Quartzite question

[dogear52]

When's the best time to arrive for winter and is it difficult to find a new free BLM campsite every 2 weeks during winter in the vicinity or is it better to plan jumping around a large area of the valley? Or would it be a better idea to just purchase a permit to stay till April given this will be my first stop to begin life on the road full time? Right now looks like I'll be hauling a CT that I'll begin insulating, installing windows, etc, right away.

 

[blars]

The "two week" rule in the quartzsite area is that you need to move at least 25 miles, but you could alternate between two locations 25 miles apart. KofA wildlife refuge is 14 days per year. If you want to stay near quartsite for a long time, or moving every two weeks is a problem, the LTVA permit may be worthwhile. (Also includes a dump station -- dumping tanks in Q isnt cheap.) Both the free and LTVA areas are more crowded closer to town, but there is pleanty of room further out, especially if you don't mind driving on dirt roads. Weather is reasonable more or less October-April, but some of the businesses do not open until December.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

We just got back to Tucson (for medical stuff) and its still hitting the 90s. Q ain't gonna be any better right now.
Another 5-6 weeks and temps will back off a little.

There's tons of places to camp down that way. Some are monitored more than others. I wouldn't jump on the long term permit right away...unless you wanna just pull in and park in one spot for the season.

Lots of folks go over to the river by Edinburgh (across from Calif) and never get hassled by rangers.

I can assure you that others will weigh in with some good info on this topic

 

[akrvbob]

I've kindof given up on camping too close to Quartzsite. The enforcement gets worse every year and some of the Rangers there are very unpleasant.

I camp over at Ehrenberg now which is 17 miles west of Quartzsite on I-10. It's virtually on the Colorado river and very close to Blythe, CA which has MUCH better shopping than Quartzite. It's very friendly to boondockers and there is ZERO enforcement. It's easy to get free water and dump your trash. A laudromat in Ehrenberg has $6 showers. There are usually a dozen or more of us that camp together at Ehrenberg.

Of course RTR will be at Quartzsite.
Bob

 

[SoulRaven]

At just 300 feet elevation with the river to add a bit of humidity plus better shopping and services it makes the big Q look like dogtown.

 

[wagoneer]

My last experience with Q was the ZOO like atmosphere. WENT to Blyth
for shopping and enjoyed the peace in the camp. It is a nice bike ride if we are in fact at the same location, all downhill then all uphill. Anyone up for going to town?

 

[WheelEstate USA]

I'm glad Bob used the correct spelling for Ehrenberg
I'd hate for someone to be as confused as I seem to be

 

[dogear52]

Thanks to you all for the useful info. Ehrenberg looks like the place to go. Just got the SD plates so getting close to launch.

 

[akrvbob]

It's still pretty hot there, I'm waiting until it cools down till I head south. Mid 90s now but in just a few weeks it'll drop into the mid 80s.

Flagstaff or Prescott AZ are great towns that are high enough to still be cool with lots of National Forests around to camp in. My next stop usually is Sedona because it's cooler and one of the most beautiful places on the planet!
Bob

 

[caseyc]

I must have lucked out attending last year's RTR. I found the weather to be mild, not too warm nor cold nor windy. What struck me the most was looking up into the night sky and seeing all the beautiful star formations so clearly. I'm not used to seeing that being in the city.

 

[wagoneer]

with 2 months to go it will cool down

 

[akrvbob]

Of the 4 RTRs we've had, last years was by the best weather we ever had. It was perfect nearly every day. The first three were much worse!!

Early indications are it's going to be another mild winter in the desert southwest.
Bob

 

[caseyc]

When I was at RTR last year, I had a pop-up tent set up next to my van with a porta-potty in it. But I dreaded going inside the tent for you-know-what during the mid-day when the sun was out cuz it was cooking in there! Got really warm in the tent while I was doing my business. There's not much shade at the RTR spot unfortunately. I mean seriously, how much shade can a lonely cactus tree provide, haha!

 

[WheelEstate USA]

I hope its as nice as last year in Q. If I remember right, we had one day of rain that was kinda chilly...not cold. A couple nights it got down to 30, but warmed nicely when the sun came over the hill. Lots of days were warm enough for shorts. We left in March and it was pretty windy.

Lots of folks use tarps for shade. They're good when there's a little rain, but in the sun, I prefer shade cloth since it allows heat to flow up and out.
Places like Lowes sells it and it lasts longer than the plastic tarps.
(I use Lowes since they give vets/military a 10% discount every day of the year....Home Depot, only on military related holidays. Hey, it pays the tax on the purchase)

Casey....we won't watch if you wanna open your back doors and hang a sheet while you potty
Can't do good "business" sitting in an oven

 

[66788]

(I use Lowes since they give vets/military a 10% discount every day of the year....Home Depot, only on military related holidays. Hey, it pays the tax on the purchase)

I get 10% from both Lowes and Home Depot on every purchase. Sounds strange to me.

 

[caseyc]

Hi Jay,

That's why I kept driving in to town every day...so I can do good business. Hah! ;-)

Casey

 

[WheelEstate USA]

I get 10% from both Lowes and Home Depot on every purchase. Sounds strange to me.

The last couple times I used HD in 2 different cities I was told they didn't honor that discount.

Rose works for HD....maybe she will comment here.

 

[Jimmyflorida]

When's the best time to arrive for winter and is it difficult to find a new free BLM campsite every 2 weeks during winter in the vicinity or is it better to plan jumping around a large area of the valley? Or would it be a better idea to just purchase a permit to stay till April given this will be my first stop to begin life on the road full time? Right now looks like I'll be hauling a CT that I'll begin insulating, installing windows, etc, right away.

Last winter was my first experience in the southwest I found it extremely easy to find camping all winter it quite easy out there

 

[MrNoodly]

I tend to avoid QZT in high season unless meeting up with friends. To me, coming to the desert and sticking around QZT is like going to an amazing country and never leaving the resort. But some people like that type of thing. QZT is a useful place if you're new to mobile living. The town is set up to accommodate (or exploit) RVers. You can be around experienced people and see how they do things.

As for the 14-day limit, my experience has been the BLM is understaffed and can't possibly keep track of every camper. Unless you have a very distinctive rig, you can blend in with the hundreds of thousands of others. Check in and get a permit at one of the dispersed camping areas, stay a couple of weeks, then move to one of the other dispersed areas and do it again. I don't think the BLM has a computerized database that keeps track of everyone. If your permit is current, and you and your rig are rather generic, and you don't cause anyone trouble, you could probably bounce around QZT all winter. Or until it starts getting on your nerves.

 

[bullfrog]

Just up the road in Lake Havasu City is BLM land, a Home Depot and a Walmart within walking distance. If I were going to build staying in that area would make it easier as far as access to materials.