Boondocking Tips: What Makes a Good Campsite?
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- čas přidán 13. 04. 2018
- The store: kamchatkagear.com
In this video I talk about a handful of things to keep in mind or consider when looking for a dispersed camping campsite out in the boonies (aka boondocking). Let me know what other things you look for in a good boondocking spot. Also, sorry for the weird camera focusing issues! My camera may be broken...
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Sorry for the camera focus weirdness. I debated whether or not to post this video because of that but figured I might as well. Either my camera is broken or it couldn't handle the low light. I'm not sure yet...
Hey, that is life on the road, it doesn't bother at all. :)
Great video! In addition to the things you mentioned, I look for 1) weather forecast 2) altitude/elevation 3) wind blocks 4) things that make noise in the wind.
Elevation was a new one for me, I had trouble breathing trying to sleep at 9000 ft! But I'm sure I just have to get used to it.
Great points, Kevin. I live at 5,000 feet and am routinely higher up in the mountains, but I forget that not everyone is used to the elevation. Thanks for watching and commenting.
I wonder if Google will ever add a layer to their maps that show Legal Camp, RV Overnight etc. So you know as soon as you begin to follow those dirt roads without using other sources.
Good info that should help a lot of newbies. We have been boondocking the SW 60 days a year for the last 10 years with a Tacoma and a home built 10 ft. trailer and learned a lot.( sometimes the hard way). We try to find spots that are solo spots with no other camps nearby. Another thing is we started using was a "camp taken" sign that we hang on a tree if it is a dead end short road to a solo spot so that others wont have to drive up to see us and then have to turn around. Also if there are a lot of bottles or beer cans you know that it is a party spot on weekends. best to go somewhere else. Cows don't bother us so we will also head down 2 track "ranch roads" that go to water tanks or corrals and see if we can camp beyond.Far enough away from them and many times there may be no cows around anyway. Some of these roads do not show up on maps and are not marked as they are not designated "system" roads.
Excellent tips! I with you regarding privacy, peace, and quiet. Thanks for sharing!
Yep, that's the most important part of camping as far as I'm concerned. Campgrounds make me feel claustrophobic. Thanks Carol!
Excellent ideas and opinions, lots of food for thought! Thank you Tristan!
All good points to ponder when out looking for that great spot to go.
Thanks Daryl, I'm glad you liked the video. I appreciate you commenting.
Some great tips on picking a camp spot. Safety would definitely be a priority. Great film as always. Looking forward to the next one. Davin
Thanks Davin!
very informative. A lot to ponder about. Public toilets such the outhouses can be infested with black widows btw since there are flies or midges and all those bugs, hence spiders love these places.
I enjoyed this video, keep up the good work! I will be going on my first overnight car camping in the next couple of weeks, I wanted to go to Cache Creek area, in B.C. but they have flooding now. So I will change plans for now, and go to high ground location. I can hardly wait! Looking forward to your next video! Thanks!
Awesome! Good luck, and let me know how the trip goes. Thanks Marilyn :)
I enjoy all your videos. Keep it up!!!!
Thanks, I will!
Glad you posted this! Great information. Thanks!! Do you ever make a small campfire? If so what are the do’s and don’t of that?
I rarely make campfires because I don't like smelling like smoke afterward. Especially if I'm on a trip like this and will be wearing the same clothes of a couple of days, and it'll be a few more days until I take a shower. As far as dos and dont's, first you want to make sure it's legal. In a lot of places in the summer in the western US, there are campfire bans due to the fear of starting wildfires. Try to use an existing fire pit or ring whenever possible. Think about your neighbors. If you're camped really close to someone else, they might not love being smoked out of their campsite. I recommend taking your own firewood. And make sure the fire is out completely before you leave the campsite. Hope that helps!
Good info, thank you... Thumbs up...
Glad you found it helpful. Thanks for watching.
Great tips for people new to boondocking. Sure to help people pick a good spot. Also, let me specifically say that I love the fact that your videos do not generally include any extra annoyances, such as intros, outros, background music, or cliched phrases that you open or close every video with. Please, never add any of that stuff.
Thanks, I'm glad you liked the video and my style. I appreciate it.
Good info! Have you mentioned ground clearance? I'm planning on traveling out west with my Toyota Camry and realize that I will have trouble with clearance. Keep up with the great videos.
I don't think I mentioned clearance as such, but I did mention making sure you can get in and out. But that's a great one that is super important. Thanks Bruno.
Very helpful info, thanks for sharing. :) Can't wait for your videos on NM. I'll be headed out on an extended road trip in Sept. so will definitely use these tips, saved video as a favorite.
How is the cargo carrier working out for you? I'm searching Craigslist for a cheap one. Great area you are at, very pretty!! I've been there before.
Take care,
Tina
New Mexico was great. I didn't spend as much time there as I would have liked, but I'll definitely be going back. The cargo carrier is amazing. I love it! But yeah, it took me months of looking before I found one that fit all my criteria. I bolted my 100 watt solar panel to it, and the combo has been fantastic.
Hello this is hobo George A I travel work and sleep in my SUV aka PENNY. I enjoyed your Videos thank you for sharing I always look for spots where there is no trees facing away from sun raise. I park near building or Apt complex don't like bird shit on my vehicle.
Hi Hobo George. That's a good point. No one wants bird crap on their roof. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Consider if weather change imminent as might be dry on way in and overnight rain my get you bogged. If you don't like any neighbours that arrive once you've already set up, the beauty of SUV is you can drive off!
Great point! Definitely a good one to consider. Thanks BB.
The info wasn’t effected by your camera. All good!
Very informative! I am tring to get the courage to go on a trip to Yellowstone. I was very disappointed when I visited Moab in September. The hotel staff and gusts were rude. People dressed like hobos at several different restaurants. They were really loud! I have never experienced this in any other town or city.
When I say I love Moab, I'm talking about the nature around Moab. Moab itself is... Fine. It's expensive and crowded. But I haven't had any bad issues with unfriendly people there. Lol I'm guessing the hobo people were climbers or mountains bikers who had just spent several days in the desert. Sorry you had a bad experience there. Why do you need to get your courage up to go to Yellowstone? Why not just go?
SUV RVing. I will plan a trip and probably rent a car. Im worried about the cost of gasoline, and Yellowstone being so crowded. Maybe I'm too old fashioned and negative, but I expect people to be gracious, considerate, and have pride. I live near Austin, TX. Now, there are 150 people a day moving there! It's difficult to go kayaking, swimming, and kayaking, as there are so many people trying to do the same thing. I don't think Texas has free camping sites :(
Yeah, Yellowstone is crowded, but it's easy enough to get off the beaten path and have some time and places to yourself. If you're going to go to the popular places like Old Faithful, get there early early. Like just after sunrise. Spend the early hours of the day seeing the popular things, and then pick a random obscure trail to go on for the rest of the day to have some alone time. Texas absolutely has free campsites. I've camped for free in the national forest near Houston. And there's plenty of free or at least nearly free camping in Big Bend. Not that that's close to you. Check out FreeCampsites.net for areas close to you. But you're right in that it doesn't have nearly the amount of free campsites as the western US. I grew up in Texas, and I seem to remember hearing that one of Texas's stipulations of joining the US after Texas was independent was that basically Texas would be able to keep all of its land. In other words, the state would control the land. That's why there's so little national land (national forest, BLM land, etc.) in Texas but so much state-controlled land. I don't know how much truth there is in that, but that's what I heard.
@@SUVRVing Been to Big Bend & LOVED it but I paid $14 a night to camp....so I'm wondering where is the nearly free camping you mentioned in this post? I LOVE your videos, you are so knowledgeable about the places you show us, like a private tour guide!
I really enjoyed your solar video. I even saved it to Gmail so I can refer back to it when it's my time to set up my solar we my children buy it for me for mothers day. Hehe, hint, hint boys!!!
Thanks Angela, I'm glad you liked the video! I had my family members get me solar components for Christmas and my birthday. Worked great :)
Elevation! You'll be freezing at 9,000 feet, and roasting at 1,000 feet. You want to check the weather also if there is not going to be a wind storm. Things fly all over the place when it's windy. The same with the rain... why would you go weekend camping if it's going to rain for three days straight?!... Your car's ground clearance - there are many places you couldn't go with having a low ride height.
Excellent points! Thanks for sharing.
You're welcome.
Great info. I’ve driven and camped all over the lower 48 states with my trusty Nissan Rogue over the past few years. Have you ever made it to the east, like the Appalachians or Acadia in Maine? And how many miles do you have on the rav4 now?
I have about 103,000 miles on the RAV4. I bought it with 50k a few years ago. Nope, I stick to the western US. I like wide open spaces, deserts, and mountains, and so this part of the country is more suited to my interests.
Do you use any wide area mosquito repellent around your camp once you have it set up? Any skeeter repellent ON you for hiking? I'm prepping for an annual weekend in the Sierra woods (fixed location) where I lose a pint of blood every time to the skeeters. Aside from covering myself in chemicals I have not found much relief, I tried those wrist band things but they did not work at all. Maybe all the UT mosquitoes have moved to California? Thanks again for the useful videos!
No, I generally don't use any type of repellent around my camp. If the mosquitoes are that bad, I'll just stay in the car or spray myself with repellent. When I'm hiking, yes, I absolutely use repellent. (And yes, it's necessary here in Utah in the mountains in early summer, especially.) I use whatever the harshest, most chemical-laden stuff I can find is. Usually 100% DEET. Nothing else works well enough, IMO. It's probably knocking a couple years off my life or giving me ten different cancers, but that is preferable to a slow, madness-induced death from scratching mosquito bites.
Here in England we don't have the vast open spaces you have. Also lots of restrictions as to what you can and can't do. Still, lots of people still wild camp as we call it. More scope in Scotland which has much less restrictions. As an aside I know you don't ship your goods abroad but is it possible to buy a car sticker to be shipped to Britain?
I really am lucky to live in a place with so many camping opportunities. Yep, I'll send you a sticker if you have PayPal. Send an email to thigbee@gmail.com and tell me your shipping address and your PayPal email address, and I'll send you a PayPal invoice for $4.
🕵🏿♂️🕵🏿♀️ Look 👀 out for bears 🐻! Thanks for sharing 👍🏿
Lol but they're just cuddly and want to be friends. Don't you want a cuddly bear friend?
They're like sharks, just misunderstood! 😂😂
*Did you know that's where the ocean gets its saltiness, from the tears of misunderstood sharks who just want a hug! 😂😂
@@SUVRVing Lol, as much as I do love the wild bears, they get rather destructive and testy around food, especially when we humans feed them, and other humans don't. Solution? Invite the bear to camp with you and have him come back to town as your lifelong bear friend, in the passenger seat to boot. Best give him the choice of music.
The way your kayak is mounted seems really strange. I have a hell of a time loading and unloading my kayak, but I have the “J” hooks facing the other direction. Can you talk about why you have them the way you do?
Yes, I do have them facing the "wrong" way, and that's because of the solar panel next to the kayak. When the kayak is in the J hooks, it leans to one side (i.e., it is not standing up completely vertically). By flipping the J hooks around so that the kayak leans toward the driver's side instead of toward the passenger side, it casts less shade on the solar panel. Does that make sense?
I apologize if I've missed this but how do you figure out where BLM lands are?
PublicLands.org is a good place to start for trip planning. When on the road, a good state atlas (I like the Benchmark series) is essential.
thanks!
do you have a list with coordinates of places you liked? I hate people so I am looking to be camping in places away from people
Nope, I don't. I'm working on a master map, but it's very slow going.
Had to look and see if ‘Cow Phobia’ is a thing and of course it is... Bovinophobia.
How're your hips doing, fella?
The hips are doing well. The one that I had surgery on is recovering nicely. Still a bit stiff and sore sometimes but otherwise it's good. And I'm having surgery on the other one on August 21, but it's not doing too bad right now either. So they're doing about as well as can be expected. Thanks for asking.
How do you check the legality?
Dispersed camping on public lands like BLM land or national forest land is legal unless there are signs saying it's not in a particular area.