Part time living in a camper?

[SDDiver5]

Oh, I'm also right by John Wayne Airport in Irvine/O.C. so I have tons of parking avail but would have to pay.

And I'm also near CA state parks/beaches where I could possibly park (depending on the rules)

 

[pappawheely]

Did you do the gym membership thing? I used to live near that area and can't think of anywhere that is viable for what you want to do. Irvine is locked down pretty tight. If you are thinking about Newport Dunes it's booked up in the summer and expensive.

 

[BigJimCruising]

Drive a few miles to Santa Ana, no one ever bothered me or told me to leave. The police there are pretty busy day and night so they don't usually have the time for campers. I mostly used places like hardware store lots and big box store lots. Avoid malls since they usually have security guards 24/7.

 

[SDDiver5]

Pappawheely- I havent decided on a gym yet as I am still driving to SD every day and utilizing the gym I go to there...there is a pretty nice gym right across the street called Equinox but its incredibly overrated and super expensive. They love the fact that Kobe goes to an Equinox gym somewhere...Still undecided about joining a gym up here since Ill only be staying the night ever once in a while.

Big Jim- Santa Ana is super close so I'll check it out. Even San Clemente is semi close. I dont think San Clemente Locals will have a problem with a surf rig.

Going to look at the hospitals in the area like some have said because there is a big Kaiser hospital around here.

 

[BigJimCruising]

Can't comment on San Clemente, never been there. But skip the hospitals, most have security these days but the bigger problem is sirens all night long. You won't get much sleep there. Trust me, I know!

Walmarts, Targets, Lowes and Home Depot where the best I found. They will wake you up early with big rigs making delivery's but you need to get up for work anyway! lol

 

[pappawheely]

Anyone stealth camped in one of these? http://www.ie511.org/rideshare/park-and-ride

 

[BigJimCruising]

In the past I've thought about overnights in park and rides however when I went to check them out I found that they are clearly posted against over night stays. So I figure that there are so many other places to go that I wouldn't take the chance. No need getting a ticket with so many other choices of places to go. Now that was about 10 years ago and since then some laws against "public camping" have been overturned but rather then trying to sort it all out I'll just go places that I know are ok.

 

[Haraald]

I posted an ad on craigslist once offering to pay a nominal amount for boondocking and got a surprising amount of responses for driveways, in front of houses, etc. Which makes sense, you're basically paying someone not to call the cops on you, which isn't that hard of a task. I might do that again if I were to visit LA, because it seems so much better to know you have permission to be somewhere, can sleep in, can run your generator, etc. Every urban stealth camper gets caught sooner or later; the vast majority of time they're just told to move on, I guess if you're ok with that then no need to pay.

 

[BigJimCruising]

Haraald: That's pretty clever! Never thought of doing that. When I get back in my camper I might give that a try.

 

[SDDiver5]

Funny you mention that, I actually thought about doing that. Put an ad on CL asking for wifi use and a parking spot at night. Thanks for bringing that up!

 

[pappawheely]

I worked at a restoration shop once. We had many very expensive vehicles there. For that reason we had a security guy who lived in a camper on the lot at night. He worked during the day and showed up around closing time. You might be able to swing a deal to be a watchman/caretaker. He said that it was generally very quiet at night, everyone goes home after work.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

This thread has taken on a life of its own. Still more observations: Besides many of the 'techniques' listed above, Jeanie and I have overnighted on friends' driveways and at the curb in front of their homes even in far flung places. A few years ago on our annual July, 'Camp the Coast' in Oregon with our kids and grandkids, there was always a long trip getting from our home on the west slope of the Northern Sierra Nevada to the coast of OR. Too long for one day with 8 people. The problem was, it was hot going through burgs like Redding and Red Bluff and camping around there was out of the question....or so we thought. Using a mapping program we tried to find a cooler, highest elevation place about half way along Hwy 5 that we could layover. Off the 5 at Siskiyou Pass, and uphill toward a ski resort there was a tiny patch designated National Forest; federal land near the access road. Just enough space for my TC and their class C MoHo with a great view and up high. As it worked out, this is half way from our place to the Oregon Coast. A couple weeks ago we kept going up the road past the Ski Resort to the winter parking area which required a pass in winter but not in summer. Here are some pics of that area: everyone else stealth/free camping here were locals also trying to escape the heat of the lowlands.
**my photo bucket will not load right now, so I'll be back with the pix when is working.
jefe

 

[jefe4x4]

This is jefe (mundo4x4casa) with the pix: I deleted all my cookies and could not get back on here, or any website. Cookies are back. I was told when I changed internet providers that I could not use two servers. Well, here are the two.

The snow parking area in summer: our rig is on the right; kids 'C' is on the left. There were locals in TCs, tents, big MoHos, tt's, 5-ers, and sleeping in SUVs. Elevation here is about 6600 feet. Great place for a layover. There seems to be no governmental control over this area in summer. The exit from the 5 is Mt. Ashland.

guy on the left is sleeping outside on an air mattress:

Mt. Shasta, 2nd highest peak in the lower 48:

looking E. by N.E.


We have developed several of these convenient layover spots that fit our travel plans in the western U.S.
jefe

 

[Fanboy]

Brilliant idea. Do it.