best size MH

[GlennWest]

Considering getting a MH for boondocking when I retire. What would be best length for us.

[agesilaus]

Depends on what you define as boondocking, but the smaller the better in most cases.

[GlennWest]

We have a 40' Teton now. We considering putting it on our property in Texas. Getting a smaller MH for traveling and boondocking at National and federal parks.Or where ever we end up going. Know length can come into play. That why asking,. 

[trailertraveler]

1 hour ago, GlennWest said:

...Getting a smaller MH for traveling and boondocking at National and federal parks. Or where ever we end up going. Know length can come into play. That why asking... 

In my experience, very few National Parks allow boondocking (dispersed camping) i,e, camping outside of designated campgrounds. They do however have a lot of dry campgrounds and a lot of sites that were designed when RVs were considerably smaller. National Forests, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and some states have lots of boondocking/dispersed camping opportunities in addition to designated campgrounds with or without utilities. In my experience, access to more remote areas is dependent on road conditions and RV factors such as ground clearance, traction (4x4, 6x6), angle of attack (which can be affected by rear overhang), width, height, etc.

Edited September 4, 2020 by trailertraveler

[GlennWest]

Well where do everyone go then?

[sandsys]

My experience says for boondocking you need just enough roof to fit the solar panels you will need in between whatever else is up there without shading the panels.

Linda

[GlennWest]

Like that. I would be in trouble cause I want 4000 watts up there. 

[Nwcid]

25 minutes ago, GlennWest said:

Well where do everyone go then?

We mostly boondock.  Your two biggest places are UFSF and BLM.  Then you have some other misc federal areas like Fish and Wildlife or Army Corps of Engineers.  Many states have state land.  There are also some areas owned by timber companies that will allow various recreation. 

[GlennWest]

Thank you. Do you think 30-34' too long for most sites?

[agesilaus]

OK the comment about National Forests is true and false. It entirely depends on the NF district management. The more woke the fewer dispersed camping sites. For the most part western NF have plenty of boondocking, I noted some exceptions, oddly it seems like one or two Idaho districts had little boondocking.

You have to download a copy of the MVUM for that district AND learn to interpret the blasted things. There are all following the same design rules so once you can read one you can read them all. Whoever designed these should be hung up by his thumbs...heh.

They are very poorly laid out, there are few references to the layout  of the land around the NF and it can be tough to figure out what the map is showing geographically. Lasting dispersed camping is shown by tiny dots along both sides of a road.

The BLM is vastly better, I have found few or no maps of their lands but as a general rule unless there is a "NO CAMPING" sign you can camp there.

Just an impression but I'd say that the BLM does a better job of road maintenance too. The NF can have some really terrible roads, the one into Cave Falls for example is 10 miles of the worst washboard I have ever been on. And I saw a comment from years ago saying the same thing so it isn't new.

There are other possibilities like National Grasslands, WMA and such.

For boondocking spot locations you want a copy of Free campsites or Campendium.

There are others like dyrt but they charge. Allstays has some boondocking sites too.

 

[Nwcid]

7 minutes ago, agesilaus said:

OK the comment about National Forests is true and false.

The BLM is vastly better,

 

 

Overall good information.  

You have to remember the mission of the FS vs BLM is vastly different.  I had an in-depth conversation about this with some FS folks in the past couple of weeks.  

Nothing in the USFS mission has anything to do with recreation and they are not funded to provide it, https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/meet-forest-service The USFS does not have a "roads" budget, roads are managed on the basis of timber sales and access to those sales. 

Part of the BLM mission is recreation and they do have funding for it, https://www.blm.gov/about/our-mission

[agesilaus]

Now that is new information for me and explains a lot.

As for the OP question, length. As I noted above you have to decide what boondocking means to YOU. For some people it means any camping without FHU, some think the Walmart parking lot is boondocking, or camping in no service State Parks. Those sort of people can get away with just about any camper.

If you one the other hand what to travel 10 or 20 miles down a dirt road and camp where there isn't another person for a mile or more, then you want a short, tough RV with a lot of tank space for water and grey and black water. High clearance is a big help too. You also have to learn the boondocking skill set which is harder than it may seem

I actually have my eyes on some spots in UT, Dance Hall rock (in Grand Staircase) for one that is maybe 40 miles from the nearest highway. And some spots on the Harnett loop near capitol Reef NP. Which are also many miles out.

[Nwcid]

If you want to do much Nation Park length will be a bigger issue.  If you are headed to wide open spaces length is no issue. 

For me length was not the issue, it was amenities.

Since you are not hooked up, how much power do you need/want, how much water do you need/want, how much holding do you need/want, how large of a fridge do you need/want?

For us I wanted a min of 100 gallons of water, I wanted a built in generator with fuel tank and a double door fridge.   With this we can easily boondock for a week with only being mindful of consumption and not needing to go to extremes. 

[jcussen]

Best I have had for boondocking was a 34 ft diesel pusher. 102 fw, 110 gray, 52 black, 42 gal propane and 148 fuel with an 8 kw generator. Small enough to get into tight spots, but enough tankage to stay a while.

A 25 ft sprinter style or small class c would probably be the best for getting there and back, but the small tanks really curtail your staying power.

[GlennWest]

6 minutes ago, jcussen said:

Best I have had for boondocking was a 34 ft diesel pusher. 102 fw, 110 gray, 52 black, 42 gal propane and 148 fuel with an 8 kw generator. Small enough to get into tight spots, but enough tankage to stay a while.

A 25 ft sprinter style or small class c would probably be the best for getting there and back, but the small tanks really curtail your staying power.

Thanks, that is what I was after. But I will do gas. I can do anything to a gas unit. Not so much diesel. Will have to keep cost down. 

[sandsys]

4 hours ago, Nwcid said:

We mostly boondock.  Your two biggest places are UFSF and BLM.  Then you have some other misc federal areas like Fish and Wildlife or Army Corps of Engineers.  Many states have state land.  There are also some areas owned by timber companies that will allow various recreation. 

Add power companies to your list.

Linda

[podwerkz]

Large tanks for 'staying power' are sometimes not the limiting factor anyway... the 14 day limit in most places (BLM, NF) where we tend to boondock (or want to boondock) means you will need to move 25 miles after 14 days (this varies but is typical) and on that trip to a new spot somewhere else is when you dump and fill and re-provision your food and supplies.

In other words, 2 or 3 weeks worth of supplies, fuel, food, and water is usually plenty. And many smaller rigs will do that just fine, unless you are talking about an entire family..but for solos or couples, its entirely doable with small to mid-size rigs.

If you have a toad or tow vehicle separate from the camping unit, you can easily go to the nearest town for supplies if needed halfway thru an extended stay somewhere.

Of course if you are boondocking in extremely hot or extremely cold weather, the length of stay made possible by your supply of fuel for gensets (to run A/C) or heaters might shorten your stay somewhat!

 

 

 

 

Edited September 5, 2020 by podwerkz