New to the world of dry camping? Looking for some tips to get you started? Hopefully we can help. Dry camping essentially means camping without any hook ups, i.e. water, sewer or electric. This can be accomplished in either a motorhome, trailer or back to the basics in a tent.
If you are dry camping in your RV you have a few options. First and foremost you want to make sure that your 12 volt batteries maintain their charge. How do you do this when you’re not hooked up to the grid? You basically have 2 choices. First, if you are lucky enough to have one in your rig you can use your generator. The plus side to this option is that as long as there is gas in the generator you will never be without power, the downside, this is not the most environmentally friendly option due to the noise, and although minimal, air pollution. The second and more environmentally friendly choice is to use solar panels to keep the batteries charged. These can be purchased from places like Camping World or Bass Pro Shops. Nature Power sells a kit for around $120. This 18 watt kit is more than enough to maintain the charge in your batteries and keep the lights on in your RV.
Next, you need to think about water. Most RV’s have a fresh water holding tank so all that is really required is for you to make sure it is full and that the pump is in good working order. Finally sewage and grey water, not the prettiest of topics but one that needs to be dealt with. Once again your RV will be equipped with the proper holding tank(s) for these items. To dispose of the waste you will simply need to pump them out when they get full. Most campgrounds offer a pump out service and usually do not charge a fee for using the pump out. If you are not camping in a campground many fuel stations along the highways and interstates offer a pump out service but they do charge a nominal fee for using the pumps.
I shouldn’t have to mention this but I will on the off chance someone get the idea. DO NOT empty your holding tanks onto the ground, into a roadside sewer or ditch! The damage to the environment and ground water systems can be devastating. We camp to get back to nature, let’s all do our part to preserve it!
Ok, so let’s look at dry camping with a tent. This can be a little easier as you do not have to worry about things like batteries, holding tanks and generators. First, you will need a good quality tent, I cannot stress this enough – you get what you pay for – this tent will be your home for the next few days or weeks, you want it to be comfortable. Tents have come a long way from the old orange canvass ones we all grew up with! My new favorite is the Coleman Instant Tent 6. It is listed as a six man tent but in reality 4 people can sleep in this tent quite comfortably with plenty of room left over for gear. It has a rain fly for the roof, takes less than 60 seconds to assemble and compacts down to a small enough size that even hiking in to a camp site with this tent is quite easy.
Next item is your sleeping bag. You will need to buy one that works with the season you camping in, obviously when camping during the fall and winter you will require a bag with a colder temperature rating than the spring or summer. Wenzel and Mountain Trail both make a wide range of sleeping bags in various temperature ratings. I prefer the mummy style bags as the hood options allows you to trap more body heat on the cooler nights but can be folded under the bag on the warmer nights.
Those are your big ticket items. Of course you will also need your mess kit (plate, bowl, knife, fork, spoon and cup) and a water container. If you are dry camping at a camp ground they will have taps to provide you with safe drinking water. If you are camping in the woods you will want to get yourself some water purification tablets to ensure the water is safe to drink. Even natural springs can contain bacteria and parasites. On the high end you can purchase a system like the PurifiCup which contains a micron-filter system that will remove 99.9% of the bacteria from the water (retails for approximately $60.00) or you can go with the tried and true water purification tablets such as Aquatab (retail is $7.00 for 30 tablets). These tablets will do just as good a job as the PurifiCup system but they can leave the water with a chlorine like taste.
Dry camping is a fun a rewarding experience. If gives the camper a true “back to nature” experience. So pack your gear and get out there and see this great country of ours! And remember – take only pictures and leave only foot prints. Happy camping!