Because a minivan with a GoneCamper conversion is GREAT for boondocking!
First, let's define "boondocking". Boondocking is camping outside of established camp grounds. You are self-contained, camping anywhere BUT in an established camp site. There are NO facilities provided for you. No picnic table, no restroom, no water, no dumpster, and not even any maintained parking spots.
Boondocking is camping out in the "boonies". That is, out in the back country whether this is the desert, deep forest, lake shore, or mountains. Boondocking is NOT "camping" overnight in the Walmart parking lot or at a rest stop along the interstate highway. If you can see street lights, can walk to a flush toilet, or have access to electricity you are NOT boondocking!
But real boondocking also means NO camp ground host, NO reservations required, and NO fees! And because you can pick your camp site you can be guaranteed to have privacy without any neighbors, without any noise, and without anyone in sight!
Best of all, boondocking takes you beyond the rest of the crowd to places inaccessible to huge RV's - and this means the BEST scenery!
This is FREE camping. FREEDOM! What's not to like?
Boondocking in the Coconino National Forest
The view from Forest Road 300, the "Rim Road" above Payson, Arizona
The GoneCamper minivan is perfect for exploring the back roads - but NOT off road!
But, don't you need an expensive motor home for boondock camping? NO! In fact, motor homes are POOR choices for boondocking for several reasons:
1. Motor homes are big and heavy. You can't get a motor home into grassy, sandy, or muddy areas without getting stuck. And how are you going to get a heavy motor home unstuck? You can't just have a Jeep give you a pull; you are going to need to call a wrecker. That may take a day to have a wrecker come off road to you - and may cost you hundreds, even over $1,000! Be VERY careful taking your motor home off the maintained road.
2. Motor homes are tall and wide. You can't drive a motor home down narrow back roads with trees and brush on both sides and over hanging. You are going to break windows, tear off roof vents, and scratch everything.
3. Motor homes have lots of fragile parts exposed underneath. You risk tearing off drain pipes, puncturing plastic water and waste tanks, and damaging wiring and gas lines. Boondocking usually means bumps and ruts and rocks. This is just not a good idea for a motor home, unless the back road is well-maintained.
4. Motor homes are long, and have lots of overhang behind the rear axle. You are going to drag on minimal ruts and bumps. You may only be dragging the rear bumper, but any dragging can cause damage. The worst case will lift the drive wheels as the rear bumper drags - meaning you lose traction and can't go forward and can't go back. Once again, you are going to pay hundreds to have a wrecker get you unstuck.
5. Motor homes are full of stuff. Your stuff expands to fill the available space. Not only will a motor home have cabinets and a refrigerator filled to capacity, but you will have pots and pans and other "comforts of home" banging around on rough roads. Add to this the TV, microwave and other accessories bolted to the walls. These coaches are designed for gliding down the highway, and are simply not intended for bouncing down back roads.
6. Motor homes are designed to make "camping" as close as possible to your living room and bedroom at home. Motor homes are designed for plugging into electricity and water at a campground with a nice, paved parking space. Motor homes are not engineered to absorb the abuse of unpaved roads. The flimsy wood construction of most motor homes will literally self-destruct on twists and bumps. Which makes me ask, why are you boondocking in a motor home in the first place? Why subject your expensive and fragile motor home to the rigors of travel on poor roads?
If you want to boondock - going miles into the back country - then a motor home (or expensive camper trailer) is a poor choice.
Driving the Rim Road above Payson, Arizona
A GoneCamper minivan conversion eliminates the problems of camper trailers and motor homes for boondocking. The GoneCamper has these advantages:
1. The GoneCamper conversion uses a standard minivan. While minivans are not off road vehicles, the light weight and front-wheel drive combine to make driving on unpaved surfaces very easy.
Driving to Eagle, Alaska - then continuing to Dawson City, Yukon
2. The minivan is short and narrow. A GoneCamper minivan conversion can be driven down narrow, tree-lined, bumpy back roads without dragging and scraping. Obviously, you will not drive a minivan through deep mud or snow or over 4-wheel drive trails. We are discussing boondocking, NOT overland expeditions.
3. As long as you drive slowly and cautiously, you can drive a minivan into plenty of isolated areas. You will need to drive with the tires on the highest rocks and ruts. But the undercarriage is smooth and doesn't have anything that will drag. The front and rear overhangs are minimal for steeper approaches.
Boondocking along the Kennecott River, McCarthy, Alaska
4. And - worst case - if you get stuck it won't mean that you are buried. You will likely lose traction on a muddy spot or loose rocks and just come to a graceful stop. Getting unstuck will usually mean backing up or just a push. If you actually need a tow, a small truck or even an ATV will usually be enough to help you extricate the minivan from the problem area.
5. Your GoneCamper minivan conversion is designed for comfort AND minimalism. You don't have room for the kitchen sink, a TV or your collection of porcelain state plates. But you have a comfortable full-size bed, a refrigerator and a full camping kitchen on board. Everything packs neatly and tightly. Nothing is bouncing around. There is nothing that is going to fall off or break.
The rear kitchen galley in the GoneCamper minivan conversion
6. The GoneCamper minivan conversion costs only $1,595.00. It can be installed in any new or used minivan with a four-foot by eight-foot cargo floor. Your total cost - minivan included - can be as little as $10,000, maybe even less. Most motor homes, including the "small" Class-B van conversions START at over $100,000. It is possible to spend well over $250,000 for a motor home! Will you sleep any better in a $100,000 motor home? Will the morning coffee be any hotter?
7. A GoneCamper minivan camping conversion will take you further than any motor home (unless you spend $250,000 for a four-wheel drive van conversion!) and give you access to unmatched scenery and experiences. Plus, when you get back to the highway, you will cruise comfortably, effortlessly and economically. Along the way, you can park easily to shop for groceries, get fuel or supplies. You can even drive through the car wash. When you get home, you can pull into the garage to unpack. You won't have to take the motor home to a storage lot that costs over $100 per moth. You can use the minivan as your daily driver and for day trips. And you won't have to take the motor home back to the RV dealer for repairs at over $150 per hour!
Here is a video recap of our recent boondocking camp deep in the Coconino National Forest, over 25 miles from the main highway:
Why not join us on the road - and OFF the main roads? Contact us to schedule the design, construction, and delivery of YOUR GoneCamper minivan conversion?
"Traveling Efficiently, Camping Comfortably, Living Frugally"
