This will tell you the state of your batteries as well as exactly what is going in and out of them in real time.

Battery Monitor -> If you’re a geek and plan to boondock extensively then a good-quality battery monitor is IMHO essential.

It’s not perfect (a hydrometer is technically more accurate), but it’s easy to use on all types of batteries and good enough for starters.

Voltmeter-> If you’re just starting out and don’t really know if you’re going to get into this whole boondocking thing then a good-quality Digital Voltmeter or Multimeter will do the job.

I suggest either a voltmeter or a battery monitor. just some lights) so it’s really better to have a back-up. If you have a big Class A there will usually be some kind of monitor already included in your rig, but often times they are very crude (e.g. That’s a nice full battery (ignore the dust) We love out LinkLite Monitor all off) and/or hitting the battery disconnect and waiting a few minutes before I go out to measure will get me close enough. For most deep-cycle batteries around 12.7V is considered “fully charged” while around 12.1V is “50% discharged”. Ideally the way you’re supposed to measure this is to disconnect your batteries and let them sit around & “rest” for a few hours before taking a reading, but I rarely have time for that. In practice I find that just turning off as much as I can inside the RV (lights, fans, appliances etc. The way you tell how full (or drained) they are is by their “at rest” voltage. You can definitely go lower, but you start to impact the overall life-cycle of your batteries so most folks stick with the 50% number. The typical rule of thumb with deep-cycle batteries is to drain them no more than 50%. So, some kind of battery monitor is essential too. Then, once you get to your site you’ll need some way to monitor how your batteries are doing so that you don’t drain them too deep and kill them. Obviously you want to start your boondocking experience with fully charged house batteries (for example, a night hooked-up at an RV park will do that nicely). The types of batteries used are typically deep-cycle 12V lead-acid batteries which are designed to be drained and charged quite heavily many times over. Most modern RVs come with house batteries (at least 1-2) and when you go boondocking they are you primary source of power. Generator fuel -> If you’re bringing a portable generator make sure it’s filled and you have some extra fuel ready to supplement it.īattery & Battery Monitor Prep Typical deep-cycle battery state of charge.If your rig uses portable propane tanks, fill those up before you go, and if you’re planning on using your portable grill in the boonies bring propane/fuel for that too. Propane lasts a reaaaaly long time if you’re just cooking and running the fridge with it, but the furnace can suck it away pretty fast. Propane tank ready -> If your rig uses a propane refrigerator, range and/or furnace make sure you have enough propane for that.to get away from weather or a natural disaster). Gas/Diesel tank at least 1/2 full -> Having gas in your rig ensures you can run your on-board generator (if you have one) and/or move a significant distance if you need to (e.g.Black/Grey tanks empty -> These are the tanks that you will be filling up as you do your various businesses.We also always carry a few extra empty jugs of water (we recently switched to two of these BPA-Free 6 Gallon containers), so we can get more water if needed on the road. Make sure you’ve filled it up to the brim. Water tank full -> This will be what you’ll use for washing, flushing and drinking.Very simply the ones that should be empty should be emptied and the ones that should be full should be filled: We carry a few extra water jugs around Obviously the first thing to prep before you go into the boonies are your various RV tanks. So here we go with Part II -> Prepping Your RV Tank & Fuel Prep Also, I’ll go through some basic prep work for other stuff too. I won’t go through ALL the details of RV electrical (that could take 10,000 more words), but I’ll cover the basics here. One of the biggest barriers that newbies go through is understanding RV battery and electrical systems. The main thing to understand when you boondock is that you live entirely “off-grid” which means that whatever you bring with you in the RV is what you’ve got to live on! You need to have your RV (and yourselves) ready for that, plus once you get to your site you need to be able to monitor and conserve what you have to make it last. So, now we’re actually going to prep your RV for the trip.

If you’ve read the first part of this series you’ll already have decided on a place to go and scouted out some potential campsites on Google Satellite.

Boondocking For Newbies Part II -> Prepping Your RV

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