Living out of your car

All y'all talking about eggs and no one has mentioned the most important thing here - OP is planning to do this in a Volvo. I've owned 2 XC70's and think they're great, but once you hit 100K miles make sure to set aside $1,000/year for repairs.  

most vehicles that are older are going to be similar. They all break,. especially if you do lots of dirt roading. 

Math Bertwrote:

All y'all talking about eggs and no one has mentioned the most important thing here - OP is planning to do this in a Volvo. I've owned 2 XC70's and think they're great, but once you hit 100K miles make sure to set aside $1,000/year for repairs.  

My coworker has 345k on his without major issues. Payed $1000 for the car too. I love outta a transit connect and I’ve considered going to an xc. Super capeable vehicles off road too, seen him have more fun in it than someone should with over 300k

Consider getting a small, cheap tent to stake your claim on a campsite, if you'll be traveling places where that might matter. City of Rocks is enforcing restricted sites for rv use, and rv includes converted vans. A token tent and a passenger car gets you in more sites. It also lets you offload some if you're staying awhile. And, means someone is there for some dispersed camping too. Even that gets filled sometimes, so if you move your car, you could lose your spot. 

Definitely be able to block light somehow, for those times you do end up at Camp Walmart, but even a full moon is a lot of light shining in your face!

I bought a friend who was dirtbagging out of a Honda Fit a fast heating water thing that plugs in. It worked well for him. It would probably work off of a Jackery too. That's another good thing to have, Jackery or equivalent.

Best, Helen

I'll reiterate how clutch window covers are. The WeatherTech ones I have are pricey (and not perfect) but even with the defects I still say they're worth it. 

The addition of strategically placed velcro makes it work great, and I can literally camp ANYWHERE. The largest opening is approx 1/8", and there's no way in heck that anyone can visualize anything with that small of an opening. If it's too hot and you need ventilation, I take one (or two) windows, remove the sunshades, roll them down less than an inch, and close the door (from the outside) on a towel. Make sure that the towel hangs in a way that viewing inside is not possible. This can mean piling things against that particular door, to keep the towel tight against the door, but should let in enough air and also eliminate the telltale of condensation on the windows, so that "evidence" for a ticket won't be present (in places where they utilize window condensation as reason to "assume" you're sleeping inside, even if you don't respond to rattling your vehicle).

If you drive regularly a small electric fridge was a game changer for me.  Granted I had solar too so if I wasn’t driving I was good to go. 

I've done this for a while in various vehicles. All you need is a sort of simple wooden system to let you lay down mostly flat, window covers for privacy if expecting to camp in rest areas/truck stops/urban areas, a small USB fan to eliminate condensation, and some sort of comfortable mattress/pad. The best are the 4" self-inflating ones if you want the ability to put it away. But, some stacked foam toppers can be done for cheaper Won't be as compact though.

If you want true luxury, get a small jackery in the 200 - 500 wh range. It'll plug into your cigarette lighter and charge while driving.

A roof box is awesome for gear storage. 

Oh, and if it's super cold or super hot it's no big deal to let your engine run overnight so you have climate control. In terms of wear and tear, it's minimal. When idling your engine is under virtually no load -- it's just running the accessory belt. Now if you idle as often as a police car you'll have more frequent oil change intervals, but it doesn't harm the car one bit -- just a marginal amount of wear and tear. 

An engine will consume about 0.1gallons of fuel per liter of engine displacement. So for a 3.5L v6, the engine consumes 2.8 gallons of fuel over 8 hours, and at 25 mpg highway that's equal to about 70 miles of highway driving. So a night of running climate control puts an hour of highway mileage on the engine -- not much wear and tear at all. 

^ this is kinda true in cold weather, but in hot weather, running the AC while idling for hours will wear your engine and fluids. Vehicles have a grill and fan for a reason

You definitely don’t want to be idling your car all night for AC in warm weather on a regular basis. I’m doing it right now in a rental van while I do hurricane relief in south Florida, but I would not do it to my own vehicle.

For one, it wears out the internal components of your engine about twice as fast because fuel ratios are not ideal at idle; which means the fuel does not burn clean. Muddies up the insides faster 

this is why buying used cop cars is not a good idea. the odometer only tells half the story. the rig also has thousands of hours of idling... 

Question for the OP: instead of the roof storage, have you considered a small, lightweight travel or adventure trailer? It would need to be light since the Volvo has a low towing capacity. Something on the order of 1500lbs or less dry weight. 

Roof top attic is super convenient and didn't change my mileage  noticeably.  Towing  sucks.  Backing up short trailers sucks.  Slipping into small parking spots  is  impossible.  Try  climbing at cathedral  spires in Custer state park and get back to me about how much fun it was trying to find a parking spot while towing a trailer.  Heck try the same trick at Rumny  ....

Nick Goldsmithwrote:

Roof top attic is super convenient and didn't change my mileage  noticeably.  Towing  sucks.  Backing up short trailers sucks.  Slipping into small parking spots  is  impossible.  Try  climbing at cathedral  spires in Custer state park and get back to me about how much fun it was trying to find a parking spot while towing a trailer.  Heck try the same trick at Rumny  ....

You wouldn't bring the trailer with you everywhere. You'd find a campsite where you could leave it.

James Woods wrote:

I think the op is trying to stealth camp. Not haul around a trailer that blasts "I live in of my volvo." 

It depends. You certainly wouldn't bring a trailer with you everywhere you go.

  i have a trailer for work. its something you always have to think about and it sucks. you don't always have a campsite but you do always have a trailer to deal with.  even the fact that you left the trailer at a campsite ties you down and limits your freedom to spontaneously do stuff. 

Nick Goldsmithwrote:

  i have a trailer for work. its something you always have to think about and it sucks. you don't always have a campsite but you do always have a trailer to deal with.  even the fact that you left the trailer at a campsite ties you down and limits your freedom to spontaneously do stuff. 

Gotta agree w Nick. I think the best advice you’ve gotten is to just downsize and fit everything inside. In my experience everything except for climbing gear just becomes a liability and something to get stolen.  

Nick Goldsmithwrote:

  i have a trailer for work. its something you always have to think about and it sucks. you don't always have a campsite but you do always have a trailer to deal with.  even the fact that you left the trailer at a campsite ties you down and limits your freedom to spontaneously do stuff. 

If you are moving everyday the trailer might be a hassle. If you spend a week or more at  most sites a trailer is luxurious. With a heater, fridge, sink, stove, storage, table, double bed and room to stand up, it’s no longer living in your vehicle but simply living. When we got our popup A frame, we are just as comfortable on the road as at home. Back in the day I dirtbagged in my pu for a solid two years, I enjoyed that but there is no comparison. Takes us 5-10 minutes to fully set up when we park. Haven’t really had any issues towing or backing up. Trailer is definitely not as stealth if trying to park in a city but that’s never our first choice anyway. 

I found the attic to be amazeing!

Dr Logic wrote:

• can refrigerate my eggs

10/10 well played sir

https://youtu.be/l-DgMYB6L0c

A truly beautiful (and still sorta stealthyish) van. "Van life" doesn't really appeal to me, but something like this....could be tempting.

Best, H.