Does anyone actual live out of their vehicle?

upcountry

Explorer
I'm loving this thread. Thanks to all for making me laugh out loud at work pissing off my clueless coworkers who have no idea what's its lkke to live on the margins of society and be free from all that is urban living.
 

Dirty_Jeeper

Adventurer
There is a lady in Utah living full time in her Prius, a young lady here in the east attending college full time who lives in her Jetta. So by comparison some of our rigs are over sized and luxurious. It's a matter of what really matters! I spent years eliminating debt and material possessions to live a little more free lifestyle. It really does open your eyes to how tied we are to material items in this society. I was able to move from California to New Jersey last summer with everything loaded in and on my XJ. This included my dog and my girlfriend with her luggage. Now I'm preparing a trailer (an XJ being re-purposed) to tow behind it for when my girlfriend retires soon and we can take to the road and travel and live a simple life. We all feel we "need" so much. The so called "American Dream". But when in reality we need very little. We are still undecided as to relocating west full or part time, but we will "live" in, or is it "out of" our rig for a considerable time.
 

Stick Figure

Observer
I am in the process of moving from southern to northern california, and have spent the last week "homeless" up north.

Step one was a fridge freezer for the 4runner, while it was expensive, being able to spend less than $50 for more than a weeks worth of food (that i know is good and that i will actually like to eat) has been great. For 4 of the 5 nights I was in hotel rooms, usually whatever priceline could do a decent deal on. Most of these places were no where near what I would expect for the $60 a night average.

The one night I gave up and slept in the 4runner wasn't terrible, but the two biggest problems I had were where to park, and staying warm. If you work with in a reasonable driving distance of a camping area that problem is solved. I'm working in downtown San Jose, and believe it or not silicon valley is not known for its camp sites! I spent too much time trying to find somewhere semi private that i wouldn't get kicked out of in the middle of the night. With the temps in the 30deg range at night, and me only having limited blankets with me, it became a bit chilly. Since the 4runner has a remote start, when I would wake up because of the cold, I would hit that and let it run for its 15min time frame as I fell back asleep. Depending on your insulation and cold tolerance, you may not get much sleep. I think I averaged about 2hrs between wake ups.

As far as clean up, I had a couple of gallons of water on board just in case and was able to clean up in the morning at work. I didn't worry about a full shower since it was one day, I am allowed to wear hats and such. Of course the gym membership sounds like a great option, but it does give you one more stop in the morning and another potential problem with finding some where to park if your gym and work aren't close to each other.

Personally I think this lifestyle wouldn't be bad at all if you were vacationing/exploring, for everyday work routine its doable but not efficient or always comfortable.

I'm going back up again next week for another round of this lifestyle, wish me luck!
 

Runt

Adventurer
It can be done in a Tacoma. I found the most important thing to be how you organize your small space and how you condition yourself. I.e. short hair, good physical condition & most importantly attitude. Another big factor for me was where I was parked. I typically spend time in my camper to sleep or when the bugs or weather is harsh. To be camping near a lake or river where I can do some fly fishing is important to me. No dress code except for safety gear (hard hat, high vis.). Hair is cut short so thats easy. Far as shower cleanliness when in the middle of no where I use a pop up privacy shelter, porta podi, hot jugz for a very quick shower. When close to civilization I seek out rec. centers to have a shower and use the gym or pool and truck stops to shower as well. I have from time to time used camp grounds as well that have shower facilities. My reason for living this way is work related. After 10 to 20 days I go back to the wife & kids and the not so urban life (live out of town on acerage) every time. I can live as a vagabond forever but I can not be away from the family longer then that with out feeling extremely guilty. My wife & kids come out in the Cruiser to where ever I'm working in the warmer months and we camp together. Do it but do not underestimate human contact family & friends etc. etc.
 
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dodgexped

New member
I lived out of short bed dodge dakota for four months, while I guided in CO. It takes some getting used to sleeping in the 5.5 foot bed, but man I would do it again in heart beat. Before I left for trips I would just hit the Leadville hostel for a shower so I didn't meet the clients looking like I lived in my truck. Two of my co workers were also rocking the car homes, one in a CRV and on in a saturn.
 

juicifer

New member
I lived out of short bed dodge dakota for four months, while I guided in CO. It takes some getting used to sleeping in the 5.5 foot bed, but man I would do it again in heart beat. Before I left for trips I would just hit the Leadville hostel for a shower so I didn't meet the clients looking like I lived in my truck. Two of my co workers were also rocking the car homes, one in a CRV and on in a saturn.

What were you guiding in Leadville?

One of my concerns being in Denver is my water freezing at night during this time of the year. Also, I can't seem to find a way to dry my laundary during the winter.
 

Okki

Observer
I didn't read through the whole thread, but at least in the first page, everyone seemed to assume a rural environment. If you live in/near a city, getting a gym membership will give you access to shower facilities and if you work out in the morning before heading to work, that takes care of overall bodily hygiene. Also, being in close proximity to restaurants/coffee shops gives you access to fresh warm meals and warm "hangout" locations depending on the type of restaurant/cafe. Public library's are a good warm up/hang out spot as well. Laundromat will let you do your laundry and dry it once a week.

I've not done it personally, but a relative lived out of his Ford Explorer in that fashion for quite a while when he was unemployed. He used a P.O. box to get his mail and a cellphone for email access.

Okki
 

mcgall83001

New member
I have a bit of experience in this area. I would guesstimate that I've spent close to two years living in the back of various vehicles (suburban, Bronco, Van no RV's).


If your in a urban area and just looking to save money my opinion is that it's not worth it. Find a couple of buddies and rent a crappy apt. Craigslist has rooms for rent in every city in America. You can probably just about break even and enjoy a healthier diet and social life. If your wanting to do this for some type of self discovery it may be the best thing you have ever done....or a nightmare. But you'll learn something about yourself either way.

In a rural area with plenty of public land nearby, I say go for it. This is where I experienced the most freedom. Your in tune with nature and will experience things you would usually only find on a long backpacking trip. I watched more sunsets, sunrises, full moons during that time than at any other time in my life. I used to have a fox that would come right in my camp and just sit and watch the sunset with me. A few minutes later I would look over and he would be gone. I tried to avoid too much in the way of electronic distractions but a laptop to watch a movie and a cell phone to chat with family and your golden.

A lot of people seem to be worried about bathrooms and hygiene. During the summer I never had any problems. Join the gym, jump in the river/lake/pond, stay clean cut, laundromats are cheap and plentiful, every gas station has a bathroom (improvise, adapt, overcome). Winter is a little harder. Between condensation and tracking in snow, wet rain-gear etc it's hard to keep things dry. You have to stay vigilant or things will go south quickly. Your best bet here is to get a girlfriend with her own place and a washer and dryer.

Speaking of girlfriends. When your 25 and living this lifestyle your adventurous, when 35 your eclectic, by 45 your just down right creepy.

For equipment I used an old-fashioned Coleman cooler/footstool/table, camp chair, backpacking stove and a Styrofoam pad to sleep on. Other than that I had a little charged that goes into the cigaret lighter (get the one with the fan) to keep cell phone and laptop charged.

Someone mentioned cheapgreenvliving.com. The author has some good information. When I first moved into my Bronco I sold or gave away almost everything. The stuff I could not bear to part with I put in storage. Came back a few months later and could not understand why I had kept so much crap. You don't need much.
 
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Stick Figure

Observer
So while i'm not living in my vehicle I have definitely been living out of it. After two weeks its getting a bit filthy inside ... so do I take it in for a detail, or hire a maid at this point? :sombrero:
 

Every Miles A Memory

Expedition Leader
I'm sure Pat will chime in on this thread at some point, but until then this might be of interest to those who have a similar mind set.

http://www.everymilesamemory.com/

I dont know if what we did could be called living out of a vehicle, or at least to the both of us, it's still where we want to be, but had to go back to work for a few years to save up more money.

We lived out of a 25' Travel Trailer for 4 years while we roamed North America. The first few months was somewhat of a shock simply because we were both used to having a back yard to tend to, a big barn to work on the truck or camper when it needed something and all those luxuries you take for granted. But after a few months, you learn that having ANYWHERE you want as your back yard is a big trade off.

Once you get used to it, there is no way you can go back to what we've become accustomed to as a 'Normal Life' what ever that is these days.

If you're thinking about it and dont have anything tying you down, read through our website and the countless others out there and jump in. We needed a camper because like many have stated, living for any length of time without a hot shower and a real kitchen to work out of is pretty hard core. The camper made it like a really comfortable studio apartment with wheels.

The 4x4 truck and motorcycle was just icing on the cake
 

Hill Bill E.

Oath Keeper
I spent 7 months living out of a 56 ton tank retriever with 2 other soldiers, but that's a different story.:elkgrin:

Did have the Army delivering 2 meals a day, when possible. Showers? I think I had maybe 10 showers in those 7 months-most of them during the last 3 weeks.

Other than that, it was unscented baby wipes to clean up:Wow1:

I have spent two weeks living out of my XJ, and many 7-12 day trips with my CJ and M416 w/RTT.

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and look forward to my annual trips out west.

For work, I often lived out of my truck for a week+, until I got the first paycheck and could find a motel. (Pipefitter, on the road a lot)

Some places, the hotel costs were crazy! So I would usually find a campground so I had shower and laundry facilities, but still slept in the truck.

For my XJ, I made a sleeping platform, with storage underneath. This allowed me to keep most of my gear inside while sleeping.

I did have to slide the cooler, grub box and camp chair under the rig, or stow it on the roof. But I had plaenty of room for just me and my gear.

IMG_20110409_132908.jpg


Filler pieces behind the driver seat, gave me over 7' of room to stretch (diagonally)

IMG_20110413_153727.jpg
 

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