Dispersed Camping: A Rest for Both Brain and Budget

After our trip to Mesa Verde, I was a bit over budget and worn out. Luckily, the San Juan National Forest is a short drive away from that national park. My friends at Mesa Verde recommended a section of the forest near Transfer Campground. They were right, it was beautiful and peaceful.

While Transfer is an inexpensive place to spend the night, it's still a campground. It costs money and you can count on neighbors within a small child's stone throw. I needed solitude and didn't feel like paying for the inconvenience of  others' presence.

Dispersed camping, sometimes called primitive camping,  is a great way to take a break when you're on the road full-time. It's allowed in large parts of the national forests and on land that belongs to the Bureau of Land Management and is usually free. A very limited number of state parks also allow it (California's Anzo-Borega Desert State Park is one).

When you camp in this manner you utilize an existing site  that has no services (water, toilets, etc.), following Leave No Trace Principles so that you minimize your effect on the site and the flora and fauna near it. Human waste is buried or carried out (in my case in my composting toilet), trash is packed out, and wastewater is kept as chemical-free as possible and either packed out or carefully dispersed. Usually the only evidence of a campsite before and after you leave it will be a fire ring and tire tracks.

Dispersed camping usually allows you the luxury of space between you and the next nearest camper -- sometimes miles of space. While time limits vary, you can usually stay two weeks (or until your water and supplies give out). Most places require you go a significant distance away (such as 25 miles) before making camp again. The idea is that this is temporary camping, not seasonal living space.

My Solar Electricity Conservation Bonus - Microwave, Freezer, and a Fan

In December of 2012, I hit the road in the Maevemobile. It didn't have solar power yet (I didn't trust anyone in New England to know what they were doing with such an installation) and it relied on the engine to recharge my batteries. As soon as I could, I found a good solar installer (Starlight Solar in Yuma AZ) and put up three solar panels and a good charge controller. A year later I added another solar panel, not because I needed it, but because it gave me peace of mind when I visited cloudy climes. I now had solar overkill.  I bought an electric bike and still had power to burn.

In winter of 2014, I installed a 900-watt microwave in the van. I use it sparingly and always at 50% power, but it's working out just great. (note: I have a BIG pure-sine wave inverter -- 2,000 watts).

In the spring of 2014, I decided to put the remaining surplus power to good use and ordered something I hadn't originally believed I'd ever have in my campervan -- a FREEZER! In addition I had to add a thermostatically controlled vent fan to vent the heat of the freezer and refrigerator on hot days.  I feel like I'm living in luxury. The van is cooler than it has ever been, I'm able to go much longer between grocery stops, and I'm eating better.

The Maevemobile, an Eco-Campervan

How it Came to Be:

In 2002, I was on the way to marriage with the love of my life. I was a workaholic technologist with a comfortable income. Anxiety disorders and a misdiagnosed mood disorder had troubled me since childhood. Ten years later, I was divorced; my mood disorder was more severe (ultra-rapid cycling, drug-resistant bipolar); my anxiety was worse; and I was going through menopause; I'd been unable to work for years; my only income was a social security check 85% less than my last paycheck. I needed a reason to live. 

In an effort to find a purpose I went to an advocacy course designed to help people with mental illness advocate for themselves and others. I chose helping people to discover their rights to emotional support animals in no-pets housing and trained service dogs to accompany them in public as my mission. I also loved being in the outdoors and hiking and knew that would help me manage my disability. 

Since I was learning that only a very small number of people in the country understood the rights of people with pysch disabilities to have assistance animals under U.S. federal law and since I didn't want to hike only in Connecticut, I thought of travelling around the U.S. in a van to spread the word and to camp, sight-see and hike.  The problem was money. Having maxed out my social security contributions for many years, I had a generous social security disability check, but that check was my only income. I could conserve energy, clip coupons, etc., but I wouldn't save enough money to pay for much travel. The big savings would come only if I could ditch my residence and use the money I'd otherwise pay for rent or mortgage and utilities to pay the fuel cost of travelling. 

NOTE: I didn't just pick up and become homeless. I planned and tested as much as I could for two years before I made any irrevocable decisions. See Recreational Recovery: Eight Steps to a New Life for a description of the process of coming up with this idea for a new life and for testing the elements of the new life.

Maeve

The best thing about the Maevemobile (so named because it delivers my service dog, Maeve, to the various non-profits where we volunteer) is that it is simple and economical  to operate/live in.

1. No handy-man experience necessary. It's as simple as I could possibly design it. No plumbing and minimal wiring (1.8 cf DC Chest Style Solar Refrigerator  wired to the deep discharge starter battery, four 12-volt outlets and an inverter (a device that takes battery power and uses it to power a couple of standard AC outlets) wired to the pair of deep discharge aux batteries, four solar panels wired to charger that charges both aux and starter batteries). The van came from the factory with the wiring for the alternator to charge the starter and aux batteries when the van is being driven.
2. Only one non-solar fuel source: a tank full of diesel from which both the engine and the diesel furnace sip. This means I only have one fuel gauge to watch and remember to fill and I don't deal with any highly flammable fuels (gasoline, propane, etc.) or open flames -- a good thing when I'm not at my best. It also means my cost of operation is very low if I park for significant periods in a sunny, warm climate. Even in the cold, the diesel furnace uses only 1/10 of a gallon per hour when running on high. I also have lots of insulation in the walls and ceiling: paint with insulating ceramic microbeads on the metal interior, denim batt insulation in the spaces between the ribs, reflectix (like aluminum covered bubble wrap) over the entire interior, and all that covered with 1/4" flexible plywood painted with those same microbeads.
3. My dry composting toilet eliminates the need for me to handle hazardous fecal waste on a regular basis. Other than emptying a relatively small urine collector into a toilet now and then, the toilet needs maintenance only about twice a year. No chemicals are used. For more information see: Nature's Head Composting Toilet Layout

I can't draw worth a darn, so I'll describe it:

The van is a 24-foot extended body, high roof (7' from floor to ceiling inside, 9' from ground to top outside) Mercedes Sprinter 2500 (no dual wheels) van. The van has two large windows, one on each side directly behind the passenger and driver's seat and has no partition between the cab and cargo/living area.

The cab is factory standard, except that the passenger and driver seats can swivel around to face the back (a factory option that is listed as available for fleets only but can be had if you ask).

Directly behind the driver's seat is a cot (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product...) that is designed as an emergency portable hospital cot. The head lifts up like a chaise lounge so it can be used for sitting or sleeping. I've gotten rid of the mattress and replaced it with two layers of temperature sensitive foam mattress topper salvaged from my old double bed. Under the foot of the cot is a battery box for the second house battery that was added after delivery by Freightliner. Also under the cot are a couple of storage boxes, a 3-drawer plastic unit, and miscellaneous smaller items (cd storage box, 1/2 gallon mason jars, hiking poles etc.).

Between the bed and the driver's side wall and below the big window is a metal plate on which are mounted three 12-volt outlets (like cigarette lighters), a Blue Sky solar charger, and a Xantrex PROWatt 2000 Inverter, Model# 806-1220. On the floor directly below these is a small Espar Airtronic Diesel Furnace which is vented out through the floor of the van and draws diesel directly from the nearby fuel tank. The hot air tube runs along the wall, then under the bed and runs to the edge of the cot near the head of the cot. Over the midsection of the cot is a removable table 36" high, 31" wide, and 13" deep. This serves as desk, night table, etc. I rarely remove it as it is high enough that I can turn over in my sleep without bumping into it.

Directly behind the cot is my refrigerator which looks like a small chest freezer 36" high  26" wide, and 24" deep. It has roughly 3" of airspace on all sides. On the wall over the refrigerator I've mounted a Monster power strip salvaged from my stereo system at home. My Max Burton 6200 Deluxe 1800-Watt Induction Cooktop sits on top of my refrigerator and plugs into the power strip when I'm using it. Otherwise it is stowed inside my cabinet.

Behind the refrigerator are some custom wood shelves designed to fit over the wheel well and to hold storage boxes and miscellaneous stuff. The top of this unit is part of my cat's penthouse apartment. The back 11 1/2 inches of the top shelf is extended  forward making a long shelf over most of the cot and the driver's side window. Miscellaneous light items, such as a bag of socks, penny whistles, a flute, towels, etc., are stored on the narrow shelf.

Behind that custom wood shelf unit is a standard 4' wide steel shelving unit from Costcos with the back vertical supports cut down to fit under the curved ceiling. An identical unit is installed on the opposite side of the van. Between them, just in front of the rear doors, is my dry composting toilet.

A third identical steel shelving unit is installed on the passenger side over the wheel well.

A cabinet is located in front of that unit, across the van from the head of my cot and my refrigerator, right next to the cargo door opening on the passenger's side. It is a cheap Sears plastic cabinet one would buy for the garage or basement. It has a catch at the bottom of its doors to keep them from swinging open when I drive. The cabinet has two doors with a couple of shelves behind them and is used for pots, dishes, and other cooking stuff. It's 36" high, 31" wide, and 19" deep. Above that cabinet is an open cabinet that used to hold a convection oven that drew too much power for too long to be practical. It is now used for miscellaneous storage.

In front of the cabinet, in front of the rear part of the cargo door opening is my 7 gallon water container. It has a frame to hold it a little more than half over the step so drips from the spigot go to the step rather than the floor of the van.

The rest of the passenger side cargo area contains my dog's water and food bowls and her bed which can be stowed during the day to save floor space.

Outside the van I've installed a ladder on the rear door and on that a holder for my folding outdoor furniture (a couple of chairs and tables). I've installed a hitch on the front of the van (to avoid blocking my Parktronic sensors in back) that holds a Thule 2 Bike Platform Hitch Rack. On the roof in the back are 6 solar day/night fans independent of each other and of my other systems. Each has its own little solar cell and rechargeable C sized battery to run a fan that exhausts 1000 cubic feet of air an hour. They are Nicro  fans and I don't recommend them. This, along with the insulation and custom cut reflectix window shades, keeps the van from becoming an oven on hot days and keeps the air in the van fresh. In front of those fans are the 4 solar panels laid flat (for simplicity's and safety's sake) on the roof. 

Inspirations

• The old Volkswagen microbus we used to convert into a camper every summer when I was a kid with bunk cots made out of BIG LEAD PIPES! (boy did it hurt if you hit your head when you turned over in your sleep!)
• Mom and my stepdad, who lived on the road in an RV (but who stayed in RV parks with hookups) for many years.
• My backpacking partner and tutor, Tom Day (re doing more with less in terms of water and gear)
• Organic gardening publications (Mom again) where I learned about composting in my childhood.
• My time with the Appalachian Mountain Club (re leave no trace ethics)
• Learning to green clean my home to cut down on my chemical exposure

How Economical is It?

I often pay nothing for a campsite or parking space. When I visit my grandchildren I park in front of their house. When I visit my mom I have a free place to park. People I meet at other locations sometimes offer me a place to park for a night or two when I come through their home states. My service dog's breeder lets us stay on her farm when we're coming through PA. There is an enormous amount of land owned by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management on which no services are offered, but on which one is allowed to camp for up to two weeks at no charge. The same is true in many areas of National Forests run by the USDA. There are many federal campgrounds in the national parks and other federal lands that offer some services and are inexpensive (about $3-20 a night). People who are disabled get half off that reasonable price as do senior citizens. While I've never taken any money for my volunteer work, I won't pass up a free place to park for a night or two in their parking lot. I'm currently parked in a BLM campground that has limited services but has two great natural hot well hot tubs and costs me $1.50 per night. 

As to running the vehicle, it gets between 17 and 22 mpg approximately. The amount of diesel burned for heat is not noticeable in the overall fuel consumption. The best mileage is on roads with a 45-65 mph limit. This was before I put the bike on front. I don't know how seriously that will impact the mpg. Oil changes are expensive for diesel vehicles, but they only happen every 10,000 miles and the engines last much longer than do gas engines. I've crossed the country three times and only put on about 23,000 miles. Now that I've officially "moved" to Arizona I pay very little for car insurance and less tax on the vehicle than in CT.

[excerpted from an answer I wrote on Quora.com in April 2013)