Egg-Visable

[Laurie T]

I have full timed in an extended Maxi Van that I called"incognito" which had great stealth value because it looked like a work van and I really appreciated the mobility it gave me especially in city environments. So much so, that I still debate whether to full-time for a few years in a van rather than our burro because I feel it's really going to be difficult to stealth camp in towns with the eye catching burro in tow.

Yet now having an airdale to care for it is easier to keep her cool and warm in the double insulated hull of the burro than a van. So even though the van is easier to travel around in the burro gets double the mileage when towed with our suburu.

Yet I really hate giving up the stealth value of the van. I've never stealth camped in the burro because it is such an eye catcher, I just feel so exposed.

Yet in my van, I easily blend in wherever I go so I feel secure.

So does anyone have opinions and tips on how to stealth camp in your egg? Do you think trying to play down your presence works better when you are passing through a town or being bold with your presence.

Thanks...celebrate life!

Laurie

[Per Walthinsen]

OK, I think I'm missing something here. Why the need for stealth? Whatever happened to embracing your distinctiveness and flaunting your non-conformity? Is it that you want to camp out for the night on freeway exits or look like you are just out there fixing someone's plumbing while you are actually camping out in the inner city?

Here in Orygun we use our Burro and no one seems to care. It is as if "doesn't everyone have a fiberglass RV?" No problem with being a sore thumb or anything like that. Could this be a non-problem?

By the way, I know what a Burro without a bathroom looks like inside and I admire the name "dance-hall edition" as being pretty descriptive. That said I do not want to give up the bathroom but I need something equally cathing as a name. How about the "Ready-to-tinkle" edition?

[Laurie T]

OK, I think I'm missing something here. Why the need for stealth? Whatever happened to embracing your distinctiveness and flaunting your non-conformity? Is it that you want to camp out for the night on freeway exits or look like you are just out there fixing someone's plumbing while you are actually camping out in the inner city?

Here in Orygun we use our Burro and no one seems to care. It is as if "doesn't everyone have a fiberglass RV?" No problem with being a sore thumb or anything like that. Could this be a non-problem?

By the way, I know what a Burro without a bathroom looks like inside and I admire the name "dance-hall edition" as being pretty descriptive. That said I do not want to give up the bathroom but I need something equally cathing as a name. How about the "Ready-to-tinkle" edition?

That's funny, I like that. And for the need for stealth is when you don't want to be hassled when you are parked some where other than an authorized 'campground'.

Here where I live in Santa Cruz it's against the law to sleep in your vehicle making it near impossible to camp on the streets unless you are incognito. I've even heard it said that Santa Cruz doesn't have homeless just illegal campers.

So in a strange town as two women traveling together with only our too friendly airdale, I would like to stealth park to prevent hassles from unwelcomed intruders of both the official and unofficial type.

So that's why I posted the question because it seems very difficult to pull off the stealth parking in a burro so I thought maybe it's better to just be blatant about it.

I'm hoping some of the more widely traveled have some experience in this and can share their insights.

Thanks for responding and thanx for the laugh and yes your new name sounds just fine to me!

Warmly,

Laurie

[CharlynnT]

I love that term: Stealth Camp.

I read a while back that the camper-van previously owned by Babs (Barbra Streisand) was for sale on e-bay. It had a large clothes closet, change room, a nap place, and a galley and a lav, but looked like a nice urban mini-van.

I can imagine her not wanting to Go in any public place: with her current Australian tour tickets as high as $1500 a seat, imagine what a solid piece of her "blackwater" would go for ... on e-bay.

Going to my room now.

[Mike Watters]

I read a while back that the camper-van previously owned by Babs (Barbra Streisand) was for sale on e-bay.

imagine what a solid piece of her "blackwater" would go for ... on e-bay.

Ewwwwwwwww

"Fan" IS short for "fanatic" after all...

After all these years, I'm still a pretty rabid fan of DEVO - but I've got my limits.
(On the off chance anyone on the list is a fellow spud - PM me to find out what little memento I turned down...)

mkw

[Frederick L. Simson]

OK, I think I'm missing something here. Why the need for stealth?

Could it be the $45 to $60 per night campground fees? 3-day minimum reservations for weekends? Welcome to [b]$an Diego.

Your Burro is 17' long and your Subaru Forester is almost 15' long. How stealthy can 32' of distinctive (brilliant white) vehicles be?
In my neighborhood, 2 consecutive curbside parking spaces are rare prime real estate.

[BobB]

Laurie,

I agree. No stealth camping in an egg. Too cute. Too unusual. Too obvious. You'll have to stick with places like San Antonio Lake.

[tomWc]

Regarding your too friendly Airedale, what a great dog! I grew up with one and she was super friendly too, a lapdog that I never expected to protect me. Then one halloween my dad came in to my room, where my dog and I were sleeping. He was wearing a mask and groaning like to dead. He was the one that got a scare when my loving pet tackled him with jaws snapping and barking like mad!

Dogs can sense danger, my guess is that you've never seen her when she's mad. I think, god forbid, you were ever threatened in front of her she'd shock you like my dog shocked me.

[Donna D.]

I've been following this topic with interest...someday I'm going to be retired and will want to live pretty stealth-ily. I have an elderly aunt who once owned a MinnieWinni and gave me some tips.

1. Gray hair counts...you can get away with just about anything...especially if you're a woman. She said, she'd pull into an all night gas station (not a truck stop) or convenience store and go in and ask the manager/clerk if she could park away from the main parking area for a few hours...she just couldn't drive another mile because she was too tired and was worried about becoming a danger to others on the road. (She was always between point A and point B on her way to visit her first grandchild...well, that's the story she always told.). She said she was never turned down. So, this is a time being obvious counts.

2. In residential areas that don't look TOO upscale or TOO shabby find a street that has SOME street lights and is plenty wide for traffic (don't want to get hit while sleeping). Park after dark and leave before sun is fully up. Never park in the same place twice.

There were others, mostly funny and a margin of truth to them all.

There's a website you may be interested in reading. I found the link about the "Stealth Cargo Trailer," especially entertaining: Cheap RV Living

[Adrian W]

Donna D had some good advise. Stealth Camping IMO would be easier in a Van, just because it is smaller and may not look like a camper right off.
Way back when, we had a Chevy pickup with a shell/cap camper which we did some stealth camping. The only real time where we were not suppose to stay, was at the Grand Canyon South. No room at the campground, on the way out along the rim road somewhere not by the rim, but in a section of forest we saw a forest road going off. Just a little off the main road but with a screen of trees and plants, we pulled in and leveled it as best of possible. We spent the night, no-one the wiser, as far as we know. We did not use a lot of lights, had curtains on the windows. We were in our 20's and it was around 1972 or 1973. In this day and time, I would not try it again.

We would try one of these if possible: http://www.freecampgrounds.com/

Or find a Wal-Mart: http://www.allstays.com/c/wal-mart-locations.htm
and others like Flying J, K-Mart, Sam's Club, Costco, Target, TA Travel Centers, Pilot Travel Centers, Petro Stopping Centers, Loves Travel Stops and Cracker Barrel sometimes will allow overnighting. My son and his family plus my daughter spent a night at a Target in OK in May and a Wal-Mart in SD plus a state park in Neb.

Califonia has the Enroute Campsites at some of their State Parks/Beaches:
http://search.parks.ca.gov/cgi-bin/MsmFind...mp;x=45&y=7

We go for more comfort in camping/overnighting now days. We wanted our shower and head with us.

Even the US Air Force are retiring their stealth fighter air craft.

I also agree with the comment on "Dogs can sense danger" and would add they will protect their owners/pack members. You bet!

A single shot 20 or 410 GA shot gun would be a big help in a time of need and not be as frowned upon by the police as a pistol. I have looked at a few but not gotten one. Yet.
Correct me if I am remembering this wrong. In the book "Travels With Charley" by John Steinbeck, one night he stepped out of his pickup camper with a shot gun after being worried with some people as he was over nighting at one point in his travels. In 1960, Steinbeck bought a pickup truck and had it modified with a custom-built camper top -- rare for that day -- and drove across the United States with his faithful poodle, Charley. It has been credited for the boom in RVing from then on. I read it back in the 70's and enjoyed it, I already had a pickup with the camper shell on it by the time I read the book.

[David & Leslie]

Ha, Per, verrrry funny! Or ... what about the boat name from the John D. MacDonald stories: The Busted Flush? Happy travels - L 'n D

[Linda R002]

Last December we spent two weekends parked with our bright green truck and brillant white Casita parked in parking lots in San Diego area. We fully expected to have a visit from officals and had papers showing we were working at the nearby building all weekend and had their permission but no one came to ask about it. Not one person asked why we were there. Many in nearby apartments would watch us pull up and park but not one person offical or otherwise bothered us. Sometimes hidding in plain sight seems to be less noticed.

[Rand]

Three sticker options on the trailer door to consider?

1. "Protected by Smith and Wesson" (that's big here in the South!)

2. "Do you know .....?" Fill in your choice of savior...people run from the religious.

3. "Owned and operated by the ......................" Add in your favorite cult's name.

Just suggestions...not trying to offend anyone:-)

Rand:-)

[Adrian W]

Rap "Crime Scene" tape around the egg?

[Brian B-P]

...In my neighborhood, 2 consecutive curbside parking spaces are rare prime real estate.

And that's assuming that you can parallel-park a tug-and-trailer rig. I've done it, but it's not trivial.

I'm guessing that parking lots are an easier target in areas with limited street parking. There, the best setup is two end-to-end spots, which I so far have been able to find when I have wanted them (such as at restaurants while traveling), but you can't count on it. Since such lots are normally private property (such as a store parking lot), the owner's permission is needed, and thus the point of stealth may be not so much "getting away with" camping there, but rather avoiding the unwanted intruders.

In the end, I can't see how any regular production travel trailer is going to look like anything but an RV.

[Bobbie Mayer]

How about putting a "For Sale" sign on the Burro? Then you can park in places where people park things they want to sell.

Just make sure it is a 555 number!

Bobbie

[Jan Adams]

I was thinking about this while we were away in Canada. Lots of cities are starting to make it illegal to park on city streets from 2-5 AM or some other time - just so that you can't park overnight.

Here is a suggestion that was given to us when the campground was full - go down to the boat ramp and camp there (especially if you are in a van). We did this several times when the campground was locked for the night OR full. No one bothered us. Want to continue your "disguise" - take along a fishing pole - you can say you got tired and wanted some shut eye.

[Chris Dunphy]

I have been living and traveling full time in a small Tab clamshell.

One thing I love about the Tab is that the window blinds completely seal out interior light from leaking out. From the outside, no one can tell you are inside.

I've camped on downtown city streets. Any place that is legal parking is fair game.

The key is making sure you have no light leakage, and just be stealthy coming and going. Also - don't stay in the same place too frequently.

Cheers!

- chris // www.radven.net <-- Travel stories and pictures...

[Frederick L. Simson]

I just saw this on Ebay... Not Fiberglass but

Link to ebay STEALTH CAMPER

[Joe Z]

I just saw this on Ebay... Not Fiberglass but

Link to ebay STEALTH CAMPER

I Like It .... pull into say an all night supermarket at the edge of the parked cars (not too far away so they think your inside the store) and snooze away. definately would be a conversation piece in the campground.
Joe