How to Choose the Best Van Dwelling Camping Spot

Tricks for Successful Urban Stealth Van Dwelling

Curtis Carper, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Jul 31, 2010 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

Part of the art of living in a van is securing a place to spend the night where people will leave you alone. Whether that means being run off by the police, or having noisy rowdy's beating on the walls of your bedroom while you're trying to get a little shut eye.

My personal favorites are to chose spots that are perfectly legal. Not necessarily spending money to secure a camping spot in an organized campground, but by taking advantage of what our own government has established as places that allow dispersed camping.

BLM land, (Bureau of Land Management) is land owned by the U.S. Government. Mostly open range land in the southwest, it can also be found in other parts of the country. You can set up camp and stay put for up to 14 days, after which you must relocate at least 25 miles away to another site. Rotate between 3 sites and you can stay in the same region forever... and of course it's all legal and free.

What you may not be aware of is National Forest Land and much State Forest Land falls under the same rules. This makes free remote camping possible in almost every state. No need to hide, be stealthy, or fear the authorities. Stay within their guidelines and your golden.

This is all well and good if you're able to be away from civilization for extended periods of time. For those who are tied to an urban setting for reasons like access to food, personal hygiene, or jobs, there are a lot of tricks that will help keep your camping spot off the radar screen of those around you.

The most important rule of thumb is your sleeping spot should be just that, dedicated as the place you go to sleep only. Your goal (when sleeping) is for your vehicle to blend in and appear a natural part of the neighborhood. You need to pull in, park, and get settled for the night as quickly and quietly as possible. Preferably without opening any doors or turning on any lights.

Daytime activities, where you're likely to be outside your vehicle, can be done at a local park, down by the river, or pretty much anywhere you want to be. Save your sleeping spot for sleeping only.

It's best to arrive at your selected sleeping spot after dark. Late enough in the evening that outside activity by locals is at a minimum. Come morning you should follow through by leaving the area as quickly and quietly as possible. Plan on leaving early enough to be gone before local residents start moving about.
The best scenario you can hope for is to spend the night quietly without anyone in the area knowing you were there.

It's best to find a collection of spots that work for you. If you spend consecutive nights at the same location sooner or later someone will notice and calls will be made. By rotating between a handful of spots suspicions are less likely to arise from your presence.

Truck stops make a good place to spend the night. Stay away from the big rigs and likely no one will complain. Most larger chain truck stops cater to RVs as much as they do to trucks. Spend the night and move on to another spot and you can come back on a regular basis. Start looking like you're going to take root and homestead the parking lot and the Sheriff will run you off in a flash.

The kindness of others can go along ways in helping you find safe haven for the night. The best way to be greeted with a smile by locals is to make yourself appear as a Non-Threat to them. By that I mean if your vehicle, van/RV/car, is neat and clean as possible, and your personal hygiene is up to par, you have much better odds of finding a sympathetic ear.

Don't forget attitude is 90% of your first impression on strangers. A big smile and a friendly "Howdy" can break the ice and get you off on the right foot.

Worst case scenario will have Mr. Law and Order shining his husky Maglite flashlight in your windows, just looking for a reason to beat you over the head with it. Keep your cool, answer his call promptly and politely and for God sakes don't have anything in your vehicle that will give him reason to call for his 4 legged back-up. If you give him any reason to be suspicious of you he will be all over you in a flash. They're trained to spot people with something to hide.

Once it is realized that you are a harmless person of extremely modest means simply looking for a spot to sleep for a few hours, most people will do what they can to help you out.

Published by Curtis Carper

Semi-retired, part time want-a-be journalist who is thrilled to have developed a small but devoted following. View profile

How to Choose the Best Van Dwelling Camping Spot

Tricks for Successful Urban Stealth Van Dwelling

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