There are several ways of producing enough electricity for long-term boondocking. Still, the two most common are solar panels and generators, so I will stick to those.

Having never owned a generator, there's not much I can say about them. I do know there are super quiet ones that cost a lot of money and some very noisy ones that don't, from what I can tell, the main benefit of having a generator is the bigger ones can run the air conditioner which under certain conditions can be very beneficial. But, my plan from the very start was to try to stay in places where I didn't need an air conditioner.

I've used solar panels for many years. Usually, only one or two panels were all I could afford because they were costly in the beginning. And they did the minimal that was required, which was mainly keeping my lights on at night. But I gained enough knowledge to know that when I went full-time, I wanted solar panels to be the way I obtained electricity.

By the time I bought the Arctic Fox, solar panels had come down to a reasonable price, so by installing the system myself, the cost of the panels, the initial lead-acid battery bank. And the other wires and gadgetry you need for a solar system cost me much less than the monthly rental rates for a years worth of commercial RV parks. So I amortized the entire cost of my solar system in one year of staying away from Commercial campgrounds. But saving money was not the reason I went solar, that was just an added benefit. I went solar because their, Silent, simple, and sensible.

So how much electricity is enough? As usual, it all depends. For me, six 140 watt solar panels keep my battery bank charged up under every condition I've run into in my five years of full-timing, including days of rain and heavy clouds.

My battery bank now consists of four lithium iron BattleBorn 100 amp batteries. And they provide enough power for me to live a normal comfortable life without giving up anything except air conditioning and my toaster oven.

So the key to enjoying long-term boondocking is and always has been, being comfortable wherever you're at, and no matter how long you stay. If your boondocking and you've been there a week and can't wait to leave, something is wrong. Maybe you just don't like boondocking, I understand that. But suppose you want to stay for more than a week or two, but you're just tired of roughing it. Remember, boondocking is not supposed to be suffering or roughing it. It's supposed to be living happily and comfortably without hookups.

Take a hard look at your system, and you might find your system is not adequate to keep you comfortable for more than a week or two, And you will be limiting your ability to take advantage of every available camping opportunity, Which may become important if things get really crowded

So to sum it all up. For those of you that would like to boondock but don't like the discomfort, you can be comfortable long-term boondocking for a relatively small amount of money. Maybe it's just the addition of a couple more solar panels, or maybe more batteries to hold the power being generated by the solar panels.
It's not as hard as you think to reach a point where you can boondock indefinitely if you want to.

As far as electricity is concerned. Every summer when I stay at my daughter's house in Denver, usually for around four months, I'm not plugged in, I could, I just don't need to because my solar panels are providing all the electricity I need to live a normal comfortable life.

Wow! I'm glad that's over, even my relatives have turned off my blog.

                                theboondork

My 5-year-old grandson. He's not really sad, this is his "why does grandpa keep taking my picture" face.

My 3-year-old granddaughter. She doesn't mind having her picture taken.

Look what I found in the yard. The neighbor across the street has a tree that is already starting to change. Can my favorite time of year be far behind?

It seems to me if I'm even close to being right about the crowds in the Southwest this winter. It makes sense to be able to take advantage of any camping opportunity that becomes available. Whether it be commercial RV parks, state parks, Corps of Engineers parks, long-term boondocking, or any other camping opportunity that may be available when nothing else is. For example, I've even stayed in commercial RV parks and declined having hookups for substantially less money than a regular site, just because that was all that was available or I wanted to get away from the crowded part of the RV Park.

So what do you have to do to take advantage of long-term boondocking opportunities? Its no secret and I've mentioned it before, all you have to do is make your RV comfortable without hookups, it's as easy as that. But of course, what's comfortable is different for everyone. I don't know what's comfortable for you, I only know what's comfortable for me, so that's what I'll talk about. And bear in mind, I camp alone.

I carry about 85 gallons of water in my tank. I won't go into all the ways I conserve water because that's not what this is about; I'm just saying that 85 gallons of water will last me a month, maybe even a little more, and I'm very comfortable while living with that amount of water. And of course, it's easy to top up your water tank without moving the RV if you need to, using plastic 5 gallon Jerry cans to bring water from town.

Of course, my black and gray tanks need to be dumped, and they each hold 35 gallons. I find that works out to about a month before I have to take the Arctic Fox somewhere and dump them. And yes, my blackwater tank is getting plenty of water evident by the fact that I have never had a stoppage in any blackwater tank I've ever owned.

And now we come to the biggie... Electricity. This is often the main thing between comfort and discomfort while boondocking. It's usually the most asked question about boondocking probably because running out of electricity will send you scurrying to an RV Park for hookups quicker than just about anything else. And this is usually the area where you will actually have to spend some folding money to be comfortable while long-term boondocking.

As usual, this is getting way too long and needs to be finished up tomorrow. I was hoping for today, but you'll notice I didn't promise, but I can almost guarantee it will be done tomorrow. The word "almost" is a weasel word purposely designed to negate the meaning of guarantee.

                                                                            theboondork

Close-up of the same type of wildflower. It has cute little curly cues that look like spectacles.

One day, hopefully while I'm still alive, this thing will blossom into many, many, nameless flowers.

I know boondocking is not for everyone, and that's the way it should be. RVing gives everyone the ability to choose the kind of lifestyle they want to live, and if full hookups and lots of neighbors in every direction is what you enjoy, more power to ya.

But sometimes the situation may require some amount of boondocking, which is why most RVs come from the factory "self-contained" with the ability to boondock for a night or two without hookups.

Some folks enjoy boondocking every once in a while, equipping their RV with a generator or a couple of solar panels, an extra battery, and staying out for a week or two to get away from the crowds in commercial RV parks.

Then there's the lunatic fringe boondocker's. A small, ragtag, unshaven crowd that can often be found in the winter camping under the shade of a Saguaro somewhere in the Arizona desert munching on a prickly pear cactus and drinking something that only faintly resembles water... That would more than likely be me.

But none of those people are what I'm talking about. I'm talking about a different attitude towards boondocking that is more in line with our current situation of Bat flu. The genuine possibility of larger than average crowds of people heading for the Southwest this winter and how to deal with finding places to stay when commercial campgrounds and state parks may be full or crowded to the point where staying in them might not be much fun.

I'm talking about the ability to boondock for as long as you want, or need, and be comfortable enough that it's an enjoyable situation and not an inconvenient one. Because if you're not comfortable, you probably won't be boondocking for long. Boondocking shouldn't be a test of your survival abilities or a challenge, it should be just about the same as living with hookups except without the air conditioner. And that's what I strive for.

Okay, okay, I'm milking this story for all it's worth, but there's nothing much going on in my life right now, and if I wasn't writing about this, I would probably be writing about something even more annoying. So count your blessings, and with any luck, I'll be done with this tomorrow. No promises have been made or implied. Nor should they be construed to have been made or implied.

                               theboondork

Ordinarily I would label this a rose but after the Pansy - Petunia fiasco I am hesitant to name anything anymore.

I have no idea what kind of flowers these are, but as soon as I saw them all I could see was a couple of pirates....Arrrrr.