I have had my Big Horn for about a year now and have been to several campgrounds - all with hookups. We have been invited to go dry camping. Never done it in a 5er, but I think I would need a second battery, an inverter, and a generator in order to be fairly civilized while in the boonies. What do experienced 5er dry campers think?
Dry Camping
- Thread starter djlogan
- Start date
2010augusta
Well-known member
How long is the trip?
One night, one battery is most likely fine.
Two nights, two batteries will get you through, so as long as you plan on no TV, Microwave and other 110 goodies you'll be fine
three or more nights a small generator would be handy to bring batteries back up to full power.
If you want to use you trailer like you have full-hook-ups, then you'll need a sizable ~4-6kW generator, if you want to do it quietly then you'll need a lot more batteries and large inverter.
One night, one battery is most likely fine.
Two nights, two batteries will get you through, so as long as you plan on no TV, Microwave and other 110 goodies you'll be fine
three or more nights a small generator would be handy to bring batteries back up to full power.
If you want to use you trailer like you have full-hook-ups, then you'll need a sizable ~4-6kW generator, if you want to do it quietly then you'll need a lot more batteries and large inverter.
SmokeyBare
Well-known member
Small Generator is always handy to have be it for dry camping or just to have a little power with out draging a long extension cord.
Run the Fridge and Water Heater on Propane. Coffee pot and toaster are power hogs. Cowboy coffee on the gas stove...
Our Honda 2000 si generator runs about 4 hours on a tank full. Plenty enough time for most evening electric of watching TV and using a Laptop.
Have a Fun time Boondocking !
Marv
Run the Fridge and Water Heater on Propane. Coffee pot and toaster are power hogs. Cowboy coffee on the gas stove...
Our Honda 2000 si generator runs about 4 hours on a tank full. Plenty enough time for most evening electric of watching TV and using a Laptop.
Have a Fun time Boondocking !
Marv
chris4905
Member
DL-
There are some who would argue the reason to "go dry camping" was to escape civilization, not to be fairly civilized while in the boonies. You may even find it quite pleasant to get away from some of the "civilized" options.
Dry camping can be VERY relaxing and many enjoy the dry camp atmosphere.
You can learn the alternative to many, many traditional ways of doing things in your RV. Like Marv said, you can enjoy a good cup of cowboy coffee. Don't need no stinking AC 120V.
What causes most people problems is water conservation. You learn not to "run the water" uselessly, you use already used water to flush the toilet, many carry additional water jugs in the tow vehicle, plastic utensils are used vs. items which need washing, the options match the ingenuity.
An additional 12V battery (be sure it’s deep cycle) is a definite advantage. Tie it into parallel with your other battery and you have doubled your amp hour capacity.
No inverter is not a big deal really, if you lean to do without 120V for the time your dry camping. Can’t use AC, no microwave, no AC computer use, you use safety razors vs. electric shaver, no 120V TV (oh my gosh how will we survive….lol), and running the heat fans can kill a set of batteries in one night.
A true sine wave inverter can be quite pricey, the battery bank to support the inverter in itself can be a significant weight issues in an RV, and I personally would not go out and buy one just to have 120V while dry camping.
Many think the money spent on an inverter is better put towards one of the new high tech, quite, generators. Not only will the generator power many of your 120V RV appliances, it can of course be used to run a battery charger to recharge your deep cycle batteries.
The people you will be joining probably are seasoned dry campers and will gladly help you learn the dry camp lifestyle.
Bottom line, before you spend lots of money (not considering the time to put the new systems all together) go dry camping with your friends, and take in all their dry camp suggestions so you can make your own educated decision on which options to go with.
ENJOY your dry camp adventure.
There are some who would argue the reason to "go dry camping" was to escape civilization, not to be fairly civilized while in the boonies. You may even find it quite pleasant to get away from some of the "civilized" options.
Dry camping can be VERY relaxing and many enjoy the dry camp atmosphere.
You can learn the alternative to many, many traditional ways of doing things in your RV. Like Marv said, you can enjoy a good cup of cowboy coffee. Don't need no stinking AC 120V.
What causes most people problems is water conservation. You learn not to "run the water" uselessly, you use already used water to flush the toilet, many carry additional water jugs in the tow vehicle, plastic utensils are used vs. items which need washing, the options match the ingenuity.
An additional 12V battery (be sure it’s deep cycle) is a definite advantage. Tie it into parallel with your other battery and you have doubled your amp hour capacity.
No inverter is not a big deal really, if you lean to do without 120V for the time your dry camping. Can’t use AC, no microwave, no AC computer use, you use safety razors vs. electric shaver, no 120V TV (oh my gosh how will we survive….lol), and running the heat fans can kill a set of batteries in one night.
A true sine wave inverter can be quite pricey, the battery bank to support the inverter in itself can be a significant weight issues in an RV, and I personally would not go out and buy one just to have 120V while dry camping.
Many think the money spent on an inverter is better put towards one of the new high tech, quite, generators. Not only will the generator power many of your 120V RV appliances, it can of course be used to run a battery charger to recharge your deep cycle batteries.
The people you will be joining probably are seasoned dry campers and will gladly help you learn the dry camp lifestyle.
Bottom line, before you spend lots of money (not considering the time to put the new systems all together) go dry camping with your friends, and take in all their dry camp suggestions so you can make your own educated decision on which options to go with.
ENJOY your dry camp adventure.
watchthebox
Well-known member
We almost always dry camp with our Cyclone, and like it a lot. We like the wide open spaces. You don't necessarily need additional battery or inverter, but I'd definitely recommend a generator to provide 120V AC when you might want it, and to charge your battery for night usage (e.g. lights, furnace).
We used to do a lot of dry camping. Since we bought the Elkridge not a lot, but we learned a few things along the way.
I would recommend a generator over extra batteries and an inverter. An inverter is quieter, but some of the Honda and Yamaha generators are very quiet. As to size, it all comes down to using the AC or not. If you are going to use the AC you are going to need at least a 3K watt generator. If not you can get by with 2k or even 1k. We have a Honda 2000 and it fits our needs quite well. We usually camp in the mountains of Colorado and rarely need to use the AC.
Water usage is something you have to watch. You need to learn to conserve water. Gray water capacity was always the biggest problem for us. You can usually refill the fresh water tanks. (We carry extra tanks of water for this.) When the gray tanks are filled you are off to find a place to dump. Not always easy or convenient.
Dry camping offers a whole new RV adventure. I encourage you to give it a try. I think you will find it rewarding.
I would recommend a generator over extra batteries and an inverter. An inverter is quieter, but some of the Honda and Yamaha generators are very quiet. As to size, it all comes down to using the AC or not. If you are going to use the AC you are going to need at least a 3K watt generator. If not you can get by with 2k or even 1k. We have a Honda 2000 and it fits our needs quite well. We usually camp in the mountains of Colorado and rarely need to use the AC.
Water usage is something you have to watch. You need to learn to conserve water. Gray water capacity was always the biggest problem for us. You can usually refill the fresh water tanks. (We carry extra tanks of water for this.) When the gray tanks are filled you are off to find a place to dump. Not always easy or convenient.
Dry camping offers a whole new RV adventure. I encourage you to give it a try. I think you will find it rewarding.
DRGalligher
Well-known member
We prefer boondocking. We camped a lot like this in our previous rig, a TT with 2 12 volt batteries and a Honda 2000i generator. When we bought our BH, we had the dealer switch out the 12 volt batteries for two 6'ers. We can stay out as long as our holding tanks let us by running the fridge and water heater on propane. Cooking out on the fire and using the propane stove and oven. We have both an electric coffee pot and a stove top percolator. The electric is for when we have hookups and the stove top for dry camping. We plan meals that minimize propane use and cook out on a fire as much as we can, making dinner salads out of the left over grilled meats. I will even prewash all my salad makings before leaving home and wrapping them in damp paper towels and placing them in a zip loc bag. My greens will stay fresh all week this way. When I use the oven, after the food is gone, I will turn off the oven, and open the door taking advantage of the leftover heat. This is a big plus when I back cinnamon rolls, muffins, or biscuits for breakfast. We go to bed with the sun and up with it. If we want to stay up later, we read by battery powered lanterns or watch a movie at that time with the generator running. Since we dry camp at high altitudes, the generator we have is not an issue for not being able to run the AC.
For conserving water, we use a lot of paper plates and use those to start our morning or evening fire and use the gray water to put out the fire. I use kitchen cleaner and paper towels to wipe off my counters and appliances instead of a dish rag and water. We keep pumps of waterless hand cleaner at all sinks for cleaning. When using the kitchen sink for washing, I wipe clean with paper towels anything that goes into the sink (again use those paper towels for fire starters), this way the dish water stays pretty food free and when I do this, I can make one shallow sink of dish water last a day, rinsing with hot water. We will leave town with at least two gallons of water in the black tank. The key with black tanks is to keep enough liquid there to keep the solids moving. You can conserve on flushing the toilet and the black tank capacity by putting "tinkle" paper in a separate bag doing a quick flush when urinating. Save the extra paper and water for solids. Keep personal wipes handy to help with clean up instead of using a lot of toilet paper. We don't flush the personal wipes. All this can be burned in a separate fire.
I know you asked about battery power when dry camping, but thought I would share other things we do. Have fun.
For conserving water, we use a lot of paper plates and use those to start our morning or evening fire and use the gray water to put out the fire. I use kitchen cleaner and paper towels to wipe off my counters and appliances instead of a dish rag and water. We keep pumps of waterless hand cleaner at all sinks for cleaning. When using the kitchen sink for washing, I wipe clean with paper towels anything that goes into the sink (again use those paper towels for fire starters), this way the dish water stays pretty food free and when I do this, I can make one shallow sink of dish water last a day, rinsing with hot water. We will leave town with at least two gallons of water in the black tank. The key with black tanks is to keep enough liquid there to keep the solids moving. You can conserve on flushing the toilet and the black tank capacity by putting "tinkle" paper in a separate bag doing a quick flush when urinating. Save the extra paper and water for solids. Keep personal wipes handy to help with clean up instead of using a lot of toilet paper. We don't flush the personal wipes. All this can be burned in a separate fire.
I know you asked about battery power when dry camping, but thought I would share other things we do. Have fun.
