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Old 02-09-2017, 05:42 PM   #21
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Originally Posted by brokedown View Post
Just a quick note regarding Walmart parking lots.. so far, it's not so bad. We have been at 4 different Walmart parking lots already. I've was clear about no overnight parking, so we didn't stay after buying some supplies. One told us that there was a city ordinance against it but that they didn't have an issue with it themselves. We spent two nights there, with a couple RVs and a few van dwellers next to us. One was very welcoming, had maybe thirty RVs there, some of which didn't move over the course of the three days we were in the area. This morning we are leaving another where we were the only obvious camper.

It's not glamorous, but even our negative responses haven't been bad experiences.

Very cool! Thanks for the info!
Love the pic! Are you in one of those campers?

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Old 02-09-2017, 05:50 PM   #22
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Originally Posted by cadillackid View Post
here is the Low-down I got on one walmart.. the one in Grove city ohio.. the city doesnt like people staying the night in parking lots.. *BUT* the reality is unless a crime is being committed the police cant run people off unless walmart calls.. however it was required that the walmart be "proactive in preventing over-nighters" so they installed signs... and left the signs at that... it was also domne so if anythiubng was damaged, stolen, etc then it was well known to the Lawyers that the trucks, busses, RV's werent to be there overnight in the first place... however the manager wont run anyone off...

here in downtown st pete i notice RVers Boondocking along non-posted side streets all the time... some streets are marked no parking permit only but many are just unmarked.. so if you are looking to stay in a city for a week or two.. just move around daily and you likely wont get bothered.. esp if you arent in some fancy new housing development.. I dont know about califorina.. I get in and get out of that state... san fran is fun and WeHo is a hoot but I fly in, visit, enjoy and fly out..

as for hawaii.. honolulu is downright a depressing city.. the resorts are all pretty and flowers and umbrella drinks.. but outside of that I wouldnt want to live there. besides being locked up on an Island where you cant road trip

-Christopher
More great info! Thank you!
Yes I had originally thought I would do just this~ Move everyday until im somewhere for a spot of time.

I read all the stuff on that one website and got all freaked out! Ive been living in my car off and on specifically in California since 2010 with no trouble, so I thought everything would be ok.

I think I just got overly worried for a moment! I am feeling much better now

Yaaasssss I love WeHo and Redwoods/The bay area. You just named my two favorite spots in CA! Other than mount shasta!

Omgosh I knooowww such a heavy energy there! I love hawaii, but I feel the same way. I would rather be able to travel across the usa etc.. I can swim in the keys if I want warm water or go to Central/South america etc.
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Old 03-23-2017, 09:29 AM   #23
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Well, that stinks. I'm from CA, and I wanted to get a skoolie so I could visit my dad...that's messed up. I didn't realized the bureaucratical nonsense I would have to consider.
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Old 03-23-2017, 10:14 AM   #24
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Originally Posted by Abbadackerygirl View Post
Well, that stinks. I'm from CA, and I wanted to get a skoolie so I could visit my dad...that's messed up. I didn't realized the bureaucratical nonsense I would have to consider.

Kalifornia is completely bureaucratic. Sadly, most of California is nice and rural. You have the big 3 cities there calling all the shots for the rest of the entire state.
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Old 05-18-2017, 11:08 PM   #25
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Staying in a RV in California.

Hi Friends,
Last August and again in December, My Bride and I traveled North on HWYs 1 and 101 from Santa Barbara through San Fran. and on North, over the Golden Gate.

From Santa Barbara to Watsonville we must have seen 100 homeless vehicles, some parked along side of the road and some sitting in waysides, not however, in public parking areas. You could tell they were homeless vehicles because they were generally covered in dust with shades drawn.

North of San Fran. on 101 we did see some, although they were harder to spot. I bet if You took Hwy 1 North of San Fran, You will see a ton of homeless vehicles.

I have a cousin who sells used motor homes. He tells me that he sells 2 to 5 motor homes a week to homeless people, just before they are going to get evicted. They need a permanent address in order to buy the vehicle if they are going to finance it. Don't ask how these people qualify for financing.

I plan to spend time traveling in California and not staying at camp grounds or RV parks. My philosophy is: don't ask permission; ask for forgiveness.

I think that if You present Your vehicle, clean and well maintained, and Your camp spot clean and tidy, no one will say too much. Also, try to make Your Skoolie not look like a school bus You yanked the seats out, packed Your clothes and hit the road. The rougher Your unit looks the more hassles You will get.

We live in Longview, Wash. I can take You to areas of this small town where You can find several homeless vehicles parked. Most of the places are private property.

Has anyone thought of staying in a truck stop? I bet if You bought fuel they would let You stay. One could always save a little room at the top of the tank to add 10 or 15 gals. My brother was a trucker, he had to sometimes park in a truck stop for up to a week before getting a load.
Many truck stops have hookers and drug dealers patrolling at night. Some truck stops have guards that patrol, just to keep the rif-raf out, but they might not hassle You if, again Your rig looks clean and well maintained.
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Old 05-19-2017, 02:15 AM   #26
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Urban campers are very creative in the ways in which they defeat the government paper pushers. If you are going to be spend a lot of time in an urban environment it pays to start with something that is much easier to hide. A 4- or 5-window mini is a lot easier to hide in plain sight than a 15-window RE.

I don't know if it was on here or on another forum I visit but one young man chronicled his time after he graduated from college and got a job in Silicon Valley.

Even though he was getting paid very well he couldn't afford to rent an apartment anywhere within reasonable commuting distance. By the time he paid a payment on his student loan he couldn't afford the $2K per month apartment rent. Let alone scrape together the 1st, Last, and security deposit.

What he ended up doing was purchasing a Ford E-350 high cube van. It was the ultimate low impact urban stealth camper ever. He equipped it with a composting toilet that only requires an occasional drop off in a dumpster, a very nice mattress and box spring, a closet and bureau, and some Coleman products for cooking and clean up. All told he had less than half the cost of a 1st, last, and security deposit invested in his urban stealth camper.

Because he worked for one of the high tech companies the company provided a gym, pool, and showers on the property so he was able to take care of his personal hygiene very easily.

He was able to get a parking permit for his personal car so he was able to park his van in the company parking lot. Because he chose to park in the way far out corner where no one else ever parked no one really ever noticed he was there.

For quick trips to the store he could use the company shuttle bus service that went into town or he could ride his bike. He made sure he moved his van at least a couple of times per week, even if it was only around the parking lot, so as to not be so obvious.

Of course, after the first night security knew what he was doing but because he was doing everything so low key no one squawked about what he was doing.

At the time of the writing of his experience it had been going on for several months. As a consequence he had saved enough $$$ that he was no longer considering 1st, Last, and Security Deposit but down payment on a house while still paying down the principal on his student loans.

While his experience had been fairly positive I don't know how well you could replicate his experience elsewhere or even in the same company parking lot. But I think that if you did things like he did--low key, clean, invisible--it is very possible to urban stealth camp for extended periods of time while still maintaining a professional appearance.
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Old 05-19-2017, 04:43 AM   #27
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Beyond stealth.

My Bride and I are not looking to live for long in one place. We are more interested in parking the skoolie and using the Honda van we are going to tow to travel around the area, just viewing what there is to see.
We have somewhat limited funds, so we wouldn't be traveling long distances at once.
Another way to do it is by cultivating friends on social media. As we move about, we could prearrange parking before arriving in an area.
Again, how we live while we are at a place is important. Keeping things clean and tidy so we won't wear out our welcome and not staying in one place too long.
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Old 05-19-2017, 10:12 AM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cowlitzcoach View Post
Urban campers are very creative in the ways in which they defeat the government paper pushers. If you are going to be spend a lot of time in an urban environment it pays to start with something that is much easier to hide. A 4- or 5-window mini is a lot easier to hide in plain sight than a 15-window RE.

I don't know if it was on here or on another forum I visit but one young man chronicled his time after he graduated from college and got a job in Silicon Valley.

Even though he was getting paid very well he couldn't afford to rent an apartment anywhere within reasonable commuting distance. By the time he paid a payment on his student loan he couldn't afford the $2K per month apartment rent. Let alone scrape together the 1st, Last, and security deposit.

What he ended up doing was purchasing a Ford E-350 high cube van. It was the ultimate low impact urban stealth camper ever. He equipped it with a composting toilet that only requires an occasional drop off in a dumpster, a very nice mattress and box spring, a closet and bureau, and some Coleman products for cooking and clean up. All told he had less than half the cost of a 1st, last, and security deposit invested in his urban stealth camper.

Because he worked for one of the high tech companies the company provided a gym, pool, and showers on the property so he was able to take care of his personal hygiene very easily.

He was able to get a parking permit for his personal car so he was able to park his van in the company parking lot. Because he chose to park in the way far out corner where no one else ever parked no one really ever noticed he was there.

For quick trips to the store he could use the company shuttle bus service that went into town or he could ride his bike. He made sure he moved his van at least a couple of times per week, even if it was only around the parking lot, so as to not be so obvious.

Of course, after the first night security knew what he was doing but because he was doing everything so low key no one squawked about what he was doing.

At the time of the writing of his experience it had been going on for several months. As a consequence he had saved enough $$$ that he was no longer considering 1st, Last, and Security Deposit but down payment on a house while still paying down the principal on his student loans.

While his experience had been fairly positive I don't know how well you could replicate his experience elsewhere or even in the same company parking lot. But I think that if you did things like he did--low key, clean, invisible--it is very possible to urban stealth camp for extended periods of time while still maintaining a professional appearance.
Yes I remember this guy, And instead of keeping his mouth shut He called the papers & the news outlets & said LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME SEE WHAT i'M GETTING AWAY WITH !!!!!! & he was ordered to move it, So instead of staying low keyed he screwed A LOT of people, For example the company I work in San Francisco for has a lot of people & new hires that start at around $18.00 hr, plus commute from other states & were living in the parking lot, There was upwards of 80 rev's in our lot, after this guys shot off his mouth the city came in & forced these people to leave.
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Old 05-19-2017, 10:25 AM   #29
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There's always some loudmouth attention whore that needs a pat on the back, who then ultimately ruins it for everybody...
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Old 05-19-2017, 09:37 PM   #30
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There's always some loudmouth attention whore that needs a pat on the back, who then ultimately ruins it for everybody...
Yea he screwed a lot of people
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Old 05-20-2017, 07:24 AM   #31
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There's always some loudmouth attention whore that needs a pat on the back, who then ultimately ruins it for everybody...
Like the jerk-offs who LIVED in a bus in the street in front of their friend's place here in my town. Apparently the city tried to work out a solution with them several times. They refused to move, and now we have a law that in the city, a privately owned school bus can't be stopped for more than an hour and has to remain running. Totally illegal to even park a bus in your own driveway or yard. They even prohibit van chassis buses.
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Old 05-20-2017, 08:15 AM   #32
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Wow - that ordinance is filled with all kinds of stupid.

It may be time to get out of Dodge.


Quote:
Originally Posted by EastCoastCB View Post
Like the jerk-offs who LIVED in a bus in the street in front of their friend's place here in my town. Apparently the city tried to work out a solution with them several times. They refused to move, and now we have a law that in the city, a privately owned school bus can't be stopped for more than an hour and has to remain running. Totally illegal to even park a bus in your own driveway or yard. They even prohibit van chassis buses.
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Old 07-10-2017, 06:44 AM   #33
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Nowhere to park in Kalifornia ???
Not even close to being true.

Truck Stops, Rest Areas, Private Property, WalMart, Cabelas, and a HOST of other places you can park overnight.

And don't forget that you can just pull off out in the desert at a LOT of the exits on highway.

I have stayed at ALL of these areas/places without problem.
If an 18 Wheeler can do it, you can bet a "recreational driver" can do it too.

As to truck stops, unless they are "pay to park", you have no worries.
No drug dealers, no hookers, and no security at most of them.

My partner (team truck) and I used to "camp out" at places regularly in Kali, and we had our regular spots.
With and without trailer attached.
Ontario Mills Mall was one of them believe it or not.

I won't list them all, but if you are in the Sacramento to L.A. area I likely have a spot you can try and stay.
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