Namaste-
For the past six months, I've been traveling around the world. New Zealand, Australia. Spain. Hawai'i. And coming back to America to a settled life just leaves me feeling... unsettled.
I've been reading some of the posts, but have a few more unanswered questions. Hope you all can help a hookah out.
1. STEALTH PARKING- I'm not into the idea of RV lots with a bunch of older and (stereotype, I know) boring ex-buisness man now crusing with the little wifey. I'm more into the Burning Man ideals.
Is there a way to find a list/zine/underground website with listings of free streets/parks/beaches all around the US where you can park without fearing for your life, windows or license? It seems like the RV lifestyle is aiming for Freedom of all sorts, especially from the constraints of "settling down" in one locale. The RV park seems antithema to that. Also, what do you do about hookups with this "stealthy" style?
2. THE VEGGIE VAN- Gasoline and I are not friends. This was mos def be a biodiesel conversion case. Anyone have any experience converting an RV for that reason, utilizing solar panels, etc?
Your help is greatly appreciated. I'm doing a little jig just thinking about your responses.
For the past six months, I've been traveling around the world. New Zealand, Australia. Spain. Hawai'i. And coming back to America to a settled life just leaves me feeling... unsettled.
I've been reading some of the posts, but have a few more unanswered questions. Hope you all can help a hookah out.
1. STEALTH PARKING- I'm not into the idea of RV lots with a bunch of older and (stereotype, I know) boring ex-buisness man now crusing with the little wifey. I'm more into the Burning Man ideals.
Is there a way to find a list/zine/underground website with listings of free streets/parks/beaches all around the US where you can park without fearing for your life, windows or license? It seems like the RV lifestyle is aiming for Freedom of all sorts, especially from the constraints of "settling down" in one locale. The RV park seems antithema to that. Also, what do you do about hookups with this "stealthy" style?
2. THE VEGGIE VAN- Gasoline and I are not friends. This was mos def be a biodiesel conversion case. Anyone have any experience converting an RV for that reason, utilizing solar panels, etc?
Your help is greatly appreciated. I'm doing a little jig just thinking about your responses.
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Los Angeles
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Fri, May 5, 2006 - 8:25 AMHey Maya,
My husband and I live in a house bus we converted ( and arestill) from a school bus. We also modified the engine to run off used vegetable oil which we get for free from dumpsters behind restaraunts.
To answer your questions about free parking places..the answer is YES !! There is a great book ( google it ) don wrights guide to free and low cost camping..the places listed are frequently very remote, undeveloped long term vistor areas (LTV). For a small fee you can stay in these remote places for 6 months or more.There are tons of free ones as well, all listed by state and nearest town.
We dont worry to much about hook ups as we are all solar powered..for water we have a tank and an on demand hot water heater we are installing...when the water runs out its usually a short drive to refill somewhere..otherwise you can collect rainwater and use a sun shower in remote areas during good weather, or make shure to boondock in an area with a lake or creek nearby.
There are lots of places on the net to find out how to convert an engibe to run on SVO..our website , www.enchantedgypsy.blogspot.com has some info on the process we undertook and there are many other ones as well..just google it. First though, you need to make shure you have a diesel engine as a gas engine will not work for svo.
Good luck in all your adventures ~ Pixie -
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good grease FAQ
Thu, June 1, 2006 - 12:15 PMThe folks at greasecar.com have an excellent 'frequently asked questions' section and really good links, pluse their conversion kits are pretty easy to install. Best of luck!
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Sun, June 18, 2006 - 1:04 PMThanks Pixie! I appreciate it greatly! -
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Tue, June 27, 2006 - 1:09 PMAlso, does anyone know what to do with your RV when you leave the country? I travel quite frequently for work, and would need to put it in storage a bit. Any tips/advice/suggestions on companies?
And how much does that sort of thing cost?
Thanks!
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Tue, September 25, 2007 - 5:11 AMHey Maya
My Son took a trip in Aug. 2001 through the midwest up the east coast and into Canada, for two weeks they slept in walmart parking lots. Every morning they went inside brushed there teeth washed up grabed some milk and hit the road. He laughed and said the greeters were always freindly and would ask them if they slept well. That would be his last journey he went on to be with the Lord in Sept. 16 2001. His friends that traveled with him will always have the final memories that will last their life time.
Wish you well in your travels
In Him ^j^
Aluminumfunmonkey
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Wed, August 9, 2006 - 5:35 AMsome walmarts allow overnight camping in their parking lots.
www.freecampgrounds.com/othercamps.html -
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Mon, September 11, 2006 - 9:11 PMOn our recent road trip to Burning Man, we had a li'l break down, and found ourselves in the Wal-Mart lot in Bend, Oregon.
Turns out *all* wal-marts have the policy that you can camp up to a week in their parking lot!
They may be the evil big-box stores, but it would make an interesting road trip, going from Wal-Mart to Wal-Mart across the nation, never paying for camp fees! -
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Mon, September 11, 2006 - 9:30 PMI was actually just going to chime in about Wal*Mart. I've used their parking lot facilities on several occasions, although I haven't gone into one of their stores in about 12 years. Except to pee whilst squating in their lots, of course.
The thing I'm always on the lookout for is shower facilities. A shower for me is like other people's morning coffee---the day simply hasn't started yet until I've had the shower, and just don't talk to me until then. I've found that most comminities have something, somewhere, if you hunt hard enough, and generally you don't need to pay more than a couple bucks. Generally cheaper than a latte, and so so so much more satisfying.
State & National Parks books are great sources of info for finding showers. Most public marinas have one tucked away somewhere, as well. -
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Mon, October 2, 2006 - 3:33 AMother than state and national parks, truck stops are your best bet. always wear those rubber water shoes. another option is to join a national chain health club like golds gym. they are not all that expensive and you can workout and have your shower.
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Fri, January 26, 2007 - 6:59 AMo i always wondered why all the campers were at the walmarta, i don't shop there, but i suppose i could use their lot in a crunch, thanks, good to know
love & light & laughter
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Thu, February 8, 2007 - 4:42 PMNo offense, but I wouldn't camp in a WalMart parking lot if they paid me. -
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Fri, February 9, 2007 - 2:12 PMI guess you've never been in a real pinch, lucky you!
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Thu, October 19, 2006 - 2:38 PMYep, you can park in almost any WalMart parking lot (Anchorage, AK and Phx, AZ being the exceptions we've found so far) and boondock tons of places. www.freecampgrounds.com has a lot of resources. -
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Fri, January 26, 2007 - 12:31 PMThere are probably 100 walmarts in the phoenix area, so I'm certain some don't mind...the key I found is to go for the ones that share their parking lot with other businesses (like movie theaters or restaraunts that are open really late) 'cause everybody thinks your at one of the other places...of course I travelled by VW bus so it wasn't as big and obvious I guess.
When leaving the country I would try for a friends yard honestly. I mean if you pay for staying at one of those campgrounds or are at a free one, they shouldn't care if you are in it or not but I would hesitate at the security level because they also tend to not have people around watching your stuff or even knowing who should or shouldn't be getting into it. Try getting ahold of an All Ways Free publication (Rainbow family directory) or something if you don't know anyone with a yard. Generally the people in there will let you park to sleep and shower and stuff but most would probably also be willing to make an arraingement for while you are away.
The all time best way to find a great free/cheap spot nearby wherever you are is to go to the local park and ask the cool looking people if they know of a place. I can't tell you how many times that has led me to the most interesting and least trafficed places.
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Thu, July 19, 2007 - 9:24 AMNot anywhere in FL either, at least the last time I was there. I guess too many folks staying at Walmart outside DisneyWorld.
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Wed, June 13, 2007 - 5:58 PMCheck out couchsurfing.com, a super resource for places to stay/park/shower. Also check out lovecraft biofuels if you're in the Portland or LA areas. They do single tank veggie oil conversions for about $750 installed! I hear in LA it's a wait, but Portland seems to be able to get you right in and out in a day or less.
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Sun, June 24, 2007 - 9:52 PMOhhh, you want to spend a few days (weeks?) reading the Escapees forums.
www.escapees.com/
Also, I am verrry interested in hearing some of your stories, Maya, about traveling in the places you mentioned. How'd you get there? What did you (or do you) do for a living? (if you don't mind sharing that). I am rather "settled" , albeit in a very low-tech, Voluntary Simplicity sort of lifestyle, but would love to find the money to travel. The courage I think I have---- the money is the hard part for me. -
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Sun, June 24, 2007 - 11:29 PMHere is a more direct link to the forums. Granted, Escapees are typically "retirees" (not exactly Burning Man) but there is sooo much good info there. :)
escapees.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x -
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Mon, August 6, 2007 - 12:57 PMThanks for this link -lot's of good information here.
I'm new to this and am shopping for my first RV.
I was considering, that if all else fails, in the urban areas where I want to stay awhile for temp work I could shell out for a spot in an RV park but just found out many of them will not accept rigs older than 1987.. soo.. the stealth parking becomes required.
learning as I go...
Thanks
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Mon, August 27, 2007 - 7:01 PMRe: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Look for info on Boondocking. There are several resources for free and low cost parking. The Gyspy Journal is invaluable for stealth and out of the ordinary parking.
For work, I would encourage you to look at Workkamper News as a place to begin. There are literally thousands of jobs out there and many of them cater specifically to the full time Rv'r.
Yeah, some of the parks are "ageists" when it comes to rigs. But there are plenty of other places out there.
Army Corps of Engineers, BLM land, many casinos, and city parks are often wonderful places to sit for a day or so.
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Mon, August 27, 2007 - 6:53 PMThat has been the demographics of the club, but much is changing. We have quite a number of 40 and 50 somethings now. The BOF's (birds of a feather groups) are a great example of how some of us "younguns" are organizing around interests that are far from sitting in the rocking chair.......
We have changed the Escapade for the upcoming year. Instead of 2 events, we will only have one.........a great way to come and meet up with others who share the RV lifestyle. The event is packed full of GREAT info for the new Rv'r as well as those who are road seasoned.
Do explore the website and dont hesitate to ask questions.......we are a fun group for sure!! -
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Mon, August 27, 2007 - 6:54 PMSorry....my previous post was in reference to talk about Escapees.......or as we like to call each other, skips.......S K P's....... -
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Re: Stealth Parking and Other Advenutures in the Nomad Trade.
Sat, September 22, 2007 - 10:08 AMHere's a thought. Many building sites, including residential subdivisions are unprotected from looters at night. Has anyone thought about contacting a developer / contractor / builder type and offering to be a "night watchman" for the permission to stay there at night? It can't be illegal because job trailers are used on many construction sites. They are considered temporary buildings. You might even pick up a small salary.
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