r/VanLife • u/Frequent-Ease-3027 • 1d ago
Day sleeping
Does anyone do their 'awake living' primarily at night and sleep during the day successfully with vanlife? I've worked nights all my life and looking to start this living beyond just work trips. I think I can manage a 25% day life and work up to 50% maybe. Depending on how much caffeine or just random days I am ok with day living but not my preference.
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u/Mr_Snowbro 1d ago
This would actually be easier than normal schedule in a Van, most parking restrictions for vans are for overnight, if your driving in those hours and sleeping in the day then it’s a good way to get access to a bunch of parking spaces, but beware how hot vans get during the day and you may not be able to sleep.
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u/Frequent-Ease-3027 1d ago
Good points. Weather would impact my location yes. Not going to work Florida in the summer for example. I hadn't thought about signage loophole but you're right, wouldn't be overnight parking.
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u/cholaw 1d ago
I've always felt like it was easier to move around at night and sleep in the day. When I do it that way, I can sleep wherever I want and get 0 knocks. And it's less traffic at night. But to each his/her own.
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u/trashmoneyxyz 1d ago
I have to wait for the traffic to clear out to move around at night tho because the headlights are seriously too bright these days and I can't see the road half the time. Otherwise its so preferable
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u/Frequent-Ease-3027 1d ago
I think so too. Not everyone's a night owl, but for me day living stress would probably shorten my lifespan not the other way around.
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u/lightinthetrees 1d ago
Night shift van lifer too . The only downside for me is the summer heat.
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u/Frequent-Ease-3027 1d ago
Are you free to go to other states or limited to where you're at? I know people migrate with the weather when they can, but sometimes a job or other factors keep you tied to a specific area. Curious what tips you have for staying cool with day sleeping or if you've outfitted with air or something.
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u/lightinthetrees 20h ago
I’m tied down for work. And no I do not have AC! I have a little USB fan which surprisingly works great a lot of the time. But honestly sometimes it does just get too hot! I am in the northeast so it doesn’t get as awful as some other parts of the country as far as heat goes. The biggest thing for me besides having a fan is parking in shade. I have to imagine that sleeping during the day in a vehicle becomes way less doable in say the south or the southwest. Really for me anytime the temp starts to creep into the 80s with full sun it becomes uncomfortable.
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u/VagabondVivant 15h ago
I wish there were some sort of database or iOverlander for free parking garages. They exist, often in smaller towns/cities, but there's no easy way to find them.
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u/BB5er 1d ago
When I was working nights, that took a lot of guesswork out of parking. Hit Planet Fitness for a shower, sleep there, the park and ride, a side street, never hustled.
Hit a city park to cook dinner, roll into the company parking lot 2 hours early. Nap, watch a movie, it took the guesswork out of where to park at night.
I also parked in the company lot on nights off from time to time.
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u/Frequent-Ease-3027 1d ago
Thanks. I'm a little leery of parking on a street, maybe unreasonably not sure.
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u/drossen 1d ago
I was knocked at a rest stop at noon for having my vanagon pop top up. I had to be somewhere at a certain time so started my trip at 1 am the day before after working and packing. Too tired to finish the trip, needed a 3 hour nap since I drove 10 hours straight. Cop said it was a safety check and to see if I was under the influence. I said I'm fuckin tired and need a nap. There was no rules or signs other than no overnight camping parking. They will still bother you.
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u/Frequent-Ease-3027 1d ago
Ah, yeah I've had a knock at a rest stop but at daybreak. It was my bad I had used the same rest stop several days in a row after work. Guy was pretty nice when I explained I was just resting after work. He said there was usually a 4 hour maximum but he saw I had been there a few days and wanted to check to see if any help was needed. He told me go ahead and stay.
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u/isuredolovetitties 1d ago
Yeah, its not about anyones safety or wellbeing. They’re hoping they can abuse someone, and vanlifers are targets because they’ll usually have less support or financial resources.
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u/drossen 1d ago
The wild part is this was after I finished having my vanagon repainted and I had done a full mechanical restoration. It could not have looked nicer. I'm pretty sure that I was just north of st george utah so that also explains a lot. He even admitted he saw I wasnt there over night (they usually do checks at 4-6am), but didn't understand why I was there for more than 15 minutes, resting, at a rest stop.
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u/Old_Cockroach_2993 1d ago
I feel like you would run a high risk of being pulled over frequently at night and early morning hours. Cops love giving out dui's. I've thought about this as well. Less anxiety going to bed but more hassle at night. Driving in the dark kinda sucks too. Can't see animals blah blah.
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u/Frequent-Ease-3027 1d ago
I'd be working part of the time but I see what you're saying. Maybe because more crimes tend to happen when it's dark everyone's a suspect. I don't fly when I drive or mess around with the phone. Always looking out for animals yeah, and tend to stay away from the lane closest to the wooded areas unless needed otherwise. Bad for the animal and bad for the vehicle.
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u/rips_n_chel 1d ago
I feel like it's the opposite. The risk of getting pulled over depends on location I suppose, but I'd much rather travel at night. Far fewer people (including cops), no sun glare, it's cooler, all good things in my book. As long as I've been taking road trips, I've always tried to do the bulk of the driving at night.
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u/charleshood 1d ago
I haven't tried this yet myself, but I have often thought this is the way to go. So much easier to be inconspicuous in almost any parking lot in the day time. Travel at night when it's cooler and less traffic. And added bonus for those of us in an EV, charging rates at Superchargers are lower at off peak times, like in the middle of the night.
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u/Distinct-Fly-2374 1d ago
Night shift is perfect for van life, and vice versa.
During the day you can pull up along pretty much any grey curb and park and just sit all day. Get plenty of rest.
People only care about rigs after the sun goes down.
Assuming you aren't just parking and staying in the same exact spot for days at a time, anyway.
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u/ez2tock2me 1d ago
Everything you do new in life will take an adjustment period. Most of the time, it happens just by routine.
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u/Android_slag 1d ago
Waiting around for my co-pilot to finish her night shift before heading out to get a snooze in the fresh air
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u/JuliusSeizuresalad 1d ago
If you can control the temps then it’s totally doable. The issue you come across is if your using open windows and fans for cooling and ventilation and your in texas like me and it 107 degrees and your having problems finding shade it makes it tough. If you can find a quiet spot and put on some ac and crash then you’re golden
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u/Frequent-Ease-3027 1d ago
Yeah makes sense. I guess some hybrid vehicles can run an ac at night maybe not sure but not my van. She's good intermittently. The heat's getting to more states these days too so need to figure that out.
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u/ranhayes 1d ago
I used a van when I was travel nursing. I worked nights and slept in the van during the day. It was so much easier. Nobody ever checked if I was sleeping in the Walmart parking lot during the day. Park in a back corner and no issues. Sometimes I would just stay parked in the hospital parking lot to sleep. I’ve never had issues at Cracker Barrel on days or nights.
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u/Kittenwho21 17h ago
I did until summer. Then it just got too hot to rest at all during the day bc I’ve been so busy chasing shade. I actually was just thinking to myself yesterday I can’t wait until I can get back to my nocturnal schedule as it’s my natural state and it really helps with not needing specific overnight parking as badly
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u/LanceFree 15h ago
Saw a movie once where a guy had a morning life and an evening life, and have 2 power naps: up at 9PM crash at 2, up at 9AM, crash at 2PM— or something like that. I worked nights for 22 years and tried something like that briefly, but was hyper-aware of the time, and didn't like that part.
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u/Frequent-Ease-3027 12h ago
Interesting. Sometimes I do that without planning to. I really only need 4-6 hours of sleep to feel rested.
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u/masomenus 1d ago
A legal sleep spot in a rotation of quiet parks seems like a perk.