by Sunday night. It's a small car, a 1999 Ford Escort.It's cheaper than the motel by a long shot and we can save up money quicker that way. Is it safer to stay at a Walmart parking lot or like a truck stop? I've been told before to stay at a truck stop. If anyone has any tips, they will be well appreciated.
Hi outcast - I'm sorry to hear about your situation, I've been there before. Truckstops are pretty safe, but they're loud and it's difficult to sleep (at least for me) Hotel parking lots are good, I don't know about Walmart. Just make sure you don't have loads of junk in your backseat, cos then people might complain to the police, but really the worst they can do is tell you to move on. Another suggestion, if you don't have a reliable place to shower (friends house or something) get a gym membership (20 dollars a month?) and shower there! I lived in cars off and on growing up, never for more than a few weeks at a time. It's hard to get any sleep in a tiny car, so hopefully you won't have to sleep in your car very long. You'll definately save lots of money, at least around here.. the cheapest hotel is 30 dollars a night, it's insane. Good luck!
thanks. Cheapest around here is 40. I(we) just need to save up enough for the first months rent and maybe sec. deposit, which should be no more than 3-4 weeks. The motel just gobbles up cash like no other. I just found out the Ymca is only 40 a month. Gyms, for some reason, are more. I've been checking out the two truck stops around here (Petro and TA) and the Petro has a car lot that is fully separate from the truck parking, so it's quieter.
Hi Outcast! I used to drive those big rigs and from experience I can tell you that in your area the best truckstop is the Petro since it DOES have a seperate parking lot for cars.. 3 or 4 weeks is not too bad... I too have done it. AND just so you know, IF you do stay at a truck stop, they offer showers for a few dollars and they have hot water and clean towels.. ASK CASHIER FOR SHOWER TICKET! Eating at truckstops IS EXPENSIVE however! so eat there in moderation.. I would suggest getting food that does not spoil and use that for main food intake with the truckstop as a perk. I think that you will actually be alot more comfortable at the Truckstop being that there are always ppl coming and going.. Walmart after it closes it's just you and security. Good Luck and Keep us posted!! Loving You! Daniel
i would also sugjest some sterno, its a low flam cooking fire gel, its neat and you can cook over it, great for a car or parking lot
thanks you guys. I will definately keep you all posted. I always gonna have food on me. i don't like too much truck stop food. Thanks again. My offical "car living" starts on Monday morning rather than today.
Good luck. A little tip. You might already have plans of doing it. But I figure might as well toss it out here for you. my dad is a truck driver (on the road all week then off most of the weekends) so he takes a cooler filled with ice so he can have cold water and keep some food cool. He has couple water bottles that he fills up then tossses into the cooler. Of course I wouldn't hold ice cream in there or anything like that. But some foods would be ok like ketchup/mustard/etc.
I only get 4 hours of sleep a night..because I can't find anywhere to sleep once day breaks. The cops are ALL over and they had a absolute zero tolerance for "homeless" people (people get "mistakenly lost" in the system here and I don't like to sleep in the day at the truck stop since the parking lot is filled with people. It's kinda a drag and not a good situation. We might have to go back to the motel..kinda sucks..really bad.
hmm... You are saying "we" so it sounds like others are with you. Have you considered rest areas? I wouldn't sleep there alone, but with more than one person you should be safer. And many people stop and sleep at those places at night, so any cops or anything would just assume you are traveling. Also, have you looked into housing programs from the gov't? They will help you pay rent if you qualify. For sleeping during the day...have you considered rigging up some curtains (safety pins and bedsheets, or table cloths) and buying one of those sun sheilds for the winshield and back window? That should give you a better feeling of privacy for sleeping during the day when people are walking around. I have never lived out of my car, but I do road trip alot and rarely stay in hotels. Sometimes I would park in the back of a hotel parking lot to sleep though, sometimes in business parking lots, sometimes truck stops. But I don't do this alone, my husband is always with me. I have only been bothered once by the cops, who thanked us for not driving tired and left us alone to sleep (the actually drive by a few time in the night to make sure we were safe too - I can't remember the town we were in, but they were nice!)
Just another thought, but have you considered camping? A stay at a park for me is $4 a night (I primitive camp, campsites with water may be like $7 a night, but thats down here in TX). You can get a good size tent for $30, some sleeping bags, and you're all set. Most campgrounds have showers too. Most states have a "parks pass" where you pay one fee and can get into to any state park. So you could spend a month or two going all over the state camping, and you have a private place to sleep that isn't a parking lot.
