VANLIFE - tips for city stealth camping in a van

Living full time in a van - London alternative living

Stay stealth in a city while camping is a must. Unfortunately this lifestyle isn't understood and allowed in most of the cities on this planet. But if you believe, like I do, in freedom this shouldn't stop you to try to live your life in the way that you wish to.
Of course, it is also important not to force your ideas, beliefs and lifestyle on others. Therefore stealth camping is a way to go.
1
To live in a van and camp in a city you need a stealth-van (stealth camper). This usually means converting a commercial van. A van that hasn't been built to be a camper but a van for commercial use such as a panel van.
A panel van has no windows. Usually the cargo part of the van is completely isolated from the driving/passenger area. There are 100s of vans like this in a city, often white, some have writing all over.
Those vans are part of the city, no one will notice you if you live in one of those vans.

mercedes vito 2016
Which size and model and brand would be the second step. I went for a small/mid size. I went for a Mercedes Vito long base. Vito is the Mercedes equivalent of the VW Transporter. The camper version of the Transporter is well tested and have servers 100s of people around the world. The size is perfect as easy to manoeuvre and park. Big enough for storing your true necessities and always ready for adventure. Another one that really intrigues me is the Ford Transit Custom, which is a touch bigger but still in the same size range. I would consider these options for the european area. If I was in the states where everything is bigger I would've probably get a different van.

stealth van
2
My second tip is, buy secondhand. Search for the right one and get it as soon as you find it. Use your money for travelling and experiencing life more that having a brand new van.
I've bought mine for £2,150 ($3,000) instead of £19,000 ($26,500) for a new one. So far I've only had to change the tyres (£250 - for the 4 of them). The engine seems in a good condition, the rest of the van definitely looks used. I guess a decent amount to invest on a van is between £/$ 5k to 8k. So you can get a van in really good conditions.
I didn't have those money and my idea was to get a cheap one, experiment with it for a year and then reevaluate everything. Lifestyle, size of the van, type of conversion everything.

van conversion

3
OK, now you have your van, how to convert it. This is a huge topic, will go through it in details in future articles. But brieth, you need a bed, a place to store your stuff, and place to store your food, an area to prepare your food and an emergency toilet (or a everyday one).
You also need ventilation and way to get some light inside the van. A way to keep yourself warm. Electricity to charge your phone, computer and for lightings (led).
Those are lots of things, So the bigger the van the more possibilities you have to arrange those elements in different ways. Creativity comes handy here. First of all always try to give to one thing more than one use. For example my main storage compartment is also my bed. My emergency toilet has been build in a way that is also my table.
Will soon post more about van conversion and floor plans.

appyparking review

4
How to survive the city. Where to park your home?
This really depends on which city you are in. I'm in London (UK), one of the most difficult city to live in. Mainly because of the restrictions you have and the amount of CCTV cameras. In most part of the city you have to pay to park. To go through the centre you need to pay the congestion charge. London is in a Low Emission Zone (LEZ), Therefore you need to be sure your vehicle is allowed in the restricted zone. You can check if your vehicle is effected here.
For finding a place to park there is an amazing app for most of the UK cities, It's called appyparking, both for android and iphone. It basically tells you where you can park and when it is free. There are still some places in London where parking is free 24h a day. Others where you can park all day apart for 2 hours. In most places you can park for free during the weekend.

stealth van in london

5
Stealth camping means your doors are always closed and so are your windows. The van has to look like empty. No one is inside. You should keep moving the van, don't spend too much time in the same spot.
Ideally when you decide to go to sleep you move the van in a quiet and safe area, find a nice flat spot and park there. When you wake up, get dressed, have your breakfast and move your van. If you have done your electrical system properly, your second battery (leisure battery) will also charge while the engine is on. More you move, more electricity you'll have. Keep moving is the key factor for stealth camping.

6
If you are planning to spend long time in the city, get a gym membership. This allows you to have access to showers, toilets, saunas, steam rooms and plus it keeps you fit. There are monthly subscriptions as well as yearly ones.

7
Join Tinder... don't need to say anything else here. Use your imagination of the pros you can get.
To be honest I'm not longer that kind of person, so tinder has been a sort of failure.
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