Will be boring to most but our very first boondock.

[whoofit]

[p]Left on Friday for some near range boondocking. Just two nights and days. Have never boondocked before. All went well. We went to The Daughters of the American Revolution SP and were the only ones in the remote Group Site area. Black flies are out in force there and biting hard.[/p][p]
[/p][p]The TV worked as planned and very well with the trailer loaded especially carefully paying the utmost attention to stay below 3300lbs and with a TW of 350lbs max. It was a very hilly route. Not mountainous but close. Needed to downshift in Sport Mode to maintain 62 up many hills. RPMs never exceeded 3500. The pull in to the site was interesting with low branches, frost heaves/pot holes and a small wooden bridge to negotiate. MPG at mostly 62 mph was 12.8.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Took along water at 75% of capacity. It lasted just enough with 2 showers included. We used the onboard tanks for all waste. Conservation was not our priority this time out. It was 92F yesterday and we hiked 12 miles. The showers were a big plus. Rinsing the dog outside was great. Came home with 40% Gray and 33% Black. Adjusting load to compensate the TW. [/p][p]
[/p][p]Took 4-5 days of food. Lots of fresh. The ribs were briefly interrupted by the first propane tank going empty. This was the first tank that came filled from the dealer. We heated all our trips this winter, temps down to 4F, with this tank. We got some serious mileage out of that tank fill. Switched the trailer tank over to the cooking tank momentarily for some great ribs.[/p][p]
[/p][p]DT4G cell booster on a 16' pole was required. No useful indoor signal amplified to a level where we were able to stream a movie per night and browse. The Amazon Fire Stick TV filled it's role nicely as an extremely low power solution. The battery laughed at the LED lighting. The WOODEN (thank you very much) charging station did it's job efficiently and kept the devices fed and tame.[/p][p]
[/p][p]The Group 31 AGM held up well. Per the battery monitor we started at 12.58V after having run on DC for the 1:45 haul in. In the end we were at 12.1V with only the LP monitor running as a load before reconnecting to the TV for the haul home. Right around 60% SOC. Should be good for 5 nights at this usage profile.[/p][p]
[/p][p]So, off for another 3 nights 4 days of boondocking on the seacoast this week Thursday through Sunday. More confident in the ability of the tow vehicle, the trailer, the systems and ourselves.[/p][p]
[/p][p]
[/p]

[daplumbr]

Not at all boring!  I see you're using a "home" type cell booster instead of a "mobile" type. Any issues with getting enough separation between the inside and outside antennas?

[whoofit]

[p]No but the 16' pole helps there too. It's up around 18' off the ground. Initially I had it up 8'. Just above the roof line and there was oscillation that could not be dialed out. I use this quality pole. I purposely mounted a rear tire carrier to combat my TVs TW limitations. I mount the pole to it using U-clamps. It's like it was made for this application.  [a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/Wooster-8-ft-16-ft-Sherlock-Extension-Pole-00R0570000/100187303"]http://www.homedepot.com/p/Wooster-8-ft-16-ft-Sherlock-Extension-Pole-00R0570000/100187303[/a][/p][p]
[/p][p]Of course I permanently wired the RG-6 cable and provided a permanent outdoor weatherproof connector for it in the rear..[/p]

[david]

While I appreciate camping in developed campgrounds and not plugging in to power, water or sewer (which is what we do), the term "boondocking" was originally created to refer to camping for free in dispersed National Forests, other public lands, at the end of a dirt road or simply on the side of the road in an out of the way place.

The most famous boondocker that I know of was George. He started a blog 10+ years ago to chronicle his travels. He was retired, on fixed income and couldn't afford pay for campsites. So he boondocked, all over the western states and Mexico. His blog generated enough AdSense income that he could enjoy a nice life.

He is a good writer and wrutes about his experiences, mostly with people on his journeys. I stopped following him several years ago when he semi-permanently settled in Mexico. He is still at it although he doesn't travel much.

You can follow him at [a href="http://vagabonders-supreme.net/"]http://vagabonders-supreme.net/[/a]. He has become too philosophical and conservative for me.

David

[spot1]

Appreciate the detailed report!!!!!!! Looking forward to the next one!

[whoofit]

Thanks, Bill!

David I guess we haven't boondocked yet then. Something still to look forward too! If it's any consolation the SP wasn't officially open and there are no services or hook-ups in the group site area. Just a pond, bear boxes and underwater snails as big as ping pong balls that looked delicious..

Thanks for the link to Georges blog. I'll have a read. It will serve as inspiration for us! Except the no money part.

[shovelhead]

Good report..
I enjoyed the read.  I've not been in the New England states in many years.

[hogtyd]

I stopped reading as soon as you said "All went well."  Just kidding...excellent report and sounds like it really did go well.  I have the opposite situation coming up in the next few weeks myself.  I've never camped WITH hookups before, but going to give it a try at a local state park to see how it goes.  If nothing else, it'll probably generate some new material for the "camping bloopers" thread!

Graham

[whoofit]

[quote source="/post/10650/thread" timestamp="1431384548" author="@shovelhead"]Good report..
I enjoyed the read.  I've not been in the New England states in many years.[/quote][p]Shovelhead you should make the trip sometime. If you do look us up. Lots to do and see around here. Not all of it good but much of it pretty alright. Bella and Loocy Loo could get their nails done together.[/p][p]
[/p][p]And, Thanks!
[/p]

[whoofit]

[quote source="/post/10651/thread" timestamp="1431384974" author="@graham"]I stopped reading as soon as you said "All went well."  Just kidding...excellent report and sounds like it really did go well.  I have the opposite situation coming up in the next few weeks myself.  I've never camped WITH hookups before, but going to give it a try at a local state park to see how it goes.  If nothing else, it'll probably generate some new material for the "camping bloopers" thread!

Graham [/quote][p]I'll be watching for this post. It can't be THAT hard because I've been tethered for years and can still chew my food.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Got a lot of respect for your type of camping. We do intend to get better at it to a point that, in a few years, we will explore the nation confidently untethered if need be.
[/p]

[shovelhead]

whoofit I spent many years in Connecticut.  From picking tent tobacco in my teens to Navy sub service in New London.  My wife loved Sturbridge Village, and anywhere on the coast.  Our son was born in New London naval hospital. I need to do a summer visit I've had enough winter weather.

[whoofit]

Grew up in and around Sturbridge. Now there is an area that has changed in the last thirty years. Sturbridge has a massive commercial tax base now. All of it centered around OSV. The neighboring towns of Charlton and Southbridge have their stories too. Charlton is still the largest town with very little population. Southbridge is a total loss to unsavory activity caused by a local welfare office being opened when American Optical closed down.

Winter is not easy up here but the snap change to summer this year is tough in it's own way too.