Best vehicle for stealth camping?

[Calaverasgrande]

I do own a white high roof van.
The previous owner was a contractor. So it's somewhat fitted out in that style.
Haven't yet put any windows or vents on it since I bought it in August. When it gets warmer that will change.
For now it looks perfectly normal when parked in a working class neighborhood where you see lots of other such vans.
Or in a Home Depot parking lot. Or behind a warehouse or industrial park building.
Sometimes if I see other similar Ford Transit vans parked in a cluster I park near them to blend in.
So far I've slept in all the above areas. Also, I've done a lot of installer work over the last 15 years. Installers often work on stores and banks etc outside of business hours. So I know from that line of work that it is not strange for a contractor van to be parked behind a mini mall at 2am. That is also when a lot of commercial businesses have contract cleaners come in to do their job.

I see so many minivans and such which are hanging towels or t shirts over the windows to block the light or provide privacy.
This screams person living in a van at best. At worst it is sex work or drug abuse.
(no offense to sex workers, but I'm trying to think like a cop here)
Also as stated above, don't camp in the same place too much. I very rarely visit the same place more than once a week. I dont want anyone to start noticing me. I usually hang out at a park or parking lot someplace all day then wait until after dark to park someplace for the night.
Try to get to sleep by 10 and be up by 530-6 so I can get cleaned up and out of there before the sun comes up.
It is difficult pulling this off as you travel, since you can't really know the character of a neighborhood until you have spent some time there.
One of the tricks I figured out recently was to look at google maps in my general vicinity and turn on satellite view. Then zoom in and look to see if there are cars parked on the street. There are large neighborhoods, especially new construction in the suburbs, where there are zero cars parked on the street!

Now this may not apply to many of you, but it applies to a lot of people I know. Keep a low profile. Sure you aren't tied to a 9-5 and don't have to look "normal" but having brightly colored hair and dressing like a pirate is not doing you any favors as you pass through Waffle House country.
I get the attraction of that lifestyle, especially when you are traveling in a group. Your vehicle kind of develops into a land ship. You give the car a name.
You all start talking in funny voices and have little in jokes.
But I think back to the times in the 90's when I was in a punk rock band and we would be blazing across the country looking like Road Warrior skaters. We were so shocked when some rednecks tried to fight us in the parking lot of a diner or at a rest area. Don't be the strangest thing a redneck has ever seen.
I'm in my 50's now and I keep my appearance mostly normal. I try to temper the more 'Brooklyn' aspect of my attire. I still wear the offensive T shirts my froends bands give me, I just button my flannel all the way up.
I also grew a huge beard over the last few months. Funny how people call you sir when you have a big grey beard and glasses?

 

[bebewanna]

I am full time in dark green 2002 grand caravan. Everything is inside unless cold and parked because of 20lb propane tank which is usually on far side of van and you cannot see it...

The Sport model and I think other makers have the same.. All of the back windows are darkly shaded and you cannot really see into the van.

I am parked in a very rural area so no hassles but in town it looks like a soccer mom minivan..

But we just got big snow and I am next to highway on pull off... Attracting attention ... Some times you just have no choice

 

[Jon Donahue]

Hi guys I'm new. Mid 40's male from the Midwest, originally from California. I've seen a number of Bob's videos on Youtube. So this is an idea I've had for quite a while. Living in a vehicle, traveling around the U.S., working in cities when I need money, stealth camping, staying in free campgrounds and BLM land, etc. Right now I have around $3,000 for a vehicle. I've been looking on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. I'm looking for a vehicle that's roomy, stealthy, good on gas, and reliable. I don't want to be breaking down in the middle of nowhere miles from anything. The stealthy part is very important for when I have to stay in cities. I'm looking to buy an used vehicle. I think my best options right now are either a full size van, a minivan, a SUV, or a truck with a shell on it. I'm looking at reliable car makers like Toyota, Honda, etc. A RV I don't think would be good because it's hard to park in cities without getting noticed. A normal car might not be good since I'm 6 foot 3 it might be too small. Although I've heard of people living in Honda Priuses and Civics. What do you think? Thanks.

I have a 2013 Ford Transit Connect small van... no side windows. Stealth? Oh yes. Big enough? For you to sleep in, yes... 6’ behind the front seat, then slide the seat forward and angle the seat back forward. 4-cyl, 30 mpg. Great for dry dirt off-roading, good ground clearance. In Arizona, most of the state is free BLM or State land! Downside — you can't stand up in it.

 

[unaccompaniedsenior]

My ride is an '08 Chevy Express cargo, with no extra windows, and no external features (e.g. hitch, vent, shore power socket, roof rack, signage). I have a closet bar behind the front seats, with a dark sheet hung folded over it, which I draw closed for privacy aft as needed.

I can blend in easily in most neighbourhoods, but that still doesn't prevent morally self-righteous and sexually perverted home-dwellers from calling the fucking pigs on me regularly.

I've been "busted" for using my camp stove in the park, more times than I can count. I've had my windows smashed three times, my tires slashed twice, and all my lights cracked once; late last year, I interrupted a home-dwelling wildfire evacuee from another town trying to siphon my gas.

Like you, I try to park in a different spot every night, rotating between maybe a dozen locations, so to not become obvious, but home-dwellers are a consistently perverted and hateful bunch of folks.

Edit: I'm in fascist Kanada.

 

[GoingMobile]

I don't know at that price point. One vehicle that is maybe lower than other small vans that lends itself to a live-in conversion is a Ford Transit Connect, first generation. They are a bit older now, so prices will be lower, and could probably find one in good shape. Higher roof than current versions of Transit Connects. But nowhere near high enough for someone 6'3" to stand in. They are basically the drive train of a European made Ford Focus, which is an economy car with good mpg. But I just don't know about getting anything reliable for your current budget. A friend who is 6'5" used to sleep in his Volvo 240 wagon, but only for camping trips. I think the work van idea makes sense, even though stealth is only a matter of degree, mostly not posing an obvious threat or problem in the environment you want to be accepted into.

 

[DannyB1954]

This is an old post but still a relevant question that has an interesting answer.
I knew a man that lived in a 4 door sedan. He did it by using a car cover.
He would park with the passenger window down, get out and put the car cover on, then walk away.
Later he would return and lift the cover just enough to jump in through the window he left open.
Nobody could see his fogged up windows when it was cold out.
He said nobody ever lifted the cover. Out of sight, out of mind.