Greetings to all of the nomads here.

[rjreiter5802]

I have been watching the youtubes for about a year, wondering what it would be like driving my home where ever I want to spend some time. But I need to nail down what I want in a mobile home. What would be to small for a couple and what would be to big. I think a long wheelbase van with a high top would be the smallest vehicle, but I am open to a cargo trailer also.
So does anyone have any advise? I like the idea of stealth camping because it offers so much more.

 

[Seajatt]

I have been watching the youtubes for about a year, wondering what it would be like driving my home where ever I want to spend some time. But I need to nail down what I want in a mobile home. What would be to small for a couple and what would be to big. I think a long wheelbase van with a high top would be the smallest vehicle, but I am open to a cargo trailer also.
So does anyone have any advise? I like the idea of stealth camping because it offers so much more.

Check out bob wells' channel, you'll see all kinds of different arrangements there. That said, identify what you want the vehicle to do, and then that narrows down your choice. Like you already said you want to stealth camp, so odds are good a big RV or a cargo trailer will not be a good idea.

 

[rjreiter5802]

Check out bob wells' channel, you'll see all kinds of different arrangements there. That said, identify what you want the vehicle to do, and then that narrows down your choice. Like you already said you want to stealth camp, so odds are good a big RV or a cargo trailer will not be a good idea.

Yeah, I guess I'm torn between a vehicle that seems large enough for 2 and could stealth camp and a vehicle that I can afford. All of the big Van's are very expensive. I currently live on the east coast and I worry about places to camp cheaply.

 

[rjreiter5802]

Yeah, I guess I'm torn between a vehicle that seems large enough for 2 and could stealth camp and a vehicle that I can afford. All of the big Van's are very expensive. I currently live on the east coast and I worry about places to camp cheaply.

I have watched a lot of Bob's youtubes.

 

[mattvei]

if camping in national parks or forests is important to you, consider length restrictions. Many are a max length of 25 feet.

 

[rjreiter5802]

if camping in national parks or forests is important to you, consider length restrictions. Many are a max length of 25 feet.

25 feet? I did not know that, thank you.

 

[afblangley]

You first have to decide if you want a towable (trailer, 5th wheel, truck camper) or motorized RV (class A, B, C, minivan). That is a very individual decision. If you search YouTube for comparisons, there are lots of videos explaining the differences.

For sure, drivables are more expensive to buy and maintain than towables. And campervans are the most expensive of all on a square foot basis. Whether or not it's worth it is dependent on your use case.

 

[rjreiter5802]

25 feet? I did not know that, thank you.

To be clear, that is a overall trailer length right?

 

[Ravella and X]

Are you planning to stay in the east? If so, disregard the rest of this comment.

The ability to stealth camp is a wonderful thing for those who spend their nights in urban settings. Here in the west, I have almost always been able to find free camping in the boonies and often close to urban centers — so I wouldn’t trade my SUV/little fiberglass egg trailer for a stealth van camper. Things I value that I’d lose:

• The SUV is there to act as my garage and hold garage kinda of stuff.
• I can unhitch and explore, leaving the trailer in camp.
• Windows all around! I can let a lot of light and air in that stealth campers cannot.
• If either the SUV or trailer get messed up somehow or has to be in a shop, I still have a place to sleep without paying for a room.
• When I need to be at an RV park for any reason, I’m not questioned/excluded about/for not being self contained.

 

[rruff]

I like the idea of stealth camping because it offers so much more.

I like the idea too, but I wonder if that's more fantasy than reality. I doubt anyone is being fooled who actually cares...

No one can really tell you what is comfortable for a couple. I've been comfortable with three different women in an old Toyota truck with a shell... but I'd guess they were each a little less comfortable than me, although they didn't complain. Some important aspects of that are the kind of climate you'll be in, how well you like being outside and in nature, how much stuff and amenities you need, and if you get on each others nerves. It's a pretty high bar for a relationship I think, since you will be spending a lot of time together in close quarters, in unfamiliar and sometimes challenging situations.

I've never had one, but trailers seem harder to maneuver and park and go offroad. There are advantages as Ravella mentioned. I need a vehicle that goes offroad well because I like to camp far from other people, so I'm building a camper to go on a 4wd pickup.

 

[scaredycat72]

I refuse to be in anything that restricts me from climbing in the front seats and driving away. People repeatedly recount stories where they had to leave in a hurry for safety reasons. Getting out of the vehicle would not have been safe. I think this would be less of a concern for me if I was only going to park in camp grounds, RV lots, or places like that.

 

[rruff]

I refuse to be in anything that restricts me from climbing in the front seats and driving away.

I've thought about that... and I think if someone actually wanted to keep you from driving away they could do it pretty easily. But I get that you have to do whatever you feel comfortable with.

 

[Ravella and X]

I also thought about this, and decided that that news of rare bad things get big megaphones and the common non-newsworthy experience doesn’t get told. 5 years in my trailer, camping situations from way out by myself to too-popular free spots and fairly awful Walmarts and only have a “doorbell ditch” to report. (Well, it was a knock. My trailer doesn’t have a doorbell! )

Each of us have to make these decisions for ourselves, and even then, can change our minds with more experience under our belts.

P.S. the doorbell ditch woke me and scared the $#!% outta me! Was just a couple of young teens camping with their camo daddies and kicking up a bunch of dust with their ATVs.

 

[scaredycat72]

I've thought about that... and I think if someone actually wanted to keep you from driving away they could do it pretty easily. But I get that you have to do whatever you feel comfortable with.

Not really. I think if we have time to think about things we can come up with all kinds of possibilities but in everyday life on the road, people are not sitting around planning how to
assault or rob nomads. They're acting in the moment. In every case where it was necessary, the people got in their driver's seat and left. But even if someone wanted to stop them, which the average person wouldn't, that's not as easy as people think. A vehicle can drive on flat tires. A vehicle can push another vehicle out the way. Having the ability to get in the driver's seat and leave without exposing themselves to extra danger is one of the biggest safety flexes a vanlifer can have and way safer than having to get out of the vehicle and into the driver's seat.

 

[rruff]

They're acting in the moment. In every case where it was necessary, the people got in their driver's seat and left.

How was it determined that it was necessary? How do you know they wanted to assault you or rob you? I'd really like to know what your experience has been and what you've heard. In all the cases I've heard, threats were perceived... but there was no indication that someone was actually going to do anything. They got spooked. And in my experience (13 years doing this full time), I've encountered a lot of sketchy people and situations, and even had guns pointed at me on several occasions, but it was never a problem. I don't have any weapons and didn't go to "super badass" training; I'm just friendly with everybody I meet. If they had any ill intent, they forgot about it.

That certainly doesn't mean that it will never happen... but the alternative, preemptively pulling out a gun or fleeing to be on the safe side, is not a way I want to live.

 

[afblangley]

A large percentage of first time RV buyers end up selling their first rig within a short period of time and buying something else that better suits their needs based on the experience they've gained.

You can minimize the risk by buying something that you can absorb the financial hit if you walked away from it. For example, a used travel trailer can be bought for $5-8k, and if you decided you wanted something else and sold it at a fire sale price, you're only out $2-4k. Another way to minimize risk is to buy something that you'll use whether you are RVing or not. A lot of minivan owners fit in this category. When my SUV needed replacement, I bought a van. Even when I'm not roadtripping, its my daily driver.

 

[rjreiter5802]

Thanks so much for all of your thoughts. I have a little of the badass training and it will only protect me until the authorities show up. It is important to know that you will still have to answer for the damage that you do to any trouble makers, and that will still ruin your day.

 

[rjreiter5802]

I'm hoping not to stay in the east but it is where I am starting. I want to spend most winters in northern Florida I think and that is where my domicile would be. I think! I like flyover country the best.

 

[scaredycat72]

How was it determined that it was necessary? How do you know they wanted to assault you or rob you? I'd really like to know what your experience has been and what you've heard. In all the cases I've heard, threats were perceived... but there was no indication that someone was actually going to do anything. They got spooked. And in my experience (13 years doing this full time), I've encountered a lot of sketchy people and situations, and even had guns pointed at me on several occasions, but it was never a problem. I don't have any weapons and didn't go to "super badass" training; I'm just friendly with everybody I meet. If they had any ill intent, they forgot about it.

That certainly doesn't mean that it will never happen... but the alternative, preemptively pulling out a gun or fleeing to be on the safe side, is not a way I want to live.

In one case they beat on the woman's van and then broke her passenger window to get into the van. She finally got to her gun and pulled it. When they backed away, she hopped into the driver's seat and left.

The other is a woman on YouTube. The man harassed her, beat on her car, and when she hoped into the driver's seat and left, he followed her and tried to drive her off the road. She finally reached a fire station where she got help.

Unfortunately your experience isn't everyone's. I've been alive my entire life and never been robbed but I would never assume nobody is getting robbed.

 

[rruff]

I've been alive my entire life and never been robbed but I would never assume nobody is getting robbed.

I have been robbed, so I'd never assume that!

It's definitely more precarious for a woman, and predators tend to believe they are easy prey... so unfortunately you need to deal with that somehow.

I will say that I spent some time with an attractive 35 year old woman, who seemed to take zero precautions. She enjoyed things like strolling through the worst parts of large cities, hitch-hiking to Alaska and all over, sleeping under a bush if that was all that was available, etc. The most fearless person I ever met. I believed her when she said she never had an encounter that ended badly. She knew that someday she might, but she simply wasn't worried. If anything happened then she'd deal with it. This is something I understood very well, but I'd never met anyone who lived this way so completely. Oddly, when you allow yourself to be completely vulnerable and surrender to the universe, it makes you invulnerable in a sense... whatever happens will be met openly, no resistance. A lack of fear and an abundance of "presence" has a profound affect on others.