[whatsnewell]

As many here know we have 620 watts of solar panels on our roof. That combined with our 160 gallons of fresh water capacity enables us to go up to 16 days (our longest so far) without using services. The biggest thing we have to manage is our black water.....we put no toilet paper in our toilet when dry camping, which helps keep the volume going into our black tank down. Since we have a separate gray water tank we are able to dispose of that easily by running a hose out into the desert and letting it drain out via gravity......we boondock during the winter in remote areas where that is allowed. We are able to tilt our solar panels which comes in handy during the winter when the sun is lower in the horizon. On most days our batteries (two 8D batteries) get back to 100% by 11 am, or Noon at the latest. Of course our 1982 Newell is pretty low tech.....our biggest electrical draw is our TV. Since we have a propane water heater, fridge and stove we can really economize on our electrical use, plus all our interior lights are LED.

As you alluded to, the independence we gain by being off the grid is wonderful. It takes a completely different mindset to dry camp, or boondock as we call it, and takes a day, or two for us to adjust from being hooked up all summer like we are now.