My residence and RV registration and drivers license are all in CA. I can not find out how long can I travel out of state. I used a form for smog check release if I’m out of state. The Forest ranger asked me today how long has it been. He said the National Forest is for Recreation use only. And I can not live in the National Forest. Lol 14 days. I’ve been traveling the USA for three year now since my husband passed. Always by the rules.
How long can you stay away from your state?
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highdesertranger
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yeah you can't live on any public land. highdesertranger
DLTooley
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That residence question is a spin on the 14 day limit, and legally very debatable. Personally, I find it leads me to lose a lot of respect for legal practice in general.
The 14 day rule is a good one. Don’t abuse it.
What Forest were you in?
The 14 day rule is a good one. Don’t abuse it.
What Forest were you in?
highdesertranger said:
But living for 14 days on public land is living on public land. Living more than 14 days in a campsite is illegal I understand .Fulltime means mixing campgrounds, NF, BLM, public resources as you travel the USA. Not just for weekenders N never staying past the time limit. The ranger acted like it was only for weekenders.also he said I had to leave for 3 months at least of any NF in the country. I never read that anywhere. Just weird.
San Isabel NFDLTooley said:
I never have abused the law. However I pulled a muscle this time and stay a few days longer to recover. Got a ticket $105 and paid for it. Also learned my lesson. Never pull a muscle just be fore the 14 days are up.
MrNoodly
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The Forest Service has decided you are "living" rather than "camping" if you don't have a sticks and bricks residence. Camping only one night or even just parking for a moment is considered "living" if you don't meet their standard. Some ranger districts are hard-asses about this, some not. If they ask how long you've been away from "home," tell them something like, 'This time it's since the 4th of July. before that it was a few weeks in the Eastern Sierras..." and so on.
Your smog exemption probably works against you in this situation since it essentially says you're not going "home" for a long time.
Your smog exemption probably works against you in this situation since it essentially says you're not going "home" for a long time.
No doubt they have seen a lot of South Dakota vehicle registrations and know exactly what that is all about. They know very few people are going to spend more than a few nights in that state therefore that must mean they are living full time in an RV and very likely doing it on public land. You can't hide from the rangers or even fool them about what you are actually doing if you are using those addresses as your residences. The RV blogs rave about how easy it is but they don't tell you that particular downside of it.
Don't forget that people such as cops and rangers may be on the internet and can easily look up and often see a visual image from street view maps. Or they can have the dispatcher do it if they are in radio communication with the office. So if they see an image of a store front mail box service they will know what you are up to. If they open the map and see one of those map labels that businesses like to register with the mapping service they will now what you are up to.
Don't forget that people such as cops and rangers may be on the internet and can easily look up and often see a visual image from street view maps. Or they can have the dispatcher do it if they are in radio communication with the office. So if they see an image of a store front mail box service they will know what you are up to. If they open the map and see one of those map labels that businesses like to register with the mapping service they will now what you are up to.
I have a residence at my home in CA. But didn’t think traveling the USA and visiting all the National Forests in the country could be a problem. I hope they don’t make living in a RV while traveling on an extended vacation a crime.
highdesertranger
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you are not living on public land you are camping. never say you are living, or this is my house, or I live everywhere. always say you are on vacation. it's the way it is, it's the way it always has been. but rangers are probably on the look out for it now because of the vast popularity and advertising of it like on YouTube or this forum. highdesertranger
waldenbound
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That’s right, you’re on vacation.
“Do you live around here?”
“I’m vacationing in ——— state for awhile. The Grand Canyon sure is lovely, always wanted to see it.”
“Do you live around here?”
“I’m vacationing in ——— state for awhile. The Grand Canyon sure is lovely, always wanted to see it.”
Practice the art of misdirecting conversations to other topics.
If they keep pushing you about where you go, when you go there and for how long then redirect the conversation to other subjects by asking them questions about the area you are visiting.
Evade all questions regarding your very personal business that is none of their business.
If they keep pushing you about where you go, when you go there and for how long then redirect the conversation to other subjects by asking them questions about the area you are visiting.
Evade all questions regarding your very personal business that is none of their business.
MotorVation
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And don't forget, they work for you/us. You/we don't work for them. I believe the term is "public servant."
The Federal rangers have some pretty strong powers so step carefully or they may find an excuse to use them But at the same time don't allow them to violate your right to privacy in your home state affairs because they can't do any enforcement of the various state regulations such as residency requirements. It is none of their business how long you have been in or out of the state in which you claim residency because they are not to get involved in enforcing state regulations, especially when in the situation of the land the original poster was on not being in the state of their residency. The kind of questions that were asked were not appropriate ones for the officer to be asking.
If the Forest Service ranger was rude and harassing you then report them.
Here is a quote from their website giving the contact information, note that it says anyone who does business with them. When you camp on the land you have a permit which is a legally binding contract that says you can be there as their customer, that permit makes it an established business relationship.
"The Forest Service is committed to creating and maintaining a work environment in which all people are treated with dignity, fairness, and respect, and are free from harassment. This commitment extends to all Forest Service employees, contractors, and anyone who does business with us. We will hold any employee who engages in harassing behavior accountable. We can only take action when we are aware of the behavior, and encourage anyone who experiences or witnesses harassment by a Forest Service employee to immediately report it. Reports can be made to any Forest Service management official or by calling our Harassment Reporting Center toll free at (844) 815-8943. For more information, read the full Anti-Harassment Policy."
If the Forest Service ranger was rude and harassing you then report them.
Here is a quote from their website giving the contact information, note that it says anyone who does business with them. When you camp on the land you have a permit which is a legally binding contract that says you can be there as their customer, that permit makes it an established business relationship.
"The Forest Service is committed to creating and maintaining a work environment in which all people are treated with dignity, fairness, and respect, and are free from harassment. This commitment extends to all Forest Service employees, contractors, and anyone who does business with us. We will hold any employee who engages in harassing behavior accountable. We can only take action when we are aware of the behavior, and encourage anyone who experiences or witnesses harassment by a Forest Service employee to immediately report it. Reports can be made to any Forest Service management official or by calling our Harassment Reporting Center toll free at (844) 815-8943. For more information, read the full Anti-Harassment Policy."
RoamerRV428
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RVFreeDa said:My residence and RV registration and drivers license are all in CA. I can not find out how long can I travel out of state. (I don't get thisYou can travel for as long as you want out of your residency state, as long as you still take care of residency issues in a timely matter that might arise from being away....such as something simple like paying your property taxes or anything else. I mean, you can own a home in any state and leave the darn thing for years at a time. I kinda don't understand this question in a way, am I missing something here? )I used a form for smog check release if I’m out of state. The Forest ranger asked me today how long has it been. He said the National Forest is for Recreation use only. And I can not live in the National Forest. Lol 14 days. I’ve been traveling the USA for three year now since my husband passed. Always by the rules.
Just passing thru on vacation is all I ever tell anyone. It sounds like your ranger was just reaffirming the 14 day limit and saying no one can take up full time residency on NF land. well DUH.....do your traveling by the rules needed for state parks, NFs etc...….and yea you are not being a criminal using all the rules to your advantage any way you deem fit. Sounds like this ranger was talking too much LOL ugh, ignore and keep doing what you are doing.
B and C
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You are on an extended vacation. How long you have been on this vacation has no bearing on anything. Your vacation could be to see every National Park and state; that could take years. You still live at your residence, you just aren't there at the time.
