Whats going on guys!
In todays video, we're gonna go over some boondocking essentials.
Right now we are camped out on lake Santeetlah in North Carolina in the Smoky Mountains.
I believe thats how you say it.
Santeetlah.
Thats what it looks like.
Anyways, we've been out here for about a week and it's been raining every single day.
So, were gonna take advantage of the down time today and do a boondocking essentials
video.
Luckily we're staying dry under the Batwing Tarp.
It's keeping the firewood nice and dry as well.
So, lets get started!
What's up buddy!
Alright, so first and foremost, water!
That's our 6 gallon drinking water tank.
We basically just take this thing to town and fill it up at the little RO water stations.
Most grocery stores have them.
Walmart, or even the little mom and pop shops in the smaller towns will have them.
We've got another 5 gallon tank up in here thats sink water.
So if we use 5 gallons for doing things like dishes, Andrea's over here cooking eggs for
her salad.
Whippin it up.
But anyways, the 5 gallons in there is strictly for cleaning dishes, and like washing our
hands.
Things like that.
So, our 6 gallons of drinking water is strictly drinking water which is nice.
And i would highly suggest that system.
It seems to be a pretty universal system for most everybody that travels on the road.It's
just easy cause most towns have the machines, and it keeps it all in one little tight spot.
I mean, thats nice and tight against our wall.
It doesn't really intrude on the walking way.
So, highly suggested on that.
And just incase we need to use something like a lake or some kind of creek for fresh water,
this is our little sawyer water filter.
You can basically use any water source, fill it up in a average sized water bottle, and
then this side screws onto the cap of the water bottle and that's like a straw up top.
So, this thing is nice to have on hand.
It's also like a nice survival kind of tool to have.
Hows that salad?
Really good.
So obviously water is probably #1 most important thing to have as far as survival.
But other than that, you're gonna want power.
Especially if you're living off grid full time.
You're gonna want to power your lights and whatever other things you might need to charge.
Cameras, cell phones, whatever.
So, behind me here is our solar panel.
The bag is completely torn up, but its been on the road with us for a while.
So i kinda didnt expect it to really stand up too well.
But the solar panel does its job.
It powers our...
Let me see if I can show you this down here.
There we go, nice and bright.
Alright, sorry it's a little bit of a mess down here right now.
This is kinda my quick access for tools and things.
But, this is our 215 amp hour agm.
I believe its "Full River"?
Yeah, Full River.
I got this guy on amazon.
I'll leave the link below if you wanna check that out.
It'll power us off grid for about 2 weeks and thats always more than we need.
So, if you consider yourself low power usage, which we kind of do.
Thats pretty much just using the lights inside the living space and charging a few accessories
like cameras and phones.
Maybe a laptop every now and then.
This battery was well worth the investment.
I would definitely give it a look on amazon.
It'll last ya probably about 2 weeks on average without charging it once.
So thats always nice.
If you plan on full time boondocking like we do, most places that you'll be staying
allow you to stay about 14 days on average.
Thats national forest service land, BLM land, most public lands will allow 14 days.
So having a battery that lasts those full 14 days where we don't have to go to a campground
and pay for a hookup, or drive somewhere to get sunlight.
Those are the kinds of investments that are gonna save you down the line on a monthly
basis.
If you're just a weekend boondocker, you really don't have to put too much thought into it.
Most batteries will give you a weekends worth of power.
But definitely if you plan on doing full time boondocking, having a nice battery is pretty
much the heart of the whole operation.
The next essential is geared towards the full time boondocks once again.
If you're full timing, you will be going through 4 seasons, and winter is one of them.
So, you're gonna want to stay warm when it's freezing outside, or snowing.
I mean, you don't want to die in the cold, that would suck.
So we went with the G Stove.
This thing keeps us nice and warm.
I think it's...
Let me see.
84 degrees in here right now.
I think it's about mid 30's outside.
So, this thing is super nice.
We cook on top of it.
That's what Andrea just cooked the eggs on top of.
Throw a nice fat wet log in there overnight and it'll burn for a pretty long time while
we sleep.
I've got it roaring in there right now.
That's why it's nice and cozy in here.
I've got the wood stove fan on top.
And that basically just moves air all around and gets it out of my little fireplace area
and back over to the beautiful lady on the bed.
So if you plan on full timing, I would highly suggest getting a wood stove in your setup.
Another option you can do for heat is propane.
You can use propane to do something like a little buddy heater.
Those things are cool.
We just figured for the same space that it took up, we could install a wood stove and
also get a cooking space as well.We've loved it so far because we've always got a fire
going in the winter, so we always have a hot surface to cook on without having to pull
out the stove, the propane tank, and all that kind of shenanigan.
Other than heat, id say the last essential that i would add into the boondocking essentials
video would be food.
Cans are great.
I'll just kinda give you a little run around of the food that we have to give you an idea
of what works on the road and what works for boondocking really.
So this is our cooler, this is our fridge.
It's an RTIC cooler or a Yeti knockoff if you will.
pretty much the same thing, works just as well.
That is a batch of beef jerky we just made out at Andreas grandpa's house, among just
average stuff.
I mean, we keep most things in bags, that way when the ice melts it doesn't mess up
things like the milk carton.
ooh, that little yellow case back there, i gotta mention that.
It is $1.50 at walmart and it is the best investment for a traveling cooler you will
ever make, because you'll never crack another egg.
And over here we've got a couple more cabinets of food storage up here.
Got basic things like pancake mix and dry food storage containers over here.
If you saw my first video, you know how i roll with chocolate.
Big ass bar.
Still doin that thing!
And over here, we've got some canned food, more dry storage.
If you eat refried beans, you've gotta try this one.
Rosarita.
And back on this side of the camper, behind our motivational quote of the day, we've got
some more food storage.
And once again, dry food.
If you notice the pattern here, dry food goes a long way.
Basic condiments and more canned food, plates, silverware.
This is what it looks like in here when Andrea starts making jewelry.
So, ladies if you like jewelry, please go to her Etsy.
Let me see if i can zoom in on this thing.
There's her card.
Stoned Darling.
Look her up on Etsy and get some of this jewelry off the bed so I can sit down please.
In my defense, we're fixing the table.
That we are.
We're gonna transform this again to where we can turn these 2 benches into seats and
raise the table up.
There's a table under there, we just never use it.
So, once we get down to Florida were gonna throw the leg back on that table and reupholster
the whole bed thing and turn that back into a table.
Cause that would be nice and efficient.
Also, underneath Andreas take over here, under this bench and the bench over here as well.
We have another essential to boondocking which is pretty much just survival gear.
Thats, you know, emergency candles, blankets, i think we've got ropes and all kinds of just...
anything you can think of survival.
Her grandfather just has everything in a big barn so he lent us a bunch of stuff.
So that pretty much sums up just about everything you'll need in a boondocking setup.
Food, water, power, heat, and survival gear.
I think that was all 5.
5 of them.
5 things you need to know to start boondocking!
So there you go!
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And you'll follow along on our journey along the way.
We're still hippity hoppin all around the USA.
We might go down south, might go up north to Canada we don't know yet.
Every day's a new day and pretty much...
Whats one of those travel quotes?
Give me a travel quote!
Quick!
Travel quote! uhm.. uhm..
Go where the path....
What is that one?!
Go where there is no path, and leave a path!
Unless you're hiking, then don't leave a path.
Just tread lightly and be nice to the plants.
Alright, Bye!