldn't help it.) Glad you are back what is close to the boonies. Enjoy. .

12/27/2022 09:07:35 pm

Yeah I see what you did there with abode and road. I'm glad to be back in the boonies myself, I'm more comfortable in the boonies. Cities hold no pleasure for me.

Tom

Linda

12/28/2022 02:50:44 pm

The thing that's odd about the skoolie is the back door is on the side.

I met my daughter at that McDonald's one time but there was NO place for me to park so she met me out back and we left with no lunch. Plus, there's only one outlet for charging electronics there so I was never able to get a turn at it.

I have friends who regularly boondock at Dome Rock which is where my daughter and I were headed that day so I could introduce her to them. She fell in love with the Rolling Steel Tent's layout that day.

12/28/2022 03:34:40 pm

Yeah, that door on the side is weird. If it's an emergency door there must be one on the other side also so people can get out no matter which side the bus is laying on. Most school buses I've ever seen were made by a company named Blue Bird and made in South Georgia, not far from where my mom used to live, and they also make RVs. But maybe that bus isn't made by Blue Bird maybe it's another brand that were not used to seeing.

I don't know how well that McDonald's in Quartzsite does during the summer, but every time I'm there in the winter it's full of people. And parking is difficult at best.

Seeing how other people have done things is always helpful, and the smaller the RV, the more helpful it is. Anyone who wants to can live in an average size RV, but living in something the size of a van takes more than little ingenuity, imagination, and creativity, so learning from others is indispensable.

Tom

12/29/2022 02:03:01 pm

The owner of the Rolling Steel Tent has since removed his passenger seat and put a fridge there. Great improvement for a solo!

12/29/2022 05:53:52 pm

It also keeps hitchhikers away.

Getting rid of the passenger seat works great for a van and does give a lot more useful room. But with a pickup truck, you just end up with a hole that's hard to get to unless you open the passenger door.

I keep my spare propane tank in the passenger floorboard and my camera lying on the passenger seat, with some cushions in front of it to keep it from flying off if I have to stop quickly.

Tom

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Back in Quartzsite

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