There are many scenarios where you might find yourself living out of your car.
Maybe you’ve lost income and you’re living situation is collapsing.
Perhaps you’re looking for ways to combat the ever increasing rent in your city.
Or, did you decided that you want to invest your remaining savings into a memorable summer road trip while you reconfigure your life?
Is this #vanlife?
Not necessarily... more like #priuslife! Or rather, a guide on how to live in your car (or camper van) and some tips you need to know to safely get started.
Whatever the reason you think you might have to start living out of your car, the sad reality is that the current economic climate and social structure is forcing more and more Americans to begin to live in their vehicles.
If you’re finding yourself in a situation where your car must become your apartment, here is a list of 10 tips on how to live in your car and make the situation safer and easier.
10 Tips on How to Live in Your Car Safely and Comfortably
1. Downsize And Keep Only What You Need
This one is obvious, you aren’t going to be able to take all of your belongings with
you inside your car/van/or truck.
All you really need are the things that allow you to do the same basic stuff you did before you started living in your car—sleeping, eating, and going to the bathroom are the essentials.
There are many ways to go about setting yourself up for this. One of the most important things to consider is to have sufficient bedding.
If you live in a cold climate you might need a sleeping bag. If its hot where you live you may want a 12volt fan that goes into the cigarette lighter adapter in your car.
No matter where you live, you’ll need a sleeping space. Cars with back seats that fold down flat are the best for making a bed, but you’ll likely have to make do with what you have.
They even have blow up air mattresses, like this one, specifically designed for the inside of a car.
Investing in a small and well insulated cooler can help you store food for several days. Using water bottles filled with ice helps keep your food cold and dry.
You can even wrap your cooler with a sleeping bag during the day time and park in the shade to help keep your food colder for longer.
A lot of people invest in a gas camp stove in order to make hot water for cooking. Others use water boilers that plug into the 12volt socket in their car.
(Note that when using gas stoves make sure there is proper ventilation in your space)
As far as the bathroom goes, most people go outside their car but its important to have backups for emergencies. Remember, shitting and pissing in public can be illegal. Sometimes it may be safer to go in a water bottle and usea a WagBag to dispose of your waste later.
Women can even use a She-Wee or a female urinal to get the job done.
For your belongings outside of the essentials, take what you use and touch on a daily basis and then decided from there what you really need. Keep it simple and, if you can, put the rest of your things in storage.
2. Trust Your Gut
Living out of your car means sleeping in your car… obviously.
For most of us, this happens at night and night happens to be the time that cars are most often burglarized.
Finding a safe place to sleep is a task you’ll be doing every single night. By making yourself invisible in your car, either with a dark tint, curtains, window coverings, or even hanging some jackets in the windows, you can sleep in peace.
Check out our guide to “Overnight Parking and Stealth Camping“
It helps to park in well-lit areas away from housing, public transit stops, and walking paths.
Don’t spend more than a couple of nights in a row in the same place. Have a rotation of sleeping places that you can rely on and move your car to if need be.
Remember, if something feels or looks wrong, move your car and find somewhere else.
Getting used to sleeping in a car takes time and is both scary and intimidating at first. Trusting your gut will help you sleep well and have a better experience.
3. Don't Let The Doubt Creep In
If you’re living out of your car or camper van, not by choice, but rather by circumstance, then it is important to recognize your self-worth.
Yes, people are going to look at your weird when you brush your teeth in that parking lot.
Yes you will “feel” people staring when you take down a window shade.
However, these types of experiences don’t make you less of a person.
Remember that you’re a human being just like everyone else and circumstance doesn’t define your life.
There is a way to live out of your vehicle and not only be a productive member of society, but also add value to your own life.
Try focusing on activities that not only keep you occupied but are also enjoyable. This can help mitigate the negative feelings associated with being forced into an alternative living space.
And that’s exactly what you’re doing—living alternatively—and there’s nothing wrong with that.
4. Know Your Rights
It is important to find and know the local legal code regarding sleeping in your vehicle overnight.
This varies, not only state to state, but city to city as well. Many major cities have passed ordinances designed to criminalize sleeping in your car as well as sleeping on the street. Whereas, in others cities local governments consider sleeping in your car okay.
If you live somewhere where it is against the law to spend the night in your car, make sure that you’re doing it very stealthy. Do what you can to block your windows and make your car look like any other car on the street or lot.
5. Stay Clean
Living out of your car means having to plan a bit around taking a shower.
However, there are several options for a cheap or free public shower.
Many people living van life or traveling full time opt to pay for a cheap nationwide gym membership at a 24-hour gym.
This gives you access to showers, as well as a place outside your vehicle to use the internet.
When you don’t have this option, using baby wipes to bath yourself is a great way to clean up from the comfort of your own car. Wiping yourself down with wipes will help you feel refreshed, clean, and normal.
You can also invest in a cheap solar shower bag. These are more practical for when your camping, boondocking, or stationary. However, they are a great thing to have!
Check out our post: “The 8 Best Solar Showers…”
6. Control The Climate
Living in your car is akin to, well, living outside. You’re always at the whim of the elements.
You can do your best to control your life. If it’s hot, investing in a small car A/C cooler can help. You can’t (and shouldn’t) run your engine all night with the A/C blasting, but a small powered unit can help.
On the cheap, a spray water bottle and hand fan is a quick and simple solution to staying cool. And although you most likely wont be cutting a giant hole in the top of your Prius to fit a Maxxair Maxxfan, you could invest in a 12V cigarette-lighter car fan.
If you’re in a cold climate and need to stay warm, invest in a good sleeping bag rated to
a low temperature. You can even find some of these for a lower price at an Army Surplus store.
There are some pretty awesome Chinese diesel heaters or even a propane powered Mr. Buddy heater too, that might work in your car.
Insulating yourself, as well as your car’s windows can make a huge difference on cold nights.
Do what you can to stay comfortable.
7. Stay Organized
This goes hand in hand with downsizing. Let’s face it, you’re living in a tiny space.
Everything you need is with you, and everything you don’t should be either stored, sold, or thrown away.
There’s nothing worse than losing your keys under piles of clothing behind the seat under a tote covered in a pile of trash…
- Have a place in your car for everything you own, and when you’re done using something put it away.
- Empty trash on a daily basis to keep things from piling up and have a designated place for any waste to go before you throw it away.
- Consider eating food that comes in little or no packaging to cut down on waste inside your car.
- Having everything in a container or bag makes it easy to stop at a carwash and clean things out every week or two.
If you’re organized and keep your car clean, living out of your car can be a more positive experience.
8. Find Ways To Make Money
50+ Mobile and Remote Jobs to Earn Money From Virtually Anywhere
There are so many ways to work remotely from home, or from the comfort of your camper van. Hell, you can even be a digital
The numbers get worse every week…
at the time of publishing this article 1 in 4 Americans are out of work.
That doesn’t mean that living in your car makes it impossible to find a job, or to keep doing one you already have. Plenty of employed people live out of their cars.
It’s even possible to make money with your car.
Uber and Lyft might not be lucrative right now. Plus, letting others into your vehicle only works if you can fit everything in your trunk while working.
However, driving for a service like GrubHub, UberEats, InstaCart, or Postmates is a solid way to make at least a little bit of cash during the Covid-19 pandemic and still allows you to explore parts of your city you might not otherwise visit.
9. Find Community
Finding yourself alone in your car, day after day, can get lonesome very quickly.
Maintaining friendships, or finding community in online forums of folks living out of their cars, trucks, or vans, can help stave off some of the feelings of loneliness.
You aren’t alone in living in your car. Make sure you have a few hours a day to use some wifi or talk to a friend on the phone. It can keep your outlook positive and yourself happy.
Consider joining our facebook group or discord channel:
10. Ask Questions And Seek Advice
This final tip goes hand in hand with the previous one—you can always find more advice from people on the internet or those who you run into in the real world.
By looking at what others have done, you can find out what works best for you and discover ideas you never would have thought of.
Check out these forums for additional tips or any questions you may have regarding living out of your vehicle.
5 Things to Make Living In Your Car Easier
Now that you got some tips on how to live out of your car, here’s some essentials to make things more comfortable.
1) The She-Wee or Female Urinal
These products, and others like it, allow women to pee standing up and some of the more rigid ones even allow you to pee with your pants on!
2) Car Window Sun Shades
Not only will these things keep the hot sun from beating in your car and turning it into an oven, they are also a must have for privacy reasons.
3) 12v Cigarette Lighter Fan
This little guy plugs into your cigarette light and allows you to get some air-flow through your car without having to turn on the engine.
4) Small Camping Stove
This thing is small and portable and just twists right onto a small propane canister. These are what hikers and backpackers use, but they definitey work for living out of your car.
5) A Blow-Up Car Sized Air Mattress
This thing is perfect for sleeping in and living out of your car. They make them in a range of sizes so make sure to search around to find one that fits your car the best.
In Conclusion
Even if you are forced into it, living out of your car doesn’t have to be an uncomfortable or embarrassing situation. Hopefully these tips and suggestions helped you figure out how to live in your car safely and comfortably.
If you think of any awesome car-living tips that would go great on this list, let us know in the comments below!