Are vans even close to being a viable option at campgrounds / RV parks? (esp. on the east coast)

[tamino]

Hi! I'm very new at this. I'm still in an apartment right now, but trying to figure out how I can make this work.

I don't have the ideal lifestyle for being able to go out to someplace remote for 3-4 weeks at a time. I'm not retired, and my employer wants people in the office physically 3 days a week. So I think I'm going to be more aiming towards places where you can go and plonk yourself down and they have long-term rates and in/out privileges and you can basically make it your home base. I like the idea of predictability, like, if you're getting back on a Sunday evening you'll always know where you're going back to and you know you can get a good night's sleep and get up and go to work Monday morning.

Is it a completely dumb idea to go with a van, rather than an RV? Is there some trick to finding RV parks that are ok with vans? I don't know a good web site that lists "all RV parks in an area". I've found a patchwork of different web sites and they seem to list some of the same campgrounds/parks but not always the same ones.

What about the more tent-focused kind of campgrounds? I would assume the tent-focused kind of campground doesn't care what kind of vehicle you have. (Is that true?) But I also looked at the policies of some of them near me in Maryland and they seemed to be restrictive about in/out privileges. They basically expect you to be, well, "camping", not commuting or doing errands.

Basically my heart says "van" but my practical side is saying "RV" and I don't know which side I should listen to, especially given there isn't a lot of the BLM/LTVA stuff on the east coast. I would appreciate anyone's thoughts. Thank you!

 

[user 423]

Is it a completely dumb idea to go with a van, rather than an RV?

Basically my heart says "van" but my practical side is saying "RV" and I don't know which side I should listen to, especially given there isn't a lot of the BLM/LTVA stuff on the east coast. I would appreciate anyone's thoughts. Thank you!

What's your budget? How comfortable do you need to be? "RV" can mean many different things; from tiny teardrop trailers to 40' motorhomes. Also "van" can have a lot of variations,too. Regular low-roof vans that have limited space or large high-top, extended-length vans that are quite spacious for one person. Hard to answer your question.

Have you checked out Maryland state parks? Maybe you could go to the nearest one and talk with both campers and staff to get an idea as to what it's like to live in different rigs. Buy a tent and do some camping or rent an 'RV' and talk to people who have experience camping in your area.

 

[bullfrog]

If you are going to mainly be doing a home base type living there is a company in Tennessee making an “Incredibox” tiny home that is a registered RV. Basically a studio apartment on wheels, 8’ x 16’ around 5,000 lbs. Lots of YouTube videos. With the tiny house movement gaining acceptance it might be a solution although about $20,000 and up to $30,000 with full solar, tanks, instant on water heater for fully off grid operation. Many trailer parks are opening tiny house sections but this can be easily moved by a pickup truck or van when you are ready to go boondocking.

 

[WanderingRose]

In a van or traditional vehicle, you should not have any trouble with public campgrounds, tho their stays are generally limited to two weeks.

Private campgrounds are more restrictive, and the only way to find out what they accept is to call them.

Or, drive there in your vehicle and ask.

I like the AllStays app.

 

[Jim D]

Well, your doing the right thing coming here and talking to everyone. I'm in Nevada in a house I can stay in for the next 3 or 4 years. After that I'll most likely be in my van again. I lived in my van 22 years ago for 10 years but I was up and working all night. I'm hear talking to people and reading so when I go live in my van I will be fully educated way past what I already know. When you work all night you can sleep wherever you damn well please during the day, well, not in front of someone's house or on a parking meter.

I watch You Tube videos on "Van Life" also. It's pretty interesting to watch what other Van Lifers are doing. RV parks get expensive so if you can spend $50 or more a night you'll be good with that. Most people want to save money so they skip the RV parks. During the summer you will play hell finding a spot in any campground or RV park because everyone's vacationing. Get ready to stealth during the summer.

If you are going to mainly be doing a home base type living there is a company in Tennessee making an “Incredibox” tiny home that is a registered RV. Basically a studio apartment on wheels, 8’ x 16’ around 5,000 lbs. Lots of YouTube videos. With the tiny house movement gaining acceptance it might be a solution although about $20,000 and up to $30,000 with full solar, tanks, instant on water heater for fully off grid operation. Many trailer parks are opening tiny house sections but this can be easily moved by a pickup truck or van when you are ready to go boondocking.

I've just started looking at those Tiny Homes a few days ago. If you can find a place to park the tiny house permanently in a tiny home park it might not be a bad deal. The city's treat them like RV's but the tiny houses are catching on as some cities are changing zoning ordinances on properties allowing them to be installed permanently with full city water and sewer. They are doing this as a pushback on high housing prices and rents. Reno Nevada homes are now $450,000 and they are letting tiny homes be built and sell for around $200,000 which is still higher than van dwellers can pay and the Reno tiny homes are twice the size of normal tiny homes. That's just in Reno and big cities though.

 

[bullfrog]

There are better monthly deals for full hookup RV lots in or near urban areas. Many RV parks in the southwest do 6 month stay/ six month storage, so if fuel and up keep on the RV to keep it road worthy is a concern you can almost get away with owning two (one a winter location and one summer location) as we do. Summer location is a seasonal work location and depending on who we are working for rent is either $50 or $350 including all utilities. The winter location is primitive camping with access to water, sewer, showers, workshop and trash and costs $1,000 a year. So we end paying about $3,400 a year or a round $300 a month including utilities. Escapee’s club is less than $100 a year membership and rents to members in their locations for around $400 after you pay the additional electric usage fee. The “incredibox” is a registered RV and appears much better suited and built for this type of semi stationary living than our couple of year old Forest River Gray Wolf 25’ travel trailer which we are now using.

 

[afblangley]

If you have to physically go into a workplace 3 days per week, you have to stay within a X mile radius of where you work. You are not mobile. Why do you want to live in a vehicle?

A van is not a magic carpet ride. Living out of a vehicle is not fun. Ordinary everyday tasks are harder, take longer, and is more of a hassle. A quick drive through any RV park with long term residents will deglamorize living in an RV.

A van is just a tool, some people use a sailboat (eg. circumnavigation), some use a plane (eg. round the world plane ticket), or a motorcycle, or a bicycle. Vanlife isn't about the van, it's about the life. A life that has freedom. Freedom to travel, freedom to work remotely (or not work at all), freedom to spend your time doing what you want. What is it that you are really seeking?

 

[tamino]

I'm absorbing everyone's replies. Thanks to all!

WanderingRose, thank you for the pointer to AllStays. Having one "reasonably complete" place to check is a lot easier than having four or five less-complete ones. It helps.

Jim D, working nights does sound attractive. I think I'd be way less apprehensive about stealth parking that way, like you said. Very cool.

gone2day, what I had my heart set on was something like a Chevrolet Express 2500, extended wheelbase. I don't see a need to bother with the high top. I know what the measurements of X number of plastic tubs are plus a bed, so I was thinking I would just go look at vans and bring a measuring tape along and if I found something that was big enough that wasn't the Chevrolet Express 2500 that would be just as good.

afblangley, without getting into philosophy too much, is it too flippant if I just say "because I don't want to do the homeowner thing again, and I find apartments depressing"? I want metal, wood, plastic tubs, closed-cell foam. Stuff I can touch and understand. I'm not fond of carpet, melamine, particle board, veneer, fiberglass.

That's not the only reason, but I guess in this context it's the easiest one to put into words.

I think what I'm hearing from folks is basically: yes, vans + RV parks basically don't mix; yes, RV parks + registered RVs (or tiny houses) can be a perfectly workable solution; but don't get too scared of vans + stealth parking before you've tried it, too. Paraphrasing and hoping I don't mischaracterize anyone too badly, but that's the gist I've been getting.

This is all much appreciated. Hope folks are having a good evening.

 

[maki2]

Just get a van and make the exterior resemble a commercially built camper van. You know, some graphics, roof vent housing on top. You could even tack on a few pieces of waste tank valves under the van. Of course you need some normal looking window blinds instead of silver bubbles Reflextic. …Fake it till you make it. …,Just do not offer to give any tours at the RV parks. Might as well have a sense of humor for how to deal with this situation

 

[RoamerRV428]

state parks, county parks, COEs take anything mostly, places like HarvestHosts take vans easily etc. You got alot of options.

private cgs, most take vans easily.

then you will hit some 'restricted' like to Class A only etc. but in the end, your van should hit alot of cgs easily.

just call, check. good thing is if you can't get anywhere sleep at a rest area or truck stop we do and have no issues doing that while traveling. boondocking your way with your van would be a tad easier than us in our big truck and toyhauler but we sure do it.

Plus think of your van as a Class B rv kinda You are an rv in your van in a way right? most places will take vans, you shouldn't have big issues.

 

[karleesto]

Hmmm did I see you are planning to try and live in a van in TN? I suggest you check into some recent laws that passed in TN reference to "camping in your van" in areas not designated to camp.

Law was passed to help curb homeless problems.

 

[tamino]

Hmmm did I see you are planning to try and live in a van in TN? I suggest you check into some recent laws that passed in TN reference to "camping in your van" in areas not designated to camp.

Karleesto, yes, I've been finding similar stuff, and thanks for letting me know the same thing from a different angle. I think all the resources for stealth parking you see on the web are probably 100% correct, for folks in the west, especially the southwest. I'm sure nobody wants "the knock on the door" but at least in places that aren't the east coast, the knock on the door seems to be mostly a nuisance. On the east coast it seems more dangerous.

My current plan is more or less:

1. Get an RV, as small as possible (as close as possible to the size of the van I wanted)
2. Even in the RV, live out of plastic storage tubs and use 12 volts for tech gadgets, don't get too dependent on the 120 volt power and other amenities inside the RV. In fact I can rip out most of the amenities in the RV that I don't need or want, and focus on improving the insulation.
3. Sign up full time at an RV park
4. On the 4 days a week I don't have to be in the office, I'll have everything in tubs ready to go and all the tech gadgets running on 12 volt power if I want to take a different vehicle to a campground. I can be sure to do this in a way that doesn't violate any "X nights in Y days" rules.

I talked on the phone today with an RV park that is near my office. They seemed quite reasonable with their rules. It's true they only allow vehicles that are registered RVs, but they don't have any maximum age of the RV. They do say the water hookups at the sites get turned off in the winter when there's danger of pipes freezing. And that's okay with me, it just means in the winter I use the communal showers and I pretend I'm in a van for toilet stuff. And I can cook with bottled water.

I don't want to take stupid risks with this stuff. I'm okay with taking calculated risks, but not stupid ones. I guess I feel like, given the part of the country I'm in, this way is less stupid.

Again, thanks karleesto, I appreciate you chiming in to help save my butt with this stuff.

 

[bullfrog]

Many use 7 gallon water jugs and leave their Rv systems dry after blowing them out and filling drain traps with RV antifreeze during winter in cold climates to prevent freezing. If only slightly cold and hooked up to city water a dripping faucet works many times to prevent freezing but tanks must remain open while doing so. Trust me a frozen full black tank is a real problem!

 

[RVTravel]

Karleesto, yes, I've been finding similar stuff, and thanks for letting me know the same thing from a different angle. I think all the resources for stealth parking you see on the web are probably 100% correct, for folks in the west, especially the southwest. I'm sure nobody wants "the knock on the door" but at least in places that aren't the east coast, the knock on the door seems to be mostly a nuisance. On the east coast it seems more dangerous.

My current plan is more or less:

1. Get an RV, as small as possible (as close as possible to the size of the van I wanted)
2. Even in the RV, live out of plastic storage tubs and use 12 volts for tech gadgets, don't get too dependent on the 120 volt power and other amenities inside the RV. In fact I can rip out most of the amenities in the RV that I don't need or want, and focus on improving the insulation.
3. Sign up full time at an RV park
4. On the 4 days a week I don't have to be in the office, I'll have everything in tubs ready to go and all the tech gadgets running on 12 volt power if I want to take a different vehicle to a campground. I can be sure to do this in a way that doesn't violate any "X nights in Y days" rules.

I talked on the phone today with an RV park that is near my office. They seemed quite reasonable with their rules. It's true they only allow vehicles that are registered RVs, but they don't have any maximum age of the RV. They do say the water hookups at the sites get turned off in the winter when there's danger of pipes freezing. And that's okay with me, it just means in the winter I use the communal showers and I pretend I'm in a van for toilet stuff. And I can cook with bottled water.

I don't want to take stupid risks with this stuff. I'm okay with taking calculated risks, but not stupid ones. I guess I feel like, given the part of the country I'm in, this way is less stupid.

Again, thanks karleesto, I appreciate you chiming in to help save my butt with this stuff.

I'll be interested to see which small rv tamino ends up with.

 

[CopperK]

Karleesto, yes, I've been finding similar stuff, and thanks for letting me know the same thing from a different angle. I think all the resources for stealth parking you see on the web are probably 100% correct, for folks in the west, especially the southwest. I'm sure nobody wants "the knock on the door" but at least in places that aren't the east coast, the knock on the door seems to be mostly a nuisance. On the east coast it seems more dangerous.

My current plan is more or less:

1. Get an RV, as small as possible (as close as possible to the size of the van I wanted)
2. Even in the RV, live out of plastic storage tubs and use 12 volts for tech gadgets, don't get too dependent on the 120 volt power and other amenities inside the RV. In fact I can rip out most of the amenities in the RV that I don't need or want, and focus on improving the insulation.
3. Sign up full time at an RV park
4. On the 4 days a week I don't have to be in the office, I'll have everything in tubs ready to go and all the tech gadgets running on 12 volt power if I want to take a different vehicle to a campground. I can be sure to do this in a way that doesn't violate any "X nights in Y days" rules.

I talked on the phone today with an RV park that is near my office. They seemed quite reasonable with their rules. It's true they only allow vehicles that are registered RVs, but they don't have any maximum age of the RV. They do say the water hookups at the sites get turned off in the winter when there's danger of pipes freezing. And that's okay with me, it just means in the winter I use the communal showers and I pretend I'm in a van for toilet stuff. And I can cook with bottled water.

I don't want to take stupid risks with this stuff. I'm okay with taking calculated risks, but not stupid ones. I guess I feel like, given the part of the country I'm in, this way is less stupid.

Again, thanks karleesto, I appreciate you chiming in to help save my butt with this stuff.

If you haven't already, check out Vancity Vanlife on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VANCITYVANLIFE He's been stealth camping all over Canada for the past few years and has some great tips and what "accoutrements" on the van are red flags for law enforcement. If I were ever to do that (in a white van, what else?) I'll put out a little money to have a couple of magnetic signs I could put on my door - maybe two different sets so it wouldn't look like the same van (except for the tag, of course). If you're not causing any trouble and you're careful with your stealth plan, I don't see that there will be any problem - Canada is strict and Chrome says he hasn't had very many issues.

 

[user 423]

He's been stealth camping all over Canada for the past few years and has some great tips and what "accoutrements" on the van are red flags for law enforcement. If I were ever to do that, I'll put out a little money to have a couple of magnetic signs I could put on my door - maybe two different sets so it wouldn't look like the same van (except for the tag, of course). If you're not causing any trouble and you're careful with your stealth plan, I don't see that there will be any problem - Canada is strict and Chrome says he hasn't had very many issues.

Pretending to be a service van in order to blend in seems like a good idea and the subject has come up quite a few times on this forum.

Depending on your location, you may get away with it for a short time. In most states businesses require licenses and commercial insurance, so if the police run your tag or check your fake business phone #, fake license # or find that you have regular auto insurance,etc. they will figure out you're not legit and that could mean trouble. YMMV

 

[CopperK]

Pretending to be a service van in order to blend in seems like a good idea and the subject has come up quite a few times on this forum.

Depending on your location, you may get away with it for a short time. In most states businesses require licenses and commercial insurance, so if the police run your tag or check your fake business phone #, fake license # or find that you have regular auto insurance,etc. they will figure out you're not legit and that could mean trouble. YMMV

There are businesses that run off of a persons SS# - For myself, I'd probably do something like "Graphic Arts Services" or "Professional Murals" or "Doggie Daycare" or something freelance that isn't photography, plumbing or construction ... something that doesn't imply "expensive tools inside". Another one is "Private Hospice" ... I've been a hospice volunteer and even the security at the hospital when I went in to get my ID Badge didn't ask me for any identification - they said if you're doing this, we don't need to verify your identity (really). Be creative on the freelance side of things - even "Shade Tree Mechanic" would work. Don't overthink it because the police may run your tag to see who the vehicle is registered to, but their not going to check your taxes and business licenses.

 

[Happy Camper]

Since your planning on doing an RV park why not just get an inexpensive RV and a cheap car to go to work in. Set it up so that technically it's a toad - car that's towed by the RV and you shouldn't have a problem with having both at a park I would think.

 

[maki2]

Good plan on tubs for camping gear and a car. . Time consuming to take an RV out camping on weekends when you have it setup for stationary apartment style living. But it is going to be much easier for daily life to go ahead and use your drawers and cabinets for everyday utensils and supplies and have a 2nd, very simple set of cooking stuff and gear in tubs for camping. If you are only out for a weekend you can precook your meals at home and reheat over a small camp stove.

 

[tamino]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and ideas. I picked out a 21' travel trailer I wanted, but I needed a vehicle to tow it, so I bought a truck, and now that I have the truck, I was going to go buy the trailer I had chosen, except now I've hit a new wrinkle: Apparently all the private campgrounds in my target area are either completely full, or there's one that isn't full but costs $2200/month. I was anticipating more like $800/month.

So now I'm looking on Hipcamp and the situation on Hipcamp is exactly the reverse of what I had myself convinced of: RVs and travel trailers are at a disadvantage, vans have the advantage!

I'm already pretty far along the RV (travel trailer) road. Maybe I do that for a season, and either pay the $2200/month until spring, or else compromise on location and go for a private campground that's closer to work but further away from the friends I want to be able to visit. And then revisit the van question in the spring?

I figure the most important thing is getting out of the sticks and bricks. Maybe there's room to make adjustments on the fly.

Or maybe I sell the truck (shortest ownership of a vehicle EVER!) and go get the van I wanted in the first place, and just count on Hipcamp to come through with spots 12 months out of the year (since a van is pretty unworkable in Maryland UNLESS you're using hipcamp).

I'm going to give myself some time to think about it I have non-vanlife-related plans this weekend, so I can let things percolate a few days.