Campgrounds
BLM Camping
There are lots of free or nearly free dry-camp locations in the southwest and other parts of the US on Bureau of Land Management or BLM property.
Most BLM locations allow free wilderness camping. You can camp for up to 14 days, within a 28 consecutive day period, then you must at least 25 miles to another location to restart your free camping cycle.
There are also a number of long-term BLM locations such as the La Posa Long Term Visitor Area (LTVA) near Quartzsite, AZ. Here, you can purchase an LTVA long-term permit ($180) that allows camping in their Bureau of Land Management campsite continuously from September 15th to April 15th (a total of 7 months), or for any length of time between those two dates.
Other locations provide LTVA short-visit permit ($40) to allow camping at the LTVAs location for 14 consecutive days including the use of potable water refill, dump station and trash bins that are available at some locations. These short-visit permits may be renewed an unlimited number of times for the cost of the permit.
For additional information on the Bureau of Land Management and BLM campsites, go to:
https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/camping