Sleeping days, up at night

[courierboys]

I've rarely, if ever, seen this discussed. How would your stealth and living strategy change if you slept during the day and stayed up all night and let's say you didn't have a graveyard shift job? Do you think you're safer staying up all night? What would you do all night?

 

[katelyn]

I worked 3rd shift for years, if you can completely block out the sun and noise go for it! I loved being up when everyone was sleeping.The world just seems different. One exception is there is not much to do except go to WalMart lol.

 

[Pikachu711]

This does bring up another question. If you do work nights and sleep days is there a&nbsp;method of&nbsp;parking your vehicle in such a way to minimize the effect the sun has on heating it up. For example:<br /><br />(1)&nbsp;Put a rack on your van roof with plywood on the rack. This would sheild the roof from direct sunlight.<br />(2) Park you vehicle in a shady area. This could be on the east side of a building in the shade in the afternoon.<br />(3) Park the vehicle in an east-west direction. If you park your vehicle with the suns rays hitting the largest part of your vehicle it will heat up faster.<br /><br />I know that it's not possible to totally reduce the effect the sun had on heating our vehicles but I suppose the effect could be minimized.

 

[SoulRaven]

Heck I would find me a nice park and look for the best shade it has to offer then park and sleep the day away... You have at your disposal a bathroom to relieve yourself, sink to wash up in and the security you are looking for to have a good days sleep...

 

[courierboys]

Thanks for all your responses so far. They confirm my thoughts that sleeping would be safer, though noisier. However Hearos ear plugs take care of any noise problems for me. <br /><br />The effect of sun on the vehicle is a consideration too. I plan to stealth in British Columbia (I'm a dual U.S. and Canadian citizen) and prefer to live in cooler climates (42 - 65 degrees), but whether you want to avoid the sun or be exposed to it for attaining warmth, it's an important part of day sleeping<br /><br />Finally, as far as what to do all night, if you have a job, that settles that. But I don't plan to have a job. So what can I do all night that would not expose me to "muggers, thieves, and kidnappers," those who ply their trades between 1am - 4am? <br /><br />I feel there has to be some strategy that removes you as a target during those hours. Going to the gym would be good. Going to all night donut shops would add a few dollars each day to the budget which could add up to $100/month. One could sit in the vehicle in a busy parking lot of a 24 hour place. In general, you would have to most vigilant during that 1-4am time frame where opportunists would be looking for someone to prey upon.<br /><br />I feel this whole conversation on how to live in a vehicle while sleeping during the day and staying up all night (without working a job) is an untouched part of vandwelling culture and I'd like to keep hearing more about it, &nbsp;maybe in a dedicated portion of this forum.

 

[Cubey]

I'm not sure what the point would be. You would be limited to businesses that are only open 24 hours which are few and far between. <br /><br />Even some like Walgreens, not ALL have the pharmacy open 24 hours Only Walmart Supercenters are open 24hours so if you're somewhere with only a basic Wal-Mart, you're out of luck.<br /><br />Unless you're doing this for a specific reason such as driving at night when there's less traffic or doing overnight jobs then I don't see the point. <br /><br />The only real advantage would be that you could avoid "no overnight parking" rules while sleeping during the day but at what cost? You'd be up all night with almost no where to go and nothing to do. And you'd still have to park somewhere.

 

[twokniveskatie]

I can see some advantages. In hot weather, I will often sleep during the day and work at night when it is cooler in the van. I have done the sleep during the day because of parking options, too. I love working in the quiet of the night, and can spend hours curled up knitting, reading or sewing. Last night I spent hours watching the night sky and listening to the owls and the seer until the rains came in.

 

[Cubey]

In my opinion, it's easier to be awake when it's hot than sleep when it's hot. <br /><br />Once as a kid we stopped to camp in Needles, CA at dusk around April at the KOA. It was so hot that night that we slept outside the tents uncovered and it was miserable and almost impossible to even get to sleep.<br /><br />Yes, I realize that's the desert and all.. but point is.. trying to sleep in high heat is almost impossible... at least for me.<br /><br />The only way I see it could be useful is if you can run a generator where you park during the day to run an AC. But then you're better off being awake and going to stores, the library... etc to keep cool.. and sleep at night when you might not need AC. <br /><br />Or go to where it's not so hot like I will be doing.

 

[twokniveskatie]

That's what's so great about this forum! People can hear all kinds of different experiences, and then find out what works for them. My experience may not be their experience, but I'm sure they can sort that out

 

[twokniveskatie]

BTW- we"ll follow this thread to see how much interest/activity it generates. If it seems necessary, we'll add a new forum.

 

[courierboys]

<div>Gypsydreamer,</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Yes, I want be vigilant around the 1am - 4am window, for bad guys and curious law enforcement. I found this quote:</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>"Most property crimes occur during the day, except for motor vehicle theft, which occurs 71.7 percent of the time at night."&nbsp;</div><div><a href="http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/4...-DOES-VIOLENT-CRIME-HAPPEN.html#ixzz24qqAVZKi">http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/4...-DOES-VIOLENT-CRIME-HAPPEN.html#ixzz24qqAVZKi</a></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>So perhaps sleeping during the day could reduce the number of intrusions. However it may also be the case that intrusions are rare, minor annoyances and that staying up all night and sleeping during the day just isn't worth trying to avoid them.<br /><br />Still, being a nocturnal vehicle-dweller is an option that people might pursue for whatever reasons and it may be worth looking at the problems and opportunities associated with that lifestyle. Even this brief thread has helped me to see the situation more clearly.&nbsp;<br /><br /><br /></div>

 

[rvwandering]

&nbsp;I don't really see the point of sleeping all day either if you don't work the night shift. You'll be limiting your activities and human contact to a huge degree with a very small positive gain - just a more secure feeling.<br /><br />&nbsp; "<span id="post_message_1274791561">However it may also be the case that intrusions are rare, minor annoyances and that staying up all night and sleeping during the day just isn't worth trying to avoid them."&nbsp; Very true! We've had very little trouble sleeping in parking lots or boondocking across the US and Canada. British Columbia has some beautiful boondocking spots!<br /></span>

 

[courierboys]

Thanks tonyandkaren, excellent and helpful blog too. I'm a Canadian and U.S. dual citizen and would be vandwelling in British Columbia because of the weather -- I like it cool/cold -- the lower tax rate compared to other provinces, the medical benefits of course, the Canadian sensibility, and the proximity to California! At this point, and thanks to each and every response, I'm seeing now that, for me, the benefit of staying up all night might be temporary and allow me to ease into this lifestyle. My current lifestyle would also be described as alternative and insecure since I have no legal tenancy rights. But then neither does the company that houses me. I find that there's a lot of security in insecurity, and that traditional security -- owning a home, having a long term lease -- isn't secure at all, at least not for me.

 

[Where~the~wind~blows]

I love roaming around at night, shopping at night, and travel much less traffic, as I never sleep more than 4-5 hours at a time, I tend to take naps during the day so I would say I do a little of both. I can stay up till two am and be up by 6am... work and then take a nap at 5 wake at 7 then up till 2, that&nbsp;routine&nbsp;happens a lot. Today my shop is closed and last night I really wanted to take "Moby" to the beach and watch the sun rise, it's so quite, but people start coming by at like 3-4 am to surf fish and that triggers my two barking car alarms, which I hate being woken like the place is on fire! The park people leave you alone once they know your a good egg, they actually like extra eyes about, seeing how the budgets have cut man power by 65+%.... beaches and winter= bliss , but I think I will go have a BBQ last parking lot 10! is my spot......LOL sorry got lost in my mind again,<br /><br />Oh yes would it be safer? hmmm I think the answer is depends on where your planted for the moment I feel more comfortable at night in bigger populations than I do when I am in remote ones, yet during the day I prefer remote area's... geez I want everything don't I!

 

[Seraphim]

A few thoughts:<br /><br />Yes, most car break-ins occur at night under the cover of darkness. The thieves arent looking fr confrontation and will flee if they thought they'd be discovered. Not a safety issue in my book, especially if your van looks like it contains nothing to steal.<br /><br />From 10 pm until the bars close there are a lot of alchohol related problems - fights, accidents, etc. Most of the violent crime is between people who know each other or got into it at a bar. These generally don't make the papers, not being sensational enough.<br /><br />I don't see any reason to be concerned sleeping in most areas at night. Put a loud audible alarm on your van with a switch near at hand. If you hear someone trying to get into the van, cover your ears and&nbsp;hit the switch. May want to move following that, though, as someone is likely to call the cops lol.<br /><br />If you're really concerned about a particular area, then dont sleep there.

 

[ParadiseParrot]

Well if you dont intend to have a job why stay in a nasty city.