Stealth Versus General Look

[corky52]

I'm watching this forum and see a major question, how important is stealth to you plans versus having the overall look of the vehicle being good?

When boondocking, look is more a matter of pride than need, but if you do as I do and occasionally find cheap rental space in or around cities then having an "RV" look becomes important, and the cleaner the better.

Many places will rent a space to an "RV" that will never rent to a self-converted van.

Corky

 

[Almost There]

No stealth needed at all.

The 'stealthiest' overnight I will be doing is the occasional W/M parking lot and I park with the big RV's anyways because we all choose the outside edge and if possible away from the truck route to the delivery bays...

In the summer I'll have to be in an RV park of some sort here in Ontario because there's no feasible free camping. For the winter I'll be doing mostly boondocking on BLM and Forest lands with the occasional cheaper campground to take advantage of the dump station and shower facilities.

 

[rvwandering]

I believe that stealth is only necessary if you have to stay in a city for long periods of time and you want to stay for free on the streets. Otherwise there are plenty of places when you're visiting a city or just passing through where it's fine to stay for a few days or even a few weeks. If you're planning on boondocking most of the time then you really don't need to be stealthy. Be comfortable - windows, visible solar panels, awnings, bumper mounted carriers, all of the things that would give you away if you need to be stealthy make life much more comfortable.

Our experience has been that no one really cares or notices. We're not at all stealthy but we've stayed for weeks in cities , mostly in parking lots. We're gone in the day and switch places every few days.

 

[rvwandering]

Sorry, I got little off track on the subject of your question. In my opinion the overall look is more important than stealth. The nicer your vehicle looks the less notice it will get but if it does get noticed it will be because someone is admiring it. It will also be more acceptable to the people who own or manage RV or trailer parks.

 

[SoulRaven]

For many years I have been mainly a city camper. I generally only stay in parks for rallies or something else special.

I think stealth is generally a bunch of baloney. Cargo vans seem to attract cops in cities. Other than that, where you choose to park seems to make a lot more difference than trying to be stealthy.

I would say a decent looking van is a good idea, but it doesn't need to be new or fancy, just something that blends in with the other vehicles well and doesn't attract any negative attention. Many of the places I park even have clunkers around, so anything goes. Many of the apartment dwellers have older, not too well kept vehicles. This same type of people are usually more friendly towards van dwellers. Not ghetto, but lower middle class.

As far as RV Parks go, I've never had any problems with a home made camper van, although I have had mine inspected at some to make sure it is fully self contained with my own toilet/shower etc. This has happened at some state and national parks as well.

 

[Patrick46]

I too think this whole 'stealth' thing is a bit overrated.

I can disappear from the front row of Shea Stadium if I wanted to bad enough. I think how you conduct yourself and keep your act together makes all the difference in the world.