Hi there,
Like many other nomads here, I found myself in your shoes when I started, also wondering all the same things and wishing there was a simple guide. Such a guide does not exist, unfortunately, at least not one that everyone can agree is comprehensive and accurate enough.
However, it did help tremendously to just start my journey by reading all of Bob’s original blog posts. I started by reading as many of them as I could when I got off of work (I was still working at the time). There is a lot of dialogue in the comments of those blog posts, too, which means many questions you may be wondering about have been asked before (and answered).
Bob also has great videos addressing broad topics like energy use, how to find legal boondocking sites, etc.
I have been full-timing for a year now. My circumstances, like yours, are unique, and will not necessarily translate to someone else’s experience. But I can try to answer some of your questions, from my own perspective, based on my own experiences and circumstances.
Everything I need to go off-grid?
Well, you need to provide for your basic needs off-grid, so shelter, water, and food. The rig will provide your shelter.
The water can be in water jugs/totes/tanks. Personally, I have a 40-gallon fresh water tank that I mostly use for cooking, washing, and showering. I can and do sometimes drink from it. It can be filled with a hose. I also usually have several 1-gallon drinking water jugs for drinking, and I have an empty 5-gallon military water container for emergencies in case I ever needed to gather and store a large quantity of drinking water.
Regarding food, eating nonperishables all the time can be dull, so you’ll want to have a way to cool your perishables. Even a cheap Styrofoam cooler from the grocery store, filled with ice, works. It won’t last forever and isn't very efficient, but it will work to keep perishables cool if you keep fresh ice in it. Many members here have refrigerators of some kind in their rigs. My rig is a manufactured truck camper, so it came with an absorption fridge/freezer that runs off of propane. If I were doing a build, I would have a small compressor fridge that runs on DC power.
For bathing, you can take sponge baths or bucket baths. I have done both and find them perfectly fine for bathing. My rig has a shower in it, so I use that nowadays, but I don’t mind bucket baths, at all.
Beyond shelter, water, and food, you will want power for things like your phone/tablet/laptop, as well as for lighting. You don’t need to spend a ton of money, but energy does cost a little money. A lot of energy costs a lot of money. You could get a few used golf cart batteries and a cheap Chinese charge controller and be in a power system for not much money.
I might recommend at least one 100 amp deep cycle battery and a small solar kit with a charge controller and a 100 watt panel at a minimum, and anything more than that is obviously even better. My setup is 320 watts on the roof and a 300 amp hours of AGM battery, and it meets all of my needs for full time nomadic living 95% of the time. The other 5% of the time is when it is raining/overcast for several days in a row. Then I run my generator to recharge the batteries.
Also note that the best answer to your question depends on how you define “off-grid.” I personally have exclusively boondocked over the past year, much of it off-grid. I have never stayed at a campground and have never paid RV or camp fees. For me, “off-grid” means out in nature without hookups. But I still use propane for heat and cooking. I still fill my water tank from an RV water station. I generally go into town once a week (sometimes once every two weeks) to do things like fill my water tank, fill a propane tank, get fresh groceries, throw my trash away, etc.
There are folks here who live for months (or years) at a time in the desert and very rarely go into town. Some even do without laundromats and wash their own clothes. I had aspirations of such off-grid living when I started a year ago, but I never actually embarked on that life. I found that I liked staying off-grid… but close to the grid. For example, being able to fill my water tank whenever I wanted. That way, I did not have to implement extreme water-conserving measures. So what you need to go off-grid will also depend on what “off-grid” means to you.
Basic equipment everyone should bring such as emergency repair kits, hatchets, saws, etc. ?
I personally have a basic tool bag that contains a hacksaw, several wrenches, a hammer, a pry bar, a screwdriver set, different pliers, etc. I have lots of gorilla tape and duct tape, multi-tools, etc. I have an air compressor and tire-repair kit, and I know how to use them (I highly-recommend practicing using the tire repair kit before you ever need it). I have a good lug nut wrench, a good jack, a good recovery strap, a grade 100 chain sling, D-rings, etc. Like with the tire-repair kit, I highly recommend trying these items out (i.e., put the spare on and take it off again, etc.) before you ever need them, unless you have a lot of experience already (I didn’t before I started nomadic living).
You may want: all-terrain tires on your rig if you plan to go “off-grid,” as you said, a good chair to sit outside in that is sturdy enough to last -- and light and “packable” enough to easily carry across your camp, flashlights and headlamps if you will spend time off-grid, along with extra batteries, a fly swatter and 25% (or more) DEET spray, etc.
Now then, I have traction mats that are heavy, expensive, take up a lot of room, and never get used. Do you need those? Do you need a $300 chain sling, for that matter? I would bet that most members here don’t have one. My cousin, who is a mechanic and who has recovered many vehicles, insisted that I needed one. I also carry a tourniquet (for medical emergencies). Do you need one of those? I would bet that most members here don’t have one. I carry one because I served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it was drilled into me.
But I don't carry bear spray, a personal locator beacon, etc. I don’t have those things. Do I need them? Well... maybe I do (and I'm sure I'll kick myself if I ever found myself needing them and not having them)... but there is only so much space, so much time, and so much money.
Bottom line is that everyone has to choose what will fit in his rig, what makes sense for his budget and the kinds of situations he could face, etc.
I know very little about RVs and RV systems, and I know very little about truck engines. I have some Diesel 911, nitrile gloves, and spare fuel filters in case my diesel engine ever craps out in the dead of winter, and I have learned how to use them. I once took apart and fixed my toilet cassette (i.e., my black tank) by watching videos and reading the parts diagrams online. But generally, I am not mechanically-inclined. I am not comfortable tinkering with things. Part of that discomfort is simple fear of the unknown, and part of it is laziness, but I am willing to study something and become familiar with it in order to work on it if necessary. Necessity is often the mother of invention!
The best way to find caravan groups to start out with?
I never joined a caravan. I also didn’t really look, but they sound like fun.
All the places you can safely & legally boondock?
I have found that freecampsites.net satisfies all my needs. I have always been able to find a safe place to boondock for free on that site, and these often were “hidden gems” that were quiet, safe, and only a little bit off the beaten path. Otherwise, I find Wal-Mart is usually reliable (I always call ahead and confirm with the manager, as some towns don’t allow overnight parking in public parking lots). I have always found a spot at truck stops, too, although I have occasionally had to overnight between two giant rigs, with all the associated noise.
Also curious as to what you think the best rig is for a small signature and versatility?
Those were my goals in a rig, too. I chose a truck camper on a one-ton truck. Vans are good, too, as well as Class B RV’s. Having a short wheelbase and two axles makes you very mobile.
Is there a guide to must-see locales? Maybe a kind of itinerary on how to hit all of them?
I like TripAdvisor and Wikitravel to give me general ideas when I'm in another country or state. The Thorntree forum on Lonely Planet is good, too, especially for itineraries, as it’s full of threads along the lines of “I have 7 days in northern Arizona, what should I see?” And, of course, there’s this forum!
