Before you park -

A mistake we made early on was getting to our parking space for the night and realizing we had to pee. We also had to make the bed, change into some night time clothes, and settle in. Without fail someone would have to pee, and as soon as you open the doors consider your cover blown. The goal of boondocking is to be as unseen as possible. No out the door pee breaks before bed. No litter falling out when you open your doors in the morning (I’ll discuss the morning after later in this blog post), and after 2 weeks of sticking our butts out the door to pee just before bed, we finally got a routine that works for everyone, even our 3-year old son.

It’s always preferable to roll into the town you’ll be staying in during daylight hours. This way you’ll have a chance to check out the neighborhoods before you sleep in them. You’re less likely to be singled out and you won’t have any surprises in the morning. Find a store, cafe, park or other late night establishment near where you’ll be parking for the night. This will be the last place you visit just before you bed down. Establishments with private stall/sink combos (like all-gender/family bathrooms) are best because you can wash your face, handle lady business, and otherwise have a private moment in the restroom before the night is over. A luxury on the road.

We usually bed down sometime between 10pm and 11pm depending on the day’s events. Van life is incredible, but most days are filled with adVANture so 11pm is a late night for van lifers of all ages. Do any necessary lights on bed prep stuff in the parking lot of where your bathroom is so that way you can roll into your sleeping spot, turn off the headlights, and get to bed stealthy like.

Residential Neighborhoods -

We have spent the majority of our boondocking nights in residential neighborhoods. We try to look for “average American family” looking neighborhoods. Not the wealthiest because you might encounter snobs and cop callers. We also try to avoid the sketchier neighborhoods because we care about our safety. Middle of the road neighborhoods tend to have just enough traffic to keep the bad guys away, but still quiet enough to get some sleep.

Be sure the area you pick has flat streets. Sleeping at an incline or with your van tilting towards the curb absolutely sucks! I’ve only made that mistake once. Be picky. If the first spot you find has too much overhead street lighting, gives you a bad vibe, tilts, or otherwise don’t feel right, trust your gut and find a new spot. Parking by fences, hedges, and shrubs will provide an extra layer of privacy and will help you avoid staring in someone’s window at night.