Fulprooff parkign spots

[sephiro499]

So the biggest problem with vandwelling besides finding a van is where to park it. I'd plan on staying in a dense suburban area in Maryland outside of the city on the northeast side.

Thought about putting an ad on craigslist to test my theory first. Parking garages are out, but what about apartment complexes or townhouse developments with a parking pass? Offer someone some money each month, say 50-100 for a pass they aren't using. That way the parking is legit.

All of the uncertainty of parking and the cost of constantly moving to find parking would be pretty nerve racking.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

If I had to guess - and I admit it IS only a guess - I suspect this would only last until the landlord noticed what was going on, at which point, he would probably try to raise holy hell with whichever tenant let you have the pass. Probably claim it violates the no sub-leasing clause of the tenants lease, or something.

You would probably be told to leave immediately, or he'd call the cops and say you were trespassing. And I doubt if you would get your $50 or $100 back from the tenant.

If you're going to pay somebody to park, it probably should be somebody who actually OWNS the space you are paying for, and not somebody who just rents it from somebody else.

Regards
John

 

[Van-Tramp]

Look up the local city ordinances.

I've mentioned it before in other threads, if your van is not registered as a "RV" then it is fully legal to park just about anywhere. Parking is not the same as "living in", "camping", or "sleeping in". There may or may not be a separate ordinance regarding sleeping in or camping in your vehicle, but even those laws tend to be specific regarding the zoning of the property.

For example, in my town it is 100% legal to "sleep" or "camp" in a vehicle. It is however illegal to "live" in one (but they do not define what is or is not living). I can sleep or camp in my vehicle or RV in residential zones as long as I am not "attached" to a building on that property (a 120v cord is not considered as attached, but add a water hose and it is). Commercial zoned property is a little different, not allowing RVs but still do not prohibit "cars or trucks" or "sleeping/camping".

Anyway, what I am getting at is to check your local laws and stay within them. It will not be fool-proof, but you will at least have a lesser chance of that late-night-knock from the local LEOs.

 

[Reducto]

The problem with staying within the law is in many cities the only way to do that is to stay in an RV park. Living in a vehicle, even on private property with permission from the owner, is often illegal. Definitely look up the laws so you know what you're up against, but know that you might have to violate a few. Google "(name of city) municipal codes" to find them. The good news is even if there are laws they are usually only enforced if someone complains and the worst that happens is you're told to move.

I'd stay away from private parking lots unless you have permission from the manager. Having a sticker doesn't mean you won't get towed if they find you living there! Give craigslist a shot - there may be someone willing to rent out their driveway cheaply. Otherwise, look for places where it's normal for someone to park a vehicle for several days at a time. On the street across from apartments is a go-to for me. People often leave second cars there and nobody really pays attention to what belongs to who. Have several different spots and rotate between them.

 

[sephiro499]

I'd stay away from private parking lots unless you have permission from the manager. Having a sticker doesn't mean you won't get towed if they find you living there! Give craigslist a shot - there may be someone willing to rent out their driveway cheaply. Otherwise, look for places where it's normal for someone to park a vehicle for several days at a time. On the street across from apartments is a go-to for me. People often leave second cars there and nobody really pays attention to what belongs to who. Have several different spots and rotate between them.

The area I was looking at has 3 24hr grocery stores within 4 miles. Bob mentions those (in his book) as his number one place to park.

 

[Reducto]

The area I was looking at has 3 24hr grocery stores within 4 miles. Bob mentions those (in his book) as his number one place to park.

Yeah, those can be good. I was mostly frowning on the apartment complex idea.

 

[compassrose]

Foolproof place to park overnight would be a commercial RV park. You won't get kicked out, you have access to a nice bathhouse and laundry. Got electric for your electrical needs (may need to pay extra for electric... in our current location we have a certain amount built into our rent but previous park has gone to rent + metered electric). Usually free wifi and free cable as well. Usually fairly cheap per night if you get monthly rates. Many RV parks will not post their monthly rates, so you would need to call them or show up and look at the place.

We budget to stay under $450 (but I may need to bump that up). That works out to $15 per night. That is what we try to average when traveling as well. When we hit the road again, we will keep the overnight stays down to this amount by staying in parking lots (prefer Sam's Clubs) and using Passport America's 50% discount. Unfortunately PP discounts are usually only good for 1 - 3 nights and often not good over a weekend. That's what parking lots are for. After running numbers, it's cheaper for us to find a monthly site rather than freedom parking. Parking self-contained with no hookups is not a cheap endeavour. One way or the other, we are paying for the "free" site.

Don't discount RV parks because you won't be "stealthing". Some places are not stealthable. So you may find your choices to either be an RV park or leave town.

 

[Iggy]

My favorite places to park are; gyms that are open 24 hours, 24 hr restaurants, 24 hr big box stores, street parking by apt complexes, and finding that special little spot that just feels right.

 

[concretebox]

I rented space from someone I met by posting on craigslist. This was in Denver where rent on a one bedroom is $1000/month, if you can find an open apartment. This guy was happy to take $300/month for me to park on his property. It was probably Illegal but we were in a mostly industrial area and my spot wasn't visible from the street.

 

[MK7]

This guy was happy to take $300/month for me to park on his property.

I wonder if $150 would have been doable for him? Did you offer $300 off the bat or was $300 after negotiation? Paying for a parking spot in a garage, downtown of a major metropolitan area is around that much. I used to rent a room for $300/month in a house, so I had parking, bathroom, etc. And this was in a part of San Jose, CA where a 3BR townhouse starts at $650,000.

 

[BobbyMcGee]

My favorite places to park are; gyms that are open 24 hours, 24 hr restaurants, 24 hr big box stores, street parking by apt complexes, and finding that special little spot that just feels right.

Yes, I can pretty much live at the 24 Hour Fitness locations. Get it free with my Silver Sneakers. Sign in with your finger scan and cell phone number anywhere. Wake up and pop in for a coffee, steam and shower. Hang out in the Lounge. Staff is very nice. Some of these places are enormous! Parking lots are sometimes crowded, even at 1 AM! Nobody bothers you, but can be noisy. Good thing I sleep like a rock.

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

This is a "street view" of where I worked in Rockville, MD.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.060...ata=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sPv5zWqTzJ83TKe3s3mFt_Q!2e0

I worked in the large building on the left. The small building on the right was a party store. They rented monthly parking. I parked way in the back, by the trees. It was some kind of a green-way, there were deer. It really was cool, I went to a gym everyday for my shower, ate at the cafeteria and bar. Rent in the Washington, DC area is real high.

 

[grumpygrizzly]

A little help on the RV Parks for the Stealthers..

I spent 8 months in Phoenix, working on a new Intel Processing Facility. Found a decent RV park over near ASU so it was only about 15 minutes to commute to where I was working.

I caught the RV park during the 'off' season. That basically means you're going to be there when it's hot. Don't let people tell you it's only hot there for 4 months out of the year either.. If you're not used to it, it's freakin hot 8 months or longer..

Anyways, my monthly rent with full hookups was $250 plus electric. In August when it was hottest and I was running 2 A/C's 24/7 for most of the month, my bill was about $450 a month.

This past Summer I was working on the new Apple HQ in San Jose. Lot rent there was $900 a month 20 miles out of town. That was the closest spot I could find with open sites.

If you want do the stealth parking on the legal side, put an ad on CL that you'll park in someones parking lot at night for security in exchange for the space to park and maybe at least an electrical cord.

Schools in Anchorage, AK do that with RV'ers during the Summer. Keep vandalism down quite a bit when you have an RV there with lights on and maybe soneone doing a walk around a couple of times at night.

 

[ccbreder]

One November in Phoenix. Datrting from palm to palm for the shade.

 

[MK7]

This is a "street view" of where I worked in Rockville, MD.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.060...ata=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sPv5zWqTzJ83TKe3s3mFt_Q!2e0

I worked in the large building on the left. The small building on the right was a party store. They rented monthly parking. I parked way in the back, by the trees. It was some kind of a green-way, there were deer. It really was cool, I went to a gym everyday for my shower, ate at the cafeteria and bar. Rent in the Washington, DC area is real high.

Ha, I know exactly where that is. Those are the FBI buildings. There's a bunch of stray cats living behind where you parked too. Tons of Government buildings on the other side so it's a super safe neighborhood.