Uncle Sam Hands Out Free Camping

One of the best-kept secrets for boondocking fans is called "dispersed camping." Defined by the US Forest Service as, "Camping anywhere in the National Forest OUTSIDE of a designated campground," and for the most part, that also means "At no charge," and "With few crowds." Of course, you'll be doing primitive camping--no water, terlits, or garbage dumpsters. Can you handle that?

The fact that it's free doesn't mean there are no strings attached. Here are some guidelines that will make Uncle's stewards of the forest a lot happier if you observe them:

Try and camp on bare soil to preserve grass and plant populations.

Stay a mile away from established campgrounds and 200 feet from streams.

While meadows are lovely, park your rig on the edge--rather than in the middle--so that others can appreciate a pristine scene.

ALWAYS observe fire restrictions and observe safe campfire practices. If you stay in an area where others have had fires before, use their fire rings if possible. Don't cut live (or even standing dead) trees or plants. Find deadwood or bring your own.

Pack out your trash. Be a good neighbor and dump your holding tanks ONLY at proper dump stations.

Check with Forest Service officials to make sure you don't boondock in a closed area.

Photo: Early winter, Dixie National Forest, Utah. Copyright R & T DeMaris, may not be used without written permission.

Homeland Security Requires Boondockers Going to Mexico or Canada to Have Passports by January 2008

Many folks enjoy boondocking in Mexico and Canada, so if you plan on traveling to these places on or after January 1, 2008 be sure you have a passport with you or you will not be allowed into these countries. And if you go down to Mexico say in October and try to come back across the boarder in March and you don't have a passport - well I wouldn't want to be you! Also, plan ahead to apply for your passport because it takes a while to get them processed. With this new law that was passed by Congress in 2004, “The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative,” the passport system could get “jammed up” with a huge influx of people applying at the last minute. So, why not apply now and be done with it?

Is it Wonder Clean, or Blunder Clean?

A major headache we hear from fellow boondockers: Getting those blasted clothes clean! Even if you do have an on-board washer/dryer, your precious reserves of water and electricity can be eaten up in a hurry if you run even a load or two through. We perked up when we found a "portable clothes washer" touted in an RV supply catalog. Called by various names, "Wonder Clean," "Wonder Wash," or similar, the idea is to stuff you clothes in a small plastic drum, add water and soap, and then spin the drum around with a crank handle. The theory is, the drum creates pressure (when used with hot water), and the dirt is theoretically blasted out of the clothing.

"How can you go wrong for $35?" We got it. On a field assignment to the Canadian wilds, far from any Laundromat we heated up water, stuffed our 'Wiz-Clean' with clothes and measured out the soap. Like kids on the end of the ice-cream churn crank, we smiled we gleeful anticipation. And sure 'nuf, the clothes were cleaner than when we first put them in. But hold on, you've got to rinse the clothes too. There's the rub: It took so much more water to get the soap and residual scum out, we rapidly depleted our fresh water supply. But wait! There's more! Now the customer gets to wring out the clothes! Had we brought Sampson with us, our troubles might have been over.

You get the picture. Wunduh-Wash was summarily put on e-Bay and sold to someone with far more ambition than we had. It's just a whole lot less trouble to buy a few extra pairs of underwear and socks and hold out until you reach "civilization" and the Laundromat. Of course, if you really want to try this on your own, here's a web site that'll fix you up with a mini-cleaner all your own.

Boondock the Colorado River--California or Arizona

The Colorado makes a long run from its birthplace until it crosses over into Old Mexico. Along the way it has its moods and mystery. For folks along the lower part of the Colorado, between Arizona and California, there's a few spots where you can boondock--some even for free.

Along the Arizona side, just below the booming Interstate 10, there's a little stretch of gravel road managed by the Bureau of Land Management called the Ox Bow Road (or variously, Oxbox depending on your maps). It doesn't offer much but an escape from the noise of civilization, and a good place to cool off with a quick dip, or a chance at a fish or two if you're so inclined. For several miles the Ox Bow runs with various places just to pull out and set up camp. On weekends when the weather is cool, you may run into a few noisy partiers, so be prepared.

The variety of sites is wide--you can find some to give you wide views of the surrounding countryside, stuck up on a bank above the Colorado; others are close enough to the wet to practically fish out your back door. Take your choice.

From I-10, jump off at the Ehrenberg exit, and take the frontage road on the south side of the interstate. Drive west pass the Flying J truck stop and keep your eyes peeled for a dimly visible, and equally dimly readable BLM sign. Or follow your GPS to the begining of the road at 33.603125N by 114.525405W. The road runs several miles south along the river, and allows for an eventual cross on the Cibola Farmer's bridge into California. A free dump station can be found in nearby Blythe, California at Lovekin & 14th Streets in Miller Park. Point your GPS to 33.602740N by 114.60533W.

Leave the Rig Parked, Bring Back Water

So you've finally found the perfect boondock spot--but wait! Now you have to move the rig to because you've run out of water. You could run back and forth with a five gallon container, but what a waste of time--and what a mess filling the tank.

A clever carrier allows you to bring back 45 gallons of water on the roof of the toad car, or the tow vehicle. It's a big PVC bag that rests on the roof, and at that height, allows you to refill the rig tank with gravity. Camping World carries these puppies for less than $100 SRP, and less than $90 "Club Price."

Mind you, you won't want to zip down the highway with a loaded water bladder on your roof, but if you're somewhere encamped and water is available without having to be in the range of the local mounties, you may have a winner. Another caveat? If you do any serious incline climbing, you could slide this off the roof. One way around that would be to simply carry the loaded bag in the bottom of your pickup bed, or fold down the seats in your SUV and carry it in back. You'd need to use a 12-volt RV water pump to transfer the fluid, but it could do the trick for many.

We met another RVer who "went the cheap route." He went to Walmart and bought a double bed sized air bed and used it to tote his water. We can't recommend it, as his wasn't built to meet potable water specs, but he said he simply used bleach water to rinse the bed out first, then toted his water in it. Takes all kinds.

Photo courtesy Camping World

Can You Boondock in an Arizona Summer?

Most of the "desert rats" have already deserted the BLM camping areas around Quartzsite. The "Long Term Visitor Areas" close out the winter season officially on April 15, and by that time, only the seeming "hard core" folks will be left.

Still, there are folks who really do love the dry, hot summers. Can you successfully boondock away from shore power and keep cool enough to survive? Altitude is the key: Not all of Arizona is low-down, overheated desert. Some have found the Chiricahua National Monument in south-centeral part of the state an excellent place to beat the heat, along with providing some stellar views. The monument has a developed campground (length restrictions apply, check out the monument website and click on the campground link under "camping") but some RVers stay free in the Coronado National Forest, just outside the monument.

At the other end of the state, near Flagstaff, where the average high temperature in July is 82 degrees, Uncle Sam offers yet more places to boondock. In the Coconino National Forest there are plenty of developed campgrounds (with associtated fees), visit the campground website here for more details. However, free camping is allowed in "dispersed" areas. As an example, take exit 326 from Interstate 17. A paved road leads south, and leads to dirt roads through the pines where dispersed camping is allowed at no charge.

Let Your Light Shine Before Men--With Less Power

Boondockers--those who by definition "camp in the boonies," away from utility hookups--have to be careful of their precious resources. One of the biggest pains is "running out of power." Lighting up the inside of the rig can consume a lot of juice in a short period of time. Take a minute and add up how much power you use:

A typical incandescent bulb light fixture, sometimes called a "pillow light" by its shape commonly uses an "1141" bulb. Each 1141 bulb consumes 1.5 amps per hour, and produces a pitifully small amount of illumination. At least that's what our aging eyes tell us. So we turn on another one or two, and pretty soon, we're happily munching away at the "house" battery.

In comparision, the typical "double tube" fluorescent lamp produces gobs of light for just two amps per hour. Wow! What a difference technology makes. Now compare the "latest technology" light fixtures that produce light with light emitting diodes. Super-efficient, they produce almost no heat (hence no waste), and use power measured in "milli-amps," or thousandths of an amp.

We use all three types of lighting technology in our rig. Turning on an incandescent light to fish something out of a dark corner doesn't take much power because we keep the use short. Fluorescent lighting is our "mainstay" giving us plenty of light to keep us working and safe at night. The pricier to install LED technology is perfect for a reading light. The latter may take you some time to get used to, as the "color" of the light is different, and it's best used as a highly directional light, but when your power comes from solar panels or precious gas-fired generators, you surely want to keep your power consumption way down.