WoW -- the response for this post was amazing! Must be a big question for a lot of people! I can't even respond to everyone's response because there are so many, but a lot of really good points have been made by a lot of people!
Just to add some quick comments:
I know it seems like a lot to worry about so many things for the sake of stealth, but there have also been some responses that are pro-stealth, and I would have to agree with them because "it only takes one". I'm sure there are many great wonderful old grandmas out there, and i love to stop by farms and buy fruit7s and jams and stuff like that from them on the side of the road, but you only need one old grandma out there who sees you and doesn't like you because she doesn't know any better and she calls the cops. BAM. These are type of people that barely even know what the internet is and voted for Hillary Clinton for sure, hehehe. There have been some comments about knowing the area you are in and I would completely agree with that, absolutely huge, 100%. I could start a whole new thread about what types of areas are the best in terms of police and the respectability of the police there, but i'll digress. The point is that I would like an design the most stealth van reasonabbly possible. Once my setup is complete, I won't have to do as much thinking of course, but I'm starting from scratch and actually it's really fun to think about this kind of stuff to tell you the truth.
I liked the idea of a minvan, but a minivan is just too small for my needs. I really like the idea of a sunroof to create a flush vent, and there are sunroofs that completely pop off, so that's even more stealthy. The only thing here for me I have to consider tho is the loss of solar panel space.
For the people who travel mostly in rural areas, I would say, and i think some of these people would agree, stealth is harder to obtain and therefore not as important. Not only do you have the grandmas i talked about, but you have less people, and you will stick out more no matter what you drive, and it will be more difficult to find parking where you're not the only commercial vehicle there. I agree it is quite important to be nice to the people you meet and just talk to people and put a good vibe out there, but in rural areas, it does make you look more suspicious if you look like you are trying to hide and someone sees you trying to hide. The other problem I see is that cities are where the jobs are, and if you work, you will make more money working in the city in general. The city I live in has the number 1 worst traffic in the united states, and I could imagine it being super easy to blend in with all the traffic and people. I see white cargo vans everywhere I go at all times of day and night and nothing looks suspicious about that if you're in the city. If your van is setup in 100% stealth mode, I really do believe it can be achieved in the city, but not in rural areas because weird looking vans stick out, but cargo vans parked right next to other cargo vans do not stick out, even if you were looking specifically for van dwellers. I know some people might disagree with me on this thread, but this is my opinion and belief. 100% stealth can be achieved. Of course, I want to be open and tell others how I sleep at night to my friends, but there are benifits to stealth as well. And at the end of the day, you're tired and are just looking for a safe place to sleep. You don't want to be bothered by anyone including LE -- that would suck. Where would you even drive to, only to be bothered again? You might as well not even go back to sleep at that point and just wait until the next night to sleep. I want to be stealth because I could not tolerate anyone who was messing with me in the middle of the night, period. There was one post I was reading about someone who thought their van was being broken into, when it was just a police man messing with them, and if they got out of the van with a weapon or something like that because they were scarred and didn't know it was the police, it would have ended very badly that's for sure.
Also, remember that cargo vans don't have to come with any windows. There's nothing to block, and it dosn't look suspicious because you aren't blocking out your windows with shades or dark tinting. In the city, you see these windowless cargo vans all the time.
@bcbullet, loved your comment also and that is how i see it too. For the comment about being clean vs dirty -- I would say looking clean is better. People who are dirty look more suspicous to me than someone who is more clean-cut. That "smelly dude" in the "old rusty van" outside could easily be "the homeless type" and be targeted. The clean guy who drives a work van probably has a job and that's probably his van for working. It really is about who you hang out with and where you are.
Sorry i can't respond to every comment, I really didn't think I would receive so many! We may not all be in exact agreement but at least we have a place to talk about it!
If anyone's interested mounting flexible solar panels for stealth, here's another thread!
https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-Choosing-the-BEST-ADHESIVE
