Latest / bit of a Rambler / 087 Car Camping

Transcript

087 Car Camping · bit of a Rambler

• 1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,800 Hello, hello, my name is Kai and I am a bit of a rambler. 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,880 I like to travel, learn and tell stories. 3 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:16,820 Today, I want to talk about car camping because it's such a good and available way to 4 00:00:16,820 --> 00:00:21,040 chuck off those shackles of the system for Americans. 5 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:26,320 And I know people in other countries who do car camping, but America's car country. 6 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:34,080 And it's so easy and so cheap to get a house on wheels that will immediately take you 7 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:40,480 out of having to worry about money and so many obligations and expenses. 8 00:00:40,480 --> 00:00:44,400 If you don't want to live in a car, you don't have to. 9 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:47,480 What I'm saying is if you're at the end of your rope and you're like, "I can't pay 10 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:53,880 my rent in X month," and your rent is like, you know, a thousand bucks if you're lucky 11 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:55,760 in the States now. 12 00:00:55,760 --> 00:01:00,640 Buy a car instead and live frugally. 13 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:06,520 And this can be a very nice stopgap where you can get back on your feet. 14 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:13,260 Or if you have a remote job and are just sick of where you're at, go buy an ISSUV and 15 00:01:13,260 --> 00:01:18,000 live in it for a while and see if that's for you because it's such an easy way to live. 16 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:19,560 And it's such a cheap way to live. 17 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:20,560 That is a thing. 18 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:21,560 You can buy it. 19 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:25,320 You can put a flat screen in back of there with an extra battery and inverter. 20 00:01:25,320 --> 00:01:32,040 If you want to, like cars are so easily customizable and they are everywhere in the States. 21 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:38,240 If for whatever reason you're living in one of the 17 towns in the United States that sells 22 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:45,600 expensive cars, yes, even today, go to another town or another state. 23 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:47,240 Buy the car there. 24 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:48,800 You have a car. 25 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:51,600 If it's expensive in your city, go to another city. 26 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:53,880 If it's still expensive, go to a suburb. 27 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:56,120 You're always cheaper in the suburbs than in the city. 28 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:59,120 If they're expensive in the suburb, go to a small town. 29 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:00,400 You'll find one in the States. 30 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:03,040 We have an absurd amount of cars. 31 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:07,720 So you can definitely find one for a couple thousand bucks. 32 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:10,880 SUVs even are not expensive. 33 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:18,720 I don't think the most expensive I paid was $2100 for a used SUV. 34 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:23,320 And as long as you know basic maintenance, it'll run. 35 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:30,280 So you spend what is basically one month of rent on a vehicle, change the oil, the thing's 36 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:32,680 gonna run for a couple months. 37 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:36,640 Like if you test drove it and it ran and you just change the oil, it's gonna run for a couple 38 00:02:36,640 --> 00:02:43,720 months and you just saved $4,000 right there in rent money and electric bills and utility 39 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:45,320 bills in general. 40 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:50,960 So as you can tell, I am a fan and advocate of car camping because I think it's a very 41 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:56,800 freeing and very comfortable way to live. 42 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:02,760 Now personally, if I'm gonna live mobility, I'm going to get an RV because I like a full-sized 43 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:03,760 fridge. 44 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:05,720 I like a full stove. 45 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:09,400 There's more place to put the solar panels on top and all that. 46 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:15,000 But with all those benefits does come the disadvantage that you are a giant vehicle. 47 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:18,160 And I, it wasn't really a huge issue for me. 48 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:21,880 I had in mind being moved every now and then at night by the cops. 49 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:28,240 But if you never want to deal with that, then you car camp because never I have parked 50 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:32,520 everywhere in a car in every single place of the country and nobody ever has asked me to 51 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:33,520 move. 52 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:38,160 And you just put the curtains up and you're just a car. 53 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:42,160 And again, this isn't, this is just for anyone who's interested about car camping. 54 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:45,720 I'm just gonna tell you about what I liked about car camping. 55 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:50,500 My experience was that it was very fun, very easy to do, very liberating because you can 56 00:03:50,500 --> 00:03:56,400 move around whenever you want to and you have shelter wherever you want and so cheap. 57 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:02,200 I was paying 1600 bucks a month in rent and I was just like, why am I doing this? 58 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:04,400 There's no reason for me to be living in this house. 59 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,720 My whole thing is to travel around the country anyway. 60 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:11,560 Why am I paying the cost of a car every month in rent? 61 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:17,320 I was in Arizona at the time and cars were, yeah, cars were 1600 dollars and under. 62 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:23,360 And I was like, why am I paying that per month when I could just buy a nice large SUV or 63 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:31,640 cover truck or something and travel wherever I wanted to without paying utilities and rent 64 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:33,320 every month. 65 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:39,000 So I looked for a bunch, I visited a few cars, I drove one and I was like, perfect. 66 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:43,840 And I think that was actually 1600 dollars, like the exact same amount as my rent. 67 00:04:43,840 --> 00:04:48,960 And it had a tow hitch on the back so I could bring my e-bike and that was on the back. 68 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:54,040 And then I had the car and I decided to move out but I was like, well, okay, now I have to 69 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:55,840 build this into a house. 70 00:04:55,840 --> 00:04:58,960 How do you build an SUV into a house? 71 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:06,000 And I was like, well, number one, you're a lazy goofball who likes to sit on the bed all 72 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:07,000 day. 73 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,120 I'm also going to have to sleep. 74 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:14,200 So so easy to get a bed. 75 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:20,560 Now if you have any money at all, leftover after the 1600, let's say 2500, you spent on a 76 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:26,000 used SUV and the oil change, spend 40 bucks at home depot. 77 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:31,480 You can add a bed frame and get some more storage space in the car in one move. 78 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:37,160 Get one four by four, have them cut the four by four into six bed legs. 79 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:38,640 Get one sheet of plywood. 80 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:41,000 Boom, that is a bed. 81 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:48,600 You just screw the four by four bed legs, get six instead of four so that the middle of 82 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:50,800 the bed, you know, has support also. 83 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:54,360 But if you do that, the plywood, it's going to last 20 years now. 84 00:05:54,360 --> 00:06:00,640 Like it's such an easy way to make a bed that will last forever or as long as you have 85 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:03,600 that vehicle, it'll probably outlast your vehicle. 86 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:09,280 And that is very queen sized bed because queen beds aren't that big and any piece of plywood 87 00:06:09,280 --> 00:06:10,800 is way bigger than them. 88 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:16,080 A queen sized bed is 60 by 80 inches or 150 by 200 centimeters. 89 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:24,280 So just whatever the back of your SUV is, two pieces of wood, ask home depot to cut them 90 00:06:24,280 --> 00:06:25,280 for you. 91 00:06:25,280 --> 00:06:29,920 Boom, you have a bed as large as the back area of your car, which is to say, 92 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:33,920 probably time to get rid of those back seats. 93 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:35,680 You don't need them. 94 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:41,600 You unscrew them, throw them out, and now you have twice as much space in the back. 95 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:47,760 So with those gone, build the front legs of your bed longer and then you have place to 96 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:53,160 put all of your belongings under that whole area that used to be the back seats. 97 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:58,520 Now it can have your kitchen items or your closet or anything, really. 98 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:04,360 Now the bed is inexpensive to build if you buy it all from home depot, but if you don't 99 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:09,840 have that money, there's also the cut pile, which when they cut wood for free at home depot, 100 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:11,840 there's a little bit left over that the customer doesn't need. 101 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:16,080 They toss it in a pile or if there's a crappy piece of wood, they toss it in a pile. 102 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:22,680 So you could get those cut pile pieces and use those as the legs for your bed and 103 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:26,720 they're less than half, they're like 30% of the regular cost of the wood. 104 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:33,760 So instead of 40 bucks if for ever, maybe you just don't have the money, 20 bucks or 15 105 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:38,880 dollars and you can still get all the wood you need for your bed. 106 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:43,760 Or again, if you don't have that, I would still buy the plywood I would try to get 10 bucks 107 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:45,200 for the piece of plywood. 108 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:49,200 But if you can't afford that, get free stuff off Craigslist. 109 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:53,600 People are always giving away plywood and they're always giving away old pieces of furniture 110 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:58,800 and you can take old chairs, use those chair legs as your bed legs. 111 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:01,960 You can use a bookcase or two with the bedboard itself. 112 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:06,000 Yeah, you can, you can make a bed for free in the back. 113 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:11,440 It's not worth the convenience of just paying 20 bucks or 40 bucks or whatever and having 114 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:13,760 a bed that's going to last for years. 115 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:19,160 But yeah, once you have the bed in the back, I like to get a memory film mattress, but 116 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:25,140 again, you can get free futons, cushions from Craigslist and have a comfortable bed that 117 00:08:25,140 --> 00:08:26,140 way. 118 00:08:26,140 --> 00:08:32,320 I got the memory film mattress because it was on sale for 60 bucks and it was very comfortable 119 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:35,280 for the year that I was living in a car. 120 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:43,500 I liked to carry around a shower tent because if I was on a road trip or if I really had to 121 00:08:43,500 --> 00:08:49,500 be in the middle of the night, I can throw the shower tent on the ground. 122 00:08:49,500 --> 00:08:55,660 It's opens by itself, P, because the shower tent has an open bottom, close the shower tent 123 00:08:55,660 --> 00:08:57,500 and throw it back in the back of the car. 124 00:08:57,500 --> 00:09:04,940 It really is like a five second process to open it up and pack it back down again. 125 00:09:04,940 --> 00:09:09,860 So anyway, I guess since I talked about number one, onto number two, if you have to go to 126 00:09:09,860 --> 00:09:15,420 the bathroom and it's something more substantial, go to a library, go to a supermarket, you can 127 00:09:15,420 --> 00:09:21,740 do the gym thing, people join the gym and use the showers and bathrooms and exercise equipment. 128 00:09:21,740 --> 00:09:29,820 Across the nation, I always just went to a supermarket or a gas station convenience store 129 00:09:29,820 --> 00:09:31,860 or the library. 130 00:09:31,860 --> 00:09:35,620 There are facilities everywhere in the state. 131 00:09:35,620 --> 00:09:40,020 You don't have to think about going to the bathroom in your car. 132 00:09:40,020 --> 00:09:43,460 That's just not worth the trouble. 133 00:09:43,460 --> 00:09:45,700 There are people who do it. 134 00:09:45,700 --> 00:09:49,260 It's not worth the trouble at all. 135 00:09:49,260 --> 00:09:52,180 Just if you're anywhere near a gas station, there's a bathroom there. 136 00:09:52,180 --> 00:09:53,380 You can use it. 137 00:09:53,380 --> 00:09:58,900 That's one of the few facilities that the US provides. 138 00:09:58,900 --> 00:10:00,860 So that's the bathroom taken care of. 139 00:10:00,860 --> 00:10:06,680 Like, that's the main thing a lot of people worry about and it really is as simple as a gas 140 00:10:06,680 --> 00:10:13,620 station, a convenience store, a library or a supermarket. 141 00:10:13,620 --> 00:10:15,900 You will have a toilet near you. 142 00:10:15,900 --> 00:10:21,740 Now the other one is a shower and a lot of people go the gym membership for showers route 143 00:10:21,740 --> 00:10:24,460 which I have never done. 144 00:10:24,460 --> 00:10:29,500 That just seems like a lot of trouble for me, but it seems like a great idea. 145 00:10:29,500 --> 00:10:37,420 Also, I just haven't done it, I guess, because what I did, I bought a, I think it was $16, 146 00:10:37,420 --> 00:10:47,860 like pet shower off of Amazon and I had a shower tent and a plastic basin. 147 00:10:47,860 --> 00:10:53,580 So some days I would just do a sponge bath and I would just have a little bit of water 148 00:10:53,580 --> 00:10:57,300 and wipes and then I throw them away. 149 00:10:57,300 --> 00:11:02,540 So when I wanted to take an actual shower, which was sometimes every day, I had a plug-in 150 00:11:02,540 --> 00:11:06,340 USB water heater. 151 00:11:06,340 --> 00:11:12,100 So I'd fill that up, heat up my water and then have that same amount of water in the basin 152 00:11:12,100 --> 00:11:13,940 already. 153 00:11:13,940 --> 00:11:22,700 And when it was night and it was dark, I'd put down my basin, put the shower tent over 154 00:11:22,700 --> 00:11:30,620 the basin, pour in the cold water, then pour in the hot water and then this filtered hose 155 00:11:30,620 --> 00:11:35,140 shower head basically, there's a little hook inside my shower tent so I could hang the shower 156 00:11:35,140 --> 00:11:40,100 head right up there, the filter hangs into the water and it only needs like an inch or 157 00:11:40,100 --> 00:11:45,420 inch and a half of water to cycle and boom, shower. 158 00:11:45,420 --> 00:11:49,500 So I'm not saying everybody has to do this foot, but for me, that was so easy because it 159 00:11:49,500 --> 00:11:52,380 only took me easy 15 minutes. 160 00:11:52,380 --> 00:11:57,100 Couple minutes to set up, 10 minutes to take a shower, couple minutes to take it down. 161 00:11:57,100 --> 00:12:02,100 And I felt completely clean again like it feels like a real shower because it's going 162 00:12:02,100 --> 00:12:09,060 up to this little filter/pump, it's USB rechargeable and then it goes up to a shower that's at 163 00:12:09,060 --> 00:12:15,780 my head level, you know, showering me with hot water that lasts for 10 minutes or so. 164 00:12:15,780 --> 00:12:20,780 And it's inside a shower tent so there's steam like the temperature stays inside the 165 00:12:20,780 --> 00:12:23,940 shower tent for the 10 minutes or whatever you're showering. 166 00:12:23,940 --> 00:12:27,060 So I was stealth showering, it was very comfortable for me. 167 00:12:27,060 --> 00:12:28,900 I get it if you don't want to do that. 168 00:12:28,900 --> 00:12:32,420 If you just want to do a sponge bath or where you want to do the gym membership way, that's 169 00:12:32,420 --> 00:12:33,500 just what I did. 170 00:12:33,500 --> 00:12:37,180 And I thought it was fun also every time. 171 00:12:37,180 --> 00:12:38,580 Then electricity. 172 00:12:38,580 --> 00:12:44,940 So I had the USB hot water kettle so that it could have my hot showers, but you know, 173 00:12:44,940 --> 00:12:50,220 that takes electricity away from the battery and it didn't kill the car battery by any 174 00:12:50,220 --> 00:12:51,220 measure. 175 00:12:51,220 --> 00:12:53,180 Actually, I always only had one car battery. 176 00:12:53,180 --> 00:12:57,940 I never added a second one even though I thought I would need one, but I just bought a regular 177 00:12:57,940 --> 00:13:04,020 inverter from Walmart for 20 bucks or whatever, plugged that into the cigarette lighter and 178 00:13:04,020 --> 00:13:05,460 I could charge my phone with that. 179 00:13:05,460 --> 00:13:09,980 I could charge my laptop, which I did while I was driving to make sure the alternator was 180 00:13:09,980 --> 00:13:15,060 supplying electricity and I could boil water for a shower any day that I wanted a full 181 00:13:15,060 --> 00:13:16,540 shower. 182 00:13:16,540 --> 00:13:22,620 I didn't have a solar panel on my car, but there are a hundred YouTube videos where you 183 00:13:22,620 --> 00:13:25,140 can see it's very simple to add one on. 184 00:13:25,140 --> 00:13:31,580 I added several onto the top of my RV later, but I definitely wish I had just added one 185 00:13:31,580 --> 00:13:36,900 solar panel onto the top of the SUV that I had just so I wouldn't have to think about 186 00:13:36,900 --> 00:13:43,380 electricity, which I was worrying about every now and then because I was charging my phone 187 00:13:43,380 --> 00:13:46,300 and charging my laptop and taking hot showers. 188 00:13:46,300 --> 00:13:50,700 I always thought this is going to kill my battery and it just never did. 189 00:13:50,700 --> 00:13:55,780 So yeah, if you want to grab a solar panel, it's two wires. 190 00:13:55,780 --> 00:14:03,380 You can attach that to your car battery and it'll keep it charged. 191 00:14:03,380 --> 00:14:10,100 You can follow step by step instructions on YouTube or just plug the two wires in. 192 00:14:10,100 --> 00:14:14,740 It's pretty straightforward with a couple of bolts to keep the solar panel to the roof 193 00:14:14,740 --> 00:14:15,740 rack. 194 00:14:15,740 --> 00:14:21,220 And public utilities, if you're American, you're still paying taxes. 195 00:14:21,220 --> 00:14:24,460 It doesn't matter where you live or how much income you have. 196 00:14:24,460 --> 00:14:25,780 And you're still paying taxes. 197 00:14:25,780 --> 00:14:27,300 So use those utilities. 198 00:14:27,300 --> 00:14:28,980 Use the public restrooms. 199 00:14:28,980 --> 00:14:32,660 Use the free water. 200 00:14:32,660 --> 00:14:36,820 Use the libraries like you're paying for all of those social services and you should still 201 00:14:36,820 --> 00:14:38,900 use them. 202 00:14:38,900 --> 00:14:39,900 What about food? 203 00:14:39,900 --> 00:14:40,900 Oh, food. 204 00:14:40,900 --> 00:14:41,900 But phase. 205 00:14:41,900 --> 00:14:43,660 Oh my gosh, but phase. 206 00:14:43,660 --> 00:14:47,180 You can spend 10 bucks a day and all you can eat. 207 00:14:47,180 --> 00:14:55,380 I have, I think I had already started doing one meal a day by the time I started car camping. 208 00:14:55,380 --> 00:15:01,700 So the phase are perfect for me because I just, you know, wake up, play on my phone for 209 00:15:01,700 --> 00:15:08,180 five hours, but a lot of times, sometimes drive wherever I want to go, go to a park. 210 00:15:08,180 --> 00:15:12,900 I guess if you ever remote job, you can go to the library and get that done. 211 00:15:12,900 --> 00:15:16,500 You only need, once you have your car, you only need a few hundred bucks for whatever 212 00:15:16,500 --> 00:15:20,100 the car insurance gas is. 213 00:15:20,100 --> 00:15:27,020 Those are all of your expenses and then you have food, but food is easily $10 a day. 214 00:15:27,020 --> 00:15:31,820 I had a burner and I did cook a couple times, but then I started going to buffets and I was 215 00:15:31,820 --> 00:15:38,540 like, wait, why am I spending time when I could go to a different buffet every day and 216 00:15:38,540 --> 00:15:45,100 I don't have to cook and they'll just give me new free food every day. 217 00:15:45,100 --> 00:15:49,780 And no matter where you are in the States, I mean, you know, within reason, there's, there 218 00:15:49,780 --> 00:15:54,340 are multiple buffets within driving distance that all have different foods and have good 219 00:15:54,340 --> 00:16:02,460 foods and even have vegetables so you can eat nutritiously every day for a very reasonable 220 00:16:02,460 --> 00:16:06,900 amount of money for far less than anything you would get in a restaurant or even if you 221 00:16:06,900 --> 00:16:08,820 went shopping yourself. 222 00:16:08,820 --> 00:16:13,420 Now living this lifestyle costs a couple hundred bucks a month. 223 00:16:13,420 --> 00:16:17,140 You need to fill up your gas a few times unless you're going to concerts all the time in which 224 00:16:17,140 --> 00:16:22,460 case I had to fill it up like 10 times that month because I was driving very far away. 225 00:16:22,460 --> 00:16:30,300 But yeah, you fill up your gas a couple times a month, you have to pay your insurance and 226 00:16:30,300 --> 00:16:32,060 then you have to pay food. 227 00:16:32,060 --> 00:16:36,860 So if you have the solar panel for electricity, if you don't have the solar panel, you 228 00:16:36,860 --> 00:16:39,980 have a panel, you didn't have to pay for a solar panel in the first place. 229 00:16:39,980 --> 00:16:47,980 It's a very low cost of living and you have a, I recommend memory fell mattress in the back 230 00:16:47,980 --> 00:16:50,660 with a comforter is what I had and it was great. 231 00:16:50,660 --> 00:16:52,340 I loved that life. 232 00:16:52,340 --> 00:16:54,940 I drove to the all you can eat sushi. 233 00:16:54,940 --> 00:16:59,780 I ate, had a carapha of sake, fell asleep in the back. 234 00:16:59,780 --> 00:17:01,900 Oh, curtains, right. 235 00:17:01,900 --> 00:17:04,420 That's what should be next. 236 00:17:04,420 --> 00:17:06,460 Privacy curtains. 237 00:17:06,460 --> 00:17:16,260 I bought a couple of bed sheets, just regular black bed sheets attached one binder clip to 238 00:17:16,260 --> 00:17:24,060 each corner where the upholstery on the ceiling met the seat belt holder like there's a little 239 00:17:24,060 --> 00:17:32,180 gap and I put the four clips on these black bed sheets that I cut up into rectangles and 240 00:17:32,180 --> 00:17:35,780 then I had privacy curtains clip, clip, clip, clip privacy curtain. 241 00:17:35,780 --> 00:17:37,980 You can sleep in the back for as long as you want. 242 00:17:37,980 --> 00:17:39,500 No one can see inside. 243 00:17:39,500 --> 00:17:44,900 You can still see outside because they're regular bed sheets and all the lights coming from outside. 244 00:17:44,900 --> 00:17:49,380 So you can still see the outside like if there's anyone walking around or if there's, you 245 00:17:49,380 --> 00:17:53,420 know, whatever a cop checking out your door or whatever, all they'll see inside is black 246 00:17:53,420 --> 00:17:56,820 because it's just reflecting the shadow of the inside. 247 00:17:56,820 --> 00:18:02,780 So during the day, like I said, go to that all you can eat buffet, fall asleep in the back, 248 00:18:02,780 --> 00:18:09,100 wake up and be okay and then go on with my day or anytime it's, you know, time to go to bed, 249 00:18:09,100 --> 00:18:13,460 you put up the privacy curtain, go to bed, you just look like an empty car. 250 00:18:13,460 --> 00:18:17,100 Nobody can see through the privacy curtains because still the street line, any source from 251 00:18:17,100 --> 00:18:20,260 outside is going to be brighter than what's inside. 252 00:18:20,260 --> 00:18:25,580 For a while, I had cardboard cutouts, but I just didn't want to take the extra 30 seconds 253 00:18:25,580 --> 00:18:32,620 to put up the cutouts to block out all light because nobody ever noticed. 254 00:18:32,620 --> 00:18:37,420 And it's my cell phone wasn't that bright even if I was playing on my cell phone at night. 255 00:18:37,420 --> 00:18:42,780 So yeah, make the privacy curtains in like half an hour, they'll also last longer than 256 00:18:42,780 --> 00:18:47,020 your car and you just clip them to the four corners. 257 00:18:47,020 --> 00:18:48,740 So no one can even see through the windshield. 258 00:18:48,740 --> 00:18:54,700 You have one blanket behind the two front seats, half a bed sheet on each side blocking 259 00:18:54,700 --> 00:18:59,220 the side windows and then one on the back blocking the rear window. 260 00:18:59,220 --> 00:19:07,420 Such an easy way to get instant privacy and including if you have a date, you put up that 261 00:19:07,420 --> 00:19:13,140 privacy curtain and I don't know people were into it. 262 00:19:13,140 --> 00:19:16,100 It works like quick example. 263 00:19:16,100 --> 00:19:20,420 You drive somewhere private and you kiss and then you're like, oh, what do we do next? 264 00:19:20,420 --> 00:19:22,860 You put up the privacy curtain. 265 00:19:22,860 --> 00:19:24,900 The other person is sold. 266 00:19:24,900 --> 00:19:27,180 Or it worked in my SUV. 267 00:19:27,180 --> 00:19:29,580 I highly recommend it. 268 00:19:29,580 --> 00:19:35,620 Whenever you need to wash sheets, natural segue, there are laundromats everywhere and it 269 00:19:35,620 --> 00:19:37,420 costs a few dollars. 270 00:19:37,420 --> 00:19:43,420 I mean, maybe in the state of costs like seven dollars, but you can have all clean clothes 271 00:19:43,420 --> 00:19:50,460 in an hour or two like from a regular machine because there are laundromats everywhere. 272 00:19:50,460 --> 00:19:54,500 Now there are a lot of reasons that you would want to start car camping. 273 00:19:54,500 --> 00:19:58,620 I think my, I was luckier because this was after I had been in China. 274 00:19:58,620 --> 00:20:02,300 It's already had a lot of money saved up and I already had a little bit of money coming 275 00:20:02,300 --> 00:20:06,660 in from my investments and that was enough. 276 00:20:06,660 --> 00:20:14,380 I bought the car and then the money I had coming in already, but where it was more than my 277 00:20:14,380 --> 00:20:16,300 expenses. 278 00:20:16,300 --> 00:20:19,700 So if you just want to travel, car camping is so good to do that. 279 00:20:19,700 --> 00:20:22,820 Cars, cars don't break down as often as RVs. 280 00:20:22,820 --> 00:20:24,780 They're not as expensive to fix. 281 00:20:24,780 --> 00:20:27,580 You can usually fix most of the stuff yourself. 282 00:20:27,580 --> 00:20:32,700 So that is nice compared to the RV which you can also fix yourself, but it just feels more 283 00:20:32,700 --> 00:20:36,860 intimidating even though when I actually fix them, they feel the same to me fixing them 284 00:20:36,860 --> 00:20:38,580 now that I know how to do it. 285 00:20:38,580 --> 00:20:43,580 But I can see how just a bigger vehicle feels like it would be more difficult to fix yourself. 286 00:20:43,580 --> 00:20:49,180 And cars are more common and everyday and people just know how to fix them. 287 00:20:49,180 --> 00:20:54,020 So you could even have your buddy help you fix it. 288 00:20:54,020 --> 00:20:57,980 If you want to travel, car camping is, oh my gosh. 289 00:20:57,980 --> 00:21:04,300 After I had the car inside and I was going around with my girlfriend and we were car camping 290 00:21:04,300 --> 00:21:11,620 every night for months, when we went to sightseeing at like waterfalls and cave formations and 291 00:21:11,620 --> 00:21:18,340 national parks and all that, we started seeing other car campers and I never would have 292 00:21:18,340 --> 00:21:22,420 noticed them if I didn't have them, I'd be like, oh, they have a table in the back. 293 00:21:22,420 --> 00:21:25,780 But then what's that weird shelf? 294 00:21:25,780 --> 00:21:27,940 But then I started being like, oh, that's a bed. 295 00:21:27,940 --> 00:21:31,180 They have a bed in the back just like we have a bed in the back. 296 00:21:31,180 --> 00:21:36,020 And people are doing it all around because especially if you're going on road trips, it's 297 00:21:36,020 --> 00:21:40,940 so much nicer to just have the spot where you put your dirty clothes and you know where 298 00:21:40,940 --> 00:21:46,460 everything is and you don't have to unpack and go to a hotel, pay an ex-dom amount of 299 00:21:46,460 --> 00:21:50,780 money in the States for a hotel, get back in your car and then drive to the next place. 300 00:21:50,780 --> 00:21:56,820 You can drive between two national parks that you want to go to, park in a quiet place, 301 00:21:56,820 --> 00:22:02,140 throw up the privacy current, go right to bed, have a full rest, take down the privacy 302 00:22:02,140 --> 00:22:03,540 current, keep driving. 303 00:22:03,540 --> 00:22:06,900 You don't have to make detours for hotels or anything like that. 304 00:22:06,900 --> 00:22:09,660 Yeah, it's just absolutely great. 305 00:22:09,660 --> 00:22:16,420 It's the option for traveling, I would say, unless you're planning on doing it for permanently 306 00:22:16,420 --> 00:22:20,060 traveling, then get the RV because then you have the full kitchen or whatever. 307 00:22:20,060 --> 00:22:24,300 But again, some people prefer the car because it's so much easier to maneuver and get around 308 00:22:24,300 --> 00:22:28,900 and repair or the parts are more common. 309 00:22:28,900 --> 00:22:34,460 So personal preference, I do like both the car camping is a bit more convenient but I 310 00:22:34,460 --> 00:22:40,420 get the trade-offs that I mentioned with the RV so I prefer the RV but a car camping is 311 00:22:40,420 --> 00:22:41,940 so easy. 312 00:22:41,940 --> 00:22:46,300 There's cars everywhere you get one for about the same cost as one month of your rent. 313 00:22:46,300 --> 00:22:49,780 After that, you're not paying rent anymore so you're saving money if you have any kind of 314 00:22:49,780 --> 00:22:50,780 remote job. 315 00:22:50,780 --> 00:22:56,100 If you have a job you have to go to, then that's probably when I would do the gym membership 316 00:22:56,100 --> 00:23:00,620 thing so I could make sure that I always was clean. 317 00:23:00,620 --> 00:23:03,740 That's not your eye wouldn't but I can see why someone would. 318 00:23:03,740 --> 00:23:06,300 So if you're just traveling, car camping is the way to do it. 319 00:23:06,300 --> 00:23:08,060 It's so easy. 320 00:23:08,060 --> 00:23:12,740 It's just comfortable, convenient, you can stay clean, you can still use the bathroom everywhere. 321 00:23:12,740 --> 00:23:14,580 There are public utilities. 322 00:23:14,580 --> 00:23:17,920 There are supermarkets everywhere, there are buffets everywhere, just all your needs are 323 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:25,300 taken care of and you have tons of extra money if you have any kind of work at all because 324 00:23:25,300 --> 00:23:30,620 you're only spending a few hundred dollars a month on expenses. 325 00:23:30,620 --> 00:23:39,340 So whatever you're bringing in in the States, you have the money to buy the USB hot water 326 00:23:39,340 --> 00:23:43,900 kettle heater that I said for your hot showers or you have the money to fix the car if it 327 00:23:43,900 --> 00:23:48,940 does break down and you know that's a hundred dollars for a new fuel pump that sucks but 328 00:23:48,940 --> 00:23:53,420 now you have a new fuel pump and the car is going to run better for years. 329 00:23:53,420 --> 00:23:57,780 That's in stark contrast to paying sixteen hundred dollars for rent and nothing significantly 330 00:23:57,780 --> 00:24:00,340 upgrades or improves. 331 00:24:00,340 --> 00:24:04,700 Which brings me to the other reasons, maybe you don't want to travel, maybe you're about 332 00:24:04,700 --> 00:24:09,420 to be kicked out by your parents or your roommates or maybe you just lost your job or all this 333 00:24:09,420 --> 00:24:17,340 kind of stuff, car camping does not have to be a last resort, it can be an easy stop gap 334 00:24:17,340 --> 00:24:19,540 and way to get back on your feet. 335 00:24:19,540 --> 00:24:25,540 If you have a car that is running, then you can start car, that is, that should be your contingency 336 00:24:25,540 --> 00:24:26,540 plan. 337 00:24:26,540 --> 00:24:30,700 Okay, if everything goes wrong, I know that I can live in there. 338 00:24:30,700 --> 00:24:35,340 Even if it's a sedan, I know people that lived on their back seats in sedans, that is not 339 00:24:35,340 --> 00:24:36,340 what I want. 340 00:24:36,340 --> 00:24:38,420 Get a hatchback or an SUV. 341 00:24:38,420 --> 00:24:43,780 Even if you get a tiny hatchback, like the Subaru Outback, that thing, I know tons of people 342 00:24:43,780 --> 00:24:46,540 who lived in their cars in their outbacks. 343 00:24:46,540 --> 00:24:52,580 You can do it on any kind of hatchback or SUV very comfortably and you will find your 344 00:24:52,580 --> 00:24:59,540 own system that you like and you'll just be saving money until you're like, okay, this is 345 00:24:59,540 --> 00:25:00,540 what I have to do. 346 00:25:00,540 --> 00:25:06,820 I'm going to whatever get into environmental volunteer work or I'm going to get back 347 00:25:06,820 --> 00:25:07,820 into construction. 348 00:25:07,820 --> 00:25:11,860 And I don't know, whatever you like to do, you can get back on your feet by saving some 349 00:25:11,860 --> 00:25:14,420 money in your car for a month or two. 350 00:25:14,420 --> 00:25:20,540 A month or two, like, might seem like a long time to live in your car, but you can get 351 00:25:20,540 --> 00:25:26,060 used to it very quickly and you can live fairly comfortably, very quickly. 352 00:25:26,060 --> 00:25:28,780 And there are social services where you can go. 353 00:25:28,780 --> 00:25:30,260 You can get temp work. 354 00:25:30,260 --> 00:25:36,980 You can get a job if you need it and live out of your car while you do it until you have 355 00:25:36,980 --> 00:25:43,340 enough money to get back in an apartment if you want to or enough money to get a passport 356 00:25:43,340 --> 00:25:48,580 and leave the country where you can live in apartments for the same amount of money that 357 00:25:48,580 --> 00:25:52,220 it's costing you to live in your car in the United States. 358 00:25:52,220 --> 00:25:58,380 I recommend that option, but if you really like the States, yeah, you can just live in your 359 00:25:58,380 --> 00:26:00,340 car and get a remote job. 360 00:26:00,340 --> 00:26:06,860 There are almost 3,000 listings right now on the first website I searched for remote 361 00:26:06,860 --> 00:26:07,860 work. 362 00:26:07,860 --> 00:26:14,540 So, and you can use your phone with a USB keyboard, like, to do a lot of these jobs, a 363 00:26:14,540 --> 00:26:16,700 lot of them are just data entry. 364 00:26:16,700 --> 00:26:23,460 So, and look, that sucks, but I'm saying in, if you are in an emergency situation, especially 365 00:26:23,460 --> 00:26:29,580 if you already have a car, make your car comfortable, get a remote job, live like that for 366 00:26:29,580 --> 00:26:34,700 whatever, two or three months, save up a few thousand dollars from whatever crappy remote 367 00:26:34,700 --> 00:26:36,540 work job you can get. 368 00:26:36,540 --> 00:26:37,980 Maybe you'll even find something you like. 369 00:26:37,980 --> 00:26:43,940 There are a lot of interesting job titles like this is a crisis work, help center, people 370 00:26:43,940 --> 00:26:49,100 would just call you, ask for help, you help people and get paid for it. 371 00:26:49,100 --> 00:26:51,300 Maybe that becomes your calling. 372 00:26:51,300 --> 00:26:56,100 Maybe it doesn't, but either way, you'll be saving money for a couple months until you can 373 00:26:56,100 --> 00:27:00,140 get back on your thing, do what you actually want to do or until you get a job at the local 374 00:27:00,140 --> 00:27:03,020 supermarket and that's what you want to do. 375 00:27:03,020 --> 00:27:11,220 That feels a little more stable to you, whatever you want, car camping is, you know, great recreationally. 376 00:27:11,220 --> 00:27:16,020 Great if you just want to be free from the rat race, great that way too. 377 00:27:16,020 --> 00:27:22,220 And it's great if you need to get back on your feet or you have an emergency, you can just 378 00:27:22,220 --> 00:27:27,700 cut out rent costs immediately or reduce them by 90% or more. 379 00:27:27,700 --> 00:27:31,780 Your meals are at all the buffets, all the all you can eat buffets around you. 380 00:27:31,780 --> 00:27:39,260 That is, you can eat more than enough calories for one day in two hours at any buffet. 381 00:27:39,260 --> 00:27:45,100 Restrooms are all around you, there is fresh, clean water all around you and yeah, you can 382 00:27:45,100 --> 00:27:49,140 save money until you're ready to try again. 383 00:27:49,140 --> 00:27:55,180 I did car camping because I liked how convenient it was that I could just fall asleep and I was 384 00:27:55,180 --> 00:28:00,860 already inside my apartment like crawl between the two front seats back onto the bed and 385 00:28:00,860 --> 00:28:02,620 just fall asleep instantly. 386 00:28:02,620 --> 00:28:06,820 When I don't have to drive home from the concert, I'm at my bed already throughout the privacy 387 00:28:06,820 --> 00:28:08,660 currents fall asleep. 388 00:28:08,660 --> 00:28:10,140 It's great. 389 00:28:10,140 --> 00:28:16,300 And it's also great if you need that emergency stopgap where you need to recoup money or 390 00:28:16,300 --> 00:28:23,620 you need to whatever, whatever you need the emergency measure of a mobile apartment 391 00:28:23,620 --> 00:28:28,620 for a car and car camping is a great way to do it. 392 00:28:28,620 --> 00:28:33,460 And you can make it as comfortable as you want to make it up to a point. 393 00:28:33,460 --> 00:28:35,980 But that point is pretty comfortable. 394 00:28:35,980 --> 00:28:40,700 You have electricity, there are restrooms all around you, you have food, you have water, 395 00:28:40,700 --> 00:28:46,100 there are supermarket, it's everything is all around you still and your bed is like right 396 00:28:46,100 --> 00:28:48,420 behind your driver's seat. 397 00:28:48,420 --> 00:28:52,500 It's very nice to know that if you get tired, you pull over and go into a very comfortable 398 00:28:52,500 --> 00:28:59,220 bed right behind you like your nest right there and you can clean everything as frequently 399 00:28:59,220 --> 00:29:01,380 as you want with the long term ads. 400 00:29:01,380 --> 00:29:07,740 It's a nice setup where you get to save money and live as comfortable as you can make it 401 00:29:07,740 --> 00:29:10,980 for as long as you want or as short as you want. 402 00:29:10,980 --> 00:29:16,740 If it's an emergency stopgap though, look at the national parks around you and the sites 403 00:29:16,740 --> 00:29:20,260 that you haven't seen before and see how that fits into your gas budget. 404 00:29:20,260 --> 00:29:22,860 You only have a hundred dollars a month for gas. 405 00:29:22,860 --> 00:29:27,620 You can probably still fit in a couple cool things that you've never seen before while 406 00:29:27,620 --> 00:29:36,500 you're trying to recoup some money from you know, a hospital bill or just an any emergency 407 00:29:36,500 --> 00:29:39,220 fee that you didn't know you would have to pay. 408 00:29:39,220 --> 00:29:44,500 My takeaway from car camping was that it's much more comfortable and convenient than people 409 00:29:44,500 --> 00:29:46,500 make it sound. 410 00:29:46,500 --> 00:29:49,660 And it's much more hygienic than people make it sound. 411 00:29:49,660 --> 00:29:52,540 It's a heck of a lot easier than people make it sound. 412 00:29:52,540 --> 00:29:59,220 I found it much easier to work and live in my car than I did in an apartment. 413 00:29:59,220 --> 00:30:03,660 It's more private and I just recommended even if you don't need to. 414 00:30:03,660 --> 00:30:05,700 You should just try it for a couple months. 415 00:30:05,700 --> 00:30:08,500 Maybe go take a trip because it's pretty fun. 416 00:30:08,500 --> 00:30:12,100 Anyway, I think I've rambled on enough. 417 00:30:12,100 --> 00:30:16,540 You can contact me at bit of a rambler@gmail.com. 418 00:30:16,540 --> 00:30:21,700 And if you have any questions about this or points you want me to bring up, let me know. 419 00:30:21,700 --> 00:30:25,540 I'm sure I'm going to talk about car camping again at some point. 420 00:30:25,540 --> 00:30:28,500 Good talking to you again and I will see you in the next one. 421 00:30:28,500 --> 00:30:33,980 [END]