Boondocking "Protocols"

[cyndi]

Back to boondocking protocols, folks!

 

[rvpopeye]

If you notice your campfire is smoking in the direction of someone else , no matter how far , drown it.
This can sometimes be avoided by learning how to make a fire burn cleanly with minimal/no smoke .
If you still gotta have a flame to watch . Download a fireplace video....................

 

[Minerrick]

Planning on going out next weekend in an area that is thick with bears. I have a 5th wheel with a ladder going up on the roof. I was wondering what everyone does with their garbage until they find a decent place to dump it. I was thinking of putting in a 20 gal garbage can on the roof of the 5th wheel and then lock with padlocks, a 12" wide piece of plywood to the face of the ladder going up on the roof, to keep anything from climbing up there. If there is a tree nearby, I could always do the backpacking thing of hoisting it up into a tree. Any other ideas?

 

[mockturtle]

If it's just for the weekend, you should be able to stow your garbage inside your rig. Bears can use ladders and can certainly climb trees.

 

[Minerrick]

I get it for the weekend, but for longer stays........

 

[mockturtle]

I have a heavy-duty storage box on the rear bumper where I keep my sewer hose. I can stuff several days of garbage in there when necessary. My boondocking policy is 'short stays only', e.g., four days or less in one place. When I stay longer, I have to drive out to take on water, dump my tanks and dispose of garbage and then return.

In Alaska this summer, I found one of the most difficult issues was garbage disposal. Even some of the state campgrounds didn't have trash bins and many of the dumpsters in the towns were chained and locked. OTOH, BC had trash receptacles every few miles.

 

[highdesertranger]

I use the county landfills for a couple of bags they usually let me dump for free. ask in any small town where to dispose of trash they will let you know. a lot of times they will unlock their dumpster for you. highdesertranger

 

[Sameer]

I only Boondock...I think the best protocol is to respect privacy. Living in a van I want the ability to piss behind a tree and dig a cat-hole with out being observed. Simply! I spend a lot of time finding the perfect site. Perfect shade vs sun...internet and TV...no ranger!...If someone actually finds my site and parks across from me I walk over and tell them that parking so close to me..."I think you will be unhappy, I am hard of hearing and you will most likely hear my television or music." That usually does the trick...
I am hard of hearing and will play music while working on my van...My television swings out so I can sit outside and watch it...If I am camping with friends like I am now...we may have a movie night and I will plug the television into the Boombox and we will all watch a movie...Oh yes, I burn my trash in the morning the the smoke may drift into your campsite. My dog will bark at your every movement...if you are too close. Give people lots of space and privacy....that is the best thing a person can do. Thousands of acres of BLM land and many beautiful places to camp that are not next to me.

 

[mockturtle]

Good job, Sameer!  I certainly wouldn't want to park anywhere near you!  

 

[Minerrick]

My dog will bark at your every movement...if you are too close.   Give people lots of space and privacy....that is the best thing a person can do.   Thousands of acres of BLM land and many beautiful places to camp that are not next to me.

I like the dog thing, I have two labs that bark at each other and that is a really good reason not to have anyone nearby.

 

[Sameer]

It all boils down to....I use my bucket while traveling...When I am camped...long term...living in my spot...because I live in a van...I need privacy to be able to hop out of my van to take a leak....or squat behind a tree (deep cat-hole)...honestly! That is the bottom line...! Thank you in advance for not parking too close to me!

 

[akrvbob]

The problem is that generally, RVers and vandwellers have very different ways of viewing "camping". Go to most RV Parks and see how they are packed together like sardines and it's obvious to me we think very differently about what camping means.

RVers tend to be very social and camping 20 feet from each other is part of what they want out of the full-time life. Seeing RV boondockers packed together in a circle or square is very routine in the desert in Arizona.

So when an RV pulls up 20 feet from me, I try hard to understand that he just has very different ideas of camping than I do and not curse him out too bad (I often fail!) . I just break camp and leave.

That's why I try to get as remote as I can on roads that RVs can't make.

I realize these are generalizations and there are many exceptions on both sides. However, I'm convinced it holds true for the majority of people.
Bob

 

[Sameer]

Good message, Bob. I feel like I do not have the right to tell a person where to camp. This is not my land. I do feel I should mention to someone that they may not be happy camped near me, due to the dog and the fact my campsite might be alive with music. I will move in a heart-beat if I lose my privacy, but I don't want to move. I am camped on State land which means no ranger enforcement. I am just a few miles from Walmart and Homedepot. I have the perfect combination of sun for solar and shade. There are 5 others camped at a distance. Two are friends from Ehrenberg...This camp spot I will be in for at least another month or longer. It is a difficult area to get into. One of my neighbors brought in his fifth-wheel...YES! after cutting branches of some trees!!??!!. I am hoping everyone else that finds this spot....realizes that we are full-up...Hahahahaha!

 

[akrvbob]

One of the things I do is carry a tent and set it up in places next to me so people that might think it's okay for camping realize they can't camp there. Works good.
Bob

 

[jimindenver]

I've thought about it, the mountain manor and a expedition makes a convincing camp site.

 

[Sameer]

The tent idea is fantastic! I am going to buy a tent!

 

[mockturtle]

Hope you don't wake up one morning and find someone in it! ;-)

 

[eapvan]

I've been thinking lately that I'd like to have a little more room, and I've been looking at the Class C's. Does anyone here think that a Class C could get to remote places? That's really where I'd love to stay most of the time.

 

[akrvbob]

I'm like you and want to be remote so I go out of my way to chose camps RVs can't go. I did a quick count on the top of my head and in the last 80 days I've had 24 camps in Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana--most of them in Wyoming. Could a Class C make it to those camps:

NO Way--12 camps.
YES-- 8 camps
MAYBE If you were willing to risk the RV you might could make it. 4

Some of the NOs only meant I went another mile or 2 beyond the RVs and there was plenty of room for them, but they were packed together which I hate.

You can certainly find many places to disperse camp in a Class C, but no doubt it limits the number of places you can camp with privacy and be remote.

My next blog post will be about two of those camps and why no RV could make it. You might want to check it out.
Bob
Bob

 

[eapvan]

Thanks Bob. I was thinking that because a Class C is shorter, that I could make it out to the boonies. I've never driven one, so I didn't know.

Thanks for the info, and I'll look forward to the blog post