2gypsies

This is a great one! Looks to be well made, also.

You're correct. I should have stated to test out your water consumption and tank issues.

The best way to try dry camping is to fill your tank with fresh water and empty the grey and black. Then go to a RV park with hookups. Yes, you'll be paying a higher price (hookups) to test this out but it will give you a very good idea how long you can go. You'll have the option of plugging in and filling/dumping when you run out your dry camping experiment or when you chicken out. 😁 We dry camped 95% of our 16 years of full-timing - in public parks with no hookups and on public lands - BLM, forest service, etc. We had 105 gal fresh tank; 65 grey; 45 black. We had 300w solar. We could last 12-14 days. The grey tank was our limiting factor and we never filled the black tank. Therefore, we dumped our dish water in the black to save space in the grey. To be successful you need to conserve. Don't leave the water running. Showers: wet down, turn off water, soap up, rinse. Dishes: we usually did them every other day. We wiped them with a wet, used paper towel and stored in dishpan under the sink. A fry pan and a vegetable pot can be used over again. We usually grilled outdoors. Toast? Butter the bread & plop in the fry pan. Excellent! Our coffee pot was a stovetop perculator which made awesome coffee. We had an inverter so could use the microwave for heating up. We stayed by elevation so never needed AC. The Fantastic fan cooled the RV down great, if needed. Just opened a couple windows slightly for cross breezes. Block the sunny side windows and the huge windshield from direct sun. Why we did it? We enjoy the quietness and peaceful nature surroundings; many time on a river or lake. We don't need a clubhouse or activities. We walk, take hikes, explore. Definitely try it!

Benson Escapees park is a wonderful place to stay. We had a lot there for 9 yr. Lots to do in the area. The best time to get a site is Sept-Nov and April onward although sometimes you could get lucky at their busy times especially in January when folks go to Quartzsite for a 'vacation'. It's a little higher elevation than Tucson so the winter nights will be cold but days warm up fast. Likewise, it's a little cooler in summer.

John Day Fossil Beds Nat'l Monument in east central Oregon is perfect for quiet touring. Hwy 26 is OK for any size RV. Clyde Holliday State Rec. Area campground is great for a stay! https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2021/05/national-parks-traveler-checklist-john-day-fossil-beds-national-monument

Welcome .... and hope you sign up to be an official Escapee! It's a great organization and even more so if you get involved with it by attending their yearly Escapes and perhaps joining a subgroup. Do you have a RV yet? Which Escapee park are you interested in staying?

I just read an article that because of ongoing drought summer fires will be a big thing once again. It stated to check your vehicles for anything hanging that could drag on the pavement, including safety chains on hitches. This will cause sparks which could fly into the vegetation along the road. I do recall that sparks were a cause of one of the big California fires. In addition, don't park a hot vehicle or use a generator when parked over dry grass. It also mentioned to check tire inflation as low tires can cause sparks. That I didn't know. Have a safe summer!

Eastbound - there's are signs warning of 6% grade for 8 miles and then 2 miles of 5%. Westbound - signs warning of 7% grade for 9 miles. Signs of "trucks stay in lower gear" & vehicles over 55,000 lbs must use right lane and 25 mph". There are 2 runaway truck ramps.

If coming on I-40 east of Memphis you could take I-240 or even I-269 to get more out of the city and pick up 61 south to 49 at Lula which will come out west of Memphis on I-40 at Brinkley.

In Rocky Mtn. Nat'l Park as volunteers, one of our days per week we were asked to hike one of the trails along Bear Lake Rd. We were asked to visually inspect the trail for any needed attention and to talk to the hikers to get their take on the trail. Sleeping Bear Dunes Nat'l Lakeshore we were given a park vehicle to drive the backcountry dirt roads and to look out for anything that needed attention. Rangers were regularly seen in many parks when we, as visitors, hiked the trails. We've definitely seen them on the Bryce and Grand Canyon trails. Parks utilize volunteers in many ways.

Where are you coming from? Where are you heading? There may be options for you.

Drive it! 😃

Makes sense.... Endust leaves a nice shine on furniture but it has an oily component & I would think it would attract dust.

According to this May 10 announcement the campground is closed. https://www.spa.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Recreation/Updates/

Being an island doesn't mean it not bug inhabitable. However, Mackinac has a lot of open terrain so it's not a problem. We volunteered on South Manitou Island giving lighthouse tours. One summer for about a week we had a mass of fierce biting flies come over from the mainland in big clouds. These were not the Upper Peninsula deer flies. They were like the typical house fly. Basically, the island hunkered down and no one went outside. I felt so sorry for the tent campers. They couldn't do anything. No one ever saw anything like it previously.

That doesn't answer the OP's question.... why does it work when it's parked on unlevel conditions?

.... from the link I posted: "Where this all becomes a problem for a refrigerator is when the fluid can’t move properly. If an RV is parked on an unlevel surface, then the refrigerant fluid has likely all moved to one side. If it all moves to one side it can cause the refrigerant pump to be starved, and it won’t be able to move any refrigerant. If it all moves to the other side, then it will get flooded. Starving the pump is really the situation that causes all of the major problems. When the pump gets starved, all of the refrigerant fluid remains in place. Some of the fluid can then overheat. When that happens, small crystals precipitate out of the solution. This is really bad".

Here's an article that may explain it: https://camperreport.com/why-rvs-have-to-be-level-and-how-to-do-it-faster/#:~:text=Where this all becomes a,able to move any refrigerant. All the refrigerant has moved to one side when you're parked on the slope.

We're from Michigan. You're talking of mosquitoes. Mackinac Island shouldn't be a problem as it's wide open for breezes and no thick forests. Camping - if you can stay out of forests you'll be just fine. Try for an open spot to set up camp. The UP seems to be worse than the Lower Peninsula. Campgrounds in the UP are around lakes and in heavy forests. Beginning in August it's a good experience!

They are moving away from non-reservable campgrounds. In Grand Teton Nat'l Park this summer all will be reservable. Previously, Gros Ventre and Colter Bay were first come and each had 300 sites. Now the 600 sites are reservable. Same for Yellowstone's campgrounds. Our favorite, Mammoth, is now reservable.

I totally agree on your positive comments for boondocking. It's certainly a LOT easier to do than RV parks; your yard is in beautiful areas - quite often by a lake or stream and all to yourself; you can pick up and move whenever you want; no wasted time and money spent on reservations and RV parks - it's FREE. If you don't want to do it often at least try it and work it inbetween the reservations. To us, it's certainly not 'roughing it' or 'difficult' to do.

Could you use a relative's/friend's address in Oregon?

I just read it. It's not locked. Perhaps there's another going on in another section.

I just tried Google Maps. I typed in a city which appeared as a map. I did a 'find' for Home Depot and the full map is still there with the Home Depots marked in red. I clicked on one of them and yes, I got a whole row of all the Home Depots at the bottom of the map. To get rid of the row, just click on a spot on the map that isn't marked as a Home Depot and the row disappears but all of the Home Depots are still marked with red on the full size map. Is that your issue?

The parking lot at the Arch is all I can think of. I guess I'd never try for a picnic spot in a big congested city with a RV! 🤪 Good luck!