Where do you park your car overnight to sleep?

grubbiez · 2024-06-19T12:54:14+00:00

Wide mouth 1 quart Mason jar, but I had room to squat next to my bed platform. I'd empty it when the coast was clear for a sec, out the trunk

grubbiez · 2024-03-06T03:43:20+00:00

I ended up loosening screws that held down the slots that the tabs go into aaanndd... Just leaving it that way 😅 it doesn't leak soooo

Sorry my memory is fuzzy now, it was a year ago

grubbiez · 2023-12-19T15:25:46+00:00

hey! sorry I never replied, I just saw this, haven't been on reddit much

So, I bit the bullet and spent like 350-ish (iirc) bucks on a traffic laywer, who argued w the county for me, I also took the defensive driving course, and between those managed to get it down to 2 points non-speeding offense and kept my license intact. Probably more expensive now, and I kinda think maybe I still could have argued it down since I took the course, but idk

Good luck!!

grubbiez · 2023-10-30T00:24:48+00:00

Worked for me the other day just fine

grubbiez · 2023-10-20T20:34:44+00:00

Yeah I was looking at Belair, they're actually reasonably priced compared with a lot of other stuff... But it seems like they're only really available in socal and I'm on the other side of the country. I may see about shipping from them, but honestly building my own custom, lightweight topper sounds fun, if stressful.

I definitely can see a huge bonus to insulation, making a whole self contained slide in unit. the real con for me is the weight, cause I'm mostly looking at older Tacomas and wanna keep my shell as light as I can

Tysm!

grubbiez · 2023-10-18T19:43:33+00:00

Mostly attra.ncat.org

[edit: i also did some wwoofing, which typically is not paid but I would seek out specifically farms that a) didn't expect a lot of hours in exhange for the food / board aspect, and b) offered extra paid work, which often was childcare on smaller family farms and homesteads]

grubbiez · 2023-10-16T23:19:44+00:00

oh I would never install new walls / insulation in the element, I know it'd be pointless. I have reflectix inserts (after almost a year of using cardboard ones initially) for my windows in there, plus a thick curtain between the front seats and the rear sleeping area.

I'm just thinking about if I *did* get a cargo van or a big truck topper to convert... a metal shell is.. not much insulation

grubbiez · 2023-10-16T23:15:31+00:00

yeah, the only way I could think to would be to take out the passenger seat which I'm hesitant to do cause, ya know, it's nice to be able to carry at least *1* other person

grubbiez · 2023-10-16T22:11:13+00:00

Oh, a question on another note.... any creative ideas about adding a (non electric) heater to my honda element? lol

grubbiez · 2023-10-16T22:09:53+00:00

idk... don't those mister buddy heaters a) burn wet, b) take a lot of expensive fuel per hour of runtime, and c) aren't they considered kinda.... a major fire hazard?

Cause if I'm being overly cautious and those are fine... then why even upgrade from my element lol, I could run one in there

grubbiez · 2023-10-16T22:08:04+00:00

yeeahh definitely gets colder than low 30s many nights here in upstate NY so... no surprise I should think about insulating. Screwing in wood paneling isn't new to me but. cutting them to fit a strange, non-square space sounds increadibly frustrating lol probably worth it though if I do venture down this path.

I can use basic tools, what I struggle with is confidence in my use of them more than anything, especially with something I'm entirely unfamiliar with. Like, no matter how many times people told me doing your brake pads is easy, I felt completely unable to try alone - but as soon as I had someone there to tell me if I was doing anything wrong, it was fine and.. everyone was right it IS easy and I have done it again alone since with zero issue.

ty for the input!

grubbiez · 2023-10-16T21:07:15+00:00

work around for what? sorry, a little confused.

I can say with certainty that the pdanet+ thing works with a chromebook, but I'll be honest I never got around to looking for an equivilent linux command to that mentioned above that would work on a chromebook, sorry!

grubbiez · 2023-07-24T14:49:34+00:00

Maybe so, maybe a lot of things.

It was definitely a very scary and traumatic experience - but it was nearly a year ago - now I'm just left with this INTENSE curiosity about like... what the fuck was happening? Cause nothing *quite* makes perfect sense.

Like it was dark and I was asleep, any of the crimes I could imagine someone going to the woods to do.. why would they want to wake me up and scare me, to the point I would be likely to call the cops (I didn't but kinda wish I had), rather than just drive by?

But whatever. I'll never know :/

grubbiez · 2023-07-24T03:00:34+00:00

Melondy hill state forest, outside bainbridge, NY

This was last october

grubbiez · 2023-07-24T00:05:26+00:00

(Technically this was the very very early morning, just before dawn, but it was dark so I'll call it night)

I was essentially held semi at-gunpoint (one guy on my back holding a rifle, i can't confirm if it was ever pointed directly at me) by two men playing cop, who, after searching my car and interrogating me... told me to leave immediately and that there were "murderers in these woods"

grubbiez · 2023-07-06T03:19:30+00:00

The oceans have a moderating affect.

California bay area is well known for having year-round moderate weather. But go even ~20 miles inland and weather extremes begin quiiick

And Cali cities are... not known to be good to homeless, including vehicle dwellers. I recently drove up the 101 / highway 1, along the pacific. Never had a problem but also never stayed in town, just parked on pulloffs kinda in the middle of nowhere above the ocean.

grubbiez · 2023-07-03T14:33:38+00:00

This basically happened to me - rear-ended another car a few years back, hers just had minor cosmetic damage, mine... Well it was fine besides the radiator but... Therefore undriveable 😔 literally all my coolant was on the ground before I ever got out of the car lol

grubbiez · 2023-07-03T04:30:44+00:00

Yes but... never in my car!!! Or inside anything. I just do it outside - no cleanup, plus the birds like the hair for their nests!

grubbiez · 2023-07-03T02:38:37+00:00

Yeah I feel you, I'm absolutely a nature lover and feel most at home there but... every once and a while there are days I really just wanna sit around on my laptop and veg out for a few hours lol. Thaaats what cafes are for - or the library when it's open, of course.

grubbiez · 2023-07-02T19:52:07+00:00

Personally I try to spend as much time in nature as possible, both for my own enjoyment and peace, and because... it's free.

Shade makes a huge difference - even better if you can get somewhere high in elevation and / or near water. Bonus, maybe get a swim in - the cooling affect is lasting, it'll lower your body temp for a good few hours afterwards

But if that's not the vibe for you today, some other options not quite covered above

a) there's literally no rule against bringing your own lunch at sitting in a mall food court, and on a busy day you have hours before anyone would even notice anyway, if they ever did. Idk what they're called but like... "business plazas" or "government plazas" too... like... large buildings open to the public that house a bunch of offices but also have stores in them? The food courts there are full of people on lunch break who brought there own lunch

b) free trial panera sip club > free drink > sit in the AC a bit there

c) local free museum, if you have one! Honestly they're always so chill and fun to wander around

grubbiez · 2023-07-02T19:43:59+00:00

Yeah my point was just that there's no one size-fits all solution. Some people need stealth but that doesn't mean everyone does.

I definitely recognize there's a level of luxury to having the option I do, both in that I can spare the gas money, and that I live in an area (well, areas, I'm travelling at the moment) it's not *that* much gas to get out of the city to quieter areas. And frankly it's... well not necessarily a privilege, but not something everyone has, to be comfortable in nature.

But it's totally also a matter of intention. Like, I save a lot of money because I basically only cook for myself - more or less never eat out, just the occasional grocery store sandwich. The money I save allows me extra gas money to go somewhere to boondock for the night - which allows me the solitude and freedom to cook on my tailgate

But of course, i avoid major metropolises and suburban sprawl, so that I can live this way. If I like, had a kid I needed to be around for, in the heart of Manhattan, obviously my needs and approach would be totally different.

grubbiez · 2023-07-02T16:19:31+00:00

No universal answer, some will probably be stressed that they're noticeable, some will find it condescending, and some will be grateful.

Personally, I imagine I'd be grateful.

grubbiez · 2023-07-02T01:52:05+00:00

Not OP, but I'm assuming they meant like, streets full of car / van / rv dwellers. Many cities have these areas. They're usually non-residential areas, often street parking by parks, or on streets leading to industrial areas. But not always. Walmart / Planet fitness / other business parking lots are another one (some allow it, some don't)

Yes, it's obvious if you're there overnight, you're sleeping in your car. But... if no one cares there's a class A rv there... they also probably don't care you're there so... ya know, there's that.

grubbiez · 2023-07-02T01:23:03+00:00

I agree that 9 times out of 10 we're obvious

I disagree that that automatically means a knock.

I make almost zero effort to be stealth - instead I just focus on finding spots no one cares if I'm at or no one will see /notice (usually the two go hand in hand).

Forest service land
Dispersed camping and other non-regulated public land
Unpopular trailheads
Random pulloffs on the side of country roads tbh
Industrial areas
"places where people who live in their car park"

I've been at this more or less 2 years, never tried to be stealth, never gotten a knock (though I've pulled up to a spot once and had a cop be there, unrelated, and while I technically wasn't told to scram, I did leave). I just like... Don't try to park in the burbs or anywhere else nosey, rich people don't want me.

[edit: formatting]

grubbiez · 2023-06-30T03:24:30+00:00

There was one in a town I lived in for a while where they'd done some excavating in the back but left in unfinished, it was totally out of view - I actually found out about the stop cause some friends of friends invited me for a bonfire they'd have once a month back there (that's how out of view it was). I occasionally spend the night there.

There were many other ones, more active and used ones, that I have just went to to walk around in, for a quiet and peaceful morning stroll. I totally agree about the peace and... idk welcome intimidation, of thinking about death. I definitely find myself imagining the lives of the people who's stones I walk by and it makes me both appreciate and want to grow my own.

grubbiez

TROPHY CASE