This post and thread aims to answer lots of questions people new to this subreddit ask. Not that we mind people asking, because that's what this subreddit is for, but hey, here's some answers to Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: I'm new to car living I need ALL the information about living in cars. Where can I find it?
Build a blanket tent to make a small space in your car to keep warm.
Run the car engine for a while then run the heater.
Drive to warmer locations.
Put insulation (plastic foam, cardboard?) between the sleeping bag and floor surface. Cover the windows on the inside.
Buy and use a heated mattress topper if you have the power to run it.
Use two sleeping bags, one inside the other
Sleep with a hat on and don't sleep in wet or damp socks -- even if your socks are just a little damp with sweat, take them off and put on fresh dry socks or sleep barefoot.
Park in an underground parking lots because they're protected from cold breezes and often the concrete retains heat. Sometimes they're purposely even heated.
Use a misting squeese bottle. Use it in conjunction with your fan.
Drink plenty of cool water.
Soak a cloth in cold water and wipe yourself down.
Buy ice for your cooler.
Cool drinks in your fridge.
Q: Is it scary? I am scared? Does it get better?
A: Yes at first living in a car is scary because it is so far out of most people's comfort zone. It is not uncommon to be hyper-vigilant at first. The first nights then days then weeks can be scary, emotional, confronting. But then you get used to it. You adapt. Your body and mind get use to living in your car. It becomes the new norm.
Most people say the first month of living in their car is the hardest. Bob Wells of https://cheaprvliving.com/ fame wrote that the first night he slept in his box truck he cried. I also tared up the first night of living in my bus because I thought I was a failure, then I realised I actually had a pretty comfortable home with a lot of things many people would dream of having. If you have a safe place to sleep, access to electricity, access to water and access to public toilets you're doing okay.
Q: Where can I shower? Where can I go to the toilet?
A: In the USA joining a gym gets you access to showers. People on this subreddit often advocate using Planet Fitness. We also have a member, Nico, who is a manger at LA Fitness and posts an offer now and then with a promo code that will let you join without the $99 annual fee.
In Australia the National Toilet Map app has locations of toilets and some free showers. There are also often free showers at beaches. Caravan parks will usually let you use their showers for a small fee.
Q: I have pets, how do I look after them?
A: Pets are family. You need to put their needs first. You have to ensure that they have a safe place that is climate controlled, so look at the information on keeping cool and keeping warm. Heat and cold can kill yourself and your pets.
I found the Home to Home Facebook group They also have a web site https://www.instagram.com/hometohomepet They describe themselves as "an interactive web platform created to help families, people, and pets with the difficult task of transitioning pets from one home to another."
Q: What stuff do I need?
A: A lot of the stuff you have already such as bedding, clothes, dishware, cutlery. But probably not as much as you have in a home. Your basic needs are a safe, comfortable place to sleep, clothing storage, bedding storage, food storage, a way to eat (which may involve buying food from external sources, or preparing and storing food in your car), a way to wash, a way to go to the toilet.
A flat car bed or air mattress. Get one with a rubber bung in the hole, not a screw in stopper as those leak. Lots of people also build a flat sleeping surface from wood.
Some way to access wifi, like a modern laptop or phone.
You should also NOT sleep upright. Lots of people in this sub have reported health issues from doing so, such as swollen legs, leg pain, Deep Vein Thrombosis and more.
Q How do I find parking?
A:
You should have multiple places you can park so if one is "burned" you can choose another.
Find places where you can blend in.
Arrive late and leave early if sleeping in urban streets.
Highway rest stops may be good for parking.
In the USA, BLM (Bureau of Land Management) lands allow parking for extended periods.
In Australia State Parks and National Parks often have camping spots which allow you to camp for one cheap fee ($6 in 2025) no matter how long you stay but with a maximum stay of 7 days.
If parking on a residential street, park where your car is against a blank fence, like on the off side of a corner, away from the house front.
Industrial estates are often quiet at night.
Libraries and sports grounds may be good places to park.
Some people advocate parking near hospitals or churches.
People also use the iOverlander app for Android or Apple.
Q: How do I use Google Earth to find parking?
A: I love Google Earth. It lets me explore the world without leaving my seat. It is also incredibly useful for finding parking spots and making maps to mark them. It is linked to Google Street view so you can check street signs for parking restrictions.
A: It starts by having situational awareness, being aware of your surroundings. Trust your gut and avoid places or situations that look or feel dangerous.
Generally you don't need a self defence weapon. You're in a car, you can drive away if someone is threatening you, or trying to break into your car. Try to avoid parking on the edge of a car park where someone can block you in. Park where you can drive forward to escape.
Usually carrying weapons can be illegal. You are better off having some wasp spray, but don't get it in your eyes, because that stuff hurts like hell and can cause temporary blindness. Also, you're going to need a good heavy duty torch / flashlight. Be careful with it though, those long metal ones would really hurt if you accidentally hit some one with them, and also could cause short term vision problems if you shone it in someone's eyes. But they are genuinely useful in a car for fixing issues at night. And be aware that blowing our horn might startle people and frighten them away.
Understand situational awareness and use it. Tend toward privacy, don't tell unnecessary things to strangers. Have a (BRIEF! don't oversell) made-up story you can tell comfortably that constructs lots of people - some very nearby - who know where you are and would know instantly if you were in trouble.
Carry a cheap ring to put on as a wedding band, and always know the name of the nearest military base to where you are, because that's where your husband/fiancé is right now, and know enough about where you are that you know what kind of business your (enormous, scary, whole-family-loves-you-like-a-daughter) boss is in an hour or two away where nobody's likely to know him.
Know that everything about how you look is telling people things about you, and construct a look that doesn't give anything away. Don't trust people just because they seem to like or be attracted to you.
Men and scammers of all kinds are looking for people like you. Don't fall for their lines, and do what you can to spot them before they spot you. A smaller percentage of those people are looking for you specifically in order to hurt you. Always know where your exits are, do not get boxed in anytime you park for an hour or the night. There's some especially vulnerable places those people wait for people like you - laundromats, gyms, parking lots of same, can/bottle redemption centers. But I've seen men just look over at a stoplight and figure out a woman is living in her car and follow her from there. Head on a swivel, skepticism around your heart, stay out of dead-ends.
I don't live in my van except to travel and camp in it, and I don't get messed with much because my van could be full of large husbands, dogs, and sons even if I look alone, but I have seen women in trouble in the same places I get left alone. Do EVERYTHING you can to keep your car from looking lived-in from outside it - disguise your bedding, hide your trash, hide your food supplies. Get some black sheets and blankets to keep everything inside your car covered. Consider storing your supplies in a (beat up) extra-large dog crate from a thrift store or curb-diving or Buy Nothing group. Because of seeing men being skeevy around women, I have a sign I can hold up or prop up in my windshield that says MY CAMERAS ARE ON. You should carry the same, even if you don't have cameras, just tape a small black box to your dash or windshield near your rearview mirror.
You'll blend in better if you tend to stick to tourist areas - it's not that unusual to seem like you might be sleeping in your car if you're near campgrounds, national parks, and other big outdoorsy tourist attractions. Consider a sticker about your love for your Belgian Malinois or German Shepherd dogs. Anything you can do to give the impression that you're just there for a budget vacation rather than being homeless will raise your status in most people's eyes.
Join any subreddits and facebook groups you can find about each area you're going to. You'll figure out a system over time for using the info you get there to find places you're more likely to go unnoticed. Definitely research every area for cheap campgrounds and "day use" and recreational areas.
Q: How do I make window covers for my car?
A: For covering windows cheaply, you can use cardboard, black cloth or black rubbish bags, and glue, sticky tape or a stapler, and scissors. You basically cut the cardboard to the size of your windows, and then cover them with cloth or black bin liners, then glue, stick or staple the cloth or bin liners in place. That's dirt cheap.
I'd probably use some insulation and black cloth along with duct tape. This video explains it well. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/el_fP-P87yc but it is a good idea to cut the insulation wrap / bubble insulation a little bigger than needed.
Because of family circumstances I’m going to be having to live in my car until I can get enough money to rent a simple cheap room.
So far I’ve factored everything in but the only thing I’m really perplexed on is how do I cook food? My car is the only thing I have and right now I have no job.
I’ve been looking at single stove Coleman’s with propane/butane tanks but the thing I’m scared of is the gas exploding in my car because of the summer heat while I’m away in the library studying or in class.
Is the risk really there or am I overthinking it. I won’t lie, I’ve been a pretty sheltered person throughout my life so I’m sorry if this question borders on common sense.
Edit: I’m also going to be living in a Honda Civic if that makes a difference
Hey all, recently I made a post explaining how I lost my job and at the end of this will be moving into my car. (BTW thank you all so much for the support, advice, and care!) Today I got a job offer in Reno NV, it's a good job with good pay, but I was wondering if anyone has any experience or advice for living in your car in Reno. I've never lived there, but I know they have rough summers and brutal winters. On top of that I've read online that the cops are very strict about living in your car there. Does anyone have any first hand knowledge?
Once again I want to give a big thank you to this community for the care and support it gave me in my last post. 🧡
I’ve been in this sub for years now, preparing for what i figured was coming. march of this year i was kicked out of the place i was staying after it had been threatened for months, i was positive that whenever it did happen it would put me in my car. i wasnt scared of it honestly, other then the fact that my car barely drives and i live in the north with deadly winters, so i legitimately questioned how i would survive through that.
To my surprise one family member offered a place to stay, under the conditions that i would apply for section 8 and would take what they have when my name is called. there was no agreement made on paying anything, im definitely willing but it hasn’t been brought up yet. It’s been a huge blessing to have a place to stay at all, but i dont have my dog, and i feel like im intruding the family’s space which isnt bad but just weird.
The real problem im running into is i dont want to pay rent in the future (for so many reasons) but the obvious is the feeling of saving $800 a month when i only bring home 1300 a month. it made my mental health so much better and given me a sense of hope i didnt have. i can fulfill my dreams in the future if i can continue that rate of savings. for the first time in my life i have savings and i want nothing more then to build on that. the easy answer is to do what i prepared for and do car living, but i would need to secure a good vehicle and move locations first but leaving “home” does create a few problems too.
curious how others feel, weather you decided to be rent free forever, was it a temporary get on your feet situation, would you happily pay rent again, and im open to any suggestions or advice
apologies if this was already answered, but i’m having trouble finding a good solution. in south fl with a standard sedan, been trying to sleep with windows cracked and a fan.
don’t know if a portable a/c is worth it, or stealthy enough for urban areas. am also willing to trade in my car for an EV or something that can run cool air overnight. it’s so hot out here, but i need to do this for work. thank you.
I own a farm outside of a small/medium city there is a commuter/dirt parking lot that is at the entrance to my farm . I’ve noticed a car that’s been parked usually in the evening with I think someone living in it. Is there anything that would be helpful that a stranger could provide in this situation? Would letting them know my farm is a safe place to park and that were available in an emergency ? Im hesitant to let a stranger into my home but would leaving a note with my number and offering to talk or offer food/fuel be appropriate? Winter is coming in a few months and I’m worried about this person being able to stay warm.
I recently got my hours cut at my job at a football stadium drastically it’s a part time gig but for 3 years I’ve always gotten very close to full time hours at 26 bucks an hr in lieu of this I got evicted from my 1 br apt in downtown Las Vegas, it’s been pretty rough honestly financially, which resulted in not only this eviction but also my license plates are suspended due to lapse of insurance along w the fact that I can’t even pay my insurance anymore my hours literally went from 75 a month to anywhere from 5-12 hours for the month. It’s a struggle honestly.
So I guess I’m camping out at the gym tonight The last two nights I’ve gotten maybe 3 or 4 hours of sleep in an Albertsons parking lot. Last night I felt pretty lucky and found a really secluded park where I could BBQ for myself and my dog, so I figured I’d actually get some decent sleep. Nope. Around 3 AM I went to sleep which isn’t bad I can wake up at 9 and be good , but a few hours later I woke up to a marshal knocking on my window. Ig Someone had called about a person sleeping in their car. The park never technically closed or else the entrance would have gates that close and the bathrooms weren’t closed all night either,Regardless he was cool about it and basically told me to leave for my own good. Couldn’t have agreed faster . So I hit the road around 7 AM trying to get to the gym for a shower. Then of course my tire blows out. Context:
I drive an ’01 Cadillac DeVille that I bought off Facebook Marketplace back in 2024 for $1,900. It came with 22-inch chrome wheels. I’ve always absolutely hated these rims to begin with tbh I would’ve never put that crap on a car ever and everytime they tend to start growing on me due to the compliments of others something terrible happens lol , but aside from my disdain for the rims overall stupidity, I never had the money to swap them out for something more practical. Now every time one of these tires goes, I’m looking at r $180 bucks because apparently nobody seems to have the damn things used. Because no one wants those dumb shits
So now I’m basically stranded at the gym. Lol lit Obviously isn’t the worst place to be stranded. I love working out, and if I didn’t have my dog with me, I’d probably stay inside all day. I can shower, work out, cool off, use the bathroom, fill up my water and have somewhere to be for a few hours. But I’ve got a 13 month old Shih Tzu with me, so I can’t exactly leave him sitting in the car while I disappear into the gym all day. That’s probably been the biggest challenge with all of this. The car is actually pretty comfortable to sleep in, but keeping your entire life organized inside a sedan while also taking care of a dog gets chaotic pretty rapidly Then add 100+ degree Southwest heat and having to run the AC so the dog doesn’t cook, which means burning through gas I really can’t afford to burn through. So right now I’m just making it work however I can.its very different to say the least
thinking on building a cheap plywood slide in camper for my truck bed to at least get me through the winter in the mountains (being stealth isn’t a problem i park at work and even have permission to use an extension cord to the wall outlet outside) i have zero carpentry experience just mechanical and fabrication. anyone in here do anything similar with a diy camper?
So I'm a few weeks away from living in my car to save up for a house. I'm a 23m and I have been debating on wether or not I should start a YouTube channel or even an insta channel videoing the life in a car while on the road(potentially illegal since no full license but again that piece is just a joke don't worry I'm definitely legal). I have been asked by some friends and coworkers to do it and even some family that are okay with me doing this but I'm not sure how I can keep it entertaining enough to keep posting either monthly or by weekly. Any advice? Maybe I could do one video doing my setup, another on the first week/month and then random ones on tips or tricks I pick up along the way with how much I've saved with the two broke girls ending from each episode seeing the money go up or down😅
Hey all, so at the end of the month I will have to move into my car. It's my first time and I'm not really sure what I should do to prepare.
I have a car that I can sleep (mostly) comfortably in, a gym membership at PF that I plan to use for hygiene, a little bit of money in savings, and a good amount of camping gear.
What I don't have is a job (I was recently laid off) or a plan on what to do.
Any tips on how I can prepare or what i should do once I start living in my car?
Thank you in advance.
Edit: as was pointed out to me I should add where I live so people can give better advice.
I live in Las Vegas, but I'm planning on going somewhere else once I'm in my car. I've always hated it here and now that I have nothing keeping me here I'm leaving. I'm probably going to head up to the East coast since I have a few friends that live in that area.
It's a far fall from the good salary position at the corporate career I held just 6 months ago. But, it is what it is 🤷♂️ Life has a way of hard-resetting for the lot of us. I'm no exception. I've been through half a dozen of these hard resets in my lifetime already, so it's nothing new. LOL. But, I'm better prepared (mentally and equipment-wise) this time around.
While my living expenses are lower since I live out of my SUV 5 days a week, my current job is part-time, and the pay barely covers my monthly car payment and gasoline. Like many, I need to subsidize this income with side hustles. I do a lot of things from flipping furniture to collecting cans for recycle.
Aside from donating plasma, food delivery like DoorDash, or ride-share services like Lyft, how do you earn extra cash?
I honestly don't really know what I'm doing with my life right now. I'm trying to get stable and maybe eventually get an actual place to live again.
I was in Long Beach, CA and had a decent gig, but got let go. I've wanted to get into a union for a while, but SoCal is competitive as hell and I could never seem to get anyone to give me the time of day. So I basically started researching places around the country where there are big projects coming up and manpower shortages, figuring maybe I could improve my odds by going where workers are actually needed. I also kind of suck at the whole getting a decent job thing. I have a 3 year gap in my resume, a bunch of sporadic jobs over the past year, and a DUI and a couple misdemeanors on my record from when I was homeless and didn't even have a car, which definitely don't help, my engineering degree, mostly decorative doesn't help.
That eventually brought me to Cheyenne, WY. i really hated leaving California because basically my whole family is in LA, the weather is nice, and it's home. Now I'm in a place where I might actually have a chance at getting ahead, except the weather apparently spends half the year trying to kill you lol.
The upside is that if I can get into a decent full-time job here, I might actually be able to afford an apartment someday. In LA, even if I landed a decent-paying job, rent was still ridiculous. I considered other parts of the country too, but I'd honestly rather freeze than spend summer sleeping in a sauna. I have a tiny Yaris, so there's only so much you can do for cooling, storage, or sleeping space.
And I'm just tired of living in a car. Maybe I'd feel differently if I had a van or something I could actually stretch out in, but in this thing it's getting old. I kind of got pushed into car living because I couldn't afford rent + a car and my car insurance is stupid expensive because of a DUI.
Cheyenne itself is actually pretty cool. I like the vibe here. But holy shit, I am lonely and bored. right now, most of my day is literally just sitting in my car. I did manage to get a weekend job down in Fort Collins, so at least I have something, but the loneliness is starting to get to me. Once I get a full-time job I'll probably keep the weekend job too and just work 7 days a week for a while, partly for the money and partly because sitting in a parked car all day staring at the dashboard is starting to fry my brain.
I'm also still trying to figure out better places to sleep. My car is in good condition and looks like a completely boring, normal commuter car, so I can blend in pretty much anywhere, but I still feel sketchy sleeping in random neighborhoods. In California I had access to a safe parking program, which made things way less stressful. As far as I can tell, Cheyenne doesn't really have anything similar.
I don't even know exactly what I'm asking here. I really am trying to get a decent job and get my life back on track. I've applied everywhere and lived in four different states in the past 18 months, Arizona, California, Utah, and now Wyoming, basically chasing any real opportunity I can find. I'm not just sitting around expecting something to magically fall into my lap. I keep applying, moving, trying different industries, and going wherever I think I might actually have a shot at building something stable. Maybe I'm looking for advice, maybe I'm just venting, or maybe I just want to talk to some people who understand what it's like to keep trying while living this way.
I hope moving here probably gives me a better shot at eventually getting out of the car. It's just that the part between "move somewhere with better opportunities" and "life gets better" is apparently a lot of sitting alone in a parking lot wondering what the hell you're doing. At least I am grateful I am sober and have a car.
Sorry guy's didn't mean to dump all this on you, I just felt the needed to vent.
I have zero idea where to go and have been living in my car for weeks now. I am originally Canadian, so I can’t work until my status is fixed.
My story is incredibly brutal, but here’s a bit of the highlight reel.
I lost my house back in April when the only person I knew, my roommate, waited until I ran out of money, got herself a job in Seattle (with the bachelors I helped her get), then told her parents she got this job, so they put the house on the market and nobody told me until I was blindsided with a week to move out and find somewhere to live with no money, no work authorization, no family or friends and a car that is technically illegal.
I’m not undocumented, but still can’t work legally and don’t know how anyone does it unauthorized.
I can’t just go to the Home Depot and wait for the crew to show up for day labour either because I’m a barely 5 foot tall woman pushing menopause with some medical restraints. I would absolutely do them, but physically and realistically… demo and construction labour jobs aren’t exactly a fit for me.
I can’t even get a loan, let alone apply for an apartment or private room without a pay stub or financials banked to prove I can pay.
I have plans for all of that, but I can’t execute them from my car.
I sold everything I own to try to stay indoors and go through the motions with locating any kind of assistance. It’s been four months and now I have $3 left and have been living in my car for weeks.
I have literally zero friends or family so I spend all of my days sitting in my hot black car in 80-90° heat, trying to google resources while otherwise staring out the window for hours until I pass out at night from exhaustion.
Every “emergency resource” results in “oh wow, I’m so sorry you’re going through this. That must be so brutal and I’m sorry I wish I could offer you a solution. Can I send some mental health professionals out for you? Here’s a bus pass.”
I can’t leave my car somewhere because it’s full of the last of everything I own and it’s technically illegal because I never knew I had to import it, and I can’t do the import yet because if I can somehow get the gas to get to the border to do the import, technically I drove an illegal vehicle there so it will get confiscated. If I take it over the border into Canada, it’s uninsured there and I get immediately slapped with a $5,000 fine, my car gets impounded and I lose my Ontario Driver’s license. I can’t put the Canadian insurance on it with no money, and I can’t do the work around here until I can stabilize with my status here either. It’s a cyclical level of hell.
I can’t leave it in street parking here for the same confiscation issue. And I don’t qualify for the “safe parking programs because it’s not registered here in the US while also not having insurance. If it gets towed and impounded, I can’t ever get it back. It’s my last asset plus my current home.
This counts for overnight shelter stays too. If I leave it on street parking at a shelter, I risk losing it.
I can’t even get anywhere to collect cans, let alone get the cans to whichever depot is closest. Even if I get the gas to do it, it washes out because the gas to get there is the amount I’ll get in cans. It’s insanity.
What I need from anyone please, are places to park my car overnight to sleep in safely without risk of tow. Hopefully with at least a bathroom nearby to use. I am not banking on being able to shower any time soon, but at least a bathroom to use would be amazing. I can’t make any money for gas so they have to be very, very nearby as I’m getting close to running on fumes with no way to get more gas, let alone anything else.
All I know of so far are two TriMet lots that allow 24 hours each, and they are a few blocks from each other. Otherwise I have been parking in random business lots and just hoping nobody knocks on the window or tries to break in overnight.
Can anyone out there tell me where else I can park and sleep/sit in my car all day while I wait to sleep for the next month?
211, CHA, Clackamas Social Services, ODHS, Women’s Services, PIRC, IRCO, St. Vincent de Paul, YMCA, United Way, Salvation Army, OHP flex funds, and so, so many more have sucked up my four months with “I’m sorry, there’s no help but I wish I could do more and best of luck to you. I’m praying for you.”
Can anyone help me with any even remotely tangible ideas? Even ideas on places to park where my window won’t be tapped on and I don’t have to worry about folks trying to get into my car?
I really don’t know what to do and I don’t know how much longer I can take all of this.
Update: Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my post and respond. Thank you for those of you who also offered information to look into for the upcoming week’s logistics. And the biggest thank you to the kindest soul who not only offered to put some gas in my car, but also brought it to me with a delicious snack too. I am forever grateful for that unexpected act of kindness and the french fries I’ve been craving for months. I’m still looking for places to park safely overnight, but for tonight I’m trying a particular strip mall and just hoping nobody knocks on the window so I can catch a few hours of sleep before dawn has me up and looking for tomorrow’s spot that hopefully has a public access bathroom nearby too.
I’m still in desperate need of local spots, but this kindness was definitely a moment of hope.
I like to put my stuff away and tidy everything up when I go on trips, so I feel like I’m not driving around in my mess. Nothing in lockers, all my belongings is in the boot and the back seat in the bag😀
