r/boondocking

I've been using the classic cheap bucket setup for a couple of years now. basic bucket, seat lid, WAG bags or liners, some absorbent material, and a separate bin for pack out.

it works. i’m not pretending it doesn’t. for a quick weekend trip, it is hard to argue with something that costs almost nothing and does not need power, plumbing, or special parts.

the problem is that once my trips started getting longer, the bucket stopped feeling like a simple solution and started feeling like one more gross thing i had to deal with. opening it again, tying bags carefully, hoping nothing touched the rim, checking if the smell got into the storage bin, and then cleaning the bucket after a bumpy drive. none of it is hard, but it is the kind of chore that makes the whole setup feel worse every time you use it.

i know a dry flush toilet does not magically make waste disappear. you still have to pack out the sealed bags and dispose of them properly. that part is not really what i’m trying to avoid.

what got me looking at dry flush toilets is the experience difference. i like the idea of each use getting sealed separately instead of sitting open in a bucket until the next trash stop. less smell, less handling, less wondering what leaked or smeared inside the bucket.

the standard name that comes up a lot is Laveo, but it is bulky for my truck camper storage and honestly pretty expensive too. i also saw the folding modiwell LE310 since it folds down to about 11 inches, which would fit under my platform a lot better. the upfront cost still hurts, but at least the storage part makes more sense for a small rig.

what i am trying to figure out is whether the comfort is actually worth paying for.

for people doing longer off-grid stays, does a dry flush setup actually make the bathroom situation feel cleaner and less annoying, or does the refill cost just replace one problem with another? would you spend the money again, or stick with the bucket and put up with the extra cleanup?

What does everyone have for food when they don't go into a city for groceries for long periods of time? I have a lot of 'add hot water' noodle dishes. But for frozen stored food, what does everyone like? I am trying to get ideas for protein and veggies while I build out my truck camper.

One pot/pan dishes are ideal. Right now I have a propane stove and a campfire when allowed. I appreciate everyones input and ideas

I just replaced my standard Dometic 13.5kBTU air conditioner with a Furrion Chill Cube 18kBTU. My main motivations were noise reduction and energy efficiency. It's improved both far beyond what I expected.

The Dometic was loud. The fan on low was so loud that I had to turn it off during video meetings. The fan also never shut off; it would stay on constantly, while the compressor cycled on and off. The Furrion still makes a fair bit of noise when both the fan and compressor are on, but it's much quieter. I don't have a decibel meter so I can't provide numbers, but I don't have to turn it off during meetings.

The Dometic used 1400W minimum when running on low with the compressor on, and 300W just to run the fan with the compressor off. The Furrion uses 350W with the compressor on while on low and just maintaining the temperature. I haven't been able to get it to pull more than 800W even on "Turbo" mode going full-tilt. There's also no amperage spike when it first turns on. It always starts slow and low and ramps up, so it won't cause any surge—effectively a built-in slow start.

The variable speed compressor also eliminates the temperature-swing cycle between compressor on - freezing cold air - compressor off - RV heats up - repeat indefinitely. It settles into a temperature point and runs at the level required to maintain it.

I'm sure this reads like an ad or promotion. I'm just an exceedingly-happy customer. The quality of life improvement is enormous. This is the final piece I needed in order to boondock with solar even in hot places. I can't run it 24/7 in Arizona in August, but I can run it all afternoon during peak heat when it's 90F+ outside and I'm inside working, and still have enough energy left over to run through the night. I can probably even handle a whole day with no solar generation (but not two days in a row).

It wasn't too hard to install. I won't trivialize it, but I was able to remove the old one and install and wire the new one in about an hour or so (with a friend to help lift the old one off the roof and drop the new one in).

We parked the pickup parallel, next to the door of the trailer, because it seemed like the most compact way to do it at this particular spot in order to keep out of other people's path, and it also allowed us to keep an eye on things. It was maybe 3 or 4 feet away, enough to get in and out of the truck without scratching the trailer or the really cute pine trees on the other side.

Jarred awake this morning by what sounded like a triple sonic blast of unexpected wind, boom, BOOM, BOOM!, and then a huge crash. Opened the trailer door to see what had happened, and another gust of wind took the door right into the side of the pickup. Which was supposedly far enough away that even the truck doors wouldn't hit the rig. At least, it used to be.

We could barely get the trailer door open enough to get outside. Damage assessment: We are now about three degrees down bubble on the nose, because the gusts picked up the front of the travel trailer and slammed it back down again so hard that it decimated the pair of base pad peak blocks that the tongue jack had been sitting on, and we're also a couple feet closer to the truck. So much so that the side of the truck now has a new dent from the door of the trailer that wouldn't fully open.

Now, this is a 10,000 lb+ trailer, that got moved several feet sideways in an instant. We used to be parked on perfectly flat ground, but the level mate pro now says that we have an inch and a half list to port. And if it had slid any further toward the truck, we'd be eyeing the emergency exit window, which is a long way down to the ground and would probably result in at least one broken rib or hip. Luckily that wasn't necessary, but we're never parking the pickup within my arm's reach from the trailer again, and that's what they call 'a fair ways'.

Started full time RV life in January which is probably terrible timing but here we are. Bought a used travel trailer and hit the road with my partner and our dog.

First two weeks were rough. The stock lead acid batteries were garbage. Couldnt make it through a single night without the furnace dying. We were either running the generator constantly or paying for RV parks we couldnt afford. The whole point of this lifestyle was to save money and be free but we were doing neither.

Finally scraped together enough for an upgrade. Went with a 12V 300Ah self heating lithium RV battery from Vatrer Power. 300Ah gives us 3.8kWh usable which doesnt sound like a ton compared to some of the massive setups you see on here, but its been transformative for our small trailer.

Now we can go three days without sun comfortably. The furnace runs all night. We can charge our laptops and phones without thinking about it. Weve been staying on BLM land for free instead of paying $50 a night for hookups we dont need.

The self-heating was a lifesaver. We were in New Mexico earlier this spring and nights were still dropping into the twenties. Battery kicks on the heating element automatically and by morning its warm enough to accept charge from our solar panels.

Our routine is pretty basic now. I wake up, open the app, and usually see the battery sitting around 70% after running the furnace fan all night. Solar starts charging around 9am and by 2pm were back to 100%. Run whatever we want during the day and repeat.

The math is pretty crazy when you look at it. We were spending $1,200 a month on campgrounds. Now we spend maybe $200 on gas to move between spots and food. The battery effectively covered its own cost in under two months once we stopped paying for hookups we didnt need. If youre new to boondocking like us dont wait on the battery upgrade. We wasted two weeks and a lot of gas figuring that out the hard way.