Meaningful Moochdocking: 5 Benefits of this RV Camping Style

Meaningful Moochdocking: 5 Benefits of this RV Camping Style
Tips and ideas for moochdocking with a purpose.

By: Noel Fleming & Chris Miller

RV travel requires endless decision making. One of the most important among them is the choice of where to land for your destination and for every stopping point along the way. The options are varied—from Walmarts and Cracker Barrels, to truck stops and rest stops, or campgrounds and BLM land. We’ve learned to consider each option and embrace it when it best suits our travel goals and needs. 

Although not touted as highly as boondocking in wild places where poetic photography lends just the right image for an Instagram post, moochdocking (staying on someone’s property) is a great option to keep in your arsenal when trip planning. It provides additional choices that can simplify route planning, allows you to adjust the length of drives on travel days, and is budget-friendly. 

If you are new to the concept of moochdocking, be sure to read this guide!

When we started RVing, moochdocking was not high on our go-to list, but over the years we have become increasingly grateful for it. Traveling across the country, we often found welcome stopping points at homes of family, friends, and even strangers who support the RV community. Over the years, moochdocking has brought us immeasurable joy as we spend time face-to-face with relatives, old friends, and members of our Winnebago communities. 

From California to Maine and onwards through Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, moochdocking has been the backdrop of so many travel memories. In our experience, it has been a form of camping that has served a multitude of purposes. Here are some of the ways we make moochdocking meaningful …

1. Being Present for Life Events

Moochdocking can be a real gift when life events like weddings, family reunions, and holiday gatherings occur. Being on-site to assist with setup, planning, and cleaning up (while always being able to escape to your own suite!) is priceless. We have celebrated friends’ wedding vows, danced the night away, and conveniently stepped right into our Winnebago EKKO soon after the DJ played the last song. 

We’ve attended fall festivals, meandered around small-town Iowa on hayrides, tasted an array of flavors at a chili extravaganza, and walked back to our Winnebago soon after the last crockpot was washed and put away. We’ve also dined outside, raised glasses of wine by the river, gathered around backyard campfires with dear friends, and then went right into our RV soon after the last flame turned to embers.

2. Maintaining Longtime Friendships

Being perpetually on the move is a magical way to live. However, it does call for extra intention when honoring, maintaining, and strengthening existing friendships. Although having friends meet us at a travel destination is always a dream of ours, sometimes the most efficient way to get that needed in-person time, is to simply show up at their doorstep—or driveway—for the small things … like takeout Thai from a favorite restaurant, or to watch a favorite show together while getting caught up on the episodes of our own life stories. Truth be told, most of life happens in the little moments, and showing up for those matters.

When moochdocking at friends in Northern Virginia, we dressed up for an Only Murders in The Building watch party. Who doesn’t want to savor streaming-inspired snacks, solve a fictitious murder, and saunter out to your Winnebago EKKO after?
 
When moochdocking with our friends in Fort Worth, TX, we got caught up on their growing children, their growing dreams for reform in our justice system, and even got to lend a hand for their non-profit organization Project Beloved. After a myriad of topics, heartfelt exchanges, and belly laughs, we headed to our home in their driveway. When moochdocking at our friends’ place in Maine, we gave input on kitchen remodeling plans, rearranged furniture, and celebrated a birthday at a local brewery tucked into the woods. Later, we called out “good nights” through the open windows of our Winnebago EKKO as the fireflies reflected our glee. 

Choosing to “camp out” at the homes of friends that are scattered all over the country has been a highlight on our adventures.

3. Growing New Friendships in our Winnebago Communities

It was community that drew us to Winnebago. It solidified our choice of RV manufacturers. Since meeting so many like-minded people at rallies big and small and through the online Facebook communities, many generous RVers have extended invitations to moochdock when traveling in their neck of the woods. We have found this to be common practice; RVers love RVers and are kindhearted toward each other. 

When moochdocking with Winnebago friends in Nashville, Tennessee, they introduced us to eateries, farmers markets, and local hiking trails. We enjoyed the creativity of new musicians, attended a show at the Ryman, and Ubered back to our Winnebago EKKO in their driveway.

When staying with Winnebago friends in Inola, Oklahoma, we explored a large planned outdoor playground for kids of all ages, visited a Native American sculpture, drooled over local mountain biking trails, and were able to leave our Winnebago EKKO on their property while we flew to visit family.

Winnebago friends in Clyde Park, Montana, were gracious enough to host us and other caravaners on their property for multiple nights as we made our way to our Alaskan adventure. During the day, we spent hours in their workshop learning about and experimenting with the artistry of glasswork. During the evening, we watched the sun set over the Crazy Mountains range and feasted on homemade wood-fired pizza. 

Not every moochdocking experience includes local outings and adventures. Sometimes it is merely a shared meal, good conversations, and a cup of coffee the next morning before an early departure at sunrise. But even those brief stops serve the dual purpose of connection while moving us along our travel route. And that is a win-win. (Or should I say a WINN-WINN … for Winnebago?)

4. Performing Mods and Maintenance

Taking care of maintenance and mods can be a challenge when on the road. Several times on our journeys, moochdocking enabled us to have access to friends and their tools. As a big bonus, friends in Utah even helped mod our rig to increase available storage. In Florida, friends assisted with checking roof seals. In New York, we shipped parts to our friends’ address and together installed a new furnace in the rig. On several moochdocking stays, we were also able to schedule chassis work at nearby Ford dealerships. 

If you love mods, read more about the annual Mods, Maintenance, and Merriment meetup for compact coaches.

5. Exploring Unknown Territory

Many Rvers are familiar with Harvest Hosts and Boondockers Welcome. This membership program and its accompanying app offer a more formalized, wider scope of moochdocking, providing thousands of options outside of your own personal contact list. (GoLife Perks Members can also save on both of these memberships! Learn more here.) 

If you aren’t already familiar with the ins and outs of this network of potential overnight locations, the memberships provide opportunities to moochdock at businesses (Harvest Hosts sites) and on RVers personal property (Boondockers Welcome sites). We had been long-time users of the Harvest Hosts locations but had been hesitant about booking Boondockers Welcome locations.

Overnighting at businesses and giving back by patronizing their establishments was a more natural fit for us. But as we planned our route through the maritime regions of Canada, we realized that the selection of Harvest Host sites were limited in those areas, while Boondockers Welcome hosts were more abundant. 

We stretched our comfort zone and ventured into staying on people’s personal property. It turned out to be a great choice for us as we traveled for the first time in this area. Although we had plenty of published and online resources, there is nothing quite like getting advice from the locals. What a gift the hosts at Boondockers Welcome provide to our community! If you’d like to learn more about being a host, and in particular hear from one of our very own Winnebago employees that is a Boondockers Welcome host, check out this story.

We know that we are not alone in our appreciation for the benefits afforded to us through moochdocking. Cheers to all of you who host friends on your property. Your offer of a safe place to sleep, a long indoor shower, and use of your laundry and bathroom do wonders to boost a traveler along their way. And cheers to every traveler who purposely alters a route to moochdock at friends’ homes and stay connected with those you love. Your efforts do not go unnoticed. 

Aren’t we incredibly fortunate to be on either side of the moochdocking experience? Please share your favorite moochdocking memories in the comments!