Van Life Diaries - CAMPING! Paid, Dispersed and Stealth

Today we explore three methods for staying nights in your van - as well as dive into WHEN each method might be necessary. 

Learning how, when and where to camp on the road is essential in happily and safely living from your van.

So let's dive into it, shall we? 

As always, we’ll also take listener questions at the end… which include: 

• What are some good camping meals? 

• Which cryptic would you bring in the. Can with you for a co/host travel buddy for an episode? 

• What's the most beautiful campsite you've been to? 

Noah and Noodles here!

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Your support fuels our passion and inspires us to keep sharing stories and discover overlooked locations.

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Transcript

Van Life Diaries - CAMPING!  Paid, Dispersed and Stealth 

Welcome to van life diaries! 

My name is Noah and it’s just, myself and my dog Noodles in my van today.

No edits. No script. 

Learning how, when and where to camp on the road is essential in happily and safely living from your van.

Today we explore three methods for staying nights in your van - as well as dive into when each method might be necessary. 

As always, we’ll also take listener questions at the end… 

I’m nursing an ice cold rainier beer after a long hike in the woods - if you’d like to join by all means, join!

And with that said, let’s hang out and get into it!

Dum dum dum 

Each method of camping from your van has advantaged and disadvantages - we’ll starts with the most well known:

Paid Camping: 

Paid camping is any site or location you pay out of pocket for  - you’ll often book a specific location with nearby amenities…

The benefits are - on the surface - fantastic - you’ll often get electricity (which means AC and a night free of worrying about your batteries condition), water to refill your tank, a dump station that would be great for cousin eddy, and showers and restrooms… 

These amenities operate on a bit of a sliding scale … 

You might pay more to have more or less at your disposal - some have work out facilities, pools, laundry mats, bars, shuttles, you name it - it can get pretty crazy …

State parks will often be your cheapest option for paid camping - hovering somewhere around 20 a night - than the sky is the limit for however much you wish to pay …

And this brings us to an obvious detractor in this camping option - the price …. 

It’s just not sustainable, especially if you’re on the road full time… it gets crazy expensive …. And I’ll let you in on a secret that took me much too long to figure out myself ….

You truly do not need any of these things … 

It’s nice to have them, but you don’t - 

You can be smart about and rely on your batteries for power, travel where the weather is best for temperature control, plan out bathroom stops, shower at planet fitness, find a laundromat … 

It comes down to this - If you opt for paying for a campsite - you’re paying not out of necessity but out of a want for ease …  

I’ll pay for a campsite maybe once every two months when I’m feeling like I need a break - but to really solely on these isn’t great 

And - another secret - they’re never as scenic as other methods of camping and are often overly crowded …

Side note - I’d consider subscription services like Harvest Host (where you pay a yearly fee to be able to stay at farms and businesses to be paid camping)  

I’d love to do an episode on that if you’ve be interested - let me know backroadodysseypod@gmail.com 

This brings us to my most widely used and preferred method of camping in my van 

Dum dum dum 

Dispersed Camping 

I’d consider despised camping any designated spot where you are allowed to camp … 

Under this definition it would be, Walmarts cracker barrels, certain rest stops but preferably on designated public land … 

Let’s start with the good things 

Dispersed camping is free, often less crowded that paid camping, more beautiful (if you now where to go) Cracker barrels are incredibly scenic but this would fall under public land … 

In opposition to parking lots, which you’ll only want to stay one night - you can set up for multiple days or even sometimes weeks at a given location … 

These are great spots - in my experience - to set up everything (your starling, food prep, camping gear,) and stop to enjoy life on the road … 

It’s so easy to get caught up in the race of needing to get to the next place where you forget to live slow and these expended stays are largely the best part about living in a van … 

It’s what makes it worth pursuing … 

Quick story, there’s often lines of dispersed camping outright of national parks and Noodles and I saw such a memorable sunset after a day of hiking at teddy Roosevelt national park in North Dakota , I had a beer, a beer, noodles had her bone, we were entirely alone in nation, the weather was perfect, it reminded me why I pursued vnalife in the first place … 

It’s easy to loose track … 

With that said, there are disadvantages, restrooms are hard to come by, so either have a solution in your van or know where you can go outside - I’ll maybe do an episode on that if you’re curious , 

Also, they’re often hard to get to … 

There’s a fact that every van life enthusiast silently knows and it’s this - the harder a sight is to get to the better it will be … 

And that’s true! You’ll have to brace roads that look like you shouldn’t be driving on them haha! 

But If you scout it out, have triple A (I’ve gotten stuck and saved 3 times), drive slowly, read reviewed of the spot, you should be good…

Side note - to find these camping locations I use an app called Compendium (not a sponsor) set the money filter to 0 dollars and see a multitude of options that Noodles and I then look into … 

Much more reliable than our third option -

Dum dum dum 

Stealth Camping 

Stealth camping is just that, stealthily camping … 

Often in places that you probably shouldn’t be spending the night - but if you’re smart, respectful and yes, stealthy about it … it can be a great way to explore cities - which is where you’ll most often have to stealth camp … 

I’ve stealth camped in, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, New Orleans, San Antonio and more - here’s the up sides ,,, 

If you’d like to explore a city and not have to drive a ways after a long night, it’s fantastic to be able to walk back to your van. It is a great way to meet up with friends and dive into what makes a cool … 

As a rule, downtown/downtown areas are generally off limits, I’ve gotten away with a couple parking lots downtown but it’s heavily enforced and not worth it, and in my opinion, great areas in cities are outside downtown as well - so start there… 

First off, look at signs displaying parking regulations, if you find a street that has no permits or regulations then make sure your parked respectfully, you don’t want to pull up right in front of someones house … 

I hate to say it, but it probably will be hard to find an entirely flat parking space with these perimeters … be prepared to sleep at an angle haha 

When you park, get you’re reflectors on the windows, close your shades and go for a walk … stretch your legs, scout out the area for a bit, do what you’ll like to do and when you’re ready to head back, go into your van and use as few lights as possible, don’t make much noise - it should look like you’re still gone, sleep and then get out early … 

It sounds like I’m giving illegal advice but It really just comes down to being kind and respectful to the people that live around where you parked … 

In a pinch, this can be a great way to experience cities … 

Situations on the road are in a constant flux, you might have to stealth camp, look for dispersed camping or pay depending on your current situation … 

It’s helpful, to know the advantage and disadvantages of all  … 

With that said, let’s get to listener questions: 

 Dum dum dum 

Favorite camping meals please!! 

Which cryptic would you bring in the. Can with you for a co/host travel buddy for an episode? 

Do you have any funny stories about your travel journeys? 

What’s the most beautiful place you’re camped at?