T.he I.nvisible M.an
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- Aug 28, 2015
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(NOTE: I had posted the following as a response in a different thread but it seemed more fitting that this information be posted in a Stealth Parking Forum where others might benefit from my experiences ... hopefully the site admin or moderators won't object ... ) 
I have a Step Van I have been living in since March of this year. It has natural lighting coming through the roof the full length of the cargo area (see my post in the Misc forum for a picture). I also work out of this Step Van doing Construction, Remodeling and Handyman type work. My insurance is about 108 per month and of course the Step Van is registered to a corporation with commercial plates. That being said ... IT IS EXTREMELY STEALTHY!
I can park next to just about any other commercial vehicles for the night and leave the next morning and nobody bothers me.
The trick is to "hang out" in one area such as Starbucks or any other establishment that is open either inside or in the parking lot. When you are tired and ready to go to sleep drive to your stealth spot ... park ... then disappear through the cargo door between the seats into the back.
I routinely park near, but not too close to places like a 24 hour Denny's, 24 hour Gyms and 24 hour McDonald's (you get the idea).
There are many parking lots that have absolutely zero security or parking patrols.
My Step Van is unlabeled and Jet Black so it is very hard to see at night.
On one occasion I am driving along looking for a place to crash and I see some Box Trucks parked in the far corner of a gas station with just one space inbetween them. I decide to pull in the for the night, park between two Box Trucks (the gas station is already closed by this time) and go to sleep. I leave the next morning and relocate to a different parking lot when the sun comes up (usually near stores that open early like the Home Depo, Lowes or a Grocery Store). If I am still tired I disappear again and go back to sleep.
A different time where I am driving around looking for a place to sleep (notice that the sleeping spots are always different from where you "hang out") I see a whole fleet of white vans parked on one side of a parking lot. I pull in for the night and around 5am or so I wake up to the sound of engines starting. I get up and take a peek out my triple limo tinted rear windows (it's almost like one way mirrors) to see the entire fleet (maybe 50 vans) leaving to go where ever they go. Seeing that the activity outside seems to be non threatening I lay back down, roll over and go back to sleep. When I finally get up, get dressed and leave, the parking lot is empty, as if the fleet of white vans were never there ... (perhaps just a figment of my imagination) ... haha
Some places the parking lots are Huge and there are businesses that share the edges of the parking but have no authority over the parking lot. There is one such parking lot that comes up behind a Starbucks where I then get free Wifi all night.
Construction crews work on various commercial building both during the daytime and the nighttime. The trick to blending in there is figure out when they are around working (you can park near but not too close) or if they are gone you park right next to whatever equipment or vehicles they left for the next day or night.
Also if there are multiple businesses it's a fairly safe bet that you can park at least one time since usually none of the businesses will have the adjacent business's cars or trucks towed. This is especially true if you go into the sleeping mode after everything is closed.
Many times a business will park a Box Truck or Van out front advertising their services (these are great to park next to after the business is closed).
I usually do not park in the same spot multiple days in a row (unless I know for sure that nobody cares). One of the exceptions to this rule is if I can find a parking lot, that is always empty, near a business, where that establishment has no authority over the adjacent parking lot. These are premium spots to be tagged with a gps where you can find relief if necessary from constantly moving around. Of course you can never set up a camp site or even hang out up front. And if you are smart you won't abuse such a find even if "nobody cares".
I am currently parking at just such a spot, right next to a major grocery store, where the grocery store has no control or say over the parking on one side of the building. For the Grocery Store I am sure the few people that see me here on occasion might wonder if I have some parking deal with the larger office complex next door. And for the office complex, since I park right up to the Grocery Store, I am fairly sure they think I have something to do with the grocery store as maintenance or a worker or who knows. But since this is in the "back 40" of the office complex parking lot nobody seems to care.
If I walk towards the front and go up a small hill and around the corner I am at one of my favorite grocery stores (my own gigantic pantry) that is open from 6am in the morning until 1am at night complete with restrooms facilities and a side area lounge with seating, electric plugs and free WiFi. I can be out of the van and into the store in about a minute.
So far I have not been bothered by the Police (knock on wood), or towed, or had my tires booted.
Even in parking lots where there is a visible "security patrol" I find that as long as I am parking near to a store that is open they usually don't bother me. If I see that the security patrol seems to be zeroing in on me I make a point of getting out and walking into the store just as they are driving past. Perhaps I use the restroom and return outside or if you aren't short on cash then a small purchase of something you need then return outside. Worst case spend an hour here then move a short distance ... rinse and repeat until you are ready to sleep and even the security patrol won't bother you. I am at the point where some of them recognize me and wave. When this happens I hang around less and move around more.
And now you know partially why I chose T.he I.visible M.an as my name for the forum ...
T.I.M.
I have a Step Van I have been living in since March of this year. It has natural lighting coming through the roof the full length of the cargo area (see my post in the Misc forum for a picture). I also work out of this Step Van doing Construction, Remodeling and Handyman type work. My insurance is about 108 per month and of course the Step Van is registered to a corporation with commercial plates. That being said ... IT IS EXTREMELY STEALTHY!
I can park next to just about any other commercial vehicles for the night and leave the next morning and nobody bothers me.
The trick is to "hang out" in one area such as Starbucks or any other establishment that is open either inside or in the parking lot. When you are tired and ready to go to sleep drive to your stealth spot ... park ... then disappear through the cargo door between the seats into the back.
I routinely park near, but not too close to places like a 24 hour Denny's, 24 hour Gyms and 24 hour McDonald's (you get the idea).
There are many parking lots that have absolutely zero security or parking patrols.
My Step Van is unlabeled and Jet Black so it is very hard to see at night.
On one occasion I am driving along looking for a place to crash and I see some Box Trucks parked in the far corner of a gas station with just one space inbetween them. I decide to pull in the for the night, park between two Box Trucks (the gas station is already closed by this time) and go to sleep. I leave the next morning and relocate to a different parking lot when the sun comes up (usually near stores that open early like the Home Depo, Lowes or a Grocery Store). If I am still tired I disappear again and go back to sleep.
A different time where I am driving around looking for a place to sleep (notice that the sleeping spots are always different from where you "hang out") I see a whole fleet of white vans parked on one side of a parking lot. I pull in for the night and around 5am or so I wake up to the sound of engines starting. I get up and take a peek out my triple limo tinted rear windows (it's almost like one way mirrors) to see the entire fleet (maybe 50 vans) leaving to go where ever they go. Seeing that the activity outside seems to be non threatening I lay back down, roll over and go back to sleep. When I finally get up, get dressed and leave, the parking lot is empty, as if the fleet of white vans were never there ... (perhaps just a figment of my imagination) ... haha
Some places the parking lots are Huge and there are businesses that share the edges of the parking but have no authority over the parking lot. There is one such parking lot that comes up behind a Starbucks where I then get free Wifi all night.
Construction crews work on various commercial building both during the daytime and the nighttime. The trick to blending in there is figure out when they are around working (you can park near but not too close) or if they are gone you park right next to whatever equipment or vehicles they left for the next day or night.
Also if there are multiple businesses it's a fairly safe bet that you can park at least one time since usually none of the businesses will have the adjacent business's cars or trucks towed. This is especially true if you go into the sleeping mode after everything is closed.
Many times a business will park a Box Truck or Van out front advertising their services (these are great to park next to after the business is closed).
I usually do not park in the same spot multiple days in a row (unless I know for sure that nobody cares). One of the exceptions to this rule is if I can find a parking lot, that is always empty, near a business, where that establishment has no authority over the adjacent parking lot. These are premium spots to be tagged with a gps where you can find relief if necessary from constantly moving around. Of course you can never set up a camp site or even hang out up front. And if you are smart you won't abuse such a find even if "nobody cares".
I am currently parking at just such a spot, right next to a major grocery store, where the grocery store has no control or say over the parking on one side of the building. For the Grocery Store I am sure the few people that see me here on occasion might wonder if I have some parking deal with the larger office complex next door. And for the office complex, since I park right up to the Grocery Store, I am fairly sure they think I have something to do with the grocery store as maintenance or a worker or who knows. But since this is in the "back 40" of the office complex parking lot nobody seems to care.
If I walk towards the front and go up a small hill and around the corner I am at one of my favorite grocery stores (my own gigantic pantry) that is open from 6am in the morning until 1am at night complete with restrooms facilities and a side area lounge with seating, electric plugs and free WiFi. I can be out of the van and into the store in about a minute.
So far I have not been bothered by the Police (knock on wood), or towed, or had my tires booted.
Even in parking lots where there is a visible "security patrol" I find that as long as I am parking near to a store that is open they usually don't bother me. If I see that the security patrol seems to be zeroing in on me I make a point of getting out and walking into the store just as they are driving past. Perhaps I use the restroom and return outside or if you aren't short on cash then a small purchase of something you need then return outside. Worst case spend an hour here then move a short distance ... rinse and repeat until you are ready to sleep and even the security patrol won't bother you. I am at the point where some of them recognize me and wave. When this happens I hang around less and move around more.
And now you know partially why I chose T.he I.visible M.an as my name for the forum ...
T.I.M.
