Living in Your Vehicle? | How To Be Self Sufficient Living in a Vehicle | What Exactly Do You Need?

what's the most important thing overall you you're the most important thing you keeping you well keeping you hydrated keeping you fed keeping you warm keeping you comfortable you're the most important thing so make sure that you take care of you well hey guys Nancy Fay here modern day Pilgrim I hope you're having a fabulous day today well welcome back to my channel well today I'd like to talk about what exactly do you need to live in your vehicle there are lot of people that just choose to live in their vehicle because they can and they want to and they want to travel around and you know vacation and and all that CH there are others who are forced to live in their vehicles whether it's they can't afford their their rent or their mortgage or just a bad situation has uh Fallen upon them they're fleeing uh an unhealthy situation they have a vehicle and they just make their getaway right so they have this vehicle they have a car it is a roof over their head and uh it is a Haven it really is a Haven and now you need to make your New Haven which is your vehicle your home so I'd like to talk to you and help you understand that it can be done it can be done simply and we don't need to fret the first thing I think is really really important if you're going to start living in your vehicle is having organization and I know when you're leaving a situation in a hurry you're only bringing what you need that obviously is a good thing right right but if you're in a situation where you're uh you have time to gather things and you're going to bring everything you possibly can in your vehicle and that's going to be your home well your vehicle's small now you've got a ton of stuff in there and uh it's not a really comfortable environment for you to dwell in because you've got all this excessive amount of stuff and I know we have stuff and I know we have sentimental things that we need to bring with us and and have and I get that uh I'm not talking about that stuff I'm just talking about stuff that's just you just feel like you need to hang on to it all and you're going to bring it in your vehicle I would uh I would suggest against that number one I just feel like um there are things you need in a home to live and there are things you don't need in a vehicle to live so that's next let's talk about what exactly do you need to live properly healthfully comfortably in your vehicle all right I make no bones about it today I'm going to make this video and I'm going to refer to notes because I'm not going to pretend to have it all memorized cuz I'm not a faker and I don't have it all memorized but I will tell you this I spent a good deal of time thinking about this thinking about people who are in this situation and I thought man I do this because I want to go rock hunting and I make my van into a camper but there are people out there who are in Desperate situations and I want to help them live comfortably in their vehicle so let's get into it let's talk about exactly what we need to do and how we need to do it if we're transitioning from a house to a vehicle and like I stated first off we need to be organized you have to think to yourself this is my new space this is my living space I want to be comfortable in it so think very carefully about where you're going to put your Stu you're going to have to utilize your trunk and you're going to have to be very organized in your trunk you just don't want to throw everything in there obviously but you want to be able to access stuff easily and have it organized in either bins I use trunk organizers but you can use bins whatever works for you it works whatever get it at the thrift store go to the thrift store find little containers and organize your stuff your trunk is your new closet your new linen closet your new everything closet it's where you're going to keep your stuff maybe your front seat's going to be a little bit of a space where you are able to uh keep things but if your front seat happens to fold back all the way and it can be flat maybe that's going to be your new bed I don't know I don't know what kind of car you're going to have I don't I don't know but all I'm trying to get across here is think very carefully of where you're going to put your stuff and make it as easily accessible as you can okay so number one organization it's key all right I'm referring to my notes remember because I told you I don't have everything memorized so uh what are some things to make your new living experience in your vehicle comfortable well you're going to need privacy no matter how you look at it you're going to need privacy so you're going to need some sort of window covers um I had mine made but you can cut them out of cardboard you can uh go online and do the DI wi figure it out everybody on there there are so many people that have wonderful ideas how to make window covers very coste efficient so you're going to need privacy for your windows here when you're sleeping you don't want people looking in your windows at you um it's important to have privacy all right number two you're going to need some kind of a toilet for the middle of the night now during the day you're you're going to be able to access uh public places to use the restroom to even brush your teeth and actually even wash your body if we're going to talk about toilets let's just talk about hygiene right out of the gate here um obviously you're not going to be able to take a shower every day if you're living in your vehicle and you don't have somewhere to do that but you can absolutely use water and a washcloth and clean your body on a regular basis that that's not going to be a problem brushing your teeth not an issue you're going to have toothpaste you're going to have a toothbrush right you're going to use your bottled water you're going to brush your teeth and you're going to spit that either in uh a napkin or I personally use empty water bottles and then I just throw them out when I'm done right cuz if you're going to drink the water out of water bottles and you have empties keep one or two of them uh have them on hand under your seat or whatever use them to spit in after you brush your teeth because you need to get rid of that right you don't swallow toothpaste so that's really important if you're in a situation where you don't have friends and family where you can visit to take a shower you know find those restrooms know where they are that have only one toilet lock that door utilize that space to wash your private parts to take care of yourself the best you can quickly in that public environment it can be done so you have to kind of be prepared you got to kind of have a bag ready so when you find that place you know these are things that are going to come as time goes on you're going to have your toiletry bag uh it's not going to look like a toiletry bag because you don't want these people to know that you're going in their bathrooms and using them to clean yourself you don't want that it's going to be like a purse or something I don't know for you guys maybe it'll be a backpack I don't know but uh have that stuff ready so when you do have a place and it's pegged I can use that restroom to wash in and to use the toilet and clean myself you've got your stuff ready there's no thinking so utilize those public restrooms during the day and find that one place that has you might need to do more than one because if you visit it regularly they might catch on but you get me right you get my drift rain guards rain guards guys so what are rain guards rain guards are these things that you can see on my window they come down let's see see that dark line right there that's a rain guard it's installed on the outside of the window and it it's very dark and it allows you to have your windows rolled down like I do right now but people from the outside can't tell that they are rolled down so if you're going to be dwelling in your vehicle for a long period of time I highly highly recommend getting rain guards at least for two of your windows if you can't afford to get them for the the back and the front get them for the fronts right right because um if you're sleeping back here and you don't want to get a draft you're going to still need ventilation we'll talk about that in a minute but maybe it'd be better to have ventilation in in your front seats but rain guards are a must okay uh bedding we did we talk about bedding you can get that at the thrift store everything you need blankets even down blankets uh sheets comforters sleeping bags which are the best I recommend if you're going to be sleeping in colder weather in your vehicle that you're going to utilize a sleeping bag and complet completely encase your body in that sleeping bag in your back seat in the bed of your truck uh in your minivan your SUV whatever you have keep your body completely covered right so think about that utilizing the thrift stores for all your bedding okay moving on heat well that's going to be an issue in the colder months for a lot of people if you have a smaller vehicle I don't really recommend having any kind of indoor heating situation that could cause a fire uh any open Flames I know people do that but I personally don't recommend it uh as you see I have a minivan I do have a little Mr Buddy Heater it takes 3 ft of uh clearance in the front in the very front in mid and at the top you got to have a lot of space for that thing even though that it doesn't like completely rise to the top you still need space for that heat to go places and not just next to or onto another surface so keep keep that in mind so keeping warm uh for a lot of us we're going to have to turn on our cars throughout the night heat up our car really well our vehicles and we're going to have to get sleeping bags things to cover us completely now um I'm going to turn my camera around and I want to show you something so give me a minute all right I want to make note of these little garment hooks all cars and vehicles have them I'm primarily talking to the people who will be living in a car not a van or an SUV but cars where they don't have the ability to have all this open space so as you can see I have sleeping bags in my van this is what I use this is a mummy sleeping bag I put that inside of a regular sleeping bag and I I layer up I have all kinds of videos on my channel I have a playlist it's called Uh van camping in Michigan please check it out I have a ton of stuff in there part aining to uh keeping warm in your van so check that out but this is what I sleep with double sleeping bags in the dead of winter but anyhow moving on to the people who are in vehicles cars that are sleeping in the backseat of their car you can string and I would use paracord a piece of paracord from one side of your car to the other make it very tight then what you can do is use a blanket preferably wool something that's thick and sturdy you drape it over that paracord over yourself in the back seat causing you to be completely contained under your makeshift tent having a smaller space for you to sleep in will keep you warmer in that little space than it would if your entire van or car pardon me was open and you were just sleeping in your vehicle so having a space around you that's contained by a blanket and you're in there you're in that little space that's going to help you stay warmer than it would if you were just sleeping in your vehicle I hope that makes sense all right moving on all right next where are you going to sleep where will you park to sleep for the night if you become a van dweller a car dweller an SUV dweller a truck dweller where will you sleep for the night good question some people depending on where they live they can find free land like BLM land uh Bureau of Land Management land not everybody lives out that way right and a lot of us uh are out east and in other places in the United States that don't have that that that opportunity well you might be stealth camping in the city so here we go if you're stealth camping if you're all of a sudden find yourself living in your car and you're in the city well you have to be very careful and very thoughtful of where you're going to park for the night so you don't get the dreaded knock right number one you got to have once again window covers that's really important and it has to be very dark in your car because if people see lights on in your car at night time they're calling the police you're going to get the knock and you're going to have to leave and we don't want that so having good window covers is really really important uh number two places where well here you go this is what I do when I stealth camp and I do stealth Camp throughout the state of Michigan I find places that people are frequently in and out of that aren't secured by you know security staff so there are hotels there are hospitals there are tourist places where you can park you got to get crafty you got to get thoughtful a lot of people I've uh watched on YouTube stay in in cities and they sleep on side streets now when you do that it's doable but you have to understand that when you park it's going to be dark in your car there's going to be no noise coming out of it and it's going to be just like no one's in the van so you might want to think twice about that or or just I don't know find a place in a city on a side street that might work for you I've never done inside street parking in neighborhoods or anything like that I I normally use Hospital parking lots I know there are people that are against that but I mean there are a million parking spots in a hospital yeah so I don't quite understand what the problem is they say well you're taking a spot away from somebody unless there was a world catastrophe no Hospital parking lot is ever going to be full and there are millions of parking spots in hospitals um even their structures their parking structures that's another thought uh hotels another thought but you have to be stealthy when you're parking in the city so you have to make sure you have good window covers so just keep that in mind and if you are strolling in to these places uh the best time to do it is at night so during the day if you if you have a job that's great you're going to be at your job when you're when you're a vehicle camper it's not like you're going to go home and relax it's just not going to happen you're going to go to work you're going to get in your car and you're going to relax in your car somewhere during the day for the rest of the day you're not necessarily going to go to the place that you sleep because if they see you there all day and all night they're they're on to you and you don't want that so you have to kind of be busy during the day you know go to McDonald's go to Starbucks whatever it is wherever you know you don't have to buy anything there but you can park in their parking lot for a while you can just relax you can even take a nap whatever no body is really going to notice you during the day in that regard it's just at night time that you have to be careful so whenever you're getting ready for bed you want to stroll in as it's getting dark or just after dark Park window covers up and you're going to bed basically or you're going to be quiet in your van and have no lights on it's just very very important so uh there's that let's visit the restroom situation again if you're in a bigger vehicle you're going to have maybe a a a bucket a 5 gallon bucket or something you're going to put a bag in it maybe cat litter uh what have you and you whatever but having a toilet at nighttime is obviously something that is a necessity heaven forbid you get sick in the middle of the night you're going to need something to vomit in whatever I mean these these are real things this happens so having a bucket handy uh so you can either use it for the restroom or for whatever purpose uh have it ready have a bag in it either cat litter horse pellets you can buy those at like Tractor Supply they're very very inexpensive I don't get the horse ones though I get the the rabbit ones cuz they're smaller but uh I have a video on that as well so check out again my playlist I have a a whole video on uh using horse pellets even cat litter as uh your medium in your toilet if you have to use the restroom but for the most part what we want to do is utilize the restroom all through the day and maybe even not drink think after a certain point at night so you don't have to get up and go to the bathroom but I know that's not possible for everybody and I know a lot of people have medical issues and and uh and have to get up during the night I totally understand that but do your research there are like little for women there are little little Miss potty funnel thingies that you can just kind of squat in onto this little thing and go into a bottle or a or a Widemouth bottle whatever I know this gets weird and graphic but it's it's reality um and then you can screw a lid on it and or whatever and dispose of it the next day uh or you could use the bucket with the medium horse pellets or cat litter and uh guys well you just got it made in the shade I don't I don't know what to say yeah what can I say you got it made okay moving on let's talk about a power source so I have this jackary back here this is a jackary 500 it's big um I use it for my refrigerator not everybody's going to have a refrigerator in here obviously especially if you're you know in a situation where you're just fleeing and getting out of a bad scene or or whatever you might just need a little cooler and that's fantastic but if you are into some sort of a power supply even a small one uh because you're going to want USB lights like this one here I have to have it on because I see if I don't have it up I'm I'm a little dark but this is a black diamond light I'm turn it off so I can show you all these things are USB powered when you start living in your vehicle you're going to want to think about what kind of things will you need to be comfortable and how will you power them in the house you have electricity you're going to plug it in the wall right well we don't have that as an option in most Vehicles if you don't have uh some sort of a power source right and you don't ever want to drain the battery of your your vehicle because this is your livelihood your vehicle is your livelihood so some kind of a small power source in my opinion is necessary even if it's just to charge your telephone you always want to have some form of communication um another thing I'm going to bring this over here that I think is important is circulation in your van and this is a little USB fan it has three settings and three light settings so this to me is a must have if you're going to be living in your van because you have to have proper circulation in here and we're going to talk about that next why do we need circulation in a van well because we are human and we breathe and when we exhale there is moisture that's coming out of our body which produces condensation on your windows so having your windows cracked and having a fan is imperative and it also helps you to feel comfortable and that's stifled in your van it's really very comfortable as you know even in your own house house you like a fan on you right um at your desk at work whatever the situation may be we all have fans somewhere in our house because they make us feel comfortable right they give us a nice breeze and they take away the heat so having a fan a little USB fan is important and but you're going to need to power it so do your research there are many many small power banks that you can get that would charge these little fans these little lights here where's my little light my little light here you can find all kinds of stuff another light I have is this one here this is a Kaizen light it uh has three settings also third being a distress signal okay it's also got a tiny little uh Power Bank in here if you need to power your phone and if you need it to be it can be a little flashlight you just make it small so this is Dual Purpose this is a great little item and uh I recommend them we got them for givs our whole family from our brother-in-law so these are fun kaisen look them up everything in my van that you see and I talk about today will be in the description box so don't forget to check that out so back to the power source scene do your research you might not need a huge one but you will need I mean in my opinion if you know if you live in a hot environment you're going to need a fan in your car right uh you're going to want some small power bank so just keep that in mind and and uh do your research on that all right let's cover food and water so obviously we need food and water if you're able to eat out or go places or people's homes that's fantastic that's really great but if you can't you're going to need something to sustain yourself in your vehicle make sure you have water on hand you know and if you're in a situation where uh you need Refrigeration a cooler a little bit of ice I know it can be costly to to buy the ice I I get that I do know that U but you have to do what's best for you if you if you're in need of a cooler and you don't have a cooler the thrift store once again they have everything everything you could possibly need to live in your vehicle you'll find there even even these USB type little gadgets that I have these lights you'll you can find them there if not they are there are many inexpensive ones online being organized again I think that's number one less is more bring what you need not what you think you might need just in case because that's where the Clutter begins and we do not want to be cluttery vehicle dwellers or vehicle campers bring what you need only figure out what space you have in your car to store all your stuff because who's what's the most important thing overall you you're the most important thing you keeping you well keeping you hydrated keeping you fed keeping you warm keeping you comfortable you're the most important thing so make sure that you take care of you well all right everyone I hope this video was helpful to you if you haven't already subscribe to my channel I would love that and like okay like all my videos share them around I would love that so much if you have a question drop it in the comment box I'd love to answer it I'd love connecting with everybody and uh I hope this video was helpful to you so everyone wherever you are in this world if it's if if this video was helpful to you let me know drop me a comment I I'd love to say hello to you and wish you well all right have a fantastic day I will catch you later until next time

Channel: Modern Day Pilgrim

Views: 29,686

Keywords: Living in your vehicle, living in a car, how to live in a car, living in your suv, how to live in a van, vehicle dwelling, stealth camping, 7 things you need to start living in your car, things you need to live in your car, how to stealth camp in a car, places to sleep in a car, where to sleep in your car, best places to sleep in a car

Id: 9O24Rw9ufQI

Length: 23min 54sec (1434 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 17 2023