Reinigm
Well-known member
I'd say something like a '62 VW camper bus. I used to have one, and had no problem parking it just about anywhere to sleep the night. Of course, that was the 60s. 
Which are the best stealth camping rigs?
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Why would you need to build a RV that does not look an RV? Does not add up.
SMR
Well-known member
If you do, carry a plunger and own it like Susie
I would guess it depends on where you camp. If leaving no trace behind is Stealthy camping then I have done it my whole life. Never tried camping in a neighborhood, the entire motivation to camp is to get out of the city and enjoy nature. At least that is my reason. Sneaking around trying to avoid getting caught seems exhausting.
Oldgator73
Well-known member
Who’s Hank?
Just sounds like a good name for a plumber.Who’s Hank?
Jayflight
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Not too stealth
SMR
Well-known member
I knew a plumber from Sweden named Turd Hurder.....
Octodad
Well-known member
Thank you. I was through 2 pages of responses here and it seems that most everyone assumes that "stealth camping" is an attempt to avoid legal/rules issues. The OP didn't define the term, so I guess everyone was left to interpretation, but how/why so many jumped on the idea that he was trying to break laws is beyond me.
I assumed he was just wanting to have a camper that didn't appear to be like a camper. Why? I don't know/care.
There are many examples on Youtube of people who have taken box trucks and turned them into RVs. One guy modified an old FedEx delivery truck. Another converted a step van and included the orange cones on his bumper so that it looks like a utility work truck.
I had a 1955 Ford Vanette step van that I was going to convert into a camper. Health reasons kept me from being able to do it, but I would not have broken laws or rules in using it.
Skookum
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Everyone has access to a search engine and can look up what "stealth camping" is generally about. It is literally about going camping, unnoticed.
Jayflight
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On city streets? Why? If I am looking for a general camping spot, on public streets in cities is not the place that is on my lists of campsites. I think the OP still needs to be a bit clearer on their cryptic intentions, if nothing more than for kicks.
JudyJB
Well-known member
If it were allowed, it would not need to be stealthy.
There are places that allow free or almost free camping. They are called National Forests and areas controlled by the Bureau of Land Management. The areas are marked and regulated to prevent excessive damage to the land.
However, most of the "stealth" campers are either homeless or trying to avoid high rental costs while working, so they want to camp on streets in cities and towns where it is not allowed, not in a National Forest.
Babe2201
Well-known member
So does that mean it is always illegal? I can see how it could be but not sure if it is always.
Lou Schneider
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Asking about rigs that would be inconspicuous in a large city is a pretty clear indication that someone wants to camp illegally.
Babe2201
Well-known member
After a couple more searches I see what you are talking about.
Funny thing you using a pic of a parking area specifically opened for the homeless by the city of San Francisco.This is what stealth camping looks like in my area. This is a really clean area. Most areas are covered in trash, junk and smells like on open sewer. Once they are moved out the area is full of batteries, empty propane tanks, non-running generators, bicycles and shopping carts. Just no respect for the land or the surrounding community. As people become less tolerant the RV's are replaced with the "Stealth" RV and move into residential neighborhoods. So this issue becomes my issue. My RV is in storage but when I bring it home to pack within 24 hours I get a notice to tow due to the negative attitudes towards RV's. My RV is clean and well kept but to most it is just another RV.
On Wednesday, San Francisco opened its first “vehicle triage center,” a long-term parking lot geared for people living out of cars and recreational vehicles, which City Hall hopes will offer solutions for homeless residents who rely on vehicles as shelter but have trouble securing legal parking.
The lot right by the Balboa Park BART station at 482 Geneva Avenue is only modestly sized, offering 30 parking spots, along with basic amenities like shower facilities and security.
In a week it will be a toxic dump. Soon heading your way now that California is invading Nevada.Funny thing you using a pic of a parking area specifically opened for the homeless by the city of San Francisco.
On Wednesday, San Francisco opened its first “vehicle triage center,” a long-term parking lot geared for people living out of cars and recreational vehicles, which City Hall hopes will offer solutions for homeless residents who rely on vehicles as shelter but have trouble securing legal parking.
The lot right by the Balboa Park BART station at 482 Geneva Avenue is only modestly sized, offering 30 parking spots, along with basic amenities like shower facilities and security.
The best website - forum for what you are looking for would be Van living forum and Cheap RV Living
I used to post there (or was it another one?) years ago but I decided that some of the posters were just a tad too hardcore when they advocated for people to freeze to death in the winter rather than pulling into a campground/rv park and plugging in to run an electric heater. Still, with the application of a little common sense, it's a good site for ideas (or at least it used to be).
What you want to do does involve a bit of a learning curve. Panel vans are the "stealthiest". But there simply will be times that you will find a need to pull into a campground or RV park. It could be due to the weather (too hot, too cold) or because you are ill. You need to dispose of waste water (grey & black are both illegal to just dump on the ground) and you need potable water. Some people basically live like the homeless but sleep in their "stealth camper" instead of a tent or under a bridge. Life on the streets is hard. It's also very difficult to do and still hold down a job (unless you have income coming in that does not require you to work).
I will also tell you that the Patriot Act has made living "stealthy" difficult. At some point, it may cause you problems. I have never "stealthed" but my preferred low profile lifestyle has made some things difficult. So much so that I thought about getting a passport because I was having difficulty with state and federal government agencies and my address or rather lack of one. If I were officially homeless, it would not have been a problem. Living in an RV park was a problem. And there for a while, we simply didn't have a residence because we were between "homes" and my "government approved address" mail forwarding outfit up and disappeared one day. It left a lot of us twisting in the wind. Took a bit but I did find another one that makes the bankers and the federal government happy. Just not the state government because it's in a different state.
You can do a low profile but hardcore "stealth" has gotten very difficult if you want to keep driver's licenses, insurance, etc legit. And, to do it right, getting set up isn't cheap.
And if you are living in a vehicle, then someone will recognize what you are doing. Especially if you have multiple solar panels on the roof. On the other hand, my daughter "stealthed" in a 23ft vintage Class C for almost a year. She was parking in the back yards of various friends all over a small town. She was hiding from a stalker.
If you want to keep a small footprint (and not actually stealth), I would suggest a pickup truck and a slide in truck camper (do NOT get a wood frame one). Tiny footprint. Most any mechanic will work on a pickup truck. Some parks will allow you to off-load the camper and you can drive the truck around. BUT once you invest in a used 250/2500 truck PLUS a used truck camper, you probably could have bought a used Class C. But it's easier to replace the truck than it is a whole RV if the motor or transmission craps out.
Whatever you do, good luck.
I used to post there (or was it another one?) years ago but I decided that some of the posters were just a tad too hardcore when they advocated for people to freeze to death in the winter rather than pulling into a campground/rv park and plugging in to run an electric heater. Still, with the application of a little common sense, it's a good site for ideas (or at least it used to be).
What you want to do does involve a bit of a learning curve. Panel vans are the "stealthiest". But there simply will be times that you will find a need to pull into a campground or RV park. It could be due to the weather (too hot, too cold) or because you are ill. You need to dispose of waste water (grey & black are both illegal to just dump on the ground) and you need potable water. Some people basically live like the homeless but sleep in their "stealth camper" instead of a tent or under a bridge. Life on the streets is hard. It's also very difficult to do and still hold down a job (unless you have income coming in that does not require you to work).
I will also tell you that the Patriot Act has made living "stealthy" difficult. At some point, it may cause you problems. I have never "stealthed" but my preferred low profile lifestyle has made some things difficult. So much so that I thought about getting a passport because I was having difficulty with state and federal government agencies and my address or rather lack of one. If I were officially homeless, it would not have been a problem. Living in an RV park was a problem. And there for a while, we simply didn't have a residence because we were between "homes" and my "government approved address" mail forwarding outfit up and disappeared one day. It left a lot of us twisting in the wind. Took a bit but I did find another one that makes the bankers and the federal government happy. Just not the state government because it's in a different state.
You can do a low profile but hardcore "stealth" has gotten very difficult if you want to keep driver's licenses, insurance, etc legit. And, to do it right, getting set up isn't cheap.
And if you are living in a vehicle, then someone will recognize what you are doing. Especially if you have multiple solar panels on the roof. On the other hand, my daughter "stealthed" in a 23ft vintage Class C for almost a year. She was parking in the back yards of various friends all over a small town. She was hiding from a stalker.
If you want to keep a small footprint (and not actually stealth), I would suggest a pickup truck and a slide in truck camper (do NOT get a wood frame one). Tiny footprint. Most any mechanic will work on a pickup truck. Some parks will allow you to off-load the camper and you can drive the truck around. BUT once you invest in a used 250/2500 truck PLUS a used truck camper, you probably could have bought a used Class C. But it's easier to replace the truck than it is a whole RV if the motor or transmission craps out.
Whatever you do, good luck.
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I'm seeing more and more homeless folks camping in State Parks, many of them with kids. They do like Francis McDormand in "Nomadland", only it's not stealth camping, but they do have to regularly move on. Ordinarily every 14 days or so and I assume in some cases even having to book a site in a different State Park system as some won't allow but a certain number of nights in the system during a calender year. There was a senior age man close to us in Oklahoma this week camping in a passenger van at a site with water only. He'd get up early, go to the camp shower, get dressed and drive off for the day. I gathered he was likely working a temp job somewhere close by.
You gotta do what you gotta do.
You gotta do what you gotta do.
