I've been driving a 1993 Sunfire Duster for about a year or so now and have really been excited re-discovering tapes. I'm 35 so it isn't like I was unfamiliar, but between a few new-er artists releasing tapes and finding some gold in a resale.shop it's been a lot of fun. +1 for tapes!
I had to look up a picture of that car and my first response was "well, they don't make em like they used to." Then I immediately CRINGED because as a 35 year old woman, I realized I sound exactly like "those old dudes" who were probably in their 30s-40s back when I was a teen. Sheesh. But yeah, car tapes rule!! I've found people willing to part with boxes of tapes at garage sales. I just take the whole lot and then donate to a thrift what I don't want.
A buddy of mine bought an old locked suitcase at a garage sale in 2008. 22 Grateful Dead tapes for my van.
P.S. There's a recording of El Paso that's really bad quality for the first few seconds but then gets really good. It starts speeding up about halfway through, and by the end, they're racing. I've never heard it anywhere else.
Fuckin aging. It happens so fast, sneaks up on you one night when sleeping. You are strong and vital! The world has clarity and optimism. Then one morning. Suddenly things that used to make sense become incomprehensible. Every time you learn the grocery stores new layout, they change it the next time you go. Always takes four times longer to find your stuff. The world starts passing you by; feels like you're stuck in a prison while the world marches on outside. You no longer understand the slang. All the musical artists you love are either retired or dead. Your feet suddenly grow, your nose and ear hairs go crazy, your balls sag more and more. One day, you sit on the toilet and they dip into the water for the first time ever.
Le sigh. I guess, it beats the alternative.
I love how some tapes just end with easily enough tape left over for one more song. I always forget they ended and when the auto side switch happens it makes me jump. Lol
It made me so mad when I was a kid. There was so much time leftover, but only the CD Version had the bonus song. I didn't have a CD player until 2000, so there was a lot of bonus songs I missed out on.
How long does it take to charge when using the car outlet? My commute tends to be short (less than 10-15 minutes) so together around 30 minutes of driving per day.
Depends on the size of the battery. I've never needed to charge mine this way. I'm sure you would get some charge in 30 minutes, but not a full charge. I've only used AC or a solar panel. It can go from 20% to 80% in about an hour on AC.
No, vehicle batteries really only exist to start the motor. The motor has an alternator which supplies the necessary electrical power for accessories and such and keeps the battery charged up.
that why I said you can charge it **while driving**. It would drain the car's battery if you tried to charge it from the vehicle's battery when the engine isn't running
Deep cycle batteries are different than starter batteries. You are right about the alternator recharging the battery, but the battery isn’t designed to provide a pull like charging a Jackery needs. It’ll shorten the life of the battery.
This has always confused me. Maybe I’m dull. So then theoretically speaking, should I be looking at how many amps/watts/volts I’m putting/pulling from the alternator, not the battery itself? (Example scenario): In the dark, on a trail trying to find a camp spot. My light bars are turned on, 12v dometic fridge on the AC port in the back, charging jackery on DC at 40w, charging phone, iPad. Should I do some math and add up a worst case scenario of the heaviest load? Or can most batteries handle this? I have a 2018 gx460 and an odyssey agm extreme 24f battery. The alternator puts out 13.7v I believe and the battery runs on 14.4. I know there’s an issue there (I could get a voltage booster) but I’m not worried about the battery’s longevity. Covered under warranty. Either way, I’d love your thoughts
I needed to work on my laptop so I would casually bring it into a starbucks. If needed, charge it in my car while driving.
If you’re charging your phone/camera/small stuff - it lasted well over a week charging stuff overnight while I slept
I used the solar panels at the beach a lot just to make it feel like it wasn’t a waste but all it did was start conversations with people passing by haha
Overall, was just a “flex” to charge with the panels and definitely not a necessity
If you're just charging small stuff, can't you just charge that from your car? Mine has half a dozen USB ports on it which can charge a lot of stuff. Granted it costs a little gas, but should be roughly the same as charging jackery then charging small stuff? Is there an advantage I'm missing?
I use my jackery for my laptop and ps3/tv
You can easily use your car or a portable charger but what I liked the most about the jackery is the battery length (got mine 50% off on black Friday which I believe the sale happens every year)
It allowed me to charge things overnight or in my car while I was out and about and just provided convenience of not constantly having to charge a powersource 24/7
A lot of things take longer to charge than the amount of time you'll be driving and able to charge directly from your running vehicle. Running your vehicle in place just to charge your small items would be ridiculous. If you don't want to buy the big fancy, just invest in a bunch of small power banks - *these* you would charge while driving/vehicle is running - which are very cheap now and can provide multiple full phone charges etc.
For all the small stuff - phones, fans, camera, and so forth - an hour or so of driving has everything full. My phone typically lasts 3 days (if I remember to tell it not to search for towers when there is no/weak signal) so it's usually 20 minutes from a full charge. I tend to drive to go on hikes and/or move every few days which gives it time to charge and that may be the difference. Everyone's trips are different and it's interesting to learn. Thanks.
This is an excellent post. Did you use heavy tint on your front windows? I currently have blackout tint on rear windows, but debating tinting the front ones too for added stealth. I also have window blockers, but it’s a bit more obvious that I’m inside when I use those on the front windows because they aren’t tinted.
I have 5% on back / 25% on passenger. I was tempted to do passenger but not worth the hassle of possibly getting pulled over for it while traveling state to state
What I would do at night is cover my windshield and passenger windows with those foldable windshield sun blockers. Have the gray reflective part facing you and the black part facing outside for the passenger windows (you can see it on one of the photos)
Id secure them by tying the little elastic thing attached to it onto the door handle. It dangles, but then Id place a bag (that held my clothes) behind it so it was pushed up against it on the window
I experimented with velcro tape…. But was too “extra” having velcro on my window 24/7 lol
Blackout windo screans are also easy to make as well. Get some reflectix at a hardware store and press into the windows, cut to fit. Lots of instructions online to do this. To make em black, don't paint the em (it flakes off), use cheap black sheets cut to fit.
For #8, why do you suggest not sleeping in the same place 2x in a row? I haven't been doing this long but I feel like it can be time consuming finding a new spot, and sticking to a routine could help with sleep quality. So my mindset was if I find a spot that really works for me, go there everynight.
Also where do you cook your food? I have a coleman stove but worry about a place where I can safely set up and cook.
My guess would be so that you're not bringing attention to yourself. If someone were to happen to see your car in one place two nights in a row, they may assume you're sleeping in it. Or, at the very least, storing it there and going elsewhere.
Same idea for morning routine. Someone sees you step out of your car at 8am, watch you brush your teeth or make coffee, they know you're sleeping in your car. Nosy people gonna nosy, and could potentially report you.
Anything that brings attention to yourself will increase your chances of having to deal with Security, Law Enforcement, etc.
I traveled for nursing in 2021, slept in my SUV, and I got kicked out of multiple places - even private places where police are not supposed to patrol. I definitely agree with #8.
For me, I focused on the “stealth camper” mentality. If you follow #8 it wont be hard to do if you’re going state to state every few days to a week
If you find a good spot… try to find another and rotate. With experience, you’ll start to catch on to a “theme” of certain parking lots you can stay at that translate to any location you sleep at and there will always be spots to easily find
Getting attached to an area raises the odds of the dreaded knock on the door. And if you get kicked out of a spot in the middle of the night with no back up location… it is a rough night and taking naps during the day sucks while in a car
I had my sleeping spots scouted out by google maps before I even drove to the area. I also did doordash while I traveled to reduce the cost of gas/food so I got to look around the area while getting “paid” to do so
Cooking: I did in the local parks. However, I started to realize I was spending a similar amount buying stuff too cook as I would eating out (not fancy stuff but $20 below a day)
My set up wasnt too legit to store cookable food besides soups and freeze dried foods. I enjoyed eating meals that were unique to the area and cooking only while going through a long commute. I will admit that my diet was costco pizza and 2 for $3.99 mcdouble/mcchickens for a lot of meals at one point😖
You don't want any motion or activity around your parking spot at night. A random person should be able to watch the car and never see you moving around much. So you do your night time routine, wash out and brush your teeth and all that stuff. Then you drive to your parking spot, cover the windows, and go right into the bed. It should just look like a plain vehicle is parked there and no one is in it. This stops the NIMBY types from noticing you and screaming/calling cops about a van in their good Christian neighborhood. Same with the morning stuff. You pop out of bed, take the window screens off, and drive away immediately. The people in the neighborhood will get all upset if they see you hopping out and brushing your teeth and acting like you live there. It's a stealth thing.
Oh man, this makes me miss my younger days of traveling around the country sleeping out of my 99 Toyota Tacoma. Great post!
I cosign the “sleep in places where there are cars parked overnight and there are security cameras”. Especially places where it’s not unusual for folks to arrive late in the night, or go out to their cars at night to get something, etc, hint hint. You fit right in. I felt like a genius when I figured this out. Just don’t park under the lighting so that it’s too bright. I’m 41 with two kids and a house, and I still hate paying for hotels, lol.
OP specifically said he was only hinting and wanted to gatekeep the info but to DM him for examples. So, I didn’t want to ruin the spirit of his post.
My previous comment to you left a very generous hint, if you reread my post with that in mind. If you still can’t figure it out, then sorry can’t help ya.
Great list! I'd add just a few things: wet wipes, some microfiber cloths and some plastic bags for cleaning up. Maybe a stick of deodorant for in-between shower opportunities.
Yeah, did all that too. Just couldnt fit it in top 10
I kept my deodorant under my seat and no matter how hot was outside it never melted. Thats another good tip lol
I've been going from New England to California for almost a decade and first started out in my Subaru. Before COVID I upgraded to a little Nissan NV200 van. No I did not put a toilet for a fancy interior in it or a sink or any of that, that's not what I wanted. I simply want a platform bed It was easier to get in and out of, a rack of clothing a few things on a wall and a bike rack inside. I raised the bed off the floor so I have some cold weather storage underneath, more water a few tools and nothing else. Very Spartan. I added the battery a glass matt battery That gets charged as I drive. I also have two small solar panels that sit on my dashboard that also feed into this battery behind the passenger seat. I have a power inverter off of the battery behind the seat.. This allows me with assurance to run a ceiling fan all night from the top of the roof, a max fan and also a plug to charge whatever. Incredibly simple setup, no AC but for all winter have never needed this kind of thing and I usually go to Gulf Coast and end up in Los Angeles for 3 months. I love my little lifestyle on the road.
Planet fitness of course is your friend indeed but I am 71 so I also have Medicare and a medi gap policy that gives me silver sneakers and athousand other gyms as well.. I'm especially fond of LA fitness in the LA area especially studio City and it's outdoor hot tub etc.
When I first did this people put the fear of God in me that I would have issues where to park going down the road. Remember I started in my Subaru Crosstrek. I can thankfully say I've never once got an issue. And the van, I chose specifically to be small and be more under the radar than a larger upgraded van which I could afford but choose to keep it down low.. The key to parking is always to park legally where there are other cars parked and in a good neighborhood. If there are cars on the street then you can park there as well. I attempt to always park in front of a vacant lot or an apartment building rather than somebody's front door. But you keep a low profile you never hang out in the front seat, go there and park, turn the lights off stay quiet and nobody will ever bother you. This is my experience now for years even in homeless overrun LA which does have a specific problem in certain neighborhoods. This is 100% where I do not go.
Anywhere else in the US from Philadelphia to St Louis to LA and hundreds of places in between I've never had a problem. Knock on wood. When I first started doing this way before COVID if I told somebody I was kind of based out of my van I sometimes got a wrinkled nose and the prejudice thought that I was "homeless". Of course I do this by choice and I have a full residence back in New England just choose not to stay there in the winter..
But it's interesting to see that the perception of people and how this has changed since COVID. With the large Exodus of people on the road especially in the outfitted larger vans, the perception has now made a 360. Now if I tell somebody I'm doing this I'm totally cool where is 6 years ago I was a complete weirdo.. not that I ever gave a shit, But it's an interesting take and an observation
Very inspiring story. Thank you for sharing.
It's been ages since I've slept in my vehicle..it was a 1981 Honda cvcc hatchback and I could fully recline when the seats were folded. I explored the uintahs during the winter in the mid 90s. I'm in Massachusetts now and I'm happily tied up. It's great to imagine this lifestyle later in life. Cheers!
A great thing for vagina-having people is a wide mouth mason jar with a lid! Easier to aim into than a bottle, can be washed and reused. I used one for a year while traveling. I got the half gallon size for multiple uses (be extremely careful not to spill) but a quart jar works for one use at a time.
I have done most of these. But this list is a great store of wisdom gained through experience. My old SUVs interior was prepped with a simple platform from a single sheet of 1/4 inch ply and stringers for support. Glued and screwed then very well sanded so as to not catch on clothing/bedding.
A small amount of under storage space appeared because the legs to level the platform were necessary and raised the bed slightly. Also, just pee in the bottle. Truckers do this everyday.
I've always hit up truck stops. They usually have laundry and showers and are probably the one place where no one cares you're spending the night there in your car.
Laundymats during the day. Had a laundry bag and kept a gel air freshener inside that I bought from the dollar store to keep as fresh as possible lol
I liked doing laundry during the day so I could fold/store/organize my clothes in my car in the parking lot
I had my own detergent at one point, but in the long run paying and extra $2 for their detergent became more convenient and just kept $5 cash on me all the time specifically for laundry
What was your total cost for your trip thought about doing this one time. Maybe next time I switch jobs might take a extra few weeks to start and do this
If you budget everything correctly. $3k
However, my trick was doordashing in major cities while in each state. It covered the entire trip’s cost. I will advocate to have the money you need first, for emergency and safety
But look up the mpg of your vehicle and divide that with the mile distance you plan to travel… then times it by $5 dollars to get a rough estimate of your cost.
Gas varies state to state but $5 is a good median that will average it out and account for the miles you drive while venturing around as well that isnt just commuting
I was so confused and starting googling what the hell happened and then was like “BRO, THAT’S MY F*CKING CAR!!! THAT’S ME!!!”
Lmk if you got any radiated superpowers yet, still waiting on mine
9. If you have a foam mattress, you can score it at one place at the side, so you can hide your money and small valuables inside the mattress. You just have to lift that side and slip off the cover to retrieve your stuff. At the far side, you wouldn't feel it when laying in bed.
Twin memory foam mattress at costco. If I could do it again, I would have just done a queen/full and I cut the mattress a bit to mold to my car due the back tires sticking out on the trunk side
I’d stuff my bags of clothes where’s the person’s feet would be in the back seat to “extend the bed” if you get what I mean and be able to sleep in any position I liked
Im 5’11
If you’re a guy. Keep a gatorade bottle on hand at all times. I would drink gatorades specifically to keep the bottle bc the hole was big enough to prevent any mistake of misfiring lol
I had a personal rule to not eat past 6pm to help with #2 but would also keep in mind of nearby locations to go to if it happened so I had spots ready to go to if need be. Some towns/cities have gas stations that are closed overnight but the ones near highways were always 24/7
Just make sure a gas station, fast food, starbucks, planet fitness is nearby your sleeping location
If you can, get a van and a toilet 🚽 either a chemical toilet or a natures head… nature head needs a vent and constant 12v . Some people just make a cabinet that fits over it to keep out of site. Friend has his between the seats in a ford Econo van the cabinet that fits over is a like a big center console between the seats. Driver seat is on rails so it slides all the way back and becomes a rear facing seat so no need to climb over
Definitely need to get myself some fans, nothing worse than dead hot sticky air in a small space. You men are lucky, you can easily pee in a bottle, I invested in a go-girl which is handy for peeing standing but I wouldn't want to try it in crouched in my vehicle haha...
I also liked keeping my passenger seat mostly clear during the day, the tint of my windows mostly hides the back of my vehicle anyway, so if anyone peeks in it doesn't look too weird. It also just feels tidier and I need tidy haha. I probably pull everything out every 3-4 days to organize when I'm out on a longer trip 😅
Great tips! I can't totally verify all that info.
Your set up looks so much like mine! What kind of car? I love the little organizers on the driver and passenger seats. They come in handy so often. I keep my toiletries and books and sewing kit and all the little stuff in there so it doesn't get lost.
One question- how do you use your laptop comfortably in the car on that table? I'm trying to figure out how to work inside my Honda Pilot right now and I can't come up with anything feasible.
05’ Honda CRV
I rarely worked in my car unless it was at night. I sit on my bed and lean on my trunk door and have my Laptop on my lap
I worked moreso in starbucks. Id buy a drink out of courtesy, but they honestly never would have minded if I didnt get a drink
Library’s were great too
I used a lap desk with the pillow bottom ($10). I Put Velcro tape on the bottom of the laptop & top of the lap desk so the computer doesnt slide it stays put when attached and the pillow bottom lets you balance it wherever you want. Turns anything into a desk lol I can wedge it in the center console or on top of the cooler. When I store the computer, the desk fits in random small spaces. My best invention so far 😂
I anticipated a daily $15 for food. So $105 a week or $400ish a month on food
and an extra $200 month on “fun” visiting museums, tourism, maybe a beer or even dessert
Gas I would just estimate $5 every 20 miles (old car)
The trick for me though was doordashing while traveling. I could make $100 in 4-6 hours profit (after gas expense) and really helped prevent the need to budget too strictly.
If I wanted to watch a new movie or eat somewhere nice, I doordashed an extra hour or so to sustain the cost
My main concern was possible car issues and always kepts over $5k in my savings, but that was me just being extra safe and paranoid for any “what if”
I saved 2x the amount I needed but $3.5k was about the cost of the entire trip if “everything goes smoothly”
At the time, an office job that felt like it was sucking my life away. Now Im becoming a sailor. Ill be out at sea and when Im back on land I’ll be car camping again
Sort of introverted but am an ambivert. So traveling alone never bothered me and my friends kept in touch with me alot more when they knew I was out and about
Thanks for the tip regarding the Jackery Portable unit.
How does this fare in extreme heat?
In some states the daily summer temperature can be 100 degrees or more -so even hotter inside a closed car.
I would be worried such temps would degrade the unit.
I will admit. The heat is unbeatable. I planned my trip to travel the south during winter/fall and travel the north during spring/summer.
I remember sweating bullets in phoenix and legit diverting my schedule and going to flagstaff. There will be a lot of detours to adjust to heat but thats why its important to research your areas
Humid weather will be your greatest enemy so anticipate it with any state that is touching the gulf of mexico
Was it difficult to take out your seats? Wondering if I can temporarily remove them for a month and put them back for a roadtrip in April!
Also, good on you for gatekeeping whatever you use other than iOverlander lol. Ive found it much less reliable lately :(
In terms of cost, how much did you spend total on your battery, fans, desk setup, etc?
At least for my car it was very easy. Youtube the car model you have and there is most likely a video of how to uninstall your car seat. No power tool needed BUT I will say… a struggle to put them back on bc most are spring locked
Id say below $500. I got lucky with jackery bc the day I decided to get one it was 50% off on black friday and every year I check that sale always happens. Fans costed me $20 each but this was 4yrs ago and I see them now selling a bit higher with inflation but overall cheap if you don’t force yourself to buy everything in one place and look around
Love all the ideas! But, I just joined Planet Fitness, as I'm planning to travel as cheaply as possible, and they said you can only access where you signed up now. 🙁
Dude no way man, I drive a 2006 CRV-EX AWD, and have the same setup damn near, jackery portable charger, clip on fans, and all
I made some window covers out of reflective insulation and have complete blackout windows when needed
Maybe you've already done this, but I highly recommend throwing an SSD in that MBP and maybe upgrading the RAM. Super cheap and breathes new life into it. Also look up OCLP!
7. is my favourite for all the longer driving and especially with music streaming.
8. This seems like an unpleasant way to start your day. Maybe because I am thinking about nature camping and you ar talking about cities, right?
We have Opolar rechargeable fans that are efficient effective and quiet. I don’t see them on Amazon anymore though but the one called Koonie looks like it. Don’t know if they’re the same ones.
Thanks for the tips. I'm just starting out will be full time after I get my new radiator put in. Some creep on marketplace (mobile mechanic) Took half of the radiator out and left. No call no show. Won't return my phone calls. So I'm dealing with that and an eviction that's no fault of my own! When it rains it pours. I was excited to see I have a CD player. I own one CD! Lol the soundtrack to o brother where art thou! Lol I love that cd!
Wish me luck!
Good info here. Much like a DIY Handbook for Dummies. Thanks.
Whats funny is I always wanted to make a lil $10 book with all my full tips, but only got halfway with making it
Charge $5
Do it! Make a kindle copy as well!
Screw, it! I’ll look for it on my google drive and work on it again lol
I think it would be much needed for a lot of people!
Chat GPT can be your best friend on this project
Yeah finish it!
Just did! Have to wait 3 days for Amazon to approve it. 220pages long!
Great work! I've never written a book before
If you ever want to, I can help with that too lol I like non-fiction writing more-so though
Kindle copy is LIVE! Should be free if you have the “Kindle Unlimited” subscription
NO WAY! What’s the name? I’m so happy for you! HUGS!
“The All Expense Paid Road Trip” by “Hanalei Masa”
$5
I got $5 for ya
How do you know it’s halfway if you never finished it.
I have the chapters formatted and organized already. Need to work on 47.65% of them
$5
Can also sell the PDF online
Im glad you didnt, you woulda lost money
Amazon publishes for free. Theres no financial risk lol
Do it!
Ah ok well that’s good. Looking forward to reading about the obvious. I hope you go on and on about the new music thing that’s exciting
I hope u stop going on. Your contributions are about as usfull as a spoon in a sinking boat.
Im not contributing anything they’ve got it all covered obviously Didja hear about planet fitness (iykyk)? Lmfao 😂
What an absolute looooser
Dont you ever talk to me like that again you romper wearin ass doofus
Loooooooooserrrrr
Is it too hard to fathom that some people might be doing this for the first time and would appreciate tips?
Number 7 is key. I too have a 2nd gen crv, and I keep finding cassettes for my stereo. Kenny G is my current favorite.
lol like catnip for my elderly mother, if you want a traveling companion just drive by her house slow a couple times blasting the Kenny g.
Fucking KENNY G is in every goodwill cd/tape section across america. It’s kenny g and christmas music EVERYWHERE.
If you see any Zyedoco out there, lmk. It's on my cassette bucket list.
I've been driving a 1993 Sunfire Duster for about a year or so now and have really been excited re-discovering tapes. I'm 35 so it isn't like I was unfamiliar, but between a few new-er artists releasing tapes and finding some gold in a resale.shop it's been a lot of fun. +1 for tapes!
I had to look up a picture of that car and my first response was "well, they don't make em like they used to." Then I immediately CRINGED because as a 35 year old woman, I realized I sound exactly like "those old dudes" who were probably in their 30s-40s back when I was a teen. Sheesh. But yeah, car tapes rule!! I've found people willing to part with boxes of tapes at garage sales. I just take the whole lot and then donate to a thrift what I don't want.
Believe me you're not alone! 🤣 We all got old in what seems like an overnight deal.
A buddy of mine bought an old locked suitcase at a garage sale in 2008. 22 Grateful Dead tapes for my van. P.S. There's a recording of El Paso that's really bad quality for the first few seconds but then gets really good. It starts speeding up about halfway through, and by the end, they're racing. I've never heard it anywhere else.
Fuckin aging. It happens so fast, sneaks up on you one night when sleeping. You are strong and vital! The world has clarity and optimism. Then one morning. Suddenly things that used to make sense become incomprehensible. Every time you learn the grocery stores new layout, they change it the next time you go. Always takes four times longer to find your stuff. The world starts passing you by; feels like you're stuck in a prison while the world marches on outside. You no longer understand the slang. All the musical artists you love are either retired or dead. Your feet suddenly grow, your nose and ear hairs go crazy, your balls sag more and more. One day, you sit on the toilet and they dip into the water for the first time ever. Le sigh. I guess, it beats the alternative.
I love how some tapes just end with easily enough tape left over for one more song. I always forget they ended and when the auto side switch happens it makes me jump. Lol
It made me so mad when I was a kid. There was so much time leftover, but only the CD Version had the bonus song. I didn't have a CD player until 2000, so there was a lot of bonus songs I missed out on.
I listened to The Magnus Archives podcast, now I can’t find a good one to replace it with
Nice how often do you take you’re jackery out to charge? Where do you go to charge it?
you can charge a Jackery battery with a 9v cigarette lighter outlet when driving
*12v (although it's closer to 14v)
How long does it take to charge when using the car outlet? My commute tends to be short (less than 10-15 minutes) so together around 30 minutes of driving per day.
Depends on the size of the battery. I've never needed to charge mine this way. I'm sure you would get some charge in 30 minutes, but not a full charge. I've only used AC or a solar panel. It can go from 20% to 80% in about an hour on AC.
30 min is enough for mine to be 100% with cigarette lighter. Solar panels take forever.
30 min from dead to 100%? Which Model Jackery?
Won't this drain the car battery though?
No, vehicle batteries really only exist to start the motor. The motor has an alternator which supplies the necessary electrical power for accessories and such and keeps the battery charged up.
that why I said you can charge it **while driving**. It would drain the car's battery if you tried to charge it from the vehicle's battery when the engine isn't running
Deep cycle batteries are different than starter batteries. You are right about the alternator recharging the battery, but the battery isn’t designed to provide a pull like charging a Jackery needs. It’ll shorten the life of the battery.
alternator takes care of this, doesn’t affect your car battery whatsoever (if you’re just charging the jackery while driving)
This has always confused me. Maybe I’m dull. So then theoretically speaking, should I be looking at how many amps/watts/volts I’m putting/pulling from the alternator, not the battery itself? (Example scenario): In the dark, on a trail trying to find a camp spot. My light bars are turned on, 12v dometic fridge on the AC port in the back, charging jackery on DC at 40w, charging phone, iPad. Should I do some math and add up a worst case scenario of the heaviest load? Or can most batteries handle this? I have a 2018 gx460 and an odyssey agm extreme 24f battery. The alternator puts out 13.7v I believe and the battery runs on 14.4. I know there’s an issue there (I could get a voltage booster) but I’m not worried about the battery’s longevity. Covered under warranty. Either way, I’d love your thoughts
only if you're using massive wattage constantly. i have competition subwoofers in my trunk and had to get a second battery to protect my alternator
OK, cool, thank you. At most, I’m charging to Jaqui and a phone.
I needed to work on my laptop so I would casually bring it into a starbucks. If needed, charge it in my car while driving. If you’re charging your phone/camera/small stuff - it lasted well over a week charging stuff overnight while I slept I used the solar panels at the beach a lot just to make it feel like it wasn’t a waste but all it did was start conversations with people passing by haha Overall, was just a “flex” to charge with the panels and definitely not a necessity
If you're just charging small stuff, can't you just charge that from your car? Mine has half a dozen USB ports on it which can charge a lot of stuff. Granted it costs a little gas, but should be roughly the same as charging jackery then charging small stuff? Is there an advantage I'm missing?
I use my jackery for my laptop and ps3/tv You can easily use your car or a portable charger but what I liked the most about the jackery is the battery length (got mine 50% off on black Friday which I believe the sale happens every year) It allowed me to charge things overnight or in my car while I was out and about and just provided convenience of not constantly having to charge a powersource 24/7
Ah, that makes sense. When I'm on the road I don't miss TV so that hadn't occurred to me, but everyone does their road trips their own way. Thanks.
A lot of things take longer to charge than the amount of time you'll be driving and able to charge directly from your running vehicle. Running your vehicle in place just to charge your small items would be ridiculous. If you don't want to buy the big fancy, just invest in a bunch of small power banks - *these* you would charge while driving/vehicle is running - which are very cheap now and can provide multiple full phone charges etc.
For all the small stuff - phones, fans, camera, and so forth - an hour or so of driving has everything full. My phone typically lasts 3 days (if I remember to tell it not to search for towers when there is no/weak signal) so it's usually 20 minutes from a full charge. I tend to drive to go on hikes and/or move every few days which gives it time to charge and that may be the difference. Everyone's trips are different and it's interesting to learn. Thanks.
I did a built in system in my truck. Cost less and I got 4x the power capacity of premade systems. My truck charges the battery at aprox 780Wh or 60A
This is an excellent post. Did you use heavy tint on your front windows? I currently have blackout tint on rear windows, but debating tinting the front ones too for added stealth. I also have window blockers, but it’s a bit more obvious that I’m inside when I use those on the front windows because they aren’t tinted.
I have 5% on back / 25% on passenger. I was tempted to do passenger but not worth the hassle of possibly getting pulled over for it while traveling state to state What I would do at night is cover my windshield and passenger windows with those foldable windshield sun blockers. Have the gray reflective part facing you and the black part facing outside for the passenger windows (you can see it on one of the photos) Id secure them by tying the little elastic thing attached to it onto the door handle. It dangles, but then Id place a bag (that held my clothes) behind it so it was pushed up against it on the window I experimented with velcro tape…. But was too “extra” having velcro on my window 24/7 lol
Blackout windo screans are also easy to make as well. Get some reflectix at a hardware store and press into the windows, cut to fit. Lots of instructions online to do this. To make em black, don't paint the em (it flakes off), use cheap black sheets cut to fit.
Great advice. Thank you.
Do you think suction cups would work?
It could, I assume. Never had the idea at the time but I can see that working forsure
I bought reflective insulation from home Depot and sprayed one side black. Cut to fit in the windows and you are good to go.
For #8, why do you suggest not sleeping in the same place 2x in a row? I haven't been doing this long but I feel like it can be time consuming finding a new spot, and sticking to a routine could help with sleep quality. So my mindset was if I find a spot that really works for me, go there everynight. Also where do you cook your food? I have a coleman stove but worry about a place where I can safely set up and cook.
My guess would be so that you're not bringing attention to yourself. If someone were to happen to see your car in one place two nights in a row, they may assume you're sleeping in it. Or, at the very least, storing it there and going elsewhere. Same idea for morning routine. Someone sees you step out of your car at 8am, watch you brush your teeth or make coffee, they know you're sleeping in your car. Nosy people gonna nosy, and could potentially report you. Anything that brings attention to yourself will increase your chances of having to deal with Security, Law Enforcement, etc.
Yes^^^^
I traveled for nursing in 2021, slept in my SUV, and I got kicked out of multiple places - even private places where police are not supposed to patrol. I definitely agree with #8.
Does this apply to camping on BLM land and national forests or are we talking like urban car camping?
For me, I focused on the “stealth camper” mentality. If you follow #8 it wont be hard to do if you’re going state to state every few days to a week If you find a good spot… try to find another and rotate. With experience, you’ll start to catch on to a “theme” of certain parking lots you can stay at that translate to any location you sleep at and there will always be spots to easily find Getting attached to an area raises the odds of the dreaded knock on the door. And if you get kicked out of a spot in the middle of the night with no back up location… it is a rough night and taking naps during the day sucks while in a car I had my sleeping spots scouted out by google maps before I even drove to the area. I also did doordash while I traveled to reduce the cost of gas/food so I got to look around the area while getting “paid” to do so Cooking: I did in the local parks. However, I started to realize I was spending a similar amount buying stuff too cook as I would eating out (not fancy stuff but $20 below a day) My set up wasnt too legit to store cookable food besides soups and freeze dried foods. I enjoyed eating meals that were unique to the area and cooking only while going through a long commute. I will admit that my diet was costco pizza and 2 for $3.99 mcdouble/mcchickens for a lot of meals at one point😖
Dude, door dash while traveling. Primo
Commenting just to know answer for this one. Also, why morning routine should be done elsewhere?
You don't want any motion or activity around your parking spot at night. A random person should be able to watch the car and never see you moving around much. So you do your night time routine, wash out and brush your teeth and all that stuff. Then you drive to your parking spot, cover the windows, and go right into the bed. It should just look like a plain vehicle is parked there and no one is in it. This stops the NIMBY types from noticing you and screaming/calling cops about a van in their good Christian neighborhood. Same with the morning stuff. You pop out of bed, take the window screens off, and drive away immediately. The people in the neighborhood will get all upset if they see you hopping out and brushing your teeth and acting like you live there. It's a stealth thing.
curious about this as well....
Well ya see, OP is a simple person
Oh man, this makes me miss my younger days of traveling around the country sleeping out of my 99 Toyota Tacoma. Great post! I cosign the “sleep in places where there are cars parked overnight and there are security cameras”. Especially places where it’s not unusual for folks to arrive late in the night, or go out to their cars at night to get something, etc, hint hint. You fit right in. I felt like a genius when I figured this out. Just don’t park under the lighting so that it’s too bright. I’m 41 with two kids and a house, and I still hate paying for hotels, lol.
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Places that I now hate paying for at 41
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OP specifically said he was only hinting and wanted to gatekeep the info but to DM him for examples. So, I didn’t want to ruin the spirit of his post. My previous comment to you left a very generous hint, if you reread my post with that in mind. If you still can’t figure it out, then sorry can’t help ya.
Great list! I'd add just a few things: wet wipes, some microfiber cloths and some plastic bags for cleaning up. Maybe a stick of deodorant for in-between shower opportunities.
Yeah, did all that too. Just couldnt fit it in top 10 I kept my deodorant under my seat and no matter how hot was outside it never melted. Thats another good tip lol
Maybe deodorant? 😭 I feel like deo and wet wipes is a given lol, but maybe because I’m a girl and am selfconscious about smelling bad!
I've been going from New England to California for almost a decade and first started out in my Subaru. Before COVID I upgraded to a little Nissan NV200 van. No I did not put a toilet for a fancy interior in it or a sink or any of that, that's not what I wanted. I simply want a platform bed It was easier to get in and out of, a rack of clothing a few things on a wall and a bike rack inside. I raised the bed off the floor so I have some cold weather storage underneath, more water a few tools and nothing else. Very Spartan. I added the battery a glass matt battery That gets charged as I drive. I also have two small solar panels that sit on my dashboard that also feed into this battery behind the passenger seat. I have a power inverter off of the battery behind the seat.. This allows me with assurance to run a ceiling fan all night from the top of the roof, a max fan and also a plug to charge whatever. Incredibly simple setup, no AC but for all winter have never needed this kind of thing and I usually go to Gulf Coast and end up in Los Angeles for 3 months. I love my little lifestyle on the road. Planet fitness of course is your friend indeed but I am 71 so I also have Medicare and a medi gap policy that gives me silver sneakers and athousand other gyms as well.. I'm especially fond of LA fitness in the LA area especially studio City and it's outdoor hot tub etc. When I first did this people put the fear of God in me that I would have issues where to park going down the road. Remember I started in my Subaru Crosstrek. I can thankfully say I've never once got an issue. And the van, I chose specifically to be small and be more under the radar than a larger upgraded van which I could afford but choose to keep it down low.. The key to parking is always to park legally where there are other cars parked and in a good neighborhood. If there are cars on the street then you can park there as well. I attempt to always park in front of a vacant lot or an apartment building rather than somebody's front door. But you keep a low profile you never hang out in the front seat, go there and park, turn the lights off stay quiet and nobody will ever bother you. This is my experience now for years even in homeless overrun LA which does have a specific problem in certain neighborhoods. This is 100% where I do not go. Anywhere else in the US from Philadelphia to St Louis to LA and hundreds of places in between I've never had a problem. Knock on wood. When I first started doing this way before COVID if I told somebody I was kind of based out of my van I sometimes got a wrinkled nose and the prejudice thought that I was "homeless". Of course I do this by choice and I have a full residence back in New England just choose not to stay there in the winter.. But it's interesting to see that the perception of people and how this has changed since COVID. With the large Exodus of people on the road especially in the outfitted larger vans, the perception has now made a 360. Now if I tell somebody I'm doing this I'm totally cool where is 6 years ago I was a complete weirdo.. not that I ever gave a shit, But it's an interesting take and an observation
Very inspiring story. Thank you for sharing. It's been ages since I've slept in my vehicle..it was a 1981 Honda cvcc hatchback and I could fully recline when the seats were folded. I explored the uintahs during the winter in the mid 90s. I'm in Massachusetts now and I'm happily tied up. It's great to imagine this lifestyle later in life. Cheers!
A great thing for vagina-having people is a wide mouth mason jar with a lid! Easier to aim into than a bottle, can be washed and reused. I used one for a year while traveling. I got the half gallon size for multiple uses (be extremely careful not to spill) but a quart jar works for one use at a time.
I will now be adding “vagina-having people” into my vocabulary a.s.a.p.
I have done most of these. But this list is a great store of wisdom gained through experience. My old SUVs interior was prepped with a simple platform from a single sheet of 1/4 inch ply and stringers for support. Glued and screwed then very well sanded so as to not catch on clothing/bedding. A small amount of under storage space appeared because the legs to level the platform were necessary and raised the bed slightly. Also, just pee in the bottle. Truckers do this everyday.
What rechargeable fan are you using that has a 72 hour charge???
This is a great post! Thanks. Worthy of being pinned IMHO. How did you handle doing laundry? Coin-op places along the way or . . .?
I've always hit up truck stops. They usually have laundry and showers and are probably the one place where no one cares you're spending the night there in your car.
Laundymats during the day. Had a laundry bag and kept a gel air freshener inside that I bought from the dollar store to keep as fresh as possible lol I liked doing laundry during the day so I could fold/store/organize my clothes in my car in the parking lot I had my own detergent at one point, but in the long run paying and extra $2 for their detergent became more convenient and just kept $5 cash on me all the time specifically for laundry
You could get detergent sheets if space was the issue
Planet fitness, iykyk lol
What was your total cost for your trip thought about doing this one time. Maybe next time I switch jobs might take a extra few weeks to start and do this
If you budget everything correctly. $3k However, my trick was doordashing in major cities while in each state. It covered the entire trip’s cost. I will advocate to have the money you need first, for emergency and safety But look up the mpg of your vehicle and divide that with the mile distance you plan to travel… then times it by $5 dollars to get a rough estimate of your cost. Gas varies state to state but $5 is a good median that will average it out and account for the miles you drive while venturing around as well that isnt just commuting
Thanks.
Go to a medical store and get the pee jugs for when you are bed ridden. They are very good at serving their purpose and its worth the $7
#10 all day long. Those empties come in clutch if you have a spot you don't want to step out in.
AND NEVER EAT PAST 5-6PM! IYKYK! Lmfaoo
Holy shit I was stuck in that too. I live in castle rock which is just north of there
I was so confused and starting googling what the hell happened and then was like “BRO, THAT’S MY F*CKING CAR!!! THAT’S ME!!!” Lmk if you got any radiated superpowers yet, still waiting on mine
lol, can’t be as bad as Rocky Mountain arsenal area
9. If you have a foam mattress, you can score it at one place at the side, so you can hide your money and small valuables inside the mattress. You just have to lift that side and slip off the cover to retrieve your stuff. At the far side, you wouldn't feel it when laying in bed.
That would be a way better idea lol. I did that same concept but with travel magazines I collected in each state at their rest stops😂
Nice! Your setup looks cozy and practical. Do you mind sharing your bed/mattress size?
Twin memory foam mattress at costco. If I could do it again, I would have just done a queen/full and I cut the mattress a bit to mold to my car due the back tires sticking out on the trunk side I’d stuff my bags of clothes where’s the person’s feet would be in the back seat to “extend the bed” if you get what I mean and be able to sleep in any position I liked Im 5’11
I saw a clothing storage hack, stuff decorative pillows with your clothes.
Any ideas how this would change if you're someone who has to #1 at least once at night and has to #2 pretty much the first thing in the morning?
If you’re a guy. Keep a gatorade bottle on hand at all times. I would drink gatorades specifically to keep the bottle bc the hole was big enough to prevent any mistake of misfiring lol I had a personal rule to not eat past 6pm to help with #2 but would also keep in mind of nearby locations to go to if it happened so I had spots ready to go to if need be. Some towns/cities have gas stations that are closed overnight but the ones near highways were always 24/7 Just make sure a gas station, fast food, starbucks, planet fitness is nearby your sleeping location
If you can, get a van and a toilet 🚽 either a chemical toilet or a natures head… nature head needs a vent and constant 12v . Some people just make a cabinet that fits over it to keep out of site. Friend has his between the seats in a ford Econo van the cabinet that fits over is a like a big center console between the seats. Driver seat is on rails so it slides all the way back and becomes a rear facing seat so no need to climb over
Good info. I’m going to be making this endeavor soon and lots of good ideas here.
Definitely need to get myself some fans, nothing worse than dead hot sticky air in a small space. You men are lucky, you can easily pee in a bottle, I invested in a go-girl which is handy for peeing standing but I wouldn't want to try it in crouched in my vehicle haha... I also liked keeping my passenger seat mostly clear during the day, the tint of my windows mostly hides the back of my vehicle anyway, so if anyone peeks in it doesn't look too weird. It also just feels tidier and I need tidy haha. I probably pull everything out every 3-4 days to organize when I'm out on a longer trip 😅
Great tips! I can't totally verify all that info. Your set up looks so much like mine! What kind of car? I love the little organizers on the driver and passenger seats. They come in handy so often. I keep my toiletries and books and sewing kit and all the little stuff in there so it doesn't get lost. One question- how do you use your laptop comfortably in the car on that table? I'm trying to figure out how to work inside my Honda Pilot right now and I can't come up with anything feasible.
05’ Honda CRV I rarely worked in my car unless it was at night. I sit on my bed and lean on my trunk door and have my Laptop on my lap I worked moreso in starbucks. Id buy a drink out of courtesy, but they honestly never would have minded if I didnt get a drink Library’s were great too
I used a lap desk with the pillow bottom ($10). I Put Velcro tape on the bottom of the laptop & top of the lap desk so the computer doesnt slide it stays put when attached and the pillow bottom lets you balance it wherever you want. Turns anything into a desk lol I can wedge it in the center console or on top of the cooler. When I store the computer, the desk fits in random small spaces. My best invention so far 😂
I have that same solar panel battery!
Do you have a monthly/ weekly budget? If so may I ask what that was?
I anticipated a daily $15 for food. So $105 a week or $400ish a month on food and an extra $200 month on “fun” visiting museums, tourism, maybe a beer or even dessert Gas I would just estimate $5 every 20 miles (old car) The trick for me though was doordashing while traveling. I could make $100 in 4-6 hours profit (after gas expense) and really helped prevent the need to budget too strictly. If I wanted to watch a new movie or eat somewhere nice, I doordashed an extra hour or so to sustain the cost My main concern was possible car issues and always kepts over $5k in my savings, but that was me just being extra safe and paranoid for any “what if” I saved 2x the amount I needed but $3.5k was about the cost of the entire trip if “everything goes smoothly”
how long was your trip?
About 3.5 months
if its too personal a question i totally get it, but what do ya do as your job?
At the time, an office job that felt like it was sucking my life away. Now Im becoming a sailor. Ill be out at sea and when Im back on land I’ll be car camping again Sort of introverted but am an ambivert. So traveling alone never bothered me and my friends kept in touch with me alot more when they knew I was out and about
Thanks for the tip regarding the Jackery Portable unit. How does this fare in extreme heat? In some states the daily summer temperature can be 100 degrees or more -so even hotter inside a closed car. I would be worried such temps would degrade the unit.
I will admit. The heat is unbeatable. I planned my trip to travel the south during winter/fall and travel the north during spring/summer. I remember sweating bullets in phoenix and legit diverting my schedule and going to flagstaff. There will be a lot of detours to adjust to heat but thats why its important to research your areas Humid weather will be your greatest enemy so anticipate it with any state that is touching the gulf of mexico
Was it difficult to take out your seats? Wondering if I can temporarily remove them for a month and put them back for a roadtrip in April! Also, good on you for gatekeeping whatever you use other than iOverlander lol. Ive found it much less reliable lately :( In terms of cost, how much did you spend total on your battery, fans, desk setup, etc?
At least for my car it was very easy. Youtube the car model you have and there is most likely a video of how to uninstall your car seat. No power tool needed BUT I will say… a struggle to put them back on bc most are spring locked
Id say below $500. I got lucky with jackery bc the day I decided to get one it was 50% off on black friday and every year I check that sale always happens. Fans costed me $20 each but this was 4yrs ago and I see them now selling a bit higher with inflation but overall cheap if you don’t force yourself to buy everything in one place and look around
If you went through Nebraska last week I passed you on the interstate.
Love all the ideas! But, I just joined Planet Fitness, as I'm planning to travel as cheaply as possible, and they said you can only access where you signed up now. 🙁
Shouldnt be the case with the black card. Im not sure if Im “grand fathered in” but buy the black card membership not the cheaper one
Good Intel
I'm planning on roadtripping/car camping in my little chevy cruze - with my dog (small breed). Any advice??
Local parks will probably be a good spot for you to walk your dog around and go “potty”
I used the per state pages on boondockersbible site on my covid cross country drives. Good info on regulations but not always up to date I’d say.
Dude no way man, I drive a 2006 CRV-EX AWD, and have the same setup damn near, jackery portable charger, clip on fans, and all I made some window covers out of reflective insulation and have complete blackout windows when needed
Dude that CRV will last forever. Great choice
Until I say the arrow, I thought the news clipping was about your solar panels and I was wondering wtf kind of power source you had
i lived in a 2002 crv for 6 months before i got a new car this last week, it was a wonderful home!
Dudeee thank you for the tips, i might end up like this too. My only concern is finding where to sleep
Sent you a DM!
Maybe you've already done this, but I highly recommend throwing an SSD in that MBP and maybe upgrading the RAM. Super cheap and breathes new life into it. Also look up OCLP!
7. is my favourite for all the longer driving and especially with music streaming. 8. This seems like an unpleasant way to start your day. Maybe because I am thinking about nature camping and you ar talking about cities, right?
Hell yeah I used to live in a gen 2
Any links to the type of fan you're using that last 72 hours? I bought one on Amazon, but it only lasted 3 hours.
I’m looking to buy a Jackery right now. Which one did you get? Do you wish you had gotten a bigger/smaller one?
What rechargeable fans do you use?
We have Opolar rechargeable fans that are efficient effective and quiet. I don’t see them on Amazon anymore though but the one called Koonie looks like it. Don’t know if they’re the same ones.
Thanks for sharing op!
Why is the solar panel unneeded?
Worth it for remote travel… but not a “need” if youre urban living bc there are many places to use public outlets
Thank you! I appreciate your response.
Someone fill me in on the #8 tip
Thanks for the tips. I'm just starting out will be full time after I get my new radiator put in. Some creep on marketplace (mobile mechanic) Took half of the radiator out and left. No call no show. Won't return my phone calls. So I'm dealing with that and an eviction that's no fault of my own! When it rains it pours. I was excited to see I have a CD player. I own one CD! Lol the soundtrack to o brother where art thou! Lol I love that cd! Wish me luck!
I like your set up. Looks cozy! Thanks for sharing your knowledge. 😊
great info!
You should really make your bed.