Stealth camping (xplorer?)

[daboognish88]

Got a simple quick question here.
Do you all think that the Dodge Xplorer would pass for a stealth camper van? Or is it just way too obvious by looking at it that it is an RV?

I'm keepin my fingers crossed and eyes peeled for something as spacious as possible but can still pass under a stealthy radar.

I'm so used to keeping my eye's peeled for camper vans that I've no idea what cops and most people would assume is a camper van.
What do you think?

[antiquedrose]

You've had a first rate tip off these folks are difficult. Proceed at your own risk.

Ah, the school of hard knocks, makes me glad to to be 60, rather than 20. Still, stupid is as stupid does, and I live in that realm.

[jjrai]

When you are desperate your have to be TRIPPLE careful.

[Francesca_Knowl]

daboognish88 wrote:

A year later I email him and say its all water under the bridge (I'm desperate) and that I'm willing to wipe the slate clean if he is.
So I'm seeing him tomorrow. Lol. If it doesn't go well I'm going to really kick myself.

A year later, he still has the van, you tell him you're desperate, and you think you're catching a break or something?

Good luck goin' over that cliff...

By the way:

There's no such thing as a fulltime "stealth camper" anymore. That kind of nonsense has gotten so well known that local Authorities are all over fulltime practitioners of the form like flies-on-you-know-what. The only folks that get away with it are the cutesy types that do it on an occasional, recreational basis, such as those that post on forums like this one.

Most cops can spot permanent setups a mile away, and those are the ones that get hassled.

[daboognish88]

Y

[jjrai]

Urban/stealth camping is fun. As long as you are responsible there is no harm done.

[rvit]

We are having great luck at 24 hour McDonalds or Burger Kings. No stealth required, even been advised to go there from LEO.

[tonyandkaren]

The van looks pretty good but have the mechanic check it out first before you buy it. It looks like a conversion van to me and probably would to most of the neighbors. You might have to get rid of the awning though.

You can sleep on the couch bed when you can't put the top up. There are lots of places where you can camp for free. Check here - http://freecampsites.net/usa/
You could also try WWOOFing - http://wwoofinternational.org/ or work camping.

There's a lot of good information about van dwelling here - http://www.cheaprvliving.com/forums/

Good luck!

[daboognish88]

There's actually a guy in my area who is selling a Sportsmobile-esque van. Its a 1987 Ford Econoline so that's pretty dang old. Says he "put in a new (rebuilt) engine 2012, new fuel pumps, hoses, 2 new tires, 2 new batteries, charged the AC, new fan clutch and more. It has 203xxx miles on it but only approx 1300 on the new engine."
Although I don't know if you can consider a rebuilt engine "new".
I am actually considering this though because I don't have much money and I'm an impatient 20 year old aching to hit the road.
I might have a mechanic check it out on Monday.
Here's the link.
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/rvs/4438039580.html

Only thing is.. Walmart doesn't allow pop tops to be popped, and I'm sure other places are the same. Am I rarely going to be able to use it?

And yes the reason I need to be stealthy is because there are many neighborhoods including my parent's who don't allow RVs. I plan on coming back home for a couple months in the winter... if I even leave before then. Maybe I can just park somewhere else and bike to my parents.. ugh, stupid uptight neighborhood regulations.

[jjrai]

Good point on the loans!

[Francesca_Knowl]

jjrai wrote:
.....snip.... Nomadic Fanatic on YouTube....snip...is a college student who does commercials to pay the bills.

Yeah, right. We'll see what happens when his student loans run out.

There's an an earlier post about this guy (who's been lifestylin' an old class C for a whole six months or so!) at this link.

[jjrai]

You can urban camp with any small RV as long as you obey laws. I use the term "urban" camping rather than stealth. Check out "Chris Travels" on YouTube. He urban camps in his Explorer all the time. His older videos are the best examples. If you want to see someone who urban camps in a full-blown C, check out the Nomadic Fanatic on YouTube. These guys are not bums. One works as needed to allow travel and the other is a college student who does commercials to pay the bills.

[mlts22]

Some of the Sportsmobile vans I looked at that use a compressor fridge, diesel furnace, flat plate water heater, etc. had a good stealth quality about them. they had unobtrusive vents for the tanks, and even the A/C was hidden (using a Danhard model.) With power coming from the engine to an inverter, people would notice the engine was running, but that might be less obtrusive than a generator.

[avanti]

Our new Great West Legend will have a compressor refrigerator (no refrigerator vents) and a diesel-fired furnace and demand water heater (no furnace vent or water heater door). The vehicle will have no RV cutouts at all except a single small plug-in/water-fill port, and we may be able to move that down to the rocker-panel. All this, combined with none of the typical gaudy RV graphics should make it about as stealth as a sprinter can get.

[kmb1966]

My experience has been that there is No such thing as "stealth" if the unit has a generator. If a genny is running, it can and usually is heard.
Also many are aware of campervan units. Refrigerator vents, furnace vent, water heater door. Fairly obvious. We tried staying over night in shopping center parking lots when we first got our Roadtrek. After being told to leave at 2am a couple times, we now head to campgrounds and walmart with permission type parking lots only.