![]() However, in most cities it’s totally fine (and advised) to park on the street where most local residents park their cars. Places like hotel parking lots, 24 hour grocery stores, rest stops, and yes, even Walmart. The best place to park overnight in the city is anywhere where cars are normally left overnight or where it’s not uncommon for people to arrive and leave throughout the night. In the city: Similar advice for urban camping. Try to find places where other cars are left overnight from people staying at nearby hotels or people tent camping overnight within the park. I’ve also found that since vans are relatively small and discreet compared to an RV, you can park overnight in parking lots and at trailheads in National Parks. Search on forums or “boondocking websites”, ask a ranger at a nearby BLM or USFS office, or just pull out your gps/map. The best way to find top-notch boondocking sites is to do your homework ahead of time. Almost all BLM (Bureau of Land Management) and USFS (United States Forest Service) allows boondocking (which is the act of remotely camping outside developed campgrounds). Many of these spots are free to the public. Out in nature: There are many amazing pieces of public land you can legally park and camp out on for days-sometimes even weeks at a time. Wonderful views to wake up to in Northern California. For the very light sleepers, there’s always earplugs. ![]() Eventually you’ll learn to tune it all out. Being parked and sleeping in the city, brings you a lot closer to the urban noises of the concrete jungle. When it comes to the actual act of sleeping, it’ll take time to adjust to the noise. The night spot is for one thing and one thing only: sleeping. Don’t go outside your van to brush your teeth in your night spot. Don’t stay up late watching a movie or cooking in your night spot. It’s also recommended to have a selection of “night” spots that are used only for sleeping and several “day” spots that you leave your van at during the day. If you’re in an area for an extended amount of time, find several legal overnight parking spots and rotate between them every night. ![]() The key to this is to never park in the same spot two days in a row. If you have a stealthy van, and you use common sense, you’ll be able to find free, legal parking overnight quite easily. And to be honest, after about a week of traveling all my worries disappeared. This used to be something I worried a lot about leading up to my move into the van. Goes to show how similar a cargo campervan looks to all the other work trucks next to it. ![]() Also, black out your windows with black out curtains or opaque window tint. These will make your van stand out and make it easier for local residents or authorities to notice you and your parking habits. For those living in camper style vans like a Vanagon or older VW, avoid lots of stickers or crazy paint jobs. Since plain white cargo vans are so common as commercial work vehicles, if you live in one, you immediately gain some urban camoflage. The best way to blend into your surroundings is by making your van look as unmemorable as possible on the outside. This will give you the flexibility of staying out in nature when you want, but more importantly living in urban areas with ease and without hassle. This is the practice of making it appear as if you don’t live in your van and your vehicle is just like any other vehicle on the road. The biggest piece of advice I can give is to embrace the “stealth” van life. This should shed some light on the topic. One of the biggest concerns of those considering the vanlife is how to keep their vehicle and themselves safe and secure during their travels. ![]()
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