Boondockers Welcome Review - How It Works, Cost, Locations, & More
Use the coupon code BWFRIENDS15 to get 15% off.
Navigation: Introduction | What is Boondockers Welcome? | Reviews | Community | Cost | Pros & Cons | Locations | How it works | Discount Code | Boondockers Welcome vs Harvest Hosts | Is it worth it? | FAQs
Boondockers Welcome
Boondockers Welcome is an affordable, practical way to make RV camping more special. It’s an online platform, similar to Harvest Hosts or Airbnb, where you can find hosts willing to let you park your RV on their property overnight for absolutely free.
Boondockers Welcome Review
In our Boondockers Welcome review, we’ll tell you all about our experiences with the platform, give you a glimpse of the community, and ultimately — find out whether it’s worth spending your hard-earned money on a membership.
Boondocking is a type of dispersed camping, where people park their vehicle (usually a car, caravan, or RV) on public property to stay for free overnight.
Before we found out about Boondockers Welcome, we always fussed about tiny details like how we’d charge our generator, where we’d stay overnight, and whether it’d be safe.
When our friend introduced us to Boondockers Welcome, we were amazed at how well it improved our RVing experience.
Instead of having to worry about where to stay and whether we’d make it through the next couple of nights, all we had to do was:
contact a host along our travel route, and
enjoy our budget-friendly, worry-free stay
Had we not known about Boondockers Welcome, we might have stayed at a cold, Walmart parking lot. Instead, we got the chance to stay for free at a farm with an incredible view of the lushest valleys we’d ever seen, courtesy of our wonderful host. (Thanks, Nancy!)
Thanks to the platform, not only were we able to soak in the lush scenery, but we also got a chance to interact with the amazing folks that lived right along our route.
This is all thanks to the kindness and generosity of Boondockers Welcome’s accommodating hosts who have opened their doors to RVers everywhere.
What is Boondockers Welcome?
Boondockers Welcome is a platform that lets you find private properties where you can park your RV for free and connect with fellow RVers across the world.
At its core, Boondockers Welcome is a social platform dressed up as an RV-parking service. Now, whether that’s a bad thing is completely up to you. But we personally found it charming.
Let us explain.
When you’re out RVing, you can park anywhere you want — the side of the road, a field near the highway, or perhaps even Walmart. But Boondockers Welcome makes RVing more personal and special.
With Boondockers Welcome, you’re no longer stuck with the same 3 options — now you get access to a community of RVers just like you who will welcome you into their homes and let you park your RV on their property. All for free.
Everyone we’ve talked to about the service has had nothing but good things to say about it, and one of the most prevalent reasons why is because of how great the community is.
A lot of the people you’ll meet on the service are friendly, helpful, and super respectful.
If you’re the type of person who just needs a place to stay, then you’ll find one. If you’re the type of person who needs a place to stay but also appreciates a little company, then you’ll find that as well.
So if you’re someone who travels not only for the scenery, but also the people, then you’ll absolutely love Boondockers Welcome.
Boondockers Welcome Reviews
Boondockers Welcome has great reviews. Their website is filled to the brim with positive and enthusiastic reviews about the platform, usually from happy, retired couples and lifelong buddies, all thrilled with their experiences.
Here are 4 reviews from the website’s testimonials page:
“I LOVED, LOVED the folks I stayed with - what a wonderful system this is, especially for someone like me on the road alone for the first time towing a tiny trailer. I felt so supported and encouraged at each and every stop ! ! ! The web site was easy to use and helped me tremendously in planning my trip and my overnights. The hosts I contacted responded quickly to my emails and were all welcoming and kind. Everyone offered helpful advice and ideas about what to visit on my trip. And best of all they all shared wonderful stories about their lives and their travels. I certainly am recommending this site to all my traveling friends.” -Polly
I signed up this spring. It is now the end of the first week of July. I am hosting my fourth family tonight and have another scheduled for tomorrow night. All of the boondockers that I have hosted are simply wonderful people. I feel that my life has been enriched in some way by every one of them. Every one of them is invited back and would be welcomed with a smile on my face and joy in my heart. I couldn't be more pleased to be a part of Boondockers Welcome! -WeekendWarriorAwithClass
I'm traveling east (NJ) to west (Nevada). If not for Boondockers Welcome I'd be cold and unhappy in a Walmart parking lot during these east coast winter weather warnings. Instead I'm safe, and dry, and warm hooked up to electric at one of those generous hosts, thanks to your service. And good luck finding a campground in this area open at this time of the year. I'd be at the mercy of the elements. I am so grateful to you and BW that I had to write and thank you!! -Shelley
We cannot say how grateful we are for wonderful Boondockers Welcome Hosts who continued to accept travelers, such as us, at their sites during this critical time. We had to wait for a weather window so we could eat and sleep in our fifth wheel and arrive home to reasonable weather. Almost all of our requests were answered promptly and hosts practiced social distancing, but welcomed us warmly and offered to support us in any way they could. It was important for us to stay at Boondockers Welcome sites because we traveled 2000 miles in four days and we needed safe places to stay. Every night we were able to relax, cook great meals and sleep soundly because of our wonderful hosts. Bless them all and all hosts who welcome traveler in this difficult time. For those of you who are traveling, respect your hosts and keep your distance. We all need to stay safe. Thank you Boondockers Welcome for not closing down. -Sugarhill
Their Facebook group is also a nice place to see some real, unfiltered reviews from actual users.
As for us, we only recently found out about Boondockers Welcome. We were surprised that something like this had been hiding under our noses for 8 entire years.
Yep, they’ve been up since 2012. But we’re glad we found out about it eventually.
It’s made our RVing experience infinitely better.
Boondockers Welcome Community
What we love about Boondockers Welcome, apart from the affordability and practicality — is the community.
The whole point of Boondockers Welcome is to provide RVers a way to connect with other RVers, so they can catch a glimpse of not just the beautiful atmosphere and scenery of each location — but also the warmth of the locals that live there.
Their Facebook business page has over 50,000 likes. On the page, they post updates regularly and communicate with their users often.
You’ll be hard-pressed to find the typical, soulless product placements and copywriting that plague the majority of company Facebook pages.
Instead, what you’ll see are various “thank you” posts for their community about the platform’s milestones and achievements.
They also seem to enjoy interacting with their users by sharing articles related to RVing, on which their users freely contribute their own ideas and discuss among each other.
They also have an active Facebook community group with almost 20,000 members. On the group, members freely give each other advice, discuss experiences, and offer each other help.
You can also see some heartwarming posts of welcoming hosts reaching out to other members.
Overall, the Boondockers Welcome community is small but sweet. The company has a persistent focus on customer satisfaction, so the community is bound to grow exponentially through word of mouth.
But for now, it remains a safe space for RVers everywhere — an intimate community for people looking to share ideas and experiences with like-minded people.
Boondockers Welcome Cost/Pricing
Boondockers Welcome currently costs $79 per year. A small price to pay for the privileges that come with it.
Here’s what the subscription includes:
Unlimited stays with any host, as long as they’re available
Access to their app with a map of every host’s location
A free gift (The Frugal Shunpiker’s Guide to Boondocking in New Mexico)
Special subscriber discounts, which we’ll talk about below
For just $79, you get access to a thriving community of fellow RV lovers and accommodating hosts.
And if you use this link and enter the discount code BWFRIENDS15 when you sign up, you get a 15% discount on your subscription.
Additional Expenses
Generally, you’ll only have to pay for the subscription, which is billed annually. After that, any additional expenses are between the host and the guest only.
During our stay, our host was kind enough not to charge us a single penny. But we gave her a bottle of red wine anyway as a token of our appreciation.
Some hosts will charge a small fee to use their utilities, but never anything unreasonable. Most hosts are glad just to accommodate you.
Boondockers Welcome Discount Code
Click here to sign up for Boondocker’s Welcome and enter the discount code BWFRIENDS15 at checkout to get 15% off your membership. When you use the coupon code BWFRIENDS15, you’ll pay just $67.15 instead of $79.
Pros and Cons of Boondockers Welcome
While using Boondockers Welcome, we found some positives as well as negatives. Here’s what we think.
Pros
- Member benefits
Besides the basic privileges granted to Boondockers Welcome members, they also get to enjoy various benefits. Their Special Discounts page has a long list of partners and services that you can use to get the most out of your RV, both on the road and off.
- Thousands of active host locations
In the US alone, Boondockers Welcome has thousands of hosts that you can contact and stay at for free. There are hosts outside of the US as well.
- Welcoming community
One of the most prevalent reasons people have been using this service so loyally, some since the inception of the service in 2012, is because the community is fantastic. And though the service has grown quite big since its creation, you can be sure you’re getting a warm welcome.
- Fantastic accommodation
While other services like Harvest Hosts are fantastic for overnight stays, you can’t expect to stay longer than a few days. On Boondockers Welcome, some hosts are generous enough to let you stay for a week if you want. And some hosts even have courts for playing pickleball!
- Easy-to-use website/app
Their website and app’s design is simple and straight-to-the-point. It keeps the user in mind and manages to deliver fantastic service without the need for fine print and manipulative tactics.
Their app design also helps users save a lot of time by putting all the information needed up front, such as whether hosts allow generators, grilling, pets, etc. This ensures that guests know exactly what to expect from a host even before they get in touch.
Cons
- Options can be limited
Depending on your location, your options can be limited. This may be due to your rig or the host’s requirements. Some hosts are (understandably) very picky with who they want on their property.
And since the platform is still growing, you might not even find a host for you at all. Especially in places like Canada where there’s only a small number of hosts. If you’re from the US, though, you won’t have to worry about this since there are hosts on almost every corner of the country.
- Not really free
Boondockers Welcome’s selling point is that it lets you find hosts that will let you park your RV for free. Now, while true, this can confuse some people. To use Boondockers Welcome, you pay a 1-year membership fee. After which, you can use the privileges as many times as you like.
Hosts are required to let you stay for free but some hosts may have required fees if you plan to use hookups. No matter how you spin it, though, you’ll end up saving more than you spend as a member compared to staying at RV campgrounds.
- Can be difficult for big rigs
A lot of host locations are situated in residential areas, which can make maneuvering big rigs difficult. Sometimes the ground just isn’t level enough or the locations are too tight to drive comfortably on. Luckily, you can see these details provided on the host’s profile, and if not, you can ask the host directly through the messaging service.
Boondockers Welcome Locations
Boondockers Welcome has hosts all around North America.
Most hosts come from the US, but you’ll find hosts in Canada and Mexico as well.
Click here and then scroll down the page to see a live map of their locations.
Boondockers Welcome Canada
We wanted to go somewhere in Canada like British Columbia or Alberta where the views are absolutely incredible. And much to our delight, there were hosts there as well!
There are a few hundred hosts near Montreal and Toronto too, which is super handy if you’re planning a stay there. They have hosts in almost every Canadian province.
The further up north you go, though, there are noticeably fewer hosts. The farthest up where you’ll find any hosts is Yukon, and a few down the middle in Alberta.
How Boondockers Welcome Works
Boondockers Welcome is all about kindness and generosity. It encourages an environment where RVers can have each other’s backs at a moment’s notice.
It’s a fantastic way to stay practical while also upgrading the whole RVing experience.
In this section, we show you how to use Boondockers Welcome, all the way from logging in to booking your first stay.
Boondockers Welcome Dashboard
Boondockers Welcome Dashboard - The user interface is super clean and simple.
After signing up, creating an account, and logging in, the first thing you’ll see is the dashboard.
In the screenshot above you can see what the Main Dashboard looks like. In the dashboard you can see information about your current membership, how many locations you have access to, an option print your membership card, search for locations, and more.
Updating Your User Profile
Before you can actually start booking stays with hosts, you’ll be asked to update your User Profile.
After logging in, you’ll notice some reminders/alerts on your Dashboard. One of them is about completing your member profile.
To get rid of this reminder and enable booking for your account, click the button that will take you to the edit profile page. Once on the edit profile page, you will need to upload a photo of yourself, create a username, and write a description about yourself.
You will also be asked to fill in some information about your rig, including your rig type and size, rig description, and photo(s) of your rig.
The good thing here is that they make it clear what your data is being used for — to establish trust with fellow members. So your data stays safe, the information you reveal will stay completely private until a stay request has been arranged and accepted.
Booking a stay
Searching for a host
Now that you’ve got your account in order, you’re ready to request a stay with a host!
The first thing you have to do is search for a host along your travel route.
Using the search widget, you can check out the hosts within a specific area. You can refine your search results by editing the following filters:
Location/Destination
Travel dates
Distance to location
Hookups
RV length
Pets allowed
and more
Using these filters, you can narrow your search down to only hosts that fit your needs.
Picking a host
In the screenshot below, we check out a host location near Napa Valley in California.
Example host
On the host info pop-up, you can:
see the host name and location
see pictures of the host/location
add the host to your trip or to your favorites
view the max rig size and max nights
and see their availability in the next 7 days
If you click on the host’s name or picture, you’ll be taken to their host page. On the host page you will see their pictures, additional information, references/reviews, and a calendar showing their full availability:
Requesting to stay with the host
If you want to request to stay with the host, just click in the section on the right side of the host page where it says Arrival Date - Departure Date. After you fill in your expected arrival and departure date, the REQUEST TO STAY button will turn bright orange. Click on that button to proceed.
On the next page, you will see the full Booking Request form with information you can fill out such as:
your phone
rig type and size and length
model and description
whether you have pets or children
any additional information you’d like to add
confirm you read the house rules
Just fill in the info then click SUBMIT REQUEST at the bottom.
Waiting for the host to respond
During our review we found that it takes an average of 24 hours for hosts to respond, so it’s good to contact them in advance.
If you’re lucky, your host will respond immediately.
Once you get in touch, you can use the Boondockers Welcome messaging service or communicate over email or text if the host gives you their contact info.
Note: We recommend putting in your initial message everything the host needs to know, such as the type of vehicle you have, whether you’ve got pets and what kind, and any concerns you may have. Getting this information out there saves you a lot of time and helps make sure you can go on your merry way as soon as possible.
Is Boondockers Welcome worth it?
If $79 for unlimited stays at the prettiest locations and in the company of the friendliest, most accommodating hosts isn’t worth it in your book — then we honestly don’t know what is.
The $79 is an incredibly small price to pay for the privileges you can get as a member — so much so that our membership fee paid for itself in our first few stays.
But what we found during our Boondockers Welcome review is that the value of this service isn’t in the cost savings — it’s in the time savings you get from not having to fuss anymore about all the trivial stuff that comes with RVing like finding somewhere to park.
The reason we RV is to destress, after all, so why worry about the small things?
Without Boondockers Welcome, we constantly had to worry about where we would stay overnight, whether it would be safe, and having to top up on supplies, so we usually had to resort to wallydocking.
Now all we have to do is log in, contact a host along our travel route, and enjoy a hassle-free stay at a beautiful, peaceful location in the company of a generous host.
Best part? All the amazing people we’ve met through the service. The community is filled with enthusiastic, RV-loving folks.
And we’ve never felt more welcomed.
Remember to use our link and enter the discount code BWFRIENDS15 when you sign up. You’ll get a 15% discount on your subscription when you enter the code, which means you’ll only pay about $67 instead of $79.
RV gas cost & how to get a discount on gas
Depending on the size of your RV’s fuel tank, it can cost anywhere from $60-$600 to fill up the tank of an RV with gas.
To save money on gas during your trip, we recommend downloading the GetUpside app. By using the app, you can save as much as 25¢ per gallon of gas at major gas stations all around the U.S.
Click here to download the GetUpside app and get $10 worth of gas for free. Or download the GetUpside app manually in your phone’s app store (Google | iPhone) and then enter our promo code, CN3B5 to get the $10 bonus.
Boondockers Welcome alternative: Harvest Hosts
Another great alternative or compliment to Boondockers Welcome is an app called Harvest Hosts, where you can get access to thousands of free overnight stays at unique locations across the US.
Harvest Hosts actually acquired Boondockers Welcome so although they used to be separate websites/apps, they have now been combined into one.
You don’t have to sign up for Harvest Hosts and Boondockers, you can sign up for whichever you feel is a better fit for you or you can sign up for both if you want access to the max number of locations.
We’re members of both services and use both a lot. Each one comes in handy depending on your location since you’ll find that some areas have more locations depending on which program you’re a member of. We find that it’s best to have both to maximize coverage.
Boondockers Welcome vs Harvest Hosts
Harvest Hosts and Boondockers Welcome are incredibly similar platforms. We’re members of both and have enjoyed both services tremendously, but for different reasons.
The main difference that we found during our Boondockers review between Boondockers and Harvest Hosts is that Harvest Hosts is ideal for shorter stays in public properties, while Boondockers Welcome is ideal for longer stays in private properties.
Since Boondockers Welcome is driven by a community of fellow RV-lovers, hosts are very accommodating. Our host let us stay at her farm for 2 days, but some hosts can let you stay at their property for 2 weeks or more. It all depends on your arrangement.
If it isn’t any trouble, we say use both. Use Harvest Hosts to stay at wonderful locations and soak in the scenery, and Boondockers Welcome to settle down with the locals.
Getting a membership to both platforms is a great way to increase the number of places you can stay overnight.
Best apps to use with Boondockers Welcome
Outdoorsy is the largest RV rental marketplace. Whether you own an RV or want to rent one, you should definitely look into Outdoorsy.
Over 15,000 RV owners worldwide currently rent out their RV on Outdoorsy to earn a steady passive income.
With Outdoorsy, you can make sure that the rig you built works for you — not the other way around. It’s also one of the best ways to rent an RV!
The Dyrt is a free app available on both Android and iOS that you can use to access the largest database of campgrounds. No matter what type of camper you are, you can use The Dyrt to find available campgrounds near you.
Upgrading to the PRO version gives you access to features like Trip Planning, Offline Search, and much more, improving your camping experience immensely for a tiny annual fee.
Roadtrippers is considered to be the best road trip planning app. It helps you plan a route and itinerary and comes packed with features.
Use it to easily plan your next road trip and share access with your friends and family so they can help plan the trip too.
Boondockers Welcome FAQs
Frequently asked questions we get asked about in our Boondockers Welcome review.
What is boondocking?
To find out whether we might be someone who enjoys Boondocker Welcome’s services, we should define what counts as boondocking before delving any deeper.
Boondocking is basically pulling off the highway (usually in a car, caravan, or RV) to camp for free, usually outside a designated campground.
“The boondocks” (AKA “the boonies”) is a term that means “the middle of nowhere”. The term is derived from the Filipino word bundok, which means “mountain”, or, more aptly, “an isolated, wild region”.
So “boondocking” literally means “spending time in the middle of nowhere.” The more formal terms for it are “dispersed camping” and “backcountry camping”.
What is wallydocking?
Wallydocking is the term for parking an RV overnight at a Walmart parking lot. It’s definitely not on the top 10 list of fancy things you can do, but it gets campers through the night.
And, no, people don’t wallydock so they can revel in Walmart’s humble but effective architecture — wallydocking is a practical choice.
People often wallydock when on the way to their actual destination, usually to:
avoid bad weather,
save money,
maintain their vehicle, or
shop for supplies.
People usually wallydock for a night then leave the next day once they’ve topped up on supplies.
Walmart itself doesn’t have any rules against wallydocking, so you won’t be breaking any laws if you do it.
Some Walmarts treat it as a win-win thing — you benefit by getting a free stay somewhere safe, accessible, and practical, and they benefit from you stocking up on supplies.
But it’s not always allowed. Some Walmarts forbid wallydocking while some welcome it. It’s completely up to the manager whether they like it or not. So keep that in mind when planning your trips.
If you want to check whether you can park overnight at a Walmart near you, you can use the AllStays app to get relevant, up-to-date information.
One of the great things about Boondockers Welcome, though, is that it eliminates the need for wallydocking entirely. If you aren’t shopping for supplies, anyway, just contact a host near you and stay somewhere nice and accommodating instead.
What is moochdocking?
Moochdocking is the term for parking an RV overnight at a friend or relative’s property. This is usually done when the friend or relative’s property is along their travel route.
Like wallydocking, moochdocking is a practical way to get through the night when you’re out RV camping.
And the name implies exactly what you’re thinking.
When moochdocking, you’ll be parking overnight at a friend or relative’s property, using their water, electricity, food, and Wi-fi — all for free — which is to say, you’ll be mooching.
Doesn’t sound like the noblest thing, but, again, it’s practical. And spending some time with a friend or relative is always a good idea.
Just make sure to tell them you’re coming beforehand and keep a clean footprint when you’re there.
What does “boondocker” mean?
A boondocker is anyone who goes out in the wilderness to appreciate nature in its rawest form. More specifically, boondockers are people who camp in their RVs for free outside designated campgrounds, usually on the side of the highway. This is called boondocking.
Is boondocking illegal?
Nope. If you’re boondocking on public land, it’s completely legal. Government agencies even encourage it.
Campgrounds tend to get crowded, so government agencies encourage people to boondock instead. This gives campgrounds some much needed room to breathe.
There also exist designated “overflow campgrounds” which are meant for boondocking, so if campgrounds ever get too crowded, people know exactly where to go.
Use code BWFRIENDS15 for 15% Off