dry camping

May 14, 2019 by Julie 1 Comment

Boondocking Near Las Vegas

We recently scouted out some of the best boondocking or dry camping spots around Las Vegas, Nevada. We’d received several recommendations from friends and wanted to check things out for ourselves. We visited the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and BLM land outside Lake Mead.

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Watch the video below to see the different areas, and be sure to stick around to the end for the antique RV’s in Nelson, NV.

Desert National Wildlife Refuge

Located off US-95 North of Las Vegas, the Desert NWR was established in 1936 to provide habitat and protection for desert bighorn sheep. They have a top notch visitor’s center where a ranger was happy to explain the lay of the land and show us potential boondocking sites on a topographical map.

The Desert NWR covers 1.6 million acres and is the largest wildlife refuge outside of Alaska. We scouted out locations within a 2 mile radius of the visitor center due to the rough off-road conditions.

The available spaces we found along Alamo Road (GPS: 36.4396, -115.3576) seemed too small for our Fifth Wheel although this van fit nicely.

This is the perfect boondocking spot at the Desert National Wildlife Refuge north of Las Vegas, NV.

We found larger turnouts along Mormon Wells Road (GPS: 36.4353, -115.3515).

Scouting out the perfect boondocking spot at the Desert National Wildlife Refuge north of Las Vegas, NV.

Spring Mountains National Recreation Area

Just across US-95 from the Desert NWR, you quickly climb in elevation into the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, part of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. It was so amazing to drive from Joshua Trees to Ponderosa Pines in just a 15 minutes.

There are several free camping locations scattered throughout the area, but our favorite was at an area called Blue Tree Group Camp (GPS: 36.3617, -115.635). There is a sign marking it clearly from the road, but the sites are all nestled in among the trees giving you a little privacy even if others are around. The only drawback for us was that there was no Verizon signal.

Blue Tree Group Camping area at Spring Mountains National Recreation Area north of Las Vegas, Nevada

Lake Mead National Recreation Area

To the east of Las Vegas is the beautiful oasis in the desert, Lake Mead. It is a very popular dry camping area outside of Las Vegas so you will have to vie for the best spots.

The first that we looked at is known as Government Wash (GPS: 36.1309, -114.8369). It is easy to access and even has bathrooms at the start of the road. We found it a little too crowded for our taste this Spring.

There were a lot of folks boondocking at Lake Mead National Recreation Area in April.

You can drive a bit farther back and get away from the bulk of the crowd.

We preferred 8 Mile Road (GPS: 36.1364, -114.8226). You travel down the unpaved road for about a mile after leaving the main scenic roadway and will see a handful of turnouts. If you have a 4 wheel drive and are a little braver, you can go even closer to the end of the road and the water. We only saw one other RV here and it the Verizon cell signal was terrific!

8 Mile Road at Lake Mead National Recreation Area provided the best dry camping locations.

Please note if you don’t have a national parks pass, you will have to pay for entry ($20 per RV) into Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

Overton Bureau of Land Management

Between Lake Mead and Valley of the Fire State Park is Overton, NV where you can find several different places to dry camp on BLM land. We drove by a place known as Snowbird Mesa or Poverty Flats (GPS: 36.4815, -114.4506), and I thought the scenery was striking. However, it was very crowded so we decided to skip it.

We had friends who stayed here in January and said it wasn’t as crowded. You can see some drone footage of it in their video below.

What Would You Choose?

Let us know in the comments below what you look for in an ideal boondocking location. Would you choose one of these?

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There are several options for boondocking or dry camping near Las Vegas, Nevada. You can save money on your next RV vacation with Free Camping in the desert, mountains, or by the lake. No matter what kind of RV, motorhome, or trailer you have, there is something for everyone.

March 11, 2019 by Guest Post 5 Comments

Tips for Boondocking Success

We just completed 9 days of boondocking and dry camping at several different locations. In this article, we’ll share our tips for success from resource management (power, water, and trash) to safety precautions.

If you’re interested in learning more about how we find our free camping spots, watch the video below where we talk about some of our favorites.

Resource Management

The main element to boondocking or dry camping is that you don’t have any hook ups like you would in a campground. Instead, you’re using the ability of your RV to be self-contained. Here are some things we did to manage our resources.

Power

Although we upgraded our power system last year to 4 lithium batteries and 800 watts of solar last year, we still tried to conserve using these simple methods:

Look for alternatives to electrical appliances. We use a french press to make coffee and have a battery operated fan.
Turn the water pump switch off after use.
Use solar or battery operated LED lights for evenings.
Operate your refrigerator in propane mode.
Use your propane stove/oven, grill, or camp fire for cooking.
Choose locations that won’t require air conditioning.
Charge your cell phone in the car (or with a solar charger).
Consider using solar panels to produce more power when you are off the grid.
Invest in lithium batteries to have full use of your stored power.

Click here to learn how you can run an air conditioner off your batteries or a small generator.

No matter the size of your RV, a couple of solar panels can go a long way towards making your dry camping trips more enjoyable. — You can find room for solar panels on even the smallest campers!

Water

Most RVs have three holding tanks: fresh, black, and gray. You’ll want to begin your boondocking adventure with the fresh water tank full and the other two empty.

We also chose to fill reusable jugs for drinking water because we weren’t sure how much water we’d need for bathing and washing dishes over the days days.

Other water conservation tips we employed were:

Navy showers – This means turning on the water to get wet, turning off the water while lathering up with soap, then turning the water back on to rinse.
Capturing cold water – I put a bucket under the water faucet while it was heating for showers and dishes.
Use the cold water for flushing – Instead of using the water pump to flush the toilet, we used the cold water from the bucket.
Wipe down dishes before washing.
Extend your tanks with a fresh water bladder and portable waste tank.

Trash

The easiest thing to do is create less waste to begin with. So for example, we use reusable drinking containers and don’t use paper plates.
We also recycle. I have two reusable recycling bags that I use to collect things like food cans and look for a recycling center when I’m going to be in town.
I also minimize food waste by shopping and prepping food prior to leaving for our dry camping destination. Click here for tips on meal planning.
When boondocking, we use small trash bags that we can easily throw out in small trash cans when we stop at a grocery store or gas station.

Safety Tips

We felt completely safe the entire time we were dry camping, whether it was out in the wilderness on federal land or in a casino parking lot. Here are some basic precautions you can take for your safety.

Don’t drive your RV to scout out off-road sites. Take your tow/towed vehicle or walk if needed. Always let someone know where you’ll be camping.
Be aware of your surroundings. If something doesn’t feel right, move.
Make sure your fire extinguisher is in good working order and easily accessible.

Add Your Advice

Let’s learn from each other! Please feel free to use the comments below to share some of your tips and tricks.

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Learn how to dry camp with confidence. These boondocking tips will get you camping off grid no matter the size of your RV. Tips and tricks for resource management including power, water, and trash.

May 28, 2018 by Julie 10 Comments

Boondocking – What We Learned From Our First Dry Camping Experience

If you know anything about us, or have looked at our campground reviews you’ll know we are a little spoiled. We are glampers (RV Resort regulars), not campers. Actually we like to say we are LIVING in our RV, not camping. So what were we to do when we found ourselves in a no hook-up boondocking situation for 2 (long, very long) weeks?

Boondocking aka Dry Camping

If you haven’t heard the term before, boondocking refers to camping without hookups (power, water, sewer), and is also called dry camping. It is very popular in rural areas, thus the name boondocking.

We have started using a program called Harvest Hosts where you can stay for free at farms, wineries, breweries, and golf courses.

Our RV Equipment

First off since we don’t boondock, or even stay at partial (gasp!) hookup sites, we had to work with what we had. Folks who do this regularly have installed things like solar panels and composting toilets or other water conservation methods. We have an Onan gas generator and fairly large water tanks. In preparation we bought a portable poop wagon (more on that later).

Lesson #1: Don’t Do It In Texas in Late May

While it may not officially be summer for another month, we had highs over 100 degrees on several days. It was HOT! While we can run two air conditioners in our Fifth Wheel on the generator, it burns a lot of gas! We thought we were going to get away with just using a battery operated fan, but not in that heat. Friends tell me that boondocking in temperate climates is much more enjoyable.

Lesson #2: Lead Acid Batteries Aren’t The Best Choice For Boondocking

Your lead acid batteries may have a 100% charge, but you can’t use it all. In fact, it is not recommended to deplete them beyond 50%. If you have a residential refrigerator like we do, you might want to upgrade. We upgraded to Lithium BattleBorn batteries and couldn’t be happier! Secondary to this, we learned that our inverter can only power the refrigerator. This meant we had no other power source while sleeping and no means to charge the batteries. So we also upgraded the inverter and converter. Below is the first of a 4-part series of videos on our power upgrade.

Lesson #3: We Use A Lot Of Water

One of the most inconvenient parts of boondocking or dry camping is the lack of a water source. You can get an additional water bladder or just get an RV with larger tanks (like we recently did). Luckily our first foray into boondocking was at a county fairground, so we were able to fill our fresh water tank when needed.

We were warned that daily showering uses a lot of water. In fact, I’ve read several articles from regular boondockers that forgoing the daily shower is helpful. Not for us. We like our daily showers. In fact, I sometimes take more than one a day. For example, I shower after my workout/walk every morning. One day we went to the lake in the afternoon, so I showered again before bed. I did employ one technique for my showers that I don’t normally do. Some folks call it a “navy shower” where you get wet, turn off the water, lather up, turn back on the water to rinse. I didn’t love it, but it seemed to help a little.

I also filled up a bucket with the excess cold water while I was waiting for the water to warm up. Then we used that water to flush the toilet. i

Lesson #4: The Water Has To Go Somewhere

Access to fresh water is not the only reason to conserve. The other reason is that all the water you use has to go somewhere. We purchased a Thetford SmartTote2 Portable Waste Tank for this particular camping adventure. We used it once and didn’t love the process. Dumping from the RV into the portable system was simple, but going from it to the dump station sewer drain was not so easy. When you lift the hose show in the image below hose, there is no valve holding back the flow until you get it in the drain.

We should have watched this video from Exploring the Local Life first. Robert explains how to overcome that particular challenge.

Will We Do It Again?

It really wasn’t so bad, and I think if we did it for a shorter period of time in a more temperate climate, we might even enjoy it. We’re going to take baby steps and check out some Corps of Engineer campgrounds with partial hookups.

UPDATE: WE DID IT AGAIN (AND AGAIN). CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE LESSONS LEARNED AND TIPS.

Recommended Products To Improve Your Boondocking Experience

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