My Stealth Parking Skills Suck!

[RollingOm]

So I'm back in Los Angeles after attending the RTR, and since I will be here for a few months, I rented a room, but it will be a couple of days before it is ready to move in, so I thought stealth parking for two nights would be an easy thing, but I could not get myself to do it.  I hesitated a lot, and I did not have the guts to walk from the front of my truck  to the back and jump inside the snugtop. "What if somebody sees me?" I thought, What if the security guard at the industrial complex comes knocking on my window? What if someone breaks into my truck?  I will feel trapped. My truck has been broken into three times already, luckily I was not inside.  So I drove around, and drove around, and drove around; I even thought about going to the police station and ask them if I could park overnight, but then again insecurity and doubts got the best of me. What if they say no? and the following morning they see me at the grocery store, ugh! how embarrassing, this is my neighborhood.  It's so different when I was in the desert! right there boondocking is normal, and I don't feel like I'm doing something I'm not supposed to. Never mind parking in a residential area, they will, for sure, call the police. So after almost running out of gas I gave up, and checked into a hotel.   Maybe if I had a van it would have been different, but I want to believe that it was mainly due to my amateurish nervousness, and maybe next time I will succeed, or maybe I will just trade my truck for a van 

RollingOm

 

[Travelmonkey]

You did a good job writing up your fears and insecurities. Sleeping in a truck camper in town sounds tough! Maybe go back to industrial complex or find a spot near an apartment building. I bet after the first few times you'll be able to relax. Or you'll just be so tired you pass out as soon as your head hits the pillow.

 

[LMTLMT]

Hey brother, don't know how tall is your truck but go park it at a hospital. Some are a garage some are outdoor parking. Back it into a space prefer in a corner with enough room to open the camper shell. Usually nobody will bother you there. Don't make people notice you and you'll be just fine. ER parking spots are the best no body will bother you there. Most hospitals are free parking but some do charge so google which ones have a open lot. Hope this helps. I overnighted in hospitals many times.

 

[BigT]

RollingOM.  I know exactly how you feel.  

I have no issues sleeping on BLM land or at a highway rest area, but I just can't get comfortable when I try to sleep on the side of a street, residential or commercial.  

I can't stop thinking that someone is going to call the police and I'm going to be told to get lost, or that someone is going to screw with my van while I'm trying to sleep.  

It's funny, I feel pretty confident while on my way to where I think I'm going to sleep, but as soon as I get there, I come up with a hundred reasons why it isn't going to work.  Then I leave, feeling frustrated and defeated.  

Looking back, I know nothing would have happened at the last place I considered.  There were other campers and cargo vans on the street that obviously had people sleeping in them, but I just couldn't get comfortable with the idea.  

It's not too surprising really.  I'm still living in an apartment where sleeping, or doing whatever the heck I want, is second nature and completely stress free.

 

[Florida boondocker]

RollingOM, i can tell you this, i have a warehouse in a complex of small businesses. We've had a few park for the night with no problem.
the only problem would be if you looked suspicious, heck if someone asked me i would tell them where to park & anything to watch for.
BTW i'm is Orlando if you ever need a overnight spot, if i couldn't fit you in at my shop i could tell you a few safe places

 

[Blanch]

In California it is legal to overnight at a rest stop. I use them and truck stops all the time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lenny flank]

Meh, after a while you'll calm down.

I urban camp almost exclusively. Never had any trouble. Only had two knocks on the window and both were friendly: one was a cop who had received a report of "someone trying to break into a van" and was checking in on me, and the other a Walmart security who told me this particular Walmart allows RVs to park but not vans--and pointed me to a nearby Cracker Barrel where I could go instead.

Newbies tend to over-worry about cops and about people breaking in. It's a non-issue.

 

[RollingOm]

You did a good job writing up your fears and insecurities.  Sleeping in a truck camper in town sounds tough!  Maybe go back to industrial complex or find a spot near an apartment building.  I bet after the first few times you'll be able to relax.  Or you'll just be so tired you pass out as soon as your head hits the pillow.

Great suggestion!  Thank you Travelmonkey

 

[RollingOm]

 Most hospitals are free parking but some do charge so google which ones have a open lot.  Hope this helps.  I overnighted in hospitals many times.

Yes! that's another excellent idea, ultimately I could be waiting for someone on ER, or visiting someone, and I'm just too tired and resting in my car

Thank you all for your great suggestions and support. With a little more time I will be a pro at Stealth parking and boondocking 

RollingOm

 

[RollingOm]

RollingOM.  I know exactly how you feel.  

Wow! BigT, you're right, you just described my feelings exactly!  This is going to help me not to be so harsh on myself.   I was feeling like a nomad failure 

already   

 Thank You!

RollingOm

 

[kllcbosmetris]

Hey brother, don't know how tall is your truck but go park it at a hospital.  Some are a garage some are outdoor parking.  Back it into a space prefer in a corner with enough room to open the camper shell.  Usually nobody will bother you there.  Don't make people notice you and you'll be just fine.  ER parking spots are the best no body will bother you there.  Most hospitals are free parking but some do charge so google which ones have a open lot.  Hope this helps.  I overnighted in hospitals many times.

Not too long ago, I found myself in a very bad (health) condition and had no option but to find the nearest hospital ER in the middle of the night. When I got there, the ER parking lot was completely full and I didn't know what to do, while I was still in excruciating pain. When I finally made my way to the ER I realized the ER itself was mostly empty (so those cars weren't supposed to be in the ER lot).  

So before you encourage people to park in ER parking lot I'd highly suggest you (and everyone) do some soul searching about what kind of person you are and realize that Karma will get you if you are completely ignorant to other people's needs and suffering.  'Go park in an ER lot' is a terrible advice and an extremely selfish one too.

 

[TMG51]

I'd highly suggest you (and everyone) do some soul searching about what kind of person you are and realize that Karma will get you if you are completely ignorant to other people's needs and suffering.  'Go park in an ER lot' is a terrible advice and an extremely selfish one too.

That's a pretty broad generalization and moral judgement. Is every ER lot in question full? If not, no harm done.

 

[lenny flank]

That's a pretty broad generalization and moral judgement. Is every ER lot in question full? If not, no harm done.

Somehow I very much doubt that every car parked in the lot was a nomad spending the night.

In fact I'd be surprised utterly if more than two or three of them, at most, were.

 

[John61CT]

Point is there are usually nearby parking spots that you could use just as easily without inconveniencing people dealing with friggin' **medical emergencies** !!

 

[deadwood]

My first rule of stealth camping. Only park on the street. I avoid any kind of parking lot. Parking lots are private property. Streets are public property. In southern California there is such an overflow of on street parking that you should be able to blend in with the other cars. It sounds like you have a truck camper from the original post. Yes you don't exactly blend in but if you only park for one night somewhere it is very low odds that someone will say something.

My second rule of stealth camping. Nobody really cares what you are doing. People care (and call the police for a courtesy check) when you are parking by their house. So just make sure to pick a spot that is more generic. Like parking where there are apartments. Then the parking is a free for all. No way to know who lives where or who is visiting who.

As long as you are keeping a low profile you should be pretty successful at urban camping. It is the people that park somewhere and set up camp that have problems. Or the ones that play loud music. Basically the ones that are drawing attention to themselves. Most people just want to go about their own lives and do their own thing. If you park on the street and move around frequently you will be fine. I have about 10 to 12 of what I call my favorite spots that I can move between. That way I'm never in the same spot twice in a row.

I would give it another try. You could even try doing it during the day. Find a busy street where everyone parks and pull in and go take a nap. What you will most likely find is that nobody is looking at your truck. They just go about their own day. Then try it at night.

I will say that I do try to be cautions when moving from the drivers seat to the back of my van and then back up front again. I do a quick peek from the curtains to make sure no one is visible. I don't want to be climbing into my drivers seat while someone is parking their car right in front of me. Again,, this is just part of keeping a low profile. You don't have to be paranoid about it. Even is someone saw you they most likely just don't care.

In the end the worst thing that could happen to you is that you get a knock and are asked to leave. You don't get a ticket. You don't get towed. You don't go jail. The worst is a courtesy knock from the local PD asking you to move along. And the odds of this happening are so low as long as you are respectful of where you park and how you act.

 

[GeorgiePorgie]

None of the things that bother the OP bother me. If I get caught, I will just move. If someone tries breaking in the van, I will set off a personal alarm and keep beeping the horn if that does not work. As far as I am concerned, forbidding someone from sleeping in a private vehicle on public property is unconstitutional unless one is making noise or not being careful of others health  concerns (dumping toilet tanks or garbage in the street).
If these things bothered me in a major way, I would only stay in paid campgrounds ot RV parks. I can't afford it, so glad that is not the case.

 

[John61CT]

> forbidding someone from sleeping in a private vehicle on public property is unconstitutional

ROFL, good luck challenging that.

Most towns forbid you doing so on your own private property.

IMO the only way we get away with such violations is being discreet.

Getting politically active trying to establish our "rights" to break these laws and regulations will just call attention to the "problem" and result in more widespread enforcement.

 

[GeorgiePorgie]

Actually I agree with you. I have no plans to try to change it or tell the police my opinion. However, I do consider it unconstitutional and am perfectly willing to deceive by using stealth to accomplish living in my van on public property. It seems to bother some members, but I am not one of them.

 

[RollingOm]

I would give it another try. You could even try doing it during the day. Find a busy street where everyone parks and pull in and go take a nap. What you will most likely find is that nobody is looking at your truck. They just go about their own day. Then try it at night.

Yes, it is definitely worth trying. At this time I already rented a room for a few months, but for next time what I was thinking I could do is go through the fold down window, which connects the camper shell to the back seat. It is somewhat small, but I tried pushing my sleeping bag through, which is pretty bulky, and it went through ok.  I think I can fit. I have a pretty good idea of my size

RollingOm

 

[John61CT]

Some people do drive into the ER for treatment themselves.

And plenty of distraught family members following the ambulance, often multiple cars.