GoneCamper minivan campers can’t be beat for stealth camping
What is “stealth” camping? I define stealth camping as spending the night in your vehicle in any place other than a camp ground or boondocking area. This means you don’t have an authorized, designated campsite. And it can also mean camping overnight on private, rural land where you don’t have specific permission. Stealth camping is typically defined as camping among the public in an area not normally associated with camping.
Note that “stealth” camping does NOT have to mean camping illegally! You are NOT overnighting in any area specifically marked: No Camping Permitted. You are not camping on property marked “No Trespassing”.
Here are some examples of locations where you might be able to park your GoneCamper minivan conversion overnight:
Boat landings
Hiking and ATV trail heads
Casino parking lots
Truck stops and highway rest areas
Truck service businesses, tires and repairs
24/7 convenience stores
24/7 restaurants
24/7 shopping centers and grocery stores, including Walmarts
Shopping malls and strip centers
Hospitals and clinic parking lots
Airport parking, including off-site parking
Parking ramps – especially the top levels!
Motel parking lots, the bigger the better
Vacant lots in office parks and business districts
Vacant lots or wooded properties out in the country, including lots with for sale signs
Elks Lodges
Church parking lots
School parking lots – especially on weekends
Car, boat and RV dealers
Rural cemeteries
Residential streets – especially near shopping and restaurants
Government buildings, like rural town halls, libraries, and volunteer fire stations
Mini storage facilities and industrial buildings after hours
Some of these locations have activity 24 hours a day, seven days a week. No one pays attention to vehicles coming and going at all hours. Because of the continual traffic, no one pays attention to your vehicle if it isn’t moving – especially if you are parked at the edges of the traffic flow, maybe near where the employees might be parking.
Busy areas will mean more noise and lights from other vehicles, including loud trucks. You will need to have good light-blocking shades and probably some ear plugs. But the advantage of these areas is that you will likely have access to food, water, and restrooms.
The places that come to mind first are truck stops and highway rest areas. The traffic never stops 24/7. Almost all permit extended parking because travelers always need a break. Truckers are required to take extended breaks – just never park your RV in an area reserved for big rigs or you might get harassed or even vandalized.
Walmart parking lots have become popular for travelers in RV’s. The lots are big and well-lighted. Many stores are open 24/7 and many have fast food restaurants inside. Very few prohibit overnight parking so you may also see semi-trucks at the back and sides of the lots. The same applies to smaller strip malls, convenience stores and restaurants close to the interstate highways. Cracker Barrel restaurants usually provide larger parking spaces for RV’s. Many fast food restaurants advertise truck and bus parking, and these vehicles often remain parked long after the business is closed for the night.
Many hospitals have specific areas for RV parking. Even those that don’t still have large parking lots with activity around the clock. The same is true of casinos. No one questions why a vehicle is parked for hours or even days. There may be an area where employees park at the far corner of the lot.
There are countless other places where you can park and “hide in plain sight”. If there are other vehicles parked in the general area, one more doesn’t cause concern for neighbors or the police.
When stealth camping, you either blend in with other vehicles or you are not visible to neighbors and passing vehicles. A long, wooded driveway leading to a vacant property is one example. A residential street full of parked cars is another example.
There are a few rules to follow when stealth camping:
Arrive late and leave early. Eat supper before arriving and eat breakfast after you drive away.
Pull straight in to a parking spot. Don’t be the only vehicle backed into the row.
Minimize all activity outside of the vehicle. Stay inside and minimize any trips away from the vehicle.
No noise or smells. That means no cooking outside and NO generators!
Carefully block any light from inside the vehicle. I would especially avoid the flicker of a TV! If you want to be really stealthy, you can paint the outside surface of the Reflectix window shades black to become almost invisible.
NEVER leave any trash. NEVER allow any fluids to leak from your vehicle!
There are also a few, common-sense precautions:
Never park where it is specifically prohibited. These areas might have security and you invite getting rousted by the police, and likely fined!
Don’t overnight in commercial areas that have lots of obvious crime problems. Dark streets and businesses with gated doors and fences topped with barbed wire mean you have no business there after dark!
Don’t try to be stealthy in an RV with slide outs! I laugh when I see RV’s with slide outs taking up multiple parking places in a Walmart parking lot. Don’t set up your grill or campground games in the parking lot. The management will ask you to leave and you may cause the lot to ban all overnight parking.
Be mentally prepared to leave if asked. In fact, be prepared to jump in the driver’s seat and drive away if you feel endangered in any way.
Never block the exit path of a semi parked in the same lot. The rest stop for the truck may end in the middle of the night and you will be sorry.
Don't become nuisance in a business parking lot!
Now why is a GoneCamper minivan conversion particularly great for stealth camping?
Is there any vehicle more generic and less threatening than a minivan? You can park a minivan anywhere and fit easily in a standard parking spot! The same cannot be said for larger vans, especially Class-B van conversions or any vehicle with an RV air conditioner on the top. Obviously, camper trailers, motor homes and truck campers are not stealthy in the least – although they still may be allowed to overnight in some business lots.
NOT stealthy!
You can even park your GoneCamper minivan in residential areas. You can blend in at a highway rest area. You can park at the edge of a 24/7 restaurant or shopping area. You can find a spot at the edge of a hospital, casino, or auto dealer lot. Or you can find a secluded spot by turning down an unpaved road just beyond the head lights of cars on the highway.
A minivan is un-noticed and non-threatening
The point is that you are just looking for a quiet place to sleep, and you should arrive after the business is closed and leave before they reopen. There are lots of businesses that won’t mind if you park overnight, especially when you make a purchase or buy a meal. Just don’t cause a disruption, block traffic or leave a mess.
The funny thing is that most people will give you the benefit of the doubt. Especially in an inconspicuous minivan, if you don’t look out of place, they will assume you have some reason to be there.
Stealth camping adds one more option to your travel arsenal. The more free camping opportunities that you can take advantage of, the sooner your GoneCamper minivan conversion will pay for itself! Why not join us on the road? We will watch for our paths to cross next time we stop at Walmart!
“Traveling Efficiently, Camping Comfortably, Living Frugally”
