There is an ad for a volunteer/camp host position but one of the drawbacks is "no electricity"...just water and sewer. So I have two questions for those of you who might have more experience in that area that myself.

1. How long will it take the fridge to use up my gas? I realize this isn't a question with a specific answer but was just trying to get an idea if running it on gas is feasible.  Would I be running to fill up the tanks every week or could I make it longer...I have two tanks, 25 and 40 gallon. Does the fridge use gas like a 454 big block Chevy with a four barrel carb or is it somewhat frugal with the usage.   

2. Can I get by with one of the portable solar panels if I only use electricity for lights only ? How large of a solar panel would I need for this to work? 

All suggestions appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Gas refrigerators are almost unbelievably stingy with propane.  The flame that provides the heat to run the cooling process is about the same size as your oven's pilot flame.  It should use about a gallon a week, plus or minus.  Your other propane uses (stove, water heater, etc) will determine when you need to fill the tanks.  Unless you use the furnace a lot, 65 gallons of propane should easily last all summer.

If I'm in a monthly site where I pay for electric, I often run the fridge on propane to save a couple of bucks.  The break-even point is 20:1.  If a gallon of propane is less than 20 x the price of a kWh of electricity, propane is the cheaper fuel.

Edited February 3, 2018 by Lou Schneider

1. Depends on the weather, how big your reefer is, how full you keep it (fuller is better), how often you open/close it and if you're a "browser" (hmmmm...what looks good?) or a "grabber". Ballpark? ~1lb/day is a decent figure to start with until you get a feel for your particular usage habits. 1/2lb +/- is probably the most typical range.

2. To be sustainable? That's difficult to say without knowing what your rigs parasitic draw is. You won't need a water pump with shore water so lights and fans are likely to be your biggest expenditures. Power awning? Slides? The other factor to consider is the area. As a camp host, "where" you'll be instructed to park may not necessarily be solar friendly. Ie., the recent posting is in a somewhat wooded area.

Just starting out.... I wouldn't necessarily recommend going solar right out of the gate until you've had some time to research, determine your energy requirements and plan a solar system accordingly. A small portable generator with an amply sized battery bank would be your best bet. The portable generator would be something you would continue to use even if you "do" decide to go solar at a later date.

Battery-wise... in a longer term dry camping scenario... a 400ah+ battery bank (4-6v deep cycle batteries) would be advisable. You could do it on half of that (200ah's), but your gen time would increase. If you don't have the space for a 400ah bank then it's kind of a moot point anyway.

  On 2/3/2018 at 1:35 AM, Lou Schneider said:

Your other propane uses (stove, water heater, etc) will determine when you need to fill the tank, not the refrigerator.

If you do most of your cooking inside.. I would tend to agree. Your LP supply can be greatly extended by purchasing some of those little black rocks that get really hot when you put a match to them. 

I'm a solo and pack 2-30lb main LP tanks. Just out of habit, I'll top off whichever tank I've been using about once a month and rotate the tanks. I find I do better by making it part of my "1st of the month" routine. Probably more like every 30-45days when I'm doing my "re-stocking" trip, but it's the "1st of the month" to me. 

Contending with 1 tank at a time is much less of a chore and leaves a full LP tank at home to keep the reefer running while I'm gone. Never know what you may run in to on a "quick trip" to town. Ie., breakdown, etc. KWIM?

I've been boondocking for over a year now travelling with no hookups living off of solar, dumping tanks every couple tanks, refilling water. A 30# tank lasts us 15-17 days running the hot water tank, fridge (Norcold 821), misc cooking on the stove/ oven. In summer with more sun hours we're able to switch over to electric and use solar for the fridge 6-12 hours then the 30# would last 19-21 days. 15 days would be a safe bet.

Edited February 3, 2018 by Itinerant1

A gallon of propane weighs 4.05 lbs, so a 30 lb. tank contains 7.5 gallons.

The original poster said he had 25 and 40 GALLON  tanks (for winter heat?).  65 gallons, or  260 lbs. of propane should last at least a couple of months.  

Edited February 3, 2018 by Lou Schneider

  On 2/3/2018 at 12:45 AM, coachmac9 said:

There is an ad for a volunteer/camp host position but one of the drawbacks is "no electricity"...just water and sewer. So I have two questions for those of you who might have more experience in that area that myself.

1. How long will it take the fridge to use up my gas? I realize this isn't a question with a specific answer but was just trying to get an idea if running it on gas is feasible.  Would I be running to fill up the tanks every week or could I make it longer...I have two tanks, 25 and 40 gallon. Does the fridge use gas like a 454 big block Chevy with a four barrel carb or is it somewhat frugal with the usage.   

2. Can I get by with one of the portable solar panels if I only use electricity for lights only ? How large of a solar panel would I need for this to work? 

All suggestions appreciated. Thanks in advance.

If this is about the volunteer position near Huntington, UT.  The guy posting gave his email address, email him. 

Many places provide propane, in 100 pound (25 gallon) tanks or sometimes even larger tanks.

BTW, I am pretty sure you have 25 and 40 pound tanks. 25 gallons of propane is 100 pounds and another 50 pounds or so for the tank. (That is a guess on the weight of the tank, don't hold me to it.  Bottom line, it is one heavy dude.)

Edited February 3, 2018 by Al F

Thanks for all the responses guys! As bad as I hate to admit it, I guess we are a year away from being able to take a position that doesn't have an electric hook-up. Definitely will be a top priority for next year.

I boondock almost exclusively when traveling and have found my fridge (and water heater) run on a 30# propane tank for about 3 weeks for 1 person when showering every other day and cooking every other day on the stove top. For two people that would probably be closer to 2 weeks.

For just lights (and fridge) I could easily run on 100W solar panel and a low AH battery

We are pretty new to boondocking, but just did 20+ straight days in AZ & CA. We do have 550 ah of batteries, but no inverter yet so we are totally reliant on the Honda EU2000 generator or the big 5500 Onan. We have two 30# propane tanks. We have a double fridge so I bet it takes a bit more than a single, plus we use the stove and oven a lot and we had to run the furnace some. I think we were getting about 10-12 days out of our propane with that setup. The furnace of course is the big hog of that. However my working hours meant I was using it more. While in PST, I was having to get up at 4am local time to work which is a couple hours before the sun and needed it during those times. If I would have been able to sleep longer, I don't think our furnace use would have been nearly as great. 

  On 2/6/2018 at 2:23 AM, coachmac9 said:

Thanks for all the responses guys! As bad as I hate to admit it, I guess we are a year away from being able to take a position that doesn't have an electric hook-up.

The vast majority of places that seek RV volunteers do supply electricity, water, & sewer. We have been taking part in such programs since 20000 and in that time we have completed 35 tours in volunteer positions, in 30 different locations and we will be doing another in ND next summer. In every one of those positions we have had at least 30a power and most have 50a available. We do not accept positions that do not supply full hookups. We have also had only 3 positions that supplied us with propane and two others who reimbursed us the cost of our propane. 

  On 2/6/2018 at 7:42 AM, Kirk Wood said:

In every one of those positions we have had at least 30a power and most have 50a available. We do not accept positions that do not supply full hookups. 

That would kind of make sense then that all of the positions you have had "did" have electricity provided.. don't you think. 

There are a number of unique opportunities in some very remote locations that, more often than not, may only provide water. Sometimes only in the form of a gravity fed water tank trailer. On occasion, LP might be available in one form or another. I've received vouchers for a local fill station and a couple of times it was just one of the rangers making an LP run into town once a week or so and offered to take mine in with theirs for a refill.

Volunteering opportunities for free camping is not only limited to park hosting or working the gift shop at a national park. 

  On 2/6/2018 at 8:34 AM, Yarome said:

Volunteering opportunities for free camping is not only limited to park hosting or working the gift shop at a national park. 

We have only been park hosts 3 times and never have I worked in a gift shop. 

In my experience, the vast majority of locations have full hookups and many places offer other amenities. 

My wife and I would love the peace and quiet (maybe that is a direct result of teaching high school kids!!) that boondocking offers and to find a camp host position that offers this would be a dream come true...we had the opportunity to camp host at a state park that was shut down due to flooding and we were the only ones there for almost three months and absolutely loved it...lack of phone service or internet would be no problem what so ever...just have to get the solar power going so we cold power a few items and we would be good to go!!! 

  On 2/6/2018 at 11:40 PM, coachmac9 said:

.we had the opportunity to camp host at a state park that was shut down due to flooding and we were the only ones there for almost three months and absolutely loved it..

Nice! We stayed in a COE, day use area that is closed in winter for two months of the time it was closed. Provided security and did some maintenance work. But we did have full hookups.