van dwelling- camping - same places to park - ect.

[Mouse]

ok, so I'm looking to compile a list of places that are vandweller friendly for when I hit the road again.

if you know of nice places to camp that are free and safe places in cities to park your house, please do tell!

I keep thinking of all these ideas for when I get this fantasy van/truck/bus but then I realized "I'm not sure exactly where to go..hmm?" other than the obvious towns I already know and have friends in. I want to know more places and destinations that would be liveable for a few weeks to months. possibly with work near or something of that nature.

eventually the idea for me is to make some type of zine that would contain a list of chill parking locations and good camp sites and public showers, pools, ect. I think a lot of people would find something like that useful.

links to sites about this subject would be great as well.

 

[wartomods]

there is cheaper living site, but i find kinda hard to live in the same place for weeks and months, if you are parked in the same spot all the time, at least you have to change the place where you park while still remaining in the same citie or something.

 

[sleep]

There is always wal mart and truck stops. If you keep your van inconspicuous you can probably get away with parking anywhere you want.

 

[Mouse]

I was thinking the other day that park and ride places would always be a good bet because overnight parking is expected at those spots.

 

[compass]

Motel/hotel parking lots are easy to blend into. I would definitely recommend keeping your vehicle as "normal" looking as possible. The less it looks like someone may be living in it, or the less provocative (political/social issue bumper stickers, artistic decorations, etc) the better. I lived in a car for a long time. Just the type of car itself, a tiny Nissan Sentra, was camoflauge enough; no one would think someone could live in that car. I was able to park it pretty much anywhere I wanted. Window fogging is the issue to deal with, and cops do look for it.

 

[Beegod Santana]

Most every major metropolitan area has free parking somewhere that you can post up at for at least a week. Normally you'll have to move once a week for street sweeping. When I was doing the rubber thing I spent significant amounts of time living outta my car in NYC, NOLA, PDX, SF, Northampton MA and Syracuse NY. Any highway rest stop is normally good for at least a night, even the ones that say no overnight parking. Smaller cities are great because there's normally plenty of free parking that isn't being used. I know of a few small campgrounds in CA that you can stay at for free up to 14 days before having to switch sites. I'll pm you those as I have no interest in blowing them up.

 

[Angela]

All of the previous suggestions are good but do always be aware that even if a place is generally ok to stay at that doesn't mean it's always so. Wal-mart is a prime example, most of them are great but there are quite a few that no longer let folks camp out in their parking lots. If your van has tinted windows lots of places are fine. Just don't be seen after dark(between about 9pm and 5am), as long as you stay tucked away during those hours it's generally safe. Go to a Big Lots or some such place and get some rolls of contact paper, they make excellent privacy curtains in a van. There are quite a few resources out on the web if you look up "van dwelling", there's also a yahoo group called 'boonedocking' that's a good resource. There's also a zine that's been around for years called Dwelling Portably which can be found through Microcosm Publishing that's an excellent resource. Best of luck!

 

[Mouse]

all good tips people. keep em coming!

I used to live in my lil toyota for a short time until I got sick of it and ditched it. Car living seemed pretty easy because, like has been mentioned, it's super easy to blend it. I parked anywhere and slept, got up and moved on. But this time around I want to be more comfortable and stay still a bit more.

my plan is probably to crash in my friends back yards as much as possible. Seems like a lot of people I know are starting to settle and get places so it should prove helpful.

 

[Mari3L]

I used to live in my lil toyota for a short time until I got sick of it and ditched it. Car living seemed pretty easy because, like has been mentioned, it's super easy to blend it.

I was living out of my Honda for several months and it started out ok. After a while the police bothered me everywhere. They finally threatened me with arrest and fines for loitering.

It really sucks being forced to leave when you have to stay (work, friends, whatever the reason) and being given no other alternative. The police check truck stops and hotel parking lots here too and heckle the shit out of you. I was approached and interrogated for about ten minutes for sitting in a busy parking area and writing in a notebook. To this day I have no idea why. (I didn't even have a single bumper sticker or anything inflammatory)

I need a permanent solution and paying 600-800 bucks a month for a studio apt isn't going to be an option. So I'm leaving the car at work and camping in fields and forests (within reasonable distance).

I guess its just a matter of time before they arrest me.

This was going to be a brief post but perhaps not.

 

[Mouse]

wow I guess once they see you around one spot for too long they start being a dick to you. that seriously sucks.

when Iw as living in my camry I was always on the move so i never had to deal with that. I think one time the cops made a threat to mess with us but never did (telling a bitchy border cop that's been TRYING to find a reason to arrest you for 2 hours "yeeeah, if you need me I'll be sleeping in the wal mart parking lot just up the street. since you can't seem to find anythign illegal in my car can I please go to bed now?" doesn't seem to ammuse them too much)

 

[Bendixontherails]

One thing I learned while rubber trampin' is the value of a car cover.
If you're in a regular car and not a van, they help block light, keep the cops from seeing the breath fog, and camouflage the car (get a dark colored one) if you drive it out into a field along the treeline. I have done this and been able to keep the same spot for up to a week at a time!

It also seems to help in neighborhoods, as the folks don't report you as fast. they don't see a car they don't recognize, they see that their neighbor bought a car cover!

 

[drun_ken]

ok so on th 40 headin into arkansas from tennasse the first rest area has a sign that says overnight camping only...its always made me giggle....who the hell would camp in a rest area for weeks?

seriously tho...like everyone else has said keep yer vehicle normal looking on the outside and you should be cool ta park and stay anywhere just watch the signs that tell when parking is not allowed (due to street sweepers usually).....

 

[Mouse]

I think plain white work van is a pretty good standard.

eh, I think it's hard for me to think about what paranoid yuppies will consider "odd" lol. one time I got into a fight with my brother because he was bitching that some dude had pulled into his gf (now wifes) neighborhood/development and parked in their culdesack(sp?) and slept for the night. I said "what's the big fucking deal? he may have been drunk and needed to sleep it off so he wouldn't kill someone driving home, or he was driving all night and needed to sleep before he ran off the road" and he flipped out saying something along the lines of "you don't know who that fucker is... when I left for work he coulda come into the house and raped Becky and her mother. you just don't know!"

SERIOUSLY what the fuck? you woulda condemed a drunk driver to death if he got into an accident or some shit, but now all of a sudden if he takes a nap he's some sketchy potential serial rapist lurking out in plain sight? My pointing out the fact very blunty that Becky was more likely to be raped by her father than some random stranger didn't help his temper lol.