Stealth Parking "authority" Who Spoke at RTR

[RoadStar66]

That stand-up guy who related his stealth parking experiences and tips at RTR 2019 was a hoot. But he went to extremes most of us couldn't use. For starters, he's a young, fig guy who could easily pass for a construction worker. So seeing him driving, entering, leafing what looks like a commercial van in a commercial area would convince a lot of people he's there to work - even if he's sleeping there. His vehicle probably had no windows so cops couldn't see if he's taken extra measures to cover them from the inside. He seemed pretty street-smart so probably had no trouble BS'ing his way out of just about anything.

Many, if not most vandwellers probably don't score so high in these 'qualifications' to stealth park in the city. It was nevertheless an informative and entertaining performance. I was thinking this guy should do stand-up just before he mentioned that he did. No surprise. He's a good ambassador for the vandwelling community.

 

[lenny flank]

Alas, many people think that "stealth" is some sort of magical Romulan cloaking device that allows one to park anywhere one wants (whether it's legal or not) and remain invisible to all and sundry.

It's not.

The purpose of “stealth” isn’t to hide from the cops. The cops have better things to do with their time and probably won’t bother with you. And in any case they already know all the tricks, and will always be able to tell that you are living and sleeping in the van—they know what the solar panel on the roof and the condensation on the windows means. You simply can’t hide from them. The primary purpose of “stealth” is to avoid attracting attention from the ordinary public. If someone in the neighborhood happens to think you are suspicious and reports you to the coppers, then the police are obligated to respond and roust you out, even if they would not have done so on their own.

Successful stealth camping really depends on two basic rules: (1) don't park where you are actively not wanted, and (2) don't do anything that attracts attention to either you or the vehicle. Everything else follows from that.

 

[RoadStar66]

In addition to cops, add shopping center parking lot security guards who have their orders and if they say warn overnighters to leave and call the police if they're not gone within an hour, that's what they'll do before risking a much needed job. And if citizens show up at a city council meeting complaining about being offended by people living at curbside of the local park, then the city will issue orders to their police to begin cleaning up the town of "vagrants". As vanlife becomes more popular, you will see increased friction between locals and the vandwellers. That will be followed by calls for more laws against street sleeping, posting of signs etc. Everyone seems to be getting into the self-contained van game. Volkswagen just announced a deal with Ford and has come out with some innovative models. And as soccer moms sell the minivan they bought ten years ago, they're getting snapped up by would-be van lifers. I'm glad if things are working for you now. I'm just concerned from trends I see coming up and am airing them here.

Ultimately I think the only way vandwellers are going to be able to continue in incorporated areas is for there to be designated areas, possibly fee based with ability to pay available for those who are found to qualify.

And there already exist technologies police could deploy to tell if a living person is inside any vehicle. This would take the time wasting job of police having to drive up, knock knock, issue a verbal command, all while worrying about a hostile response. They could just drive through a parking lot or along a street and point the device at vehicles until they score a hit. And in a time when license plate readers are almost standard police cruiser equipment, they could tap into databases of car registrations with PO box or unconfirmed addresses to help narrow their search. Like I say, not a complaint, just a heads-up.

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

What Lenny said. ^^^^^

I parked for a year in a 23 foot, ugly-as-sin, Class-C RV in and around Austin, TX. Never once had cops called on me for where I was sleeping. Once I pulled up in the back 40 of a grocery store parking lot and started rebuilding my door. They called the cops to see what the heck I was up to. I told the cop that I was fixing my door. He said, "Oh, OK." and left. I did the rest of my repairs in the Lowe's parking lot instead. 

I had absolutely no problem finding places where no one gave a rats ass that I was there. If no one cares, no one calls the cops.

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

Personally, I felt that that guy was making it all look more difficult than it actually is, just to appear to be some super expert. Because that is what gets YouTube subscribers. Quite a few of the things he said were completely opposite from my own experience. Rather than challenge him, I just got up and left.

 

[RVTravel]

The cameras need drama

 

[Cammalu]

I don’t think filming was allowed?

 

[RoadStar66]

Personally, I felt that that guy was making it all look more difficult than it actually is, just to appear to be some super expert. Because that is what gets YouTube subscribers. Quite a few of the things he said were completely opposite from my own experience. Rather than challenge him, I just got up and left.

If you park "stealth" mostly in Texas, quite a few things are going to be completely opposite from your experience.