60 Day RV Boondocking Challenge... failed 2 weeks in.

[@jordancook1668]

A good trick I do is if you have meat trays or trimmings, just wrap them up in plastic wrap and put them in the freezer. They can stay in there indefinitely and will never smell. Then toss them in the trash when convenient. They’ll also never leak when frozen, obviously.

[@ricklarson114]

Thanks for being honest and showing the "failure" of using the power cord to recharge. I appreciate the realistic side!

[@IreneIronTravels]

We’re trying to stay positive and make it work even with the challenges!

[@cyaah86]

I love the content lately. For people who are considering getting into the off grid life, this is the kind of information we need to know! Keep it up!

[@IreneIronTravels]

I agree, it's not always glamorous out here!

[@TravelingSag]

Really love that music. So peaceful and calming 😊

[@IreneIronTravels]

Glad you enjoyed it! Music is important to us, we definitely chose that one for it's calming vibes 😊

[@kenttalcott8428]

I suspect you may not get rave reviews about a video essentially dedicated to waste , water, and power management but these are the critical things one has to manage when living a RV lifestyle for more than a couple weeks a year. I, for one, appreciate your diving into this topic and really appreciate learning from your experience. Sounds like you are probably in need of a dual fuel generator to compliment your healthy solar /battery array. We run in a travel trailer but do not live full time in our RV. We do, however, enjoy 4-6 week trips and would like to rely less of RV parks. No RV is designed to manage boon docking more than 48 hours out of the factory. Modifications in equipment and lifestyle are required to do much more than a weekend without hook-ups. Thanks again for all your insight and tips. ps: I have said before that your truck is bad *** and I still think your truck is bad ***! Stay safe.

[@radioactivemike1]

Our airstream has very low tanks making dumping at some stations difficult. I learned to drive up on some legos to tilt the camper and drain a bit faster. I sure like my F150 Poweboost for boondocking. Near unlimited power for what I need. Wish they’d roll that out to more trucks. 100g water. What a dream. I’m lucky to extend up to 45g with spare jugs. I pack an extra 30a power cord, only needed it once, but it sure saved the day.

[@shelleymcquillin7329]

Thanks for the boondocking tips!! Thanks to one of your previous videos, I picked up some kitchen shears. GAMECHANGER!! 🎉

[@IreneIronTravels]

You’re welcome! Kitchen shears are a must-have, aren’t they? 😂

[@mikenowak2360]

So much fun following along bring on the adventures.

[@jvogel431]

Hi there, love watching your videos. Why not get a small generator? Get a 2500 watt generator and charge your batteries in a pinch. You have a zillion dollar solar system and batteries that has only one slight flaw--it doesn't work in the shade. Generator for the win!

[@IreneIronTravels]

Hello! Yes, you are right... when you need a gen... you need a gen! We have carried one a couple different times....but our big problem is we only use it about once a year! And we all know you need to exceercise your gen or you will eventually have big problems! 😊

[@Nick-i4s]

@@IreneIronTravelshey guys! Just curious to why you aren’t more open to modified boondocking with a Genny?

[@IreneIronTravels]

Hello! I think it’s mostly just the way we boondock. Usually open sun areas, less trees, less heat. After 4-5 years of this we’ve only needed a gen a couple times. I just love having solar always charging with even thinking about it. That being said…. When you need a gen you need A gen!!

[@sally_forth]

Love the dry bag idea! In a Class C, I don’t love the idea of accumulating trash inside. I have a big power system but have resigned myself to needing to run the generator for an hour or so when I have three cloudy days especially in the winter. Not a fail, just a fact of life.

[@rickphillips4966]

We picked up a cheap dual fuel generator on Prime Day. Don’t have to haul around gas. Happy holidays. Still working on running into you guys out west.

[@IreneIronTravels]

Nice! We loved our dual fuel Genmax, but only used it about once a year! Just didnt make sense for us to keep hauling around...... Hope to see you guys!

[@TravelSmallLiveBig]

We used dry bags on our sailboats - never thought about using them for trash & dog poop bags! We have a portable suitcase solar panel set up, if sunny, it really keeps us up (but our trailer is only 17') and we have a Honda generator that runs on propane for when we are in trees and clouds. We had that washer on our catamaran - we had a water maker so actually used the washer part when we were anchored out somewhere. Loved the parchment paper for a cutting board - we use it all of the time in baking pans. :)

[@alexisr5199]

Happy Holidays guys. Much love and safe travels.

[@IreneIronTravels]

Happy Holidays to you too, thanks for the well wishes!

[@danandfaith]

We pay the same to dump and fill, but take only a few minutes. Our van has 10 gallons of blank, 15 grey, and 21 fresh.

[@dalehunt1383]

On board generator. There is no substitute. Love solar but its not the one size fits all answer.

[@Lake2Lake]

Keep up the real life videos. They really hit the spot

[@josephscheneck1540]

Nice video! Dawn and I enjoyed your video while doing our Irene Irons workout. 🙂

[@IreneIronTravels]

Thanks guys! Now that’s efficiency! 💪

[@LetGoAnLive]

I don't consider that as a fail! You are still managing your water and your power even at only being plugged in and bringing in 110v. Happy Holidays!!

[@IreneIronTravels]

Thanks! Happy holidays to you too! We just didn’t expect that sooo soon!!!

[@Barchenhund]

Need to listen to Billy Bob Thornton explaining alternative energy on the Landman series.

[@lordTowle]

Good tip on the cutting board.

[@IreneIronTravels]

It’s a game changer for sure!

[@carlstrohmeyer]

Thanks for your honest sharing! We mostly dry/boondock in warmer months. We use a couple of suitcase portable solar panels, along with two large power stations, but the capacity is nowhere close to yours. We find that during poor sun and high load times we have to run our Honda 2000 generator for a couple hours per day to keep up. To save on electricity, we have separate LED puck lights that help a lot. We also have a heavy duty Hessaire evaporative cooler, which works really well in the low humidity west, often bringing down the ambient temperature 20+ degrees. However this would not work in the humid Midwest temps such as when we visit friends in Eastern South Dakota ( Redfield)

[@IreneIronTravels]

Hello! Thanks for sharing your setup, great tips!

[@stanmarion550]

Cooking glove tip, if you're using Nitrile gloves, get some cotton glove liners to wear under them, your hands won't sweat, you get better handling control since the glove fits your hand with the cotton glove liner better, and you can handle hot food items on the grill or smoker. Do not grab hot pots or pans from the oven! BBQ'rs use nitrile over cotton glove all the time.

[@IreneIronTravels]

Great tip! We'll have to give that a try!

[@RickandDarcirvadventures]

What is the psi on that potable water? We have a 105 gallon fresh water tank and using a water pressure regulator set to 50 PSI it takes us about 15 minutes to fill our tank.

[@joshlindsay2639]

I like your content. Just a question... Why not just add a small portable propane generator to your set-up for situations like these. That's what I have. Luckily we haven't had to use it yet but is sure nice to know it's there.

[@ipcamper9940]

Seems like you almost have as weight in electrical cables as a generator, Oh well, you'll get more sun out West. Merry Christmas, hope you have a wonderful New Year!

[@IreneIronTravels]

Ha ha yes!!! Happy Holidays to you as well!!!

[@electriccuts]

$179 at tractor supply 1000 watt Sportsman inverter generator.

[@BC-mi9st]

Do you ever use municipal dump stations? We love the one in Waite Park MN. Close to 94. Very easy access and FREE!!

[@IreneIronTravels]

We have in other parts of the country, but haven’t used that one. Thanks for letting us know. That’s a good one heading out of state towards ND!

[@zabridges]

How`s the truck holding up? We are looking at the same one that you have.

[@SuperSushidog]

Nice, informative video. We've never been to MN. I always use our 50-gallon gray tank to flush our 50-gallon black tank. If it's full I can flush the black tank twice. Our 95-gallon black tank takes about 20 minutes to fill if empty, which I thought that was a long time. We also have a 65-gallon bladder in our toad that we put about 50 gallons in when we travel. It fills pretty fast - in about 8-9 minutes, but it takes maybe 15 minutes to pump 50 gallons into our coach's tank using a spare 5gpm water pump, but I guess the specs are with no restrictions. We love our EG-4 mini split heat pump we have in our bedroom as we can run it 24/7 if needed off our batteries and solar. We added a dual window fan in the hall, that helps circulate cold air up front. When it gets really hot, like summer afternoons, we sometimes run our front rooftop A/C too, but we only run it till the sun goes down, as it uses 3 times the power that our 28.5 Seer-2 12k mini split does. That's usually enough though as when the sun goes down the RV cools off some so the second A/C isn't needed. Our rooftop 4,400w solar array can run both A/Cs and charge our batteries at the same time. When the sun goes down, we have a total of 23.5kwhs of batteries to get us through the night, which is plenty, as our mini-split only draws around 350 watts at night, so running it all night (12 hrs.) only uses about 4.2kwh, which is about 25% of our 16.4kwh 48v battery that we use to run our 120v ac appliances. We also have a 7.1kwh 560ah 12v battery (equal to about 2 of your Gamechangers), charged by a separate 620w side mounted liftable array for our 12v needs. You've got a nice solar/battery system too, but of course you can't park it in the shade and expect it to work without a little help. I love your gas stove, and your fridge is twice the size as ours! We always go to the laundry mat, to ration water like you do, but we sometimes hand wash and dry some critical items using both solar and wind power - it's called a clothesline. 🌞🌬😎 Btw they changed the parking arrangements on The Wall since you and I last visited. There are now designated camping spots there, so you must camp adjacent to a numbered post. This reduces the number of campers who can stay there, so arrive early in the day and during the week, to ensure you get a nice spot. If you can't find a spot on the wall, the free Sage Creek campground is also nice and was practically empty when we went. 43.895, -102.4134. Merry Christmas!

[@IreneIronTravels]

Hello and thanks for all the information!! Apprecaite it! And Merry Christmas as well!

[@KxK-ty5bq]

Have you guys looked under the Paradigm when the black and shower tanks are full? The tanks sag really badly in our 340 and it bends the crappy piece of angle iron that Alliance installed by around 2 inches. I just installed a piece of unistrut to give it more support. It would be a serious bummer to loose those tanks on the highway. I've seen pictures of them dropping while sitting in a campground. Not pretty. Ours is a '22, so maybe Alliance has beefed up the support, but it's worth checking.

[@IreneIronTravels]

Oh my! We haven't had any issues with ours over the past year and half and about 18k miles of driving. I did hear about a couple of those early on, but Alliance is pretty good about making rolling changes. Appreciate the heads up though!!

[@davidmccoy7533]

When y'all coming to Texas?

[@amyomeara2515]

When!???!!! ❤

[@bookooc5605]

Where do you get those bags you use for the power adapters? I haven't found good ones large enough,but not too big. Great idea about the paper on the cutting board.

[@IreneIronTravels]

Oof...I need to think about that one! It was a bag that came with something we bought and I repurposed it for the adapters. It really is a great size and they fit nicely! If I can remember where it originally came from I'll let you know!

[@tedwilliams1000]

The KOA by where we live in Rogers MN lets you use their dump for $25 and so does Baker Park. FYI.

[@IreneIronTravels]

Thanks!

[@wolfseek]

You guys do swinger events at parks ??

[@MulligansBlog]

Wow 98 gallons? That is 800+ lbs. our C has 47 gallon tank and I hate filling over 1/2 tank. 🎄 Merry Christmas!

[@IreneIronTravels]

It sure does feel like a lot of water! Merry Christmas to you too! 🎄

[@mjmlcmaolcom]

What are your tips for making a 53 gallon black tank last 14 days for 2 people?

[@IreneIronTravels]

The 53 gallons last us just about 2 weeks with "normal" use. We did a video on our 13 gallon tank to last a week! kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5Ocg4OlhKqlm6ssi=FWFmcIu2c6nF67Px

[@EdwardDavis-hc7oh]

Can I ask a question what did you not like about your outdoors RV?

[@IreneIronTravels]

We really did like a lot about the ORV! I guess the biggest thing we didnt like was the interior color scheme. We ended up painting and it was a lot of work! Also, we just outgrew the 22 foot floor plan we had. We've done a few videos on this I believe. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jamUlaOAbJpjoKc kzbin.info/www/bejne/aoa6l393fN6gmKs

[@daveduncan2748]

I don't want to be negative, but this is the most "trash-talking" I've heard from you guys since you won that RV survivor completion! ;-)

[@IreneIronTravels]

😂 You're right, this is a little different for us... but we'll get back to our normal cheery selves soon! 😉

[@bkbbelieves]

What part of Wisconsin? We are from the Dunn County area. Love our state!

[@electriccuts]

Even a tiny 1000 watt sportsman inverter generator is a game changer.

[@mikenowak2360]

Can i ask how it towes full water doesnt that put you over the gross vech weight?

[@IreneIronTravels]

You can “feel” the extra weight when towing a bit, but with the dually diesel it’s not a big difference and well under the trucks capacity. We have about 4k lbs of CCC on the trailer with the 8k independent suspension so that helps a ton!

[@mikenowak2360]

@IreneIronTravels thank you for taking the time to Answer . Sounds like an upgraded suspension. Don't let the neg people discourage you guys. We love your channel. Taught us a lot.

[@IreneIronTravels]

Thanks appreciate the kind words and thanks for watching!

[@thomdukesherer2744]

Don’t you have 2 multiplus running in parallel? I thought 18.5 or 19 amps was the lowest you could set the grid current limit when you have 2 MPII.

[@IreneIronTravels]

Yes! I didn’t want to bog down in the weeds for the average person, but if you change the on/off, charger, inverter only setting to charger only you can go down to 7 amps i think. The big difference you need to watch out for is it doesn’t limit your power you can run and doesn’t use the battery assist feature. So it will try to pull as much power as it can for appliances you’re running. So you just can’t run big appliances over 15 amps without popping their breaker while in that charge mode. So you can make it work with some finesse….

[@thomdukesherer2744]

@ so the charger for not setting will use 7amps to charge batteries and then pass through whatever AC draws you use? That’s tricky, but is probably easier than shutting down one of the Multiplus and running on just one.

[@IreneIronTravels]

Yes, exactly. It’s just a way to charge up the batteries without going over the circuits limit. It’s too bad the regular limiter doesn’t go below 19 for us!

[@davidgroves8049]

Every install I have done I allways tell my customers to get a medium generator!. most of my customers do not go with big solar. They get big battery systems and a generator. They use the generator to just charge the batteries.Oh propane generators, less smell and you are carrying it with you anyway.

[@IreneIronTravels]

You’re right, sometimes a generator is just the easiest thing to do!

[@pupcamper58]

That video was 27 minutes of emptying tanks/ trash and power issues with your solar. I try to never make negative comments, but I was truly bored to death with this video. ❤

[@IreneIronTravels]

Thanks for your feedback, and I appreciate you sticking with it through all the boring bits! We pick back up traveling and heading out WEST next week.

[@Rtd_astro]

Cool

[@richardnowacki2869]

I enjoy your videos

[@IreneIronTravels]

Well THANK YOU! Appreciate you watching! 😊

[@rickthompson8122]

Pretty good 🙂

[@IreneIronTravels]

Glad you enjoyed it! 😊 Thanks for watching!

[@myriadcorp]

What happened to your generator? You did a video about it long ago. Also, if I am not glamping I am not camping. LOL.

[@IreneIronTravels]

Hello! Yes, the generator we got back in the Summer of 2022 (time flies eh!) when we were doing a dry camping event in the Texas heat! After that we only used about one other time...so we decided to use the space for something else! 😂

[@electriccuts]

Just get a small portable propane generator, or a small portable gasoline generator. It's less expensive than an onboard generator.

[@PhilMarshall-b4k]

Turn on generator, you need one!

[@IreneIronTravels]

Hello! Yes, you are right... when you need a gen... you need a gen! We have carried one a couple different times....but our big problem is we only use it about once a year! And we all know you need to exceercise your gen or you will eventually have big problems! 😊

[@danrandall794]

MN the state where nothing is allowed. You didn't fail your goal you just took a time out LOL.

[@IreneIronTravels]

Ha ha! Yes, a surprising lack of RV parks around the twin cites too! Time out! (like when playing boot hockey in the road and a car comes 😂) We pick right back up again after we left! 😊

[@danrandall794]

Boot hockey 🏒 love it.

[@brucegustafson6943]

Wow, over 750 lbs of fresh water

[@IreneIronTravels]

Yes, crazy right! Really helps to have the almost 4k lbs of CCC on the RV!

[@brucegustafson6943]

@ I love your setup being able to carry so many resources to support your adventures and travels!

[@lordTowle]

Why don't you have a generator? Odd....

[@IreneIronTravels]

Hello! Yes, you are right... when you need a gen... you need a gen! We have carried one a couple different times....but our big problem is we only use it about once a year! And we all know you need to exceercise your gen or you will eventually have big problems! 😊

[@mickeym2380]

This is not clickbait. Did they fail in their goal to 100% boon dock? Yes, therefore the title is correct.

[@IreneIronTravels]

😊 Yes, we really didnt expect to be plugging in only 2 weeks in! When we've been doing this for years!

[@rosatraveller3874]

👍🏻💪🏻

[@stevenanderson5272]

Should have bought a mobile solar power station

[@johnphillips8088]

👍🏼👍🏼💯

[@IreneIronTravels]

Thanks John!😊

[@tims4558]

My gosh guys you said it yourself, don’t park in the shade. So why the heck did you? I’m scratching my head here.

[@IreneIronTravels]

The open area outside of the trees where we planned to park was shaded as well. Do to the time of the year, sun angle, and the really tall trees. I talk about that a bit when we parked. The whole area was shaded, so we parked closer to the house to be able to plug in. If it was early summer the open area would have been sunny as it was in years past we stayed there and would have been fine. That was the plan....

[@FreeBirdUSA]

Loved this video. We plan to boondock a lot. So all the trash, power, laundry, and other tips are so helpful. We’re learning by watching y’all. Thank you.

[@IreneIronTravels]

Thanks! It sure is fun, challenging, and rewarding to be self contained and live off the grid a bit. Fun boondocking videos coming up!

[@JarrodTocci]

False title 😂 come on…I went 3.5 years NEVER plugging in. So maybe you failed (haven’t finished video yet) but if you did fail it wasn’t because you didn’t have the resources, it’s because lack of knowledge. Not that hard to boondock even in a trailer

[@PrestonGladd]

Do negative titles get more clicks? Looking over your videos, more than half are a "negative" title, like "Fail", "Horrible', etc. etc. etc. Does that equate to more clicks using those negative keywords? I enjoy your content, just an overarching theme I am starting to notice with your videos.

[@bookooc5605]

this is a common tactic for RV channels. Not saying they are doing that, but some channels, that's all they do. No ethics, clicks baby! More and more are sponsored and sell shit, but for so many that's their job, they don't have 9-5 jobs. You just have to take everything with a grain of salt. I accept the trade off for getting some knowledge about rving. Wish I could afford all the thousands of $$$ of solar they get free (many channels) or can afford to buy. I like these guys.

[@alexisr5199]

@@bookooc5605 Agree, most youtubers do it in any genre.

[@IreneIronTravels]

Hello! Yes, unfortunately that is that is true in the KZbin world (for the most part)...similarly to news headlines. Appreciate the feedback and you watching!

[@bndfishing]

Agree, I now unsubscribe from channels that have click bait titles. So now this one just got the unsubscribe.

[@jamestreanor182]

I’ve noticed the channel was doing that too. Sometimes stopped watching as a result

[@HumilityisHumble]

You guys drink coke? Do you have any idea how unhealthy that stuff is? Just saying 😢

[@kar-r5i4f]

your first mistake is owning a 5th wheel, it nothing but problems, over 78% off all 5th wheels sold, return back to a shop for repairs within the first 6 months. I toured a new Brinkley 5th wheel at a RV Show and i had to show the dealer the axle was cranked.

[@lancepayne7528]

Dont plan ahead!!!! NO !!!!! THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE!!! AND YOUR WIFE NEEDS A MAN IN HER LIFE, GO FIND ONE FOR HER