Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 09:55:20 -0400
Reply-To: thetrans <thetrans@INAME.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: thetrans <thetrans@INAME.COM>
Subject: Stealth Camping (and how I came to own a Westy)
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I meant to post this a few days ago when someone asked about camping in
non-campground, legitimate camping places.
About two years ago, I left the corporate world and went with a start up
software company as a principal. I negotiated a relocation package, and
unlike big business which usually picks up the tab for everything from
movers to hotels to closing costs on new houses, my deal was a lump sum
assistance package.. use it any way you want but thats all there is.....
My wife stayed behind to sell our house with our kids (hehe I thought it
would only take a few months.. turned out to be closer to a year), which
left me alone as a temporary bachelor. Years before I owned a 1978 Westy
with a bad attitude, especially on cold winter days when I would often sit
at the wheel and marvel at the low sounds of the starter cranking without
turning over.. I sold it and regreted it for years.
So as I'm driving cross country to my new job, I'm thinking about my old
Westy, and I say to myself, why don't I get another one.. I mean why pay
part of my relo stash to some cheesy Holiday Inn.. I can tough out living
in the van for a few months! So as I drove, I schemed, and schemed some
more. I figured I could join a health club, shower, shave and get
respectable every morning, go to work, and at night, find a tasty hidden
camp site somewhere, and start the routine again the next day.
Cool. I find what I think (the operative word here is THINK) is a good deal
on a Westy Syncro ($6,000 for those who want to know...), buy it and put my
plan into action. Here's what I learned:
I live in one of the most densly populated states in the country, New
Jersey. I did most of my foraging for hidden sites in Central New Jersey
which is blessed with a fair amount of wooded space. But even with woods,
hidden spots are tough to find that don't draw attention (NJ also has some
of the most aggresive police, and you can't be guaranteed a nice warning
and a "move it along, buddy".. more likely than not you're looking at a
search, a ticket and possibly a vehicle impounded and tow).
I did find a few really nice spots. My best finds were:
Near lakes with public fishing spots.. mostly all very scenic and with all
night access, local cops didn't know if you were fishing or doing the
horizontal mambo.. and really didn't care.
Railroad tracks... I'm a big train freak so this may not apply to all, but
most tracks in this area where double track or more at one time, and the
rails have been pulled up (either completely) on one of the older tracks,
leaving a pathway for RR maintenance trucks. Railroads are private
property, and unless someone calls in a report, local police rarely patrol
RR tracks. Keep in mind that RR's do have their own police, but they are
few in number, usually located close to urban/high crime areas, and rarely
patrol in the far off places unless asked to by residents or train crews.
And with RR police, you will in most cases just be asked to move along
anyway, provided you use extreme common sense when around tracks: Don't
park anywhere near active tracks (tuck yourself way off in the bushes on
the side of the right of way), keep your headlights off when trains are
near, don't put stuff on or near the tracks etc, and don't sleepwalk when
the southbound to Middletown is coming! This worked great, though if you
are near an active mainline, you may get shaken out of your sleep by three
or more 6000hp engines bearing down on your campsite at 3am!! Happened to
me quite often as thats the time the trains come through to make piggyback
trailers available for morning delivery.
Motels. This is virtually failsafe. Find one thats quiet, away from the
highway, and a big chain (Ramada, Holiday Inn, etc.). Enter the motel
parking lot, draw the curtains, be discrete, and off to sleep you go! Very
safe, and they are so used to cars entering and leaving that no one will
ever notice! If you're in one location for a while, break up your stays
into 2 or 3 day periods between different motels. If you take up residence
for 3 months straight they may get on to you! Only drawback with a motel is
the (please exuse the crudeness..) nightly piss break. You can't just open
up the slider and let er rip.... just a consideration. But they are so used
to businessmen, contractors, shuttle drivers staying at the same hotel week
in and week out, you could stay three nights every week at the same motel
and I doubt anyone would ever notice.
Well my stay in my van lasted well over seven or eight months (thought it
would be two!!). Got pretty damned cold in December (good sleeping bag and
a comforter kept me warm.. till I had to get out and start the van..
brrrrrr). I never once got hassled by a cop, and only once did anyone even
approach the van (I tried sleeping in the parking lot of the health club
one night, figuring I'd save time in the morning in driving.. but curious
workers came and knocked on the van... I said whatdya want [give me Brett
Wier I said!] and they apologized and split.. that was the peak of my
excitement with visitors!).
One other note... I had a hard time sleeping the first few nights when I
was in the woods. I thought for sure crazy psychopathic nutcases were going
to come out and kill me. Then I realized that I was indeed the only
psychopath in the woods... there's no one else out there!!
Well I know this was a long one but I thought some folks might enjoy the
story and some of my tips. I feel my long stay gave me a Westy free and
clear vs. filling the pockets of a motel chain. Now I wonder how long I'd
have to stay in the woods to cross subsidize keeping the syncro in parts
and supplies!!
Bill
"Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you
look at it right"
Hunter/Garcia
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