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Trailers designed for boondocking


kinseypw

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Pretty much agree with what Yarome and Geo have to say. Attaching the heating element to an aluminum plate is an excellent idea. The aluminum plate will dissipate the heat and will not get all that hot.

 

Our main bay is well insulated as is the front bay; however, it has a pierced metal floor (about 1/4" holes) since it is designed to carry a large 6.5 kW propane generator (5th wheel is plumbed for the propane line). It will take experimenting with the heating elements. Have not figured out if they have a rheosat to adjust the temperature. We have 9.6 kW-hr of LFP which is about 7.5 kW-hrs usuable at 20% SOC so a couple of 20 to 40 W elements would be quite easy to set up and run on cold nights Want 12 V so we can turn off the 4 kW PSWI which has a parasitic draw of around 60 W.

This conversation has been hijacked from OP but it has proven most useful to us

Reed and Elaine

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Interesting discussion.

 

I think the topic should be broken into two parts. First, where are you going to boondock. That really determines the size of your RV. If it is Wal-Mart and the LTVA's in the southwest you really can get by with a large rig. If you on National Forest land, well that RV is probably going to shrink significantly in size.

 

I owned a tent trailer for 35 years and took it everywhere. It didn't need 4X4 since the truck provided it. Getting dead ended merely meant disconnecting it and turning it around. With my one-ton truck the whole thing was 39 feet long.

 

So when I was thinking about buying a 5th wheel I ended up with a 30.5 (measured) with a total length of about 48 feet. It was almost 14 feet high. I thought I could take it "most" places that the tent trailer went. I was wrong on that. It ended up severely limiting my travel on Forest Service and other sites. The length of the trailer was an issue, but so was the height. In many cases, the issue ending up being the height of tree branches on roads and camp spots.

 

The other factor was fear. The fear of getting stuck somewhere far, far away from anywhere. So our camping was limited to "safe" locations. Those we knew before hand would accept the 5th wheel. That means you end up doing a lot of camping in places you have camped before. That takes away one of the great things about RV'ing. I probably know MORE areas where this is possible than most folks, but it did mean I ended up camping where I have been before!!!

 

It significantly cut down the areas we could travel in and camp. So now it is basically parked at an RV park as a second home.

 

For the past month I have been traveling and living out of a brand new Casita. We are back to camping like we had a tent trailer. We have more issues with the one-ton truck on the roads than the Casita. We are looking real hard at buying a lightweight pop-up camper for the truck. Then we would have his/her RV's traveling together down the road together.

 

Don't laugh. Last month we traveled back home from Arizona while the Canadian snowbirds were starting their southern migration from Alberta. I kept seeing trucks with pop-up campers pulling a Casita, Scamp or other small fiberglass trailer. I did want to talk to those folks, but they were all heading south while we were heading north so never saw them off the road.

 

So for equipment for boondocking with the Casita I needed a few items. One three gallon Rubbermaid Jerry Can. Two one gallon distilled water containers for drinking and coffee. A gravity water filter (pour in water in the top and clean water comes out the bottom). A 12-volt water pump and a fold-flat 50 garden hose. A 30-watt solar panel for charging the battery and a Honda 2000 generator.

 

That's it. Creek and lake water goes into the 25 gallon freshwater tank. The drinking water goes through the water filter and into the gallon distilled water containers. The Casita toilet is off-limits for everything but emergencies. Don't ask where the gray water goes....but I do shower EVERY day.

 

I think there is a tendency to overthink somethings.

Vladimr Steblina

Retired Forester...exploring the public lands.

usbackroads.blogspot.com

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Would love to have a Casita as a secondary trailer for back country boondocking. RV in post #7 on this thread had a site on work done on a Scamp to make this possible (stronger suspension and larger tires primarily) . We met a couple in their 70s (our age) who took a Casita down to Panama and back in a sponsored Caravan. Met another couple in their 80s that travel for a few wees each year in their Casita. I said to the wife "well, we have another 10 years of travel." She looked at me and basically said "Sonny, you have another 20 years since we plan to keep taking off on 2 and 3 weeks for another 10 years!"

 

Told grandson I wanted a Halogen lamp put in the front bay (battery bay). He said "Grandpa, I put one in a year ago." I said it did not seem to be working. He showed me the ON/OFF switch. "Oh!" Just told this to Elaine. Do other husbands know that look?

 

Reed and Elaine

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Told grandson I wanted a Halogen lamp put in the front bay (battery bay). He said "Grandpa, I put one in a year ago." I said it did not seem to be working. He showed me the ON/OFF switch.

 

I don't care who ya are.. that there is FUNNY! :P

 

Let me guess... "Reed Reed Reed... how you get your pants on frontwards every day I'll never know.." Look? ;)

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Great discussion in this thread. I'm a big fan of the Australian caravans. I wish we had something like that here. I travel off the beaten path quite a bit, and I'd love something that can stand up to washboard roads, ruts, and regular off-road travel. I keep hoping to secretly stumble upon a brand I didn't know existed, but no such luck. Adak trailers look rugged, but not quite suited for living full time.

Follow our journeys at themoreweexplore.com

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I'm currently in the La Posa West LTVA in Quartzsite, day 41 in an Escape 17B (similar to a Casita & Scamp). Good size tanks - I can go 2 weeks before dumping & adding fresh water. 195 watts of solar on the roof & a 160 watt portable panel, a pair of 6V batteries, all LED lighting & a 1000 watt inverter so I can make drip coffee in the mornings. A very practical trailer for one; would be OK for two, but crowded beyond that. What do I miss? An oven, and a full sized table, both of which would be available in their next size up trailer, an Escape 19.

150150.jpg.30f49e1e712c4af11a1e8f523a24f5d1.jpg

Travel photos RV Blogs Journals & Travelogues at:
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My Travel Blog - Jon's Journeys

 

 

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We are the beach about 20 km north of Tulum/100 km south of Cancun IAP. Should be here for 4 to 6 more weeks. There have been fuve overlander couples and one single guy here.

 

Germans with a 5 ton 4x4 Mercedes/expedition frame who plan on 15 years to go around the world: a couple of years down to Chile, then ship to Australia, and then to southern Africa.

 

Germans with an Arctic Fox on a 3500. They plan to take several years making it to Argentina, unless they find a place they want to settle

 

Swiss-German couple with a small expedition level vehicle. They spend time in Hondouras and Guatemala. They have stayed at this place before. Clause flew back to Switzerland last night to have dental work done.

 

A Coloradan with a roof mounted tent (3-Dogs) on his Toyota. He has been down to Panama and back.

 

South Africans with a Class B. They did 3000 km from Capetown to Nambibia and back to see the wildlife there.

 

Our Open Range is doing well but 5th wheelers are not designed for extensive driving on Mexican roads. Will have to brace some of the overhead bins and the "entertainment" center. Wood screws into fibreboards will not last forever. We did this with our former Open Range 337RLS and shall be working on this over the next several weeks. May have to hire a local carpenter since we do not have the power saw, planers, etc. - and there are very excellent carpenters in Mexico. The Expedition level vehicles are designed for bad road conditions.

 

Reed and Elaine

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My camping is more of a "Means To An End" rather than a camping trip. I "camp" at motorcycle events, shooting events, car shows, etc....Where you are usually on a grass field or in a parking lot without any hookups. I also like to venture down a dirt road for fishing and hunting. For years I used a couple of different pick up truck campers mounted on 4WD pickup trucks. These work great except for the fact that they are small, have barely adequate showers and once you are set up, you are "there"...not easy to run to the store etc. But I could tow a 7 X 14' motorcycle trailer easily.

This past year I upgraded to a 19' Toy Hauler. I looked for one with the lowest height to make getting through a wooded trail relatively easy. Good ground clearance. Light weight. But it had to have a "Real" shower and a at least a queen size bed. It needed room for a motorcycle and the ability to sleep in the bed without removing the motorcycle. (Most smaller Toy Haulers have the bed in the garage area. Pull into a rest stop for a few ZZs and yopu need to remove the motorcycle and leave it outside in a vulnerable position) The Forest River Cherokee 19RR fit the bill nearly perfectly. Great shower, front queen size bed, very light weight, high ground clearance, etc.

 

To make it truly "Boondockable" I did a ton of modifications to make it more 12V friendly.......Lots of 12V outlets, Solar, Inverter, 12V TVs, 12V fans, etc

 

You can read all about my modifications here:

 

http://rvbprecision.com/diesel-stuff/dodge-cummins-diesel/forest-river-cherokee-grey-wolf-19rr-toy-hauler.html

 

I can't tell you how happy I am with this traiuler. It tows with my 2500 Dodge diesel like it isn't there...Literally! It is compact enough that I've been able to sneak it down some tight trails and easy to park at an event. So far, the quality has held up just fine.

 

Hope this helps

RoyB

South of Boston

2021 Dodge 2500 - 6.4L

Forest River 19RR Toy Hauler

Roofnest Falcon Rooftop Tent

www.rvbprecision.com

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