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Before getting into the boondocking aspect, we spent the night in Allende where we recently bought a piece of land. Allende, N.L. is another 30kms south of here. We ran into a good deal on a two-bedroom travel trailer which will be our home until we build again. If I have my way, it will be our permanent rv site taking the trailer with us on long trips. Here is a pic of the interior and the view of the mountains from the front.
I am having trouble placing pics in the text so if you can help me let me know.
Now on to the boondocking.
We kind of started out boondocking just on a lark. As I may have mentioned earlier, we have no rv parks nearby but we live in a wonderful state with lots to offer. Also, we aren’t far from the Gulf coast of Mexico.
After our first boondocking trip we discovered the awful truth. More power. I first outfitted the SC Funfinder with two Trojan batteries. That was a must. I decided to use the existing cabinet and vent that are located in the lower cabinet at the entrance to the trailer.
I also installed a meter which shows what my battery status is. I need to upgrade it to a digital meter so I have a more accurate reading.
We haven’t gone to solar yet, but that is on the list and the budget as well. We bought a Honda eu2000i generator which has really opened up doors for us. I am coffee drinker and prefer mine made in a drip coffee maker which uses about 1500W(we also have a French press and stove top percolator). Because of our location, we installed a window air conditioner. If you are the owner of a small travel trailer you know that the mega-rooftop air that is installed is just plain noisy and hard to regulate. We did downsize to a Polar Cub but not much change in noise.
The window unit is a 5000 btu unit. I built a shelf for the window ledge and a window cut out made of corrugated plastic with clips to fill the window area. The a/c unit pulls 520W a big change from 1100W. The Honda manages the air very well never revs up when the compressor kicks in and will run for up to 14 hours on one small tank of gas. Because we boondock, there is never anyone around to bother with the small amount of noise created by the Honda 2000.
I also have two 400W inverters that handle the laptop, TV, table lamp and whatever else fits into that 400W. I am now preparing to install a larger 2500W inverter that will handle the a/c and be able to use the 110 outlets as well. BTW, if you have any experience with plugging your shore power into your inverter to run outlets I would like to know.
We kind of started out boondocking just on a lark. As I may have mentioned earlier, we have no rv parks nearby but we live in a wonderful state with lots to offer. Also, we aren’t far from the Gulf coast of Mexico.
After our first boondocking trip we discovered the awful truth. More power. I first outfitted the SC Funfinder with two Trojan batteries. That was a must. I decided to use the existing cabinet and vent that are located in the lower cabinet at the entrance to the trailer.
I also installed a meter which shows what my battery status is. I need to upgrade it to a digital meter so I have a more accurate reading.
We haven’t gone to solar yet, but that is on the list and the budget as well. We bought a Honda eu2000i generator which has really opened up doors for us. I am coffee drinker and prefer mine made in a drip coffee maker which uses about 1500W(we also have a French press and stove top percolator). Because of our location, we installed a window air conditioner. If you are the owner of a small travel trailer you know that the mega-rooftop air that is installed is just plain noisy and hard to regulate. We did downsize to a Polar Cub but not much change in noise.
The window unit is a 5000 btu unit. I built a shelf for the window ledge and a window cut out made of corrugated plastic with clips to fill the window area. The a/c unit pulls 520W a big change from 1100W. The Honda manages the air very well never revs up when the compressor kicks in and will run for up to 14 hours on one small tank of gas. Because we boondock, there is never anyone around to bother with the small amount of noise created by the Honda 2000.
I also have two 400W inverters that handle the laptop, TV, table lamp and whatever else fits into that 400W. I am now preparing to install a larger 2500W inverter that will handle the a/c and be able to use the 110 outlets as well. BTW, if you have any experience with plugging your shore power into your inverter to run outlets I would like to know.
LP gas handles all the rest. We keep the refrigerator on LP and use the furnace which pulls a small amount from the battery. We very rarely cook outdoors as I am not a big meat eater, so grilling isn’t on the list.
Water comes from various sources. We fill up before leaving home. Right, weight is an issue but we can’t afford to risk not having water. We fill up at Pemex gas stations along the way. In a pinch, you can ask just about anyone for water. For drinking, we carry a 5 gallon jug and fill it at filtering machines. We have never had a problem with drinking water. How do we manage our water tanks? Gray water never presents a problem. We dump where and when we have to. We respect the proximity to streams, lakes, water sources in general. Black tank can usually wait until we get home by water use management. If we are in a bind.
I am sure there is much more I could do to be a good boondocker, but we stick with the minimum and we get along quite well. K.I.S.S. I guess it is the generator. We really do want to switch to solar as it will be clean and quiet. Cost is the issue at this time.
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