I have seen several posts recently about people turning to this lifestyle due to unfortunate circumstances and their options are to live in their car (car camping) or on the street. Since I’ve been homeless before and talked a little bit about that in my blog on how to be safe while traveling, I thought I would revisit it.
First of all, I should warn you that my first experience with “car camping” wasn’t a positive one. I was 22 to 23 years old with no resources. There were no blogs, no Facebook groups, no widely known ideals about this. You were either a camper (who had an RV or camper that you took to campgrounds during the season) or you were homeless and didn’t even have the benefit of a job or a car. Those who were in the lifestyle and had tips and tricks either weren’t sharing them or weren’t so prolific as now that they were easy to find. I didn’t want to be homeless and I did a lot of things to prevent anyone from knowing because I was ashamed.
All of that aside, when I decided that I wanted to live like this intentionally, it was a MUCH different experience for me. I fundamentally believe that sharing my experience helps others to avoid some of the pain and suffering I endured and that’s a big portion of why I am writing this particular blog, in this way because it is much different from my other entries.
⚠️ This post contains affiliate links. ⚠️
If you use these links to buy something I may earn a commission, but it adds no additional cost to you.
This is a free way for you to support the blog and we appreciate it. Thank you!
🖤Jinx & Willow
WHAT DO I DO WITH ALL OF MY STUFF?
Again, this will depend on whether you are a weekend warrior and have a place to keep your things when you’re not car camping or if you’re doing this as a lifestyle change. There are two schools of thought for the longer term of car camping (and I’ve done both).
One is to get a storage unit (inside and climate controlled of course) and put everything that you may want again in the storage unit. It will have a monthly cost ($30+) and you would have to come back to it should you need anything. When I was forced into car camping due to homelessness this was the route I took. I had to sneak back into my residence and take my belongings and then I put them into a storage unit so that I did not have to worry about someone damaging them or selling them and pocketing the money. I truly believed that the situation would right itself and I would be able to move it all back in. When that didn’t happen, I moved onto the second school of thought.
The other school of thought is sell it or donate it. I took what I couldn’t dare part with and kept that in my car; sold what could be of value in order to fund my travels and donated what didn’t sell by my departure date. Not to mention, I couldn’t use the mattress or frame in the Ford Focus I lived in. I had 7 boxes of books, tons of knickknacks and furniture. I also donated all clothing I had except about a weeks worth of casual clothes and a weeks worth of “work clothes.” The only thing I didn’t sell or donate are a bunch of dishes that I adore and are passed down from my family. They are safely stored with a friend of mine in California and have been since 2015.
UPDATE: As of 2024, they still have them and are getting a lot of good use out of them. They told me now that I’m more stationary I can send for them whenever and they will ship them to me.
WHAT DO I NEED TO SET UP MY CAR FOR CAR CAMPING?
The answer to this depends on whether you are doing this as a weekend warrior, due to homelessness or due to joining the nomadic lifestyle. The reason for this is that the first one is less permanent with some of the modifications you’ll be doing and the last two have some more drastic measures to be taking. For example, as a weekend warrior you might not want to permanently remove all but your drivers seat to build out a bed right? But if you’re homeless or wanting to do this on a more permanent basis that might be a thing you do.
MODIFYING YOUR VEHICLE
Some choose a “no build” and other’s choose to remove things like the back seat. What you choose to do will depend on several factors; the biggest being skill and ability. Some might be able to look on Youtube for a video and remove the backseats, but can you physically do it? Do you know where you can put the backseat once it’s out? Will you store it to put it back in later? Will you sell it as a part to someone who needs it? Do you pay a body shop to do it?
If you choose a no build option, can you maneuver around in your car through all of the supplies to sleep comfortably? Can you get out in case of an emergency or if you feel unsafe in the area you are parked in? All of these things need to be considered and you need to have an action plan decided beforehand. Just like kids in school practice with fire drills, you should also know what to do if something doesn’t go according to plan.
WHAT KIND OF SUPPLIES DO I NEED?
Regardless of which set up you choose and what kind of lifestyle you’re living, there are some basics that you need to have. These may change depending on what kind of vehicle you are using as well.
- BED: Build some kind of platform out of plywood that can hold you. Make sure there is access underneath where you can get to in order to use for storage. You can order a child size mattress from Amazon. I recommend a Pack and Play style mattress that folds so you can store it in your trunk when you’re not sleeping. You can also buy a waterproof mattress cover and fitted sheet to protect it. Alternatively, for a no build or car where you have to sleep in the backseat, I recommend an inflatable sleep pad. It makes it MUCH easier to hide that you’re sleeping in your car but also more comfortable than feeling the seat belts and the contours of the seats.
- BELONGINGS: We already covered your options. For the things you are keeping, I highly recommend the under the bed storage totes. They get a little pricey, but are worth it. Avoid the plastic drawers. Nothing will stay in, they can break with pressure from moving around and they limit your space.
Someone in one of the Facebook groups I am in had a really good point: Sell or donate everything that is not essential. Things can be repurchased. Renting a storage unit would be throwing money away that you could use to survive. - CLOTHES: You should only have enough clothes for a week. If you have storage you can store winter clothes till it gets cold, then switch. I recommend using packing cubes for your clothes. These come in a variety of colors and you can get either an 8 count or 6 count. Cost is about $16-$24 depending on color and quantity. They can be pushed into the nooks and crankies to make sure everything stays secure while moving but also utilizing space that would otherwise be empty.
- LAUNDRY: Every weekend, do laundry and get ready for the following week. Don’t use a laundry basket, use a laundry bag (if you purchase the packing cubes I recommended from above, the 8 count comes with a laundry bag).
- ER RESTROOM: When I car camped, I always parked at gas stations or near gas stations to use their bathroom. When I lived in my camper, I made a bucket toilet using a 5 gallon bucket that I lined with a trash bag and put pine cat liter in. Someone on my beloved Facebook group said for car camping you could buy a bed pan and do something similar. Line the bedpan with a trash bag. Throw in a scoop or two of pine chips. Sit on it and go. Then tie up bag tightly and put in a 1 gallon ziplock bag until you can dispose. I’d also recommend disposable gloves for cleaning. It was recommended to store the bedpan in it’s own plastic tote for sanitation.
- FOOD: You can buy a gadget called an immersion heater. You plug it into your car and stick the coil end in a cup of water and it heats water. With hot water you can make dry soup, oatmeal or cream of wheat, ramen or Mac-n-cheese. You can also make hot beverages like hot chocolate, coffee or tea. For warming up leftovers if you splurge on food to-go, I recommend a mini-oven from Amazon. This is a mini-oven that plugs into your car. You can cook or heat lots of stuff in it.
Buy an insulated bag for grocery shopping and a small cooler to put on the floorboard of your vehicle to store small amounts of food that needs to be refrigerated for no longer than 24 hours.
I recommend this complete camping mess kit from Amazon. It comes with 1 large and 1 medium sized pot, a fry pan, a 1.1L kettle, a 2.6 gal collapsible container, a 12L collapsible bucket, 4 stainless steel cups with silicone protectors, 4 stainless steel plates, 4 sets of dinner cutlery (4 forks, 4 knives, 4 spoons with 4 storage bags), 2 cleaning cloths and a bag that it all packs up and fits into. It’s amazing and perfect for car camping.
ADDITIONAL SUPPLIES
- Get a good flashlight – I have a solar lantern I use inside the car. I also have a headlamp for hands free when I get out of the car or camper.
- You’ll want to get blackout covers for your windows. These don’t provide insulation, but they will work fairly well and have a way for you to peak out without removing it entirely. There are lots of tutorials on youtube about making your own and I’ll link one below.
- If you find yourself needing power, a portable solar generator with a solar panel is going to be your best friend. The Upusa Solar Generator is small, inexpensive and it will get the job done. Just remember to bring it to work and plug it into the wall. It takes 8 hours in full sun to recharge and you likely won’t have that a constant basis so it won’t do the basics like charge your phone or laptop without plugging into the wall.
- An inexpensive tent. If you need to stretch out, for places that don’t allow car camping but allow tent camping and to save your spot are all good reasons to have a tent with you just in case. Some also use a tent to save their spots while dispersed camping if they need to run into town
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Here are a list of YouTube videos that show you different builds and ways of making it through car camping:
- @MadisonClysdalee has a lot on winter camping. She’s a weekend warrior and has lots of helpful videos. I really love her channel.
- @HoboAhle’s video here shows car camping in a honda Civic and the many different set ups she has. She is one who removed her backseats and build a platform to sleep on. She car camps with another person.
- Christian Schaffer – She talks about vanlife and overnight parking. She also has a nice video on safety for women.
- Jake McCollum – Sedan passenger side bed Build for under $100. He also has an update where he is living in a brand new Prius, and shows his build, plus other helpful tips.
- Emily Sedona – DIY Privacy Shades/Insulate Your Car Windows
I really hope that no matter your reason for car camping, whether it is voluntary or not, that this is helpful in some way. There are resources for you, you just have to know where to find them and I will be thrilled if I can be one of those resources for you.