Here’s a question from a reader of RVtravel.com about boondocking.
Hi Bob,
I’ve been reading Chuck Woodbury’s concerns that the number of RVs being manufactured are vastly outnumbering the number of new campsites being created each year. It is already difficult to find campsites without first making a reservation and my concern is that more RVers will start to use primitive campgrounds (e.g., national forests, BLM) and soon it may become difficult to find dispersed camping (boondocking) campsites as well. Is our boondocking lifestyle in danger? —Tim H.
Hi Tim,
It is true that the manufacturing of RVs is expanding, and a large part of that is the increasing number of people joining the RV lifestyle creating demand for these new RVs. Other factors also account for the increasing number of RVers, such as younger working-age people finding that they can work from their RV and travel between jobs, boomers retiring in record numbers and going on the road, and the skyrocketing cost of housing making home ownership more prohibitive.
However, the percentage of all RVers that boondock regularly is still small – 10% or less – and there are lots of dispersed campsites that are available, even on busy summer weekends. I think that the trend of RVers to boondock more will increase, but not to the extent that the difficulty of finding established campground campsites is now. But as the years go on, that will tighten.
I would suggest (and of course you would expect this from me) that if you don’t boondock now, learn how. Practice. See how many nights you can boondock before needing to dump and fill. Get comfortable with boondocking. Then when you can’t find a campground vacancy, the option to boondock is not so frightening. Also, newer boondockers will take the easiest dispersed campsites to find, so there will always be room (I keep my fingers crossed looking further ahead) for the experienced to find those not-so-accessible spots (with the perk also of not being crowded). With these skills, you will not be stranded with nowhere to camp.
Read more about boondocking at my BoondockBob’s Blog.
Check out my Kindle e-books about boondocking at Amazon.
Do you have a question for Bob? Email him at bob.rvtravel (at) gmail.com .
##RVT846
Newbie here, would love to boondock but afraid to unhook and leave my baby unattended in the middle of nowhere.
Dusty – Talk to boondockers about your concern. In all my years of camping (80% of which were boondocking), the only time I “lost” anything was in an actual campground.
Bob is right, most rvers won’t stay at a campground with electric or electric and water only. They turn their nose up at a campsite without full hookups. We have been camping since 1973 and in the last 6 years Everyone we talk to at campgrounds say they never stay without fullhookups. We stay at all types of campsites ourselves.
The biggest threat to boondocking is slob “camper”.
Haul out your trash and sewage. If you must burn furniture/pallets for your campfire, clean up the remnants when you leave. Follow the geocachers CITO (cache in, trash out) and leave it cleaner than you found it so these areas are not closed too!
Agree