# Vehicle towed for sleeping in it?



## Primitive

Has anyone had this experience in any town? Or been arrested? Up until now I've been using more stealthy vehicles. But I will be getting an RV tomorrow. I know I'm safe where I am with it, but paranoid about ending up in that wrong town where something like this might happen, since everywhere getting stricter now. Anyone experienced this or know of others who have?


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## awkwardshelby

I've never heard of this happening, most I've heard of is cops telling you to move, getting a ticket, or arrested. Never heard of towing unless you're in a no parking zone?


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## Primitive

Where've you heard of people getting arrested at?


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## awkwardshelby

Nowhere specific, I've just heard it in general. But most of the time if you are quiet, respectful, leave early, and are super stealthy you won't run into much trouble.


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## Primitive

Well that's the thing... Now that I'm getting the RV I won't be very stealthy at all.


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## Deleted member 125

im pretty sure every walmart in the states has a policy of letting people park their campers and rv's in the parking lot over night. the idea being that people "camping" in them will in turn buy supplies and what not from said walmart, ide say just dont wear out yer welcome and you outta be just fine.


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## Primitive

Most walmarts seem to be reversing that now. Also most i have seen now have signs that say "no overnight camper/RV parking"


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## TMG51

1) Legally they can't tow you while you're inside the vehicle as that is tantamount to kidnapping. You don't need to worry about this due to any vehicle occupancy laws while you're inside. Only worry about getting towed while you're away if you've parked illegally (as you would with any other vehicle).

2) You cannot rely on Wal-Mart parking lots. Everyone thinks that's true but it simply isn't. Many Wal-Marts don't allow overnight parking, and others are in cities with ordinances against overnight parking (meaning police look to enforce the law there first, because everyone thinks Wal-Mart is the place to overnight park). In fact even where it is permissible I avoid parking at Wal-Mart simply because everyone defaults there and it can draw attention.

I've been living in my Class B RV (bigass van) full time on the road for over a year now. I never plan ahead, I just go somewhere and use common sense, and I've never been disturbed at night, towed, ticketed, or threatened with arrest. I do have to talk to police occasionally. Just be honest and they shouldn't hassle you. Although my van is not at all stealthy, it does meet any city parking requirements, so depending on the size of your RV that would be your only restriction beyond mine. Find street parking out of the way somewhere. If you go to a box store parking lot, make it any one other than Wal-Mart. Lowe's is a great choice. They never care about overnighters and there's always a strong wifi signal.


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## Deleted member 125

Primitive said:


> Most walmarts seem to be reversing that now. Also most i have seen now have signs that say "no overnight camper/RV parking"



hmm, good to know i guess maybe virginia is just a bit behind on that because the ones ive seen here dont have any signs and i see folks rv's and busses there quite often although its not at night so maybe they arnt sleeping there.


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## Adnil

I haven't since I don't exactly associate with those who rubber tramp, but an idea to avoid any hassle, try parking at a hotel/motel that isn't too empty. That way if the manager or an employee see your RV, they automatically assume you're already sleeping in a room.


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## Matt Derrick

if you do some google searches into 'boondocking' you'll find a plethora of information about places that are and aren't friendly to people living in their vehicle. id say that even in an RV your chances of getting actually arrested are really really fucking slim. i see people that park their rv's in the same spot in cities all the time and they don't really get fucked with as long as they move their vehicles every few days.


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## iamwhatiam

Dont know where you plan on traveling in it, but here in washington its pretty easy. my uncle just got a little 22 footer and we jjust find a forest service road to drive up a little ways and camp in the woods. or in a pinch, park at a rest stop along the highway. have even just parked it in a pull out alongside the road a few times and havent been hasseled yet


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## Gardener Rick

Only once, the fellow had started drinking when he parked. Late that night the cops awoke him and told him he had too move. He informed them he was way too drunk too drive. They arrested him for public intoxication and towed the van.....


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## TMG51

Gardener Rick said:


> Only once, the fellow had started drinking when he parked. Late that night the cops awoke him and told him he had too move. He informed them he was way too drunk too drive. They arrested him for public intoxication and towed the van.....



Yes, you should be confident you're somewhere you won't be disturbed if you plan to drink at "home." Also be aware of what state laws constitute a DUI.


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## Raven1998

I've lived In a school bus for the last three years and parked it up on the road and in cities for up to a few months. I've never been arrested or had my rig towed but I have had the cops wake me up a million times.... It's a school bus so it's in no way stealth, if I'm traveling it's usually not a problem. I'll stay at rest stops or park in the random town for the night. When I'm sticking around for a few weeks is when it starts getting tricky. If you park in the skids or the ghetto or even Main Street peeps usually don't care. It's usually just in the neighborhood that people will call the cops and the cops usually just tell you to move because legally you can be parked there.

Some places tow after three days, but need to give you a posted warning first, usually if th cops get called and I'm not there they will leave one of these. Some places just write a ticket after three days then tow depending on the place.

The only places I know where it's not quite like that are in Santa Cruz where there are a bunch of anti homless( I got a home!) laws that forbid sleeping outside or in a vehicle. That's the only place I've had a friend get a ticket for being in his van at night.

Santa Cruz and Venice both are so swamped by rv dwellers that there are a bunch of no parking between 2-5am signs and no parking if your vehicle is over 7ft signs all over. But even there plenty o peeps do it. Santa Monica banned city wide rv parking after 9pm or any commercial vehicle ever. 

I have however had a bunch of psychos write shit on my Windows or come up to me and try to intimidate me to move all over even for just being parked for a few minutes. Those are just crazy jerks and there's no stopping them. Lucky for me my house moves.


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## Matt Derrick

TMG51 said:


> Yes, you should be confident you're somewhere you won't be disturbed if you plan to drink at "home." Also be aware of what state laws constitute a DUI.



the way i understand it, everything behind the front seats falls under the same rules of search and seizure as a house, so you can legally drink in the back. i tested this theory a few time back in the day in savannah and it actually saved us from getting a few tickets. i did make the mistake of sleeping in a front seat in the rv with an empty beer can (that wasn't even mine) in the cup holder and got a ticket when the cops were harassing us that morning.

also, i could be remembering this wrong, but you should have curtains if you're going to do this, since technically if they see you drinking through the windows they can ticket or harass you about it.


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## Durp

Residential neighborhoods are not so much an option, if you don't plan on getting bothered. The "wrong side of the tracks," are the best places to park in an RV. Close to water, beer, whatever else ya need. People are decent and will let you fill up your water tanks if you offer to give them something. Industrial areas work too. BLM is the way to go if you can.


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## wavyhill

TMG51 said:


> 1) Legally they can't tow you while you're inside the vehicle as that is tantamount to kidnapping. You don't need to worry about this due to any vehicle occupancy laws while you're inside. Only worry about getting towed while you're away if you've parked illegally (as you would with any other vehicle).
> 
> 2) You cannot rely on Wal-Mart parking lots. Everyone thinks that's true but it simply isn't. Many Wal-Marts don't allow overnight parking, and others are in cities with ordinances against overnight parking (meaning police look to enforce the law there first, because everyone thinks Wal-Mart is the place to overnight park). In fact even where it is permissible I avoid parking at Wal-Mart simply because everyone defaults there and it can draw attention.
> 
> I've been living in my Class B RV (bigass van) full time on the road for over a year now. I never plan ahead, I just go somewhere and use common sense, and I've never been disturbed at night, towed, ticketed, or threatened with arrest. I do have to talk to police occasionally. Just be honest and they shouldn't hassle you. Although my van is not at all stealthy, it does meet any city parking requirements, so depending on the size of your RV that would be your only restriction beyond mine. Find street parking out of the way somewhere. If you go to a box store parking lot, make it any one other than Wal-Mart. Lowe's is a great choice. They never care about overnighters and there's always a strong wifi signal.



Thanks for the tip about Lowe's.


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## EchoTheDrifter

Primitive said:


> Has anyone had this experience in any town? Or been arrested? Up until now I've been using more stealthy vehicles. But I will be getting an RV tomorrow. I know I'm safe where I am with it, but paranoid about ending up in that wrong town where something like this might happen, since everywhere getting stricter now. Anyone experienced this or know of others who have?



I love sleeping in a vehicle. I am aware of no law that prohibits you from doing so. You should only get towed if your vehicle is parked somewhere it is not supposed to be. Rules vary by state, but my top 3 suggestions:

1. National Forests
2. Highway Rest Areas
3. Wal-Mart Parking Lots

I haven't personally tried Wal-Mart parking lots, but I've done the other two multiple times. Never had a negative experience.


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## VikingAdventurer

Walmart parking lots are usually an excellent resource for us vehicular-dwelling folk. 

Good for sleeping, good for flying a sign if that's how you manifest your moola like I do. Good for spanging if that's your thing.

I _have _been kicked out of a small handful of Walmart lots, but that very seldom happens. 

Also, walmarts do usually have a handful of homebums hanging around, but they haven't caused much trouble in my experience.


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## Will Wood

Sadly, I learned that in Sedona it is illegal to sleep on public property. And I was told they tow the vehicle and ticket the sleepyhead.. Walmart's aren't that good anymore either..


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## PatchTwist

There are a few websites and apps that can point you to various free parking/camping areas, even specifically Walmarts.


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## wickedwench

I've slept under "No Overnight Camping" signs plenty of times in our cargo trailer. I've even been given tacit permission by shop owners when the signs were posted due to local laws. It's a bit of a blur. We try to stay outside the city since there is so much public land out there to stay on anyway, but when in a city we will check AllStays.com for reports on the local Walmarts (most still allow sleeping, its just at the local manager's discretion), look for nearby Cabela's or similar. We've slept at construction sites too. You basically just have to figure on where you are likely to actually be rousted. 

I've never heard of an arrest/tow unless the vehicle couldn't move. I've been doing this for nearly two years now, and nobody I know has seen that either. You usually will get rousted instead. If your vehicle is disabled and you are parked illegally, you may have a problem. If your vehicle might end up disabled, most auto shops will let you sleep in their lot while they fix it. This works especially well if you tow a trailer (we use a cargo trailer as stated above).


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