Car camping options in the NE?

[TrailerManNJ]

I was soon hoping to take the dive and become a full-time nomad. This comes after a few YEARS of research, when I first found the incredible Bob Wells' videos online.

I even officially settled upon a car camper (Prius) as my new home. It's affordable, will fit my needs, and should act as a good segue into the nomad lifestyle, before I potentially move up into something bigger (teardrop, truck camper, etc.) in the next 24 to 36 months. That's all the good stuff. However...

An alarming trend has me second-guessing my car camper choice before I even hit the road. During my extensive research on how to make this new lifestyle feasible/affordable, it seems that most places within the RV community look down upon car campers...to the point of almost shunning them. And by "places" I'm speaking of Thousand Trails, Harvest Hosts, and even MANY private campgrounds. Almost none of these places allow car camping.

As I'm on the east coast, there isn't any BLM land to camp on. Strike one. State/county/national forests have a 30 day stay limit per YEAR in the northeast. Strike two. That leaves the last/best option I was hoping for: Thousand Trails. But most TT parks don't allow car camping at all. Strike three. Even campgrounds OUTSIDE of TT don't welcome car campers...with the exception of a spare few who WILL allow it if I set a tent up next to my car. What's a full-time car camper in the NE to do?

As I have roots/obligations in the northeast that I cannot abandon for long stretches, I was hoping to bounce around between NY, NJ, CT & PA for a few years while becoming acclimated to the lifestyle. Due to the above though, my only option seems to be stealth camping, and I really wouldn't want to deal with the stress of constantly hiding, moving to a new spot every night, etc.

It seems it's a LOT easier to make the car camping lifestyle work on the west coast versus the east coast. But maybe I'm wrong or misinformed. Is there anyone out there in a similar situation that can offer any tips/advice? 

My needs are pretty simple...

*A place to sleep/work out of my car-home for a week or two at a time before moving on to the next lodging option

*Must be free (ala TT after buying a membership) or cheap ($10-$15 per night)

*Must be in NY, NJ, PA or CT

*Must be open year-round 

I appreciate any help/feedback you can offer. This situation has me stressed beyond belief. It seems like if you don't have a big, fancy, expensive camper in the NE, the options to full-time in a car are very limited. And stealth camping isn't for me.

 

[john*thomas]

Year round in the northeast? I'm assuming you are really narrowing down your options. I'm in the WV/Ohio/Pa area and I'm not sure of any open year round. There are some nice places in the $15 range. (no electric)

Buy a small tent and put it out. I noted a guy I'm fairly sure that did that the other day. One place I stay at has a lot of regular parking. I see vans sitting there overnight.

 

[bullfrog]

Check 24 hour accessible storage areas. Craigslist for parking. Rotate truck stops, 24 hour restaurants, gym memberships with parking, audit a class to get a parking pass possibly at a local college. Doing night security for a parking place at construction sites, rotating hospital or 24 hour public parking spaces (police or train stations). Sometimes apartment renters don't have cars and will rent/allow you to use their space and churches sometimes allow overnight parking if you ask. Winter time will be tough but for $15 x 30 days is $350 maybe you can find a heated garage or enclosed boat storage facility that needs night security. You can sleep during the day almost anywhere and cruse/exercise/use the internet at truck stops or go to shows and 24 hour food place at night if you have to. Nomadic life is just that you have to move in most cases. If you can score a temporary job that runs three shifts and has employee parking that might work and with this job market maybe likely. I stayed for several months at a school bus parking area after taking a job as a driver.

 

[nature lover]

You got a whole bunch of good ideas from the above posters. I’m from Central PA and I’m in Central PA right now. But I am a Snowbird I follow the good weather so I’ll be going south in November. PA state forests have a 30 day limit (seven days at a time At one spot) There are also national forests in the Northeast, I don’t have experience with them but I’ve heard They allow Boondockers.

This is purely hypothetical. suppose I stayed my 30 day limit in Pennsylvania and their computer will no longer allow me to reserve a site. (Again purely hypothetical) Say a friend of mine Reserves a site and invites me to spend time with him there. If a Ranger questions you (if you keep a clean campsite and obey all the other rules this rarely happens) Simply show him your friends permit and tell him your friend is late or had to leave early. Your friends phone number is on the permit and he knows what to say if he gets a call.

That sounds deceptive doesn’t it? And of course I would never want to do anything like that. But I guess it’s possible some people might stay longer that way. And since you are talking about camping in several states you have opportunity to do it and each one.

The question is what are you gonna do yet do during the snowy and cold winters?

 

[vgilbert]

Hello,
I camp primarily in the Southeast but have been looking into a trip to the Northeast (maybe next spring).
I would think that camping of any type would be hard over the winter up there, I wish you well and wish I had some answers for you but I do not.
My only offering is that a group of us are working on Caravans for the Eastern US and plan to start in Florida, Nov. of this year.
There is a thread on this forum titled: Calling all Nomads in the East. 
From Personal experience in the Southeast, camping in National Forest is 14 days in a calendar month. In Florida we rotate thru 3 national forest every 14 days which keeps us within the rules. You can find specific info and rules for each national forest here: USDA
Just search the Forest by name and read the camping and dispersed camping rules. I am no expert by any means but the 30 day per year for NF does not seem correct?? Going to check into that just for my personal knowledge.
Anyway,,, We plan to begin forming camp togethers in the southeast Mid Nov. 2021 if you find your way south please feel free to check in.
Good Luck!
God bless

 

[vgilbert]

Just looked at one, Allegheny NF in PA. 
14 day free dispersed is allowable, says nothing about the 30 days/yr

We just move between NF every 14 days and have no issues

• Camping or leaving camping equipment (such as, but not limited to tents, camper trailers and/or tarps) is allowed in the same location for up to 14 days. After 14 days the camp and equipment MUST be moved off of Forest Service System lands.
  Allegheny National Forest - Camping & Cabinsispersed Camping (usda.gov)

 

[jacqueg]

I appreciate any help/feedback you can offer. This situation has me stressed beyond belief. It seems like if you don't have a big, fancy, expensive camper in the NE, the options to full-time in a car are very limited. And stealth camping isn't for me.

Buy a tent. Then you'll be tent camping. You can always use the extra room that a tent will afford. As for whether there will be any tent campgrounds open during the dead of winter, I have no clue. You might have to rent a room or something.

Yes, there are tents that will hold up to winter weather. You won't find them at WalMart, but they do exist.

 

[nature lover]

Vgilbert - there is only one national forest in Pennsylvania. It is the Allegheny as you said. Their website does a little more than advertise commercial things in the area. And the rules are rather vague. As I said I don’t have experience there.

But I do have experience in the PA state forests. You can make a reservation for up to seven days at one site. Then you must move on. But you cannot camp more than 30 days in one calendar year. They track the total number of days each person reserves on their computer and will not allow you to make reservations past that.

 

[wayne49]

One has to look carefully at the rules for a each National Forest, and also for the different BLM field offices that administer BLM lands.

Inyo NF allows only 28 days/nights total dispersed per calendar year.

BLM - Bishop Field Office, which covers an area that runs from below Alabama Hills up to Topaz Lake north of Bridgeport, CA, allows only 14 days/nights dispersed in that entire area annually.

 

[vgilbert]

Vgilbert  - there is only one national forest in Pennsylvania. It is the Allegheny as you said. Their website does a little more than advertise commercial things in the area. And the rules are rather vague.  As I said I don’t have experience there.

But I do have experience in the PA state forests.  You can make a reservation for up to seven days at one site. Then you must move on. But you cannot camp more than 30 days in one calendar year. They track the total number of days each person reserves on their computer and will not allow you to make reservations past that.

I was looking specifically at Allegheny NF, you have to dig on the website to even find rules and info for dispersed camping.
I think the best way to find the ins/outs of a specific region is to find others who have been in the same area for some time and get advise straight from them. Maybe try different campgrounds, truck stops, NF, rest stops, etc looking for like minded people.
This is the primary reason in getting camp togethers set up in the East. Having traveled both sides of the country now I can say that the Eastern US is much harder but it can be done. The more of us who come together and share info the easier it will be for everyone.

 

[Ikigai]

Usually the "primative" sites are cheaper than hookups, in the 15 to 20 range. You also might be able to rotate parks too, depending on the rules. The state park I'm at only allows 14 days at one site, but let me book two more weeks at a different campground within the park. Winter you might have to stay on areas with hookups, but that might help with using an electric heater anyways. Depending on what you want it might not be free, but cheaper. You also could think about an Air B&B for the colder months. If it's a tourist area they might book you a better monthly rate for the low season, doesn't hurt to ask. Good luck

 

[GypsyJan]

"set a tent up next to car"

I use the tent to store gear so I have more space while sleeping in the SUV. I guess the rangers think I sleep in the tent...but I have yet to have one try to wrestle me out of my cot in the SUV and into the tent in the middle of the night!

 

[TrailerManNJ]

Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions, thus far! Please keep'm coming  :thumbsup:

A couple of people have asked why I'm looking to camp in the NE during the winter, which is a good question. As I stated in my OP...

I have ties/responsibilities in the NY/NJ area that I cannot veer too far from. So, the thinking behind my plan was two-fold: 1. I could bounce around the NY/NJ/PA/CT area for a couple of years, and still be close to home-base if I need to attend to my affairs, while also having my network (friends & family) nearby in case of any emergencies, auto troubles, etc.

2. Bouncing around between the 4 states would give me more than enough room to roam around and wander to my hearts content, while I gently ease my way into the nomad lifestyle. This way, in a worst-case scenario, if something doesn't work out, I decide I no longer want to be on the road full-time, I suffer any health issues, etc., I'm still in my general backyard and can go back to the bricks & sticks world pretty easily.  

As much as I'd love to throw all caution to the wind and trek out west to boondock on BLM land, that wouldn't be realistic for me at this time, or even too smart. Sometimes it's best to crawl before walking.

As for the ugly weather in the NE during the winter, I'd like to avoid it, if possible! I have had my sights set on Delaware, since it's only about 3 hours from me, yet their winters are fairly mild with very little snow. Problem is...

After calling many of the campgrounds down there, a lot of them are closed for the winter, a lot of them don't allow car camping, and almost all of them are WILDLY expensive. The rates generally fall between $40 to $60 per night! Even using discounts through membership programs like Escapees, Passport America, etc. has its limits, as they tend to only discount certain days of the week for maybe a max of 3 or 4 days at most. 

Soooo, my options at this point are...

*Stealth camp full-time (least desirable)

*Get a camping pass thru Thousand Trails and be at the mercy of their insane rules regarding car campers. Most of their parks don't allow car camping, except for 2 or 3 that can "bend the rules" if you set up a tent next to your car. This scenario WOULD allow me 2 weeks free camping per month, which is ideal (best option, but risky, as my new nomadic life would be at the whims of the TT parks managers)

That's where I'm at now. My original plan was to get a cheap van, travel trailer, teardrop or similar vehicle and become an Elite Thousand Trails member, which would allow me to camp full-time for free after buying the membership. But they've instituted a RIDICULOUS rule that unless your camping vehicle is "born" as an RV (not made into one) AND manufactured by an RVIA member, they will not even allow the vehicle on their premises. A total sham, as most RVIA manufactured campers START at around $15,000!

Thanks again for all of the replies. I am taking notes and writing down your suggestions. Would love to hear more of them.

 

[Cammalu]

I don’t even think I’d ask a place if they allow car camping. Ask if a tent is ok and set it up and sleep in your car and don’t worry about it.

 

[WanderingRose]

Cammalu’s suggestion is a good one.

Public campgrounds don’t have restrictions on what you camp in, in my experience, it’s the private ones that don’t allow cars, vans, etc., as you are finding.

These private campgrounds often place a lot of stock in aesthetics, and many have signs behind the counter that they have the right to refuse service to any one, for any reason, so that if someone comes in with a rig that doesn’t meet their standards they can turn them away.

Tent sites, even with electricity, are usually cheaper than those for trailers/RV’s, wherever you camp, and buying a small tent may be a good solution.

Winter living in a car in the northeast is going to be very difficult, I believe.

Good luck.

 

[vtwinkicker]

Wandering Rose said....​

"Winter living in a car in the northeast is going to be very difficult, I believe."​

I live in a well insulated cabin in the woods in the mountains of NY. I harvest split stack and burn about 4-5 cords of wood heating it thru winter and that can be difficult. Doing it in any kind of RV/van/trailer/car without being plugged into electricity for heat in my opinion would not be enjoyable.

 

[Ripper238]

I don’t even think I’d ask a place if they allow car camping. Ask if a tent is ok and set it up and sleep in your car and don’t worry about it.

The first time I asked if i could sleep in my car when I was in MD. They said I would go to jail if I was caught sleeping in my car. So i put up my tent and never went back to MD again.

 

[Ripper238]

A couple of people have asked why I'm looking to camp in the NE during the winter, which is a good question. As I stated in my OP...

I have ties/responsibilities in the NY/NJ area that I cannot veer too far from. So, the thinking behind my plan was two-fold: 1. I could bounce around the NY/NJ/PA/CT area for a couple of years, and still be close to home-base if I need to attend to my affairs, while also having my network (friends & family) nearby in case of any emergencies, auto troubles, etc.

Trying to stay around the NY/NJ area is tough since its so over populated and have almost no good free camping. You only have upstate NY where it gets way cold, PA which isn't much better and NJ/DE/MD is just terrible. Going to the NE part of WV may be your best bet since there is a ton of park land. Its my favorite place to go in the NE.

 

[txmnjim]

i was going to suggest Valentine area and then noticed it was a different NE...