It is a 2007 Toyota Prius. Good luck!

I am toying with the idea of living in my car as well, in order to pay off credit card debt.

Thanks!

Anyway, (sorry this is getting messy) so now im free! all i think about now is taking this time to pursue my dream and as i express my excitement for each day to have a new rising sun they think i have completely lost all sanity! i tell them exactly what you described in this blog and they simply cant grasp it. now i understand why it would seem rather difficult to grasp a recent accounting student switching her path as a rubbertramp but i feel we are the ones who are gaining the better value here. I believe we are moving towards a generation of not so much chance for survival but opportunity for adventure and creativity. We can step outside conformity and conservatism so much more easily than before. Why not explore and learn a few things? It took me a lot to finally do it. i imagine others cannot embrace the though due to fear

think back to childhood, would you rather have scribbled doodles in class or be encouraged to read what is necessary from your teachers. I dont believe it’s within our natural desire to be “conditioned”. I think we find answers more quickly when we have the desire to search and discover. not be told what and how to think, but use our own heads and figure it out for ourselves. I believe many who simply cannot grasp the road are either happy enjoying their lives of security or are too conditioned with their lives to understand. nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit than routine.

You could take both a sleeping bag and a duvet, and that would be my suggestion. The sleeping bag could simply be extra cushioning to sleep on below you. However, if you get a fabric/cloth sleeping bag, instead of a down one, it may feel as comfortable as a duvet.

Note: In a van, or when otherwise car-camping, you don’t need an expensive, high-tech, compact/light down/nylon bag. A cloth/fabric or otherwise bulky sleeping bag will be fine, because weight and space isn’t really an issue. And since fabric/cloth feels better against your skin than nylon, that will probably be the better option, even if you also take some sheets, as you should. (This will keep your bag clean in addition to making you more comfortable. A set of flannel sheets for cold, and jersey sheets for milder/warmer weather, might be beset.)

I have an expensive, high-tech nylon bag for hiking, but I recently got a bulky, cheaper cloth/fabric bag for car-camping and other uses. I use it as a comforter on my bed most nights. It’s rated to like 20 degrees below, is very warm, and the main problem I have with it is that it’s sometimes too warm when it’s not cold out. You may therefore want to take a lighter duvet as well for mild nights. (The cloth bag also makes a nice “featherbed” mattress cover, and is almost like a sleeping mat when camping when it’s warm out.)

Congrats and hope you’re happy after settling down.

With my ipod I go into walmart and get on the mcdonalds wifi. I don’t buy since I can use it while shopping in walmart. I put ear plugs in and call my parents through skype and to everyone else looking around it looks like I am talking on the phone. It’s a good stealth way to use wifi. This wouldn’t work with a laptop though.

Colleges also offer free wifi.

Also sometimes you can park near the place with free wifi and do your work in your car. I have been able to pick up wifi single when overnight parking in a 24 hour parking lot.

Good for you trendsetter!

1) That was a Chrystler Pacifica, which is a crossover between a minivan and a SUV. It doesn’t have as much space as a Grand Caravan and has a couple different bumps along the floor which made it necessary to raise the bed.

2) Yup. And that’s exactly what I did, using a curtain rod.

3) You could probably get a twin sized mattress in a minivan if you were willing to use up that much space. I made my bed from scratch so I had something smaller.

cheers,
andreas

I’ve always tinted my windows, and have used painters paper and tape to obscure the windows. I can make small opening in the paper to see out and no one can see in. I like the idea of a curtain at the front seats. I have used windshield blinds–like a ladies fan but bigger, and these don’t attract notice in warmer climates–I can’t find these any more. If I could find them now, I’d do it. I’m tinting my front windshield with 70% tint, 3M Crystaline. I use 3m Crystaline 40 for the back windows and this is the best tint for heat rejection. The 70% tint is almost unnoticeable, but does a great job, if you read the reviews–blocking 40% of the heat. The 40 tint I am using elsewhere blocks a whopping 60% of the heat–this is equivalent heat rejection to limo black 5% tint, but you can see out easily.

Regarding showers, I’ve found you can often sneak into state/national forests long enough to take a shower, and then leave before anyone checks for your fee. (Normally, they only collect fees in the mornings.) As long as you’re not showering in the morning or evening, you’re not interfering with anyone else’s use, and no one is likely to care.

National health club chains are a great idea. Trucker showers once a week isn’t that costly, even if you have to pay.

Finally, if you’re travelling in a beach area (California, Florida, etc.), there are often outdoor and/or indoor showers you can rinse off sand with. There’s usually no rules against using soap in such showers, even outdoors. You can use biodegradable soap/shampoo if you’re worried about that. That, along with the swimming itself, can get you pretty clean. (You can also use biodegradable soap in lakes, etc.)

If you have a van, you can also set up a reserve, deep-cycle battery, an inverter, and plug in a heating blanket inside your bag. I’m sure that would take care of you even in the worst cold. (You’re also off the ground with all wind blocked, so that makes it a lot better than camping on the ground in the cold.

My experience is from camping and road-tripping a lot. I’ve slept in the front in a newer oldsmobile, and much preferred sleeping on a mattress in the back of a hatchback Saab. Any van, I think, would be superior, because you can stretch out more in back, and you’re less visible.

I’d really like to get a newer VW Camper, as they have everything you need (2 beds, poptop for cooler sleeping, ventilation and headroom, stove, fridge, heater, storage, screened windows for ventilation, etc.) You can get VW Eurovan Campers from the mid 90′s for $15K, and VW Westfalia Vanagon campers from the later 80′s for under $10K. I’d like to try living in one of those on Hawaii for awhile, maybe with a small, secluded plot of land somewhere as a home base. I think cops respect property-owners a lot more, and you’d always have a place to safely park then. (Lots can be obtained on the big island for $10K – $20K.)

But places like California, the Northwest, Hawaii, and perhaps Florida would all be good, because you’d avoid the Cold. The heat might get a little bad in Florida in the summer, that could be avoided in Hawaii simply by seeking higher elevation.

Are you faring the AZ fires well?

The comfy chains at Starbucks are pretty appealing, though.

What a great blog! I wish I would’ve discovered this sooner. I spend long stretches of my year traveling out of my van. Internet is always a problem. For me, McDonald’s is a life saver. One is never far away, they have free internet, cheap and decent coffee and I’ve never been pestered to leave. The seats are also uncomfortable enough that they help you stay focused.

The major drawback is that many McD’s don’t have electrical outlets readily available, so you have to work fast. Sometimes the outlets are on the ceiling. My power cord reaches and I’ve never been told to not use these outlets. Along the Interstates, more and more McD’s have special internet cafe type sections with outlets.

Avoiding the dollar menu can also be problematic, so I usually sneak a snack in with me.

I like libraries too, but lately have been striking out. I don’t know if this is a new thing or if it’s just a coincidence, but the last couple libraries I’ve been to have required that you have a library card with them to use their wifi. So far, Starbucks has been the only sure thing I’ve found. Too bad I don’t like coffee and they don’t sell better food. :(

~Jessica

Larry

I’m way behind in responding to comments, but I hope you get this. What sort of questions do you have about driving around the US? Usually my main tip is to remind people that the US is REALLY big and how ever long you think it will take to get somewhere it will actually take longer. Being from Australia though, you may already understand that.

Anyway, let me know what sorts of questions you have. Maybe it’s close enough now that you already have sort of an idea where you’re going and I can give some suggestions for things to visit nearby or between other places.

~Jessica

In short, I’ve been reading up on “living in your car” b/c it’s a matter of time before I’ll have to do that myself – full-time, on my own. I have tons of questions and concerns about the arrangement and how it’s going to work out for me. I figure I’ll just keep reading blogs and stuff.

I chuckled to myself after reading that someone described your living arrangement as a “situation”. Unfortunately, I would have probably said that same stupid thing many, many years ago. But luckily I am slowly but surely moving away from the “educated fool/lackey” paradigm I used to be part of towards a “humbled spirtualist/universalist(non-theistic)” person (which I am learning to be more and more each day).

Anyway, good luck in whatever it is you want to do/achieve – I hope you become that best “person” you can and should be.

DomD.