How we camp full-time for free
Boondocking 101
What is boondocking?
Our favorite way to camp in vanlife is by boondocking, which is defined as free, dispersed camping without hookups to electricity or water. This can mean a lot of different things from parking at an established campsite on a forest service road to sleeping on the side of the highway on a pullout. This particular lifestyle is definitely not for everyone, but for a couple on a budget, this strategy works well for us. Many of these campsites are located on public land via the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or the United States Forest Service (USFS). I encourage you to research this land if you are interested, but essentially (here is a good video that explains public lands), this land belongs to the public, aka YOU, for your recreational use. If you are considering vanlife or are just curious about boondocking for camping excursions, I am going to share with you how we do it, so you can decide if it’s the right camping choice for you.
Pros:
I will start off with the pros and admit that we LOVE boondocking. From our experience, boondocking sites are often less crowded than paid campsites, so we have more space to ourselves. Of course, this isn’t always true, particularly if we are in a heavily traveled area with few dispersed camping opportunities. Every time we pass a paid campsite, I always wonder why people pay so much money to park on a concrete slab 20 feet away from another camper. The most ridiculous one I’ve seen is a $200/night campsite in Jackson, WY right in the middle of town with campers packed in as tight as they could get. To me, this defeats the purpose of camping, which is to be immersed in nature. Boondocking sites are usually more remote, allowing us to feel like we are truly camping outside, unplugged, away from society. One of the best benefits though is the money we save. Campsites can cost between $10-$200+ per night, and on a long trip like this, that can really add up. We would rather save that money and spend it on other experiences rather than sleeping at a “nice” campsite. Here are pictures of some of our favorite spots we have camped for free:
Cons:
Boondocking definitely has its cons as well. As I said, you do not have hookups to electricity and water, so you will need to find other ways to acquire those needs (I’ll tell you how we do this later). What I think bothers people the most though is the lack of bathrooms. 90% of the boondocking sites we have stayed at do not have facilities, meaning you need to be comfortable using the bathroom outside (number one and two!) and showering outside as well. As backpackers, we were not very affected by this, but I think for most people would have to get used to this. Another downside to boondocking is the sites are not always glamorous. Many of the sites require four-wheel drive, are close to a busy road, or should not be considered “sites” at all (example: pull-offs on the highway). This is especially true near urban areas, where we usually struggle more to find free places to camp. There are also no camp hosts, so campsite regulations are up to you and the other campers (we have NEVER had a problem with this, but I’m sure others have). These sites are often more remote, which we enjoy, but also means cell service is very spotty as well. For us, remoteness means being closer to trailheads and the backcountry, which we like, but may not be what you enjoy doing when traveling. If you like visiting cities or going to breweries, boondocking may not be a great option for you.
If boondocking sounds like something you could handle, I will share exactly how we find free sites and how we overcome some of the hardships.
Finding Sites:
This part took us some time to figure out, but I think we have perfected it now. The first thing we do is look for registered dispersed sites on the app FreeRoam. In our opinion, this is the best boondocking app. People can leave reviews and post pictures, and we have had a lot of luck with it. If we can’t find anything on there, we use the apps FreeCampsite.net and Campendium. We don’t like these as much because they usually don’t have as many free sites listed as FreeRoam and their interfaces are harder to use. Keep in mind when using these apps you need internet connection, so make sure to plan for that ahead of time. There are other apps out there, but these are the ones we like to use.
Sometimes the apps don’t help us find anything, so we have to resort to a different strategy. FreeRoam has a map layer you can activate that shows all BLM and USFS land in orange and green overlays, respectively (remember, these are the public lands I was talking about). So just because no one has reported a dispersed site in those areas doesn’t mean you can’t camp there. We will usually cross reference the BLM and USFS land map overlays with Google satellite maps to find a pullout or dirt road in those areas we can camp on. If all else fails, we usually sleep at a trailhead. We choose a longer trail that people definitely park overnight in for backpacking trips. Be aware of “No overnight camping” signs often found here and camp at your own risk. We have never been asked to leave.
We still struggle to camp in urban areas, which crack down on overnight parking, especially in a camper. We have a Planet Fitness membership, so we have camped overnight in the parking lots there with no issues. We also know Cabelas and Walmarts often let people overnight camp, but we have never tried. It is something we think we will have to figure out when we travel on the East Coast. We also know friends with Mercedes Sprinters or smaller vans that sleep overnight in hotel parking lots with success, but Winnie is too conspicuous for that.
Lifestyle:
Since we are never hooked up to power, we have a small generator and batteries we keep charged. Most of the time we can survive off of the batteries alone, but to charge them or use our bigger outlets we need to fire up the generator. We have a Wen 2250W that we like a lot. For water, we fill up at public water fountains. We have a five-gallon water jug we can sometimes fill directly at the fountain, and other times we just fill gallon jugs. For example, every time we shower at Planet Fitness, Nick and I both take a one gallon jug with us to fill at the fountain. This water can be poured directly into Winnie’s tank to use for the sink, and we usually keep some inside for drinking water as well. All of this definitely takes time and planning (and sometimes causes a lot of stress. I’m looking at you, desert), so make sure you’re prepared for that.
I would say many vanlifers combine staying at campsites to refill on power and water and then boondocking when it’s not needed. However, we are perfectly content with boondocking full-time. All it took was for us to stay at one paid campsite before we decided to never pay for that again.
If you want to learn more about boondocking on public lands, I will link some resources below that explain more. Let us know if you have tried/want to try boondocking! And of course, please respect the environment you camp in and remember to leave no trace. If you have any questions, feel free to comment them.
I would try the boondocking way instead of cramped campgrounds anytime. Don't like to be around folks who may be drinking and on drugs anytime. Just be careful. Love your details of your life on the road. I grew up living in the country on a farm so I had my fill in my younger days, so I like the modern inventions very much.