My Introduction of myself

[polecat77]

<p>First let me say I am new here and my name is Jim. I am retired and have income to live on. But I was a truck driver OTR for 22 yrs. I miss the road life. Am thinking about living on the road.I am 50 yrs old and have no family.&nbsp; I have some idea of what I want to do. Here are my thoughts.</p><p>1.) Buy a pickup</p><p>2.) Buy a slide in camper (that fits the bed of PU</p><p>3.) Buy a 4X8 utility trailer to use for storage (like a shed)</p><p>What I am wondering is would this be stealth enough to park over night for sleeping? Could do without the utility trailer.</p><p>also may I make a suggestion:&nbsp;</p><p>If you goto a truckstop just about any driver will give you a shower ticket to use. (they get 2 with fuel up 1 for driver and 2ed for co driver most are solo drivers)</p><p>The driver may even ask if you want a cup of coffee (they are lonely)</p><p><br></p>

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

Welcome Jim.&nbsp; This is a wonderful encouraging site. A lot of us are beginners in the thinking process or a little further along, like me, getting her ducks in a row to go on the road. Their is a wealth of experience on this site the "oldies" share.<br>Thanks for the shower ticket advice.<br>I will be traveling in a '61 vintage-AKA old travel trailer coming fall. Thinking of a winter base in Florida but am excited looking at Quartzite. Brings back memories of wonderful times spent in Quartzite when the kids were young. <br>Diane&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <A href="http://www.dragonflyinthesky.com" target=_blank>www.dragonflyinthesky.com</A><br>

 

[Guest]

Welcome Jim....great to have you here and your plans sound just fine to me...My view regarding stealth for one night parking/camping is that a camper or RV can be very stealth. It depends on what you do while you are in it, where you park and when you park. I have a friend who has spent the last two years on the road, covering literally, all of the US. She is traveling in a Class C RV and has&nbsp; camped all over the US for free without being hassled or bothered by anyone once. She claims she mostly parked in parking lots of stores....That sounds pretty "stealth" to me.<br>Enjoy and I am sure you have a lot to offer here as you already have....<br>Bri<br><br>

 

[danelady]

10/4 good buddy! I didn't start driving OTR till I hit 50 and been doing it for 6yrs now. &nbsp;I think I still have a few more years of driving left in me but I'm gonna get a van soon anyway to stay in on those rare occasions that I get out of the truck. &nbsp;<div><br></div><div>I'm realizing now that all the years we spent working and driving on the road actually has given us a headstart as far as learning where the good places to park are,and things like free showers in truck stops.</div><div><br></div><div>I'm new here too and I'm so happy to have found this place. So let me say hi,Jim,nice to meet ya!</div><div><br></div><div>Rose</div>

 

[twokniveskatie]

hello, Jim, and welcome! we are very glad to have you here!

 

[akrvbob]

Hi Polecat, welcome! <br><br>I lived for a long time in my hombuilt camper and never had a problem with stealth. But, I never stayed in one place for very long. I gave up on stealth and went for the "just passing through" look. So stealth shouldn't be an issue unless you are going to be staying in one city for a long time. Then the cops will notice you and you are at their mercy. <br><br>I'm a big fan of truck campers but just switched to a trailer myself. I only have a half ton so I was very overloaded. Slide-in campers are getting bigger and heavier all the time. Be very careful you stay within the gvwr of your truck. Don't get anything less than a 1 ton. I am a huge fan of the Dodge diesel Cummins in the 1 ton. My personal next choice would be a duramax/Allison combo in a Chevy, and finally a Ford with the 7.3 liter diesel.<br><br>The slide-ins are especially good if you spend much time on public land like I do. They let you get further back&nbsp; than anything else will.&nbsp; But if you are pulling a trailer you pretty much loose that advantage. Have you considered a toy hauler travel trailer? The back end drops down to let you drive your toys right up or you can use it for storage. I've even seen people pull their boats up in them to take fishing. That also leaves your pickup bed free for whatever stuff you may want to carry. Get a 4x4 pickup, drop the trailer at a dispersed campsite in the National Forest, and then take the truck for fun trips into the backcountry or trips into town for supplies. <br><br>One of the hardest things for most people is getting rid of stuff to fit down into a tiny space. The toy haulers let you keep a lot more of the stuff. Bob<br><br>

 

[polecat77]

<p><font size="4">Thanks for the input. Please read my other post I found the Trans-Van this past summer. I am not to worried about money on the road as I have a steady income. But it's not enough to pay household bills and have a vehicle to drive. Figure the best thing to do is live in what I am going to drive.&nbsp;<img border="0" align="absmiddle" src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/thumb.gif"> &nbsp;I figure I could fill the fuel tank 3 or 4 times a month. Been used to small spaces in a truck and since I got divorced in 2001 I have lived in a single room. (cook &amp; entertain). Have been buying portable TV, laptop, and have no ties to any one place.</font></p><p><font size="4">I also have another suggestion. The best place to find out about any town you are in is one of 2 places. Library or chamber of commerce. Now to let you in on a little secret. I was homeless for about 6 months. While waiting for my income to start up. I learned to be very flexible with what I needed and resourceful on how to get my basic needs met.<br></font></p>

 

[oldnjung]

Welcome Pole!&nbsp; my wife and i are new here also. We are being forced by financial and health issues (to make a very long story short!) to give up our house. Maybe foreclose, maybe renting to family and avoiding bankruptcy for awhile longer. We are "fixing" our 96' Ford conversion with 190,000 miles for stealth, at first. I really like the idea of converting an enclosed trailer for the larger living space, but am going with "simple" for now. Thanks for the tips re. truck stops/truckers, towns! How would I keep homeless people from knocking on my van in the middle of the night? I want to help sometimes&nbsp;and don't want to appear hostile, but want to be left alone when trying to sleep. Do Not Disturb sign on the windshield?<br>jb<br>