Hey, I'm not in an emergency situation, but I might have to travel soon by car. I don't have the money for a hotel and if I can't stay awake through a long drive, I'd like to know my options.
Just in case, I'm wondering about places where I can sleep in my car without being harassed.
General travel tips are appreciated too.
Edit - Thanks everyone for the advice! At the beginning, I was really anxious about taking a trip like this, but now I feel like I have a plan. It means a lot!
Most Walmarts allow you to sleep in their parking lots. The only ones that don’t will have it posted. But you can even get away with the ones that are posted most of the time. Worst case scenario, the cops show up and tell you to leave. Truck stops generally don’t bother you either. Also any rest area. I rubbertramped for a while. I can try to answer any other questions you may have
Yep Walmart parking lots are notoriously good urban camp spots
https://freecampsites.net/
Used this a ton for road trips. General freecampsites.net tip: always have a backup site in mind in case plan A is closed, or full, or made of 3 ft deep mud, or on fire, or otherwise fucked. Then have a backup backup site.
I haven't used this one yet but it seems pretty popular these days: https://www.ioverlander.com/
A tea candle can keep a car above freezing. Good idea to have a pair of gloves too for an emergency freezing situation.
To add to the temperature related stuff you can pick up a military surplus sleeping bag for cheap that will keep you cozy even below freezing.
You can camp out in national forests as long as you’re like off the road or something. The national forest websites give the details.
I look for free camping spots. Hunting camps, primitive camping sites, and the like. Spent a few years on the road, looking to get back in doing vanlife soon. Walmart and costco parking lots aren't out of the question, but if there's a camping site a few miles out of the way it just saves you a lot of hassle.
interstate or state route rest areas. it's basically what they are for (in theory at least)
I personally have never asked. Always a fan of ask for forgiveness, not permission in stuff like that. Also, they’re not going to tow your car if you’re in it.
Okay. Well I’m not saying that’s never happened, but I spent over 5 years being homeless riding trains, hitch hiking and living in vehicles. I’ve probably slept in over 100 different Walmart parking lots all over the country (not an exaggeration unfortunately) and that has never happened to me, and I’ve never heard of it happening to anyone else. The worst that’s ever happened is they tell me to leave. I’ve even been out of gas and had the cops wake me up and buy me gas before.
There's a difference between being safe and just doing dumb unnecessary stuff.
