Boondocking/Offroad camping

[tnrver]

I'm starting to look into Casita, Scamps and Lil Snoozy FG Campers. We will both (wife & I) be retired next year and want to utilize some BLM land and National Forest land.
I've never boondocked with my current TT so i'm going into this completely green! Now from what I've read on the 3 TT mentioned above is: no axle lift in the Scamp or Snoozy, Scamp (16') has the smallest holding tanks.
I'm not looking to do "extreme" offroad camping. But I am concerned with ground clearance and tank capacity. With my current TT I have a 9 gal. Black & 15 gal gray. We get about 2 days on the gray & 4 on the black.
So my is : how many of you boondock with your Casitas, Scamps or Snoozys?
How many days can you boondock for?
Is the high lift axle a plus?
Any input is appreciated....thanks

[rgrugg]

If you’re gonna boondock I think you’re going to have to curtail your water usage. You’ll need to be stingy with it. That’s my opinion. Others may disagree.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by tnrver

I'm starting to look into Casita, Scamps and Lil Snoozy FG Campers. We will both (wife & I) be retired next year and want to utilize some BLM land and National Forest land.
I've never boondocked with my current TT so i'm going into this completely green! Now from what I've read on the 3 TT mentioned above is: no axle lift in the Scamp or Snoozy, Scamp (16') has the smallest holding tanks.
I'm not looking to do "extreme" offroad camping. But I am concerned with ground clearance and tank capacity. With my current TT I have a 9 gal. Black & 15 gal gray. We get about 2 days on the gray & 4 on the black.
So my is : how many of you boondock with your Casitas, Scamps or Snoozys?
How many days can you boondock for?
Is the high lift axle a plus?
Any input is appreciated....thanks

Our Scamp 16 STD had a high lift axle , Was it a plus ? Don’t know !
Our Casita has a 25 gallon fresh water tank (Option) ,
an approx 32 gallon gray water tank ( Fast drain and vent added by LHC )
and a 15 gallon black tank .
We usually runout of freshwater long before filling either the gray or black tanks.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by tnrver

..
I've never boondocked with my current TT so i'm going into this completely green! ...

Try it!... Go off grid in your current camper, even in your own driveway. Just don't get so remote that it becomes a problem. Keep notes about your water and power consumption. Try out a few techniques such as reusing gray water to "flush" the commode. If you don't have a commode but plan on one for your new camper, then every time you "go," dump out 1-2 pints of water - gray water if you have it, fresh if you don't. Cook meals where it is easy to clean up. Wipe dishes with paper towels and see how little water you can use to safely clean them. Try a solar shower... etc.

As for the ground clearance, all I can tell you is stay the heck away from a Sienna van! While it works well as a tow vehicle for me, it has two drawbacks. One is it's very low ground clearance, esp at the hitch.

[tnrver]

Yea Steve, Castia, tank capacity wise is the best choice, plus it has the high lift axle. Scamp does offer the high axle. IMO and IME with towing a pop up on the beach, it dont hurt to have a little extra ground clearence.

Gordon, thanks for your input. I do have some clue as to my water consumption by the amount of gray water i disperse. We uae mostly paper platea & solo cups when we camp non boondocking. Fresh water isnt as much of a concern as grey & black. I can bring 6 gal cans of fresh h2o

[steve dunham]

Another thing to remember is just because you buy a bigger trailer doesn’t mean your tanks are automatically larger . The gray tank on our 17 ft Casita is larger than the gray tank on our 21 ft SOB by about 20% .

[Jon Vermilye]

I learned many of my dry camping techniques when tent camping, and carried them over to the trailer(s) when I gave up the tent. While far too many to list, every time you do anything to remove water from the fresh tank or put water in the black or gray, stop and decide is there is an alternate solution/process.

With my Escape 17 I was able to stay in one location at Quartzsite for 3 weeks before dumping. Escape currently lists the tank sizes for the 17B at 20 gallons fresh, 26 gray, and 19 black, although I believe my 2011 17 tanks were a bit smaller.

I now have a 21, with 28, 28, and 22 gallon tanks, and can go for a month if I don't use the shower (at Quartzsite, the laundromat has showers that are great while your clothes are drying).

Since I travel solo, I use half the water that a couple would use, and again, I do everything I can think of to stretch out the time between dumping & taking on fresh water since the source is 3 miles away, and obviously I have to pack up the trailer to get there.

[tnrver]

Good suggestions Jon, As a former car tent camper and a current backpacker I will be applying some of those techniques. Thanks for the input

[ShelbyM]

I've found the waste tanks to be the limiting factor. It's not too much trouble to replenish the fresh with jugs. Disposing of waste water away from the dump station is not something I enjoy. I carry a small tote for emergencies but the size is limited by what I can lift. Draining from the trailer to the tote can be a problem if there isn't a good drop. Then you have a dirty wet hose with nowhere to rinse. I don't even want to think about the possible outcomes of trying to drain the black into a tote

[tnrver]

Originally Posted by ShelbyM

I've found the waste tanks to be the limiting factor. It's not too much trouble to replenish the fresh with jugs. Disposing of waste water away from the dump station is not something I enjoy. I carry a small tote for emergencies but the size is limited by what I can lift. Draining from the trailer to the tote can be a problem if there isn't a good drop. Then you have a dirty wet hose with nowhere to rinse. I don't even want to think about the possible outcomes of trying to drain the black into a tote

Absolutely, that's why I put this post up. Wanted to see if anyone has the 3 trailers I've listed and if they boondock with them.

[Glenn Baglo]

Not sure why you would include lil'Snoozy in the trailers you are looking at for boondocking. You would have to convert an all-electric trailer to propane or run a generator.

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Not sure why you would include lil'Snoozy in the trailers you are looking at for boondocking. You would have to convert an all-electric trailer to propane or run a generator.

Wish this forum had a simple thumbs-a-post-up feature , I was going to say the same thing.


^^^^^^^^^there ya go, Glenn!

[David B.]

We have a 2014 Lil Snoozy, and I hope I can give you some useful information to base your decission on. We chose the LS based on the floor plan. We really liked the real queen sized full time bed, and the comfortable sofa. The LS also felt so much roomier than either a Casita or Scamp. The LS has a 35 gallon fresh water tank located under the jack-knife sofa, a 28 gallon gray water tank located behind the axle on the drivers side. This tank does not hang down lower than the axle, and is the only thing other than the axle that is lower than the smooth fiberglass bottom. The LS does not have a black water tank, and this is one of the things I like about it. The cassette toilet (or in our case a porta-potti) is so easy to take out and empty in pit toilets, gas stations, visitors center rest rooms.....etc. The two of us can usually get 4 to 5 days use before emptying it, but one could empty it every morning if you want to keep it light, as 5 gallons is around 40lbs. The newer LS trailers are using a different frame and leaf springs (ours is a rubber torsion axle with 4” lift), so ground clearance is not a problem for us or the newer trailers. We usually boondock exclusively for 4-5 months at a time. We have a Yamaha 2000i generator, 160 watt solar panel, and have added propane SMEV two burner stovetop, & propex furnace, because I really didn’t know where in the country we would be traveling and camping, and under what weather conditions we would be running into. The generator gets very little use (about a gallon of gasoline for the year), and only one tank of propane lasts all summer, even though nights are 30’s to 40’s. Whenever we go out in our tow vehicle, we bring fresh water back with us, and empty the porta-potti whenever needed. Gray water is welcome in many places (very dry desert) we camp, if not, then we have to drive to a dump station like everyone else. I hope this helps.
Dave & Paula

[M_C]

We have a Scamp 16 and have gone for over a week without any problems, staying in camp grounds. When dispersed camping(Quartzite) 4-5 days is about the maximum without dumping the blackwater tank. We carry a portable tote and take it into town to dump it.

[tnrver]

Thanks David, that was a very informative post! As of 2 days ago, wait time on a LS is 14 months. I appears that you have plenty of ground clearance. I don't think you can get the new ones with the lift.
All of our cooking is done outside on a Coleman stove and barbeque so not having propane on the trailer isn't really a big deal. I do wish they would offer a solar system.

[tnrver]

Originally Posted by M_C

We have a Scamp 16 and have gone for over a week without any problems, staying in camp grounds. When dispersed camping(Quartzite) 4-5 days is about the maximum without dumping the blackwater tank. We carry a portable tote and take it into town to dump it.

M C thanks for the reply! I probably would stay more than than 5 days boondocking, so that woulod work 4 me!

[David B.]

Originally Posted by tnrver

Thanks David, that was a very informative post! As of 2 days ago, wait time on a LS is 14 months. I appears that you have plenty of ground clearance. I don't think you can get the new ones with the lift.
All of our cooking is done outside on a Coleman stove and barbeque so not having propane on the trailer isn't really a big deal. I do wish they would offer a solar system.

Jerry, I had added a 4” spacer under the torsion axle for the additional lift on our 2014 LS, but the new ones have a leaf spring system which causes the trailer to sit higher right from the factory. Portable solar systems are getting less expensive all the time, and that would be the way to go to get the optimal performance out of a solar system.
Dave & Paula

[LyleB]

I haven't technically boon docked except at Wallmart, but I have stayed at campgrounds without any hook-ups for several weeks. As others have said, replenishing fresh water is quite easy. I used a portable exterior tank to dump the gray water. They come in all sizes from the very manageable six gallons to the huge ones you can tow behind your vehicle. When truly boon docking, gray water can be disposed of in a number of ways.

I eliminate the black tank issue by using a composting toilet. I installed one in my 13 ft Scamp and have ordered my 16 ft Scamp without a toilet - will install a composting one in it as well. VERY happy with the lack of odor and the month or more between needing to empty it (one person using it). Easy to just dump into a garbage bag and store until proper disposal is found (dumpster or compost pile). I bring mine home to compost fully. I would highly recommend you look into a composting toilet for use while boon docking, even if you go a cheap homemade one for boondocking use and keep your normal toilet for other times. They are easy and cheap to make. I highly recommend a separating design that keeps liquids and solids separate. I like my C-Head, but look online for DIY ideas.

[Raspy]

Dave and Paula,

It looks like you are towing your Snoozy with a Wrangler JK, 2 door. Do you know the weight of your Snoozy? How does the Jeep handle it?

[David B.]

John, you’re right. It “looks” like a two door JK. ALL running gear is one ton with upgraded brakes, drive shafts, transfer case, transmission, shocks/ suspension, steering, wheel base length extended, and has a 2014 RAM 1500 5.7 liter HEMI under the hood......so it handles it well.
Loaded for camping our LS 2875 lbs.
Dave & Paula