Boondocking: Camping without hooking up to amenities such as water and electricity.
Oh, there’s all kinds of terms for this kind of camping – dry camping, independent camping, dispersed camping.
Without getting into semantics, I’m just going to share these boondocking tips without concern about being concerned about the proper term.
Basically, boondocking can be thought of as primitive tent camping in your RV.
You won’t have electrical or water hookups. You sure as heck won’t find a sewer hookup.
So, a little preparation is necessary such as making sure you have enough water on board and as in our case, an inverter to charge our laptops so we can keep on working online to build our business.
There are two main reasons people choose boondocking … either to get out in nature or to save money on camping … or both. For us, it’s both.
We’ve been on the road since 2013 and have camped in state parks, national forests, and RV parks from the Gulf Coast to the Pacific Coast, throughout the Midwest, the Southwest and the Northwest.
We’ve also had great times boondocking at Walmart, truck stops, casinos and rest stops.
The following boondocking tips will help you find free sites and give you some pointers on boondocking on public lots.
Be sure to read all the way to the end to learn about boondocking at airports!
WALMART, TRUCK STOP, REST AREAS and CASINO BOONDOCKING TIPS:
- There’s a Walmart in nearly every town, which is fantastic for boondocking. But, not all Walmarts allow overnight camping. Check with management to get permission to stay overnight on their lot. Many cities have ordinances against overnight parking. If you are not sure overnight parking is allowed, go inside and ask. You’ll sleep much better knowing.
- DO NOT pull out your awnings, camp chairs and dog cages when you park overnight at Walmart or ANY truck stop, rest stop or Casino. C’mon people … it’s a privilege to be able to park for free. Don’t abuse it.
- Park far away from the main entrance. It’s the common sense, courteous thing to do.
- Best truck stop for boondocking – hands down – is Flying J. The great bonus is that most Flying J Truck Stops have a Denny’s!
- You’ll see notices of “no camping” at many rest stops. That means no setting up camp as mentioned above – no awnings, no camp chairs pulled out, no grilling.
- Casinos offer free camping – some even have specified areas for your RV.
Two apps that I rely on frequently are:
The US Rest Stop App that lists all rest stops in the US by state and highway.
The Pilot/Flying J App that tells me the nearest location of our fav truck stop!
RESOURCES FOR FREE CAMPING SITES:
Boondocking and Free Camping USA Facebook Group
This Facebook group has become my #1 go-to resource for finding free camping as we travel. There is great participation among group members to help anyone find free camping anywhere in the U.S.
It was information posted in this group that led us to Elk City, Oklahoma for four nights of free camping WITH electricity and water.
Here there are daily posts of places to camp across the USA from those who are there now or have been there recently. It’s a gold mine for campers! Click here to join the group.
This is a simple, map based search engine to find free and cheap camping areas. Community reviews and ratings provide you with up to date information and help you select the best camp site for your next camping trip. Click here to visit the freecampsites.
Here’s another site that is a fantastic idea … RVers who say “come park your RV at my house!” You’ll have to pay a membership fee in order to participate in this exchange. Click here: boondockerswelcome.com/
Now, as promised …
AIRPORT CAMPING (our secret tip!)
We attend many events for our business and they are always held in big cities where it’s tough to find a parking space for our camper. Plus, we like sleeping in our own bed vs. paying $100/night to sleep inside a motel room. So, we just park at the airport.
This has worked tremendously well for us in a couple of times in Los Angeles and recently in Chicago. We park our camper, ride shuttles and trains to get from the economy lot to the airport to the hotel, attend the event each day and then ride the shuttles and trains to get back to our camper to sleep.
All transportation is free. The parking is cheap, usually $10-12/night. You can’t beat the price and you can’t beat the comfort of your own bed.
We’ve decided to do this from now on for any city we decide to visit, whether it’s business that takes us there or pleasure. Instead of fighting traffic and stressing over parking, we’ll camp at the airport, ride the free transportation to the city and enjoy sightseeing. At the end of the day, we’ll head back to the airport for sleep and get ready to do it all over again the next day.
We absolutely love boondocking! Most of what we learned came from the Vanabode Book … How to Live and Travel on $20 a Day.
Click the pic to get this amazing resource.
Let me know what other boondocking tips you have – leave a comment below.
Trisha
c: 573-881-6715
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