Waiting for the camping crash

Camping have gotten really expensive the last few years. There are a lot of factors, everything from high fuel costs to increased demand. Another factor is the number of mom and pop campgrounds that have been bought out by big corporations. There are even fewer free overnight spots in places like Walmart and Cracker Barrel. RV camping in particular has gotten super expensive.

The last time I was camping we used our economy car and a tent. I’ve a 105 watt solar panel mounted to the roof racks to power our small fridge and other electrical needs. That reduces our costs quite a bit. Tent sites tend to be cheaper as are sites without electricity. 

Right now camping sites are still in high demand. Even places that get snow are packed solid. However, more and more people are giving up. I can’t say I blame them. The cost, the lack of open camping sites, and inflation are taking their toll. Eventually reduced demand will put a little downward pressure on camping costs.

I’ve in the process of planning a long scooter trip. My route will take advantage of a lot of cheap camping tricks. Friends and family let me stay overnight and that’s handy. There’s some dispersed camping on my route. However, some stealth camping will be involved. 

So how does one stealth camp with a bright red scooter full of reflectors? That’s why I have a large black cover and a dark green tent. I don’t have to be very far off the road to be difficult to see. The trick is to set up just before dark and to get out early. Practice good light discipline and don’t have a fire. It brings me back to the days when I was a kid and stealth camped while on a bicycle. 

Outside of stealth and dispersed camping, Federal campgrounds are probably the best deal out there. They are even better deals if you have one of their many discount cards. 

I must admit, I miss the days when you could pull into almost any campground at the end of the day and find a place.

-Sixbears

Freedom of the open road?

In late 2019 I was thinking about doing the full time RV gig. It was something of a passing thought and I’m glad it passed. What happened is that my lovely wife and I had spell of wet and cool tent camping. You get crazy ideas after sitting around in a wet tent. Good thing the feeling passed. 

RV living is not what it used to be. Just a few years ago it was much easier. There were a lot more free camping spots.  Campgrounds were less expensive and fuel was cheap. Free public land has been closed to camping due to overuse, litter, property destruction and unruly behavior. There are even fewer Walmarts that will let you stay overnight. 

During the pandemic RV camping became really popular. Lots of new people got into the lifestyle. Too many new people didn’t know how to behave. Disgusted mom and pop campgrounds sold out to big corporations. The new owners put in new rules and higher prices. RV manufactures had difficulty getting parts. Demand was high and a lot of RVs were slapped together. Poor quality will plague the industry for years. 

Tent camping doesn’t look too bad right now. My lovely wife and I have a week booked on the coast of Maine this summer. I’ve also got some stealth scooter camping planned. I’ve a black cover for the scooter and a small dark green tent. I don’t have to get all that far off the road to disappear. 

-Sixbears

Spot the stealth camper

Let's play: spot the stealth camper. Stealth camping is free camping, sometimes in places where sleeping in your vehicle is not technically allowed.

First we'll do the beginner round. Spot the campers at a Walmart. Not every big box store allows overnight camping. There are even apps that keep track of the ones that do. This is not really stealth camping as it's allowed. Even so there are rules. Keep your vehicle self contained. If you have slide outs keep them in. Do not set up folding chairs and grills out in the parking lot. An overnight camper shouldn't look any different than if someone was parking their RV while they do some shopping.

Spotting big RVs is easy. Let's move onto vans. Vans make pretty good mobile living spaces. They have enough room for basic comfort, yet they fit into a normal parking space. Look for either blackout curtains or panel vans with no side windows at all. Solar panels are a dead giveaway. So are generators hanging off the back on a cargo buddy. These smaller vehicles are more likely to try to stealth camp where not technically allowed.

People living in regular passenger cars often use sun shields in the windows to keep people from looking in. A give away is that often the only people using them are those who are sleeping in their cars. The expert level of car camping belongs to those who can blend in and don't use sun shields or curtains. This level of stealth is not for everyone. The car may just look like it needs a good cleaning, but under those Burger King wrappers is a person in a sleeping bag. Ta Da!

The real pros are those who can stealth camp in a place like Key West. It's a small island and the cops know everyone who belongs on it. If a strange vehicle is parked on a residential street for a few days they will assume someone is urban camping. Cops in small towns play “spot the stealth camper,” at a professional level.

Sometimes they can be fooled by really clever stealth vehicles. I had the pleasure once of looking over a homemade stealth vehicle based on a cube truck. It looked like a regular unmarked delivery truck. Only when camped in the country did the folding stairs, skylights, and side windows pop out. The vehicle was put together like a Swiss watch. All closed up, it looked like any other small delivery truck one would see parked on a city street.

Then there was the guy who had a pickup truck with a cap on the back. It had really good graphics for a phony business. The truck looked like a contractor's pickup, but had a nice camping arrangement inside. The driver went around wearing a yellow hardhat and carried a clipboard.

When playing this game, remember that if you can spot the stealth camper, cops probably can too. That's why I tend to “camp” on private land where it's allowed, or at least ignored.

-Sixbears

Gotta keep it mobile

Lately I've been giving a lot of thought to the nomadic lifestyle. Now I'm only semi-nomadic, but I'm on the road for enough months of the year to get some insight. This past travel season we did a lot more van living than we normally do.

The big thing about van living is you have to keep moving. Most people know that Walmarts allow overnight parking. Not all of them do so a smartphone app is a really handy tool. Also truck stops won't bother someone who spends the night.

When I stop at these places I make a point to do some shopping there, or in the case of the truck stops, eat a meal. Shopping and eating have to be done anyway so I'm not just some guy parking there but a customer. Keep the receipt handy in case they decide to hassle you. That's very unlikely to happen if you are staying just one night.

Problems arise when people take advantage and settle in for the duration. Not only will they ask you to move, they will get the police involved. Vehicles have been towed and impounded. When you live in in a van, it's your house they are towing away. You end up without transportation and homeless.

We stayed at a lot of Federal Parks. The price is reasonable, especially if you qualify for any of their discount programs. Commonly it was under $10/night. They have limits on how long you can stay, usually about 2 weeks. Sometimes you can't just scoot over to a nearby Federal Park and stay another two weeks. If they are in the same regional system your two weeks in the previous campground count against you. Rules vary so check and see what there at the places you want to stay.

One thing to do is to mix it up. We've bounced around from Federal, to state, to private campground with the the occasional overnight in a Walmart. There a few free places to park that don't have time limits. They are uncommon. Some are even in nice places. However, some of the people who stay there may be sketchy so keep up your situational awareness.

Your vehicle must be in good working order at all times. This, of course, is impossible. Even new vehicles break down. A good roadside assistance plan can be darn useful. Last winter we broke down on rt. 75 in Tampa while towing our boat. The good news is that our $37 dollar Boat US membership saved us a $500 tow.

Fortunately, we were able to go to my dad's place where I could do the repairs myself. Having family or friends with room to work on a vehicle is a godsend. Not only did I have a place to work on the van, we stayed at my dad's and I could use his car to pick up parts. Had we no place to stay we'd have had to pay for the repair work, pay for a hotel room, and maybe even rent a car. We could have done all that, but it would have blown a big hole in the budget.

There are those who only drive the newest RVs and only stay in full service parks. For the rest of us, having inexpensive or free places to camp is the key to making it work. It really pays to get to know others living on the road. They share information on good places to stay. They also share information about places that are no longer welcoming to the nomad. Sometimes that's whole communities.

One solution is the stealth vehicle. A stealth vehicle is one that looks like it belongs. It might be a plain looking van that doesn't seem out of place parked in a residential neighborhood. Some people have vehicles like cube trucks that looks like commercial vehicles. People have even found ways to blend in while staying in a car. One strategy to lessen discovery is to stop late and leave early. If residents never notice you, they won't call the cops about a strange vehicle in the neighborhood.

Never hesitate to move along if things don't seem right or if asked to move. Mobility is the nomad's greatest strength.

-Sixbears