Comments on: Sleeping in a van without trouble or worry

By: Jessica

Jessica — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 23:41:42 +0000

Hi Scott,

This is definitely something I’m doing for fun. I have a weird part-time work schedule that involves working full-time for about a month and a half and then having a about a month and a half off before I come back to work again. This life-style makes it easy to have a job like this and take off in between to travel. I’ve been keeping my eyes open for a job that would want to make me settle down and stay in one place, but haven’t found it yet!

By: scott

scott — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:53:50 +0000

Hey Jessica, I just want to say that this is awesome! Would actually say that its fun or just necessary? So many people make it sound so sad and that they are just down and out. But I want to have fun and not pay for hotels!!! Im getting a van soon so i was just wondering.

Good vibes,
scott

By: RomanaS

RomanaS — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 08:56:26 +0000

Hey there Jessica.
Noise and light at night can be annoying when you are living in a car, van or bus. I use ear plugs to cut down on noise. They do not block out all noise, but they do cut down on it a fair bit. Thankfully here in Oz the cops are not at all anoying, and so far I’ve had no issues. Even if they did knock on my door, they would probably only do so if they thought I was in danger.

Cheers again,
Romana.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:23:13 +0000

Hi Steph,

That’s a question I get so much I wrote a post about it. You can find it at:

ayearinacar.com/faq-showering/

By: Steph

Steph — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:58:06 +0000

Where do you take a shower or bath?

By: Jessica

Jessica — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 02:56:39 +0000

My first response is that it depends on where you are, of course. In LA it doesn’t really get super cold so I haven’t really got to too much trouble with insulation or heating systems. It’s definitely something that can be done, though for the most part I’ll be keeping warm by not traveling to places where it’s super cold.

One way to think about it is this: The inside of the van is not going to get any colder than it is outside. And if it’s cold out, the inside is going to get just as cold. But people go camping in weather that’s -20 below so it’s possible somehow to sleep in those conditions.

During the time I spent in Flagstaff and Albuquerque in November and December it got to be in the teens and twenties. It was definitely cold, but I didn’t have a very good sleeping bag for cold at the time so I think that will help.

As for getting sick or getting backaches, yeah I get them sometimes, but no more than I did when I lived in an apartment and slept in a “real” bed. I’m working on a page for this website with a description of what my van looks like. The bed is really very comfortable. It is a more narrow than a normal bed, but otherwise just as good.

By: nelson

nelson — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 05:29:33 +0000

What do you do when it gets really cold?
Dont you get sick or get back aches or something?
I think the cold must be worse than the noise.
I once sleeped some hours in my car and it was so cold it was terrible… I dont think some blankets will do the trick. The car is metal and metal gets really cold…