People who travel a lot in their recreational vehicles or even live in them are familiar with the words boondocking and moochdocking. RV living can be less expensive if you boondock or moochdock.
Boondocking is a term used when you stay in a place that doesn’t have the amenities and hook-ups of a campground. You have to rely on your own power, either solar or a generator. You have to have your own water and a self-contained bathroom.
Some BLM campgrounds require you to boondock, as they’re remote and don’t offer water, sewer, or power.
Moochdocking on the other hand is when you stay on a friend’s property or park on their street in front of their home. You plug your power into their house and use their water. If you’re really lucky, your friend may even have a sewer hook-up. You’re basically mooching off their generosity.
I’ve had the enormous pleasure to moochdock with some great people in some beautiful places this past summer.
Beckenridge Vineyard, soon to be renamed (I can’t tell you the new name because it hasn’t been formally announced). Our friends who own the vineyard have an RV pad with full hookups. This Dallas, Oregon vineyard has an amazing view of the grapevines and the hills beyond. Hubby and I stayed there for 17 days. I helped with some of their events, and hubby helped by organizing their shop and tools.



We moochdocked in Colorado with hubby’s brother. Fall in Colorado is beautiful. Cold nights and mornings, but warm, sunny days. Lots of pine trees with wildlife wandering through. Deer, fox, squirrels for the kitties to watch, and lots of birds.
Moochdocking as a lifestyle
My friends in Oklahoma hosted us on their property, allowing us to plug into their house power when our generator refused to stay powered up. Who knew it could get that cold in October? We about froze our first night there. No power = no heat. Brrr. But they fed us well. We laughed a lot over the crazy card game called Golf. Sorry, Bob, you just couldn’t win at that one!
I hope you find the kind of friends we have that will let you moochdock. The advantage is that you get to hang out with your friends, but you still have your own space. Do you know that old saying about friends being like fish? After 3 days, they both start to stink. Avoid stinkiness – park your rig in their driveway, mooch off their power, and enjoy the fellowship.
Follow my RV travels on my newsletter: https://adept-trailblazer-1187.ck.page/bc6f6a4676
To get started on your own RV journey, check out Bish’s RV. http://www.bishs.com