Your first night boondocking: a practical checklist

Boondocking, or dry camping, means staying overnight in your RV or campervan somewhere without water, power or sewer hookups. In the American West that is often on public land and often free. It can be wonderfully quiet, with a view no campground can match. It can also be stressful the first time, because every system in the rig is now your job: water, power, waste and where you park.

Where it is allowed

In the United States, most dispersed camping happens on Bureau of Land Management land and in national forests. The usual limit is 14 days in one spot within a 28-day period, after which you must move a certain distance, but local rules vary, so check the field office or ranger district page. National parks generally do not allow it outside designated campgrounds. In much of Europe, overnight parking outside designated areas is restricted or banned, especially on the coast; use official motorhome stopovers there instead.

Before you leave pavement

Arrive with a full fresh-water tank and empty gray and black tanks. Charge your batteries on the drive in, fill the propane and download offline maps, because there is often no phone signal. Check the road surface on satellite imagery, and scout on foot before you commit a big rig to a sandy two-track: turning around on a narrow dirt road is much harder than getting in. Rain can turn clay roads impassable within an hour.

Choose the site

Use spots that have clearly been used before rather than creating new ones, and stay well away from water sources, trailheads and other campers. Look up for dead branches, check the wind direction for your awning and door, and level the rig before you set up anything else. Arrive with at least an hour of daylight left: finding a good site in the dark is how most first nights go wrong.

Conserve water and power

Take navy showers, wash dishes in a bowl and wipe them first, and use paper plates if you must. A 40-gallon (150-litre) tank usually lasts two careful people three to four days. For power, solar panels and a lithium battery make life easy; otherwise run the generator only during allowed hours and keep to quiet hours. Watch your battery monitor in the evening, not the morning, so you can react before the fridge or heater stops.

Leave no trace

Pack out everything you brought in, including food scraps. Never dump gray or black water on the ground; use a dump station. Keep campfires to existing rings and only when fire restrictions allow, which in dry summers they often do not. CampingSpirit's overnight parking layer shows free spots, campsites and the nearest service points, so you can plan your next fill-up and dump before your tanks decide for you.