Boondocking for Free

DougH

I'm on a long trip to see how easy it is to freecamp.  A loop of TX, NM, CO, WY, KS, OK.  I was curious how easily one could connect free overnight parking, free water refills, and free dumps.  While vegan, I don't know enough about wild foraging to also eat free.  And I don't have an electric tow vehicle yet from a company offering free recharges.  So there's limits I guess.

But on the first three, it turns out it's fairly easy.  There's a less than normally mentioned app named iOverlander that really helps, but I combined that with several of the other more popular apps that have been mentioned here before.

I've been staying at recreation areas, general BLM dispersed camps, rest areas, and scenic areas that have become somewhat established overnight camping spots.



Occasionally I'll score a rest area far enough from the highway with a stream and lake nearby... only to have a big rig show up at 1:30am, park a few feet behind me, and leave his lights and engine running.  Who knew that some semi engines exactly match the natural vibration frequency of a T@B?   

For some reason half the rest areas in CO have signs saying no overnight camping.  I guess that's to keep more space for the big rigs who need the sleep for highway safety.  But even in states with little to no BLM or NFS campsites, there's still free COE, public utility sites, municipal public parking, etc.

Plenty of free potable water sites, more than free usable dump sites.  I don't drink from the fresh water tank directly, but will run new water into a filtering jerry can, then use that to fill a filtering water bottle.

Some of the dump sites:

...are interesting.  This one in OK acts like a toilet.  You dump into the general 3-4' wide cement hole, then walk 15ft away and lift a lever and it swirls water into the whole area to get the bulk of the waste into the central hole leading to the leech field.  But it's so slow it leaves the nastiest looking toilet bowl I've ever seen.  But free.

Sorry about that.

Since I was beginning to feel confident that I could full-time next year for cheaper than expected, the universe decided to give me an EGR and fuel rail sensor failure last night, which will end up being $$$.  It just shows to go you.



But at least they let me mooch camp on the dealership premises.  

Anybody else have some helpful tips to camp cheap?

4ncar

good read and funny too!

DougH

And... while I was waiting on the car for a couple days, my LG 6000BTU air conditioner died.  I think that was around three years.  Compressor froze up.  Very minor expense compared to the car.

So I found a 16.25" wide by 11.9" tall GE model AKQ06LZ 6000BTU 450W air conditioner at Lowe's that will fit once I put a new aluminum rail in.  Its an inch or two less wide, and an inch taller than the LG.  Fingers crossed it lasts as long, if not longer.

DougH

Sounds a bit louder especially on high fan, with deeper more raspy tone on the sound.  But so far cools better than the LG did, and naturally far better than the original Danby.  Again, this is the 6000BTU GE model AKQ06LZ from Lowe's for $200-250.

4ncar

...and it looks to have blinky lights, very important!