Long Drives and City Stealth Camping Again
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- Опубликовано: 6 фев 2025
- ABOUT ME
I sold all my belongings to move into a van in the summer of 2022. Vanlife in New England is not easy but I figure it out. I also showcase the heck out of this beautiful part of the USA.
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Music: Epidemic Sound
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I love your humility & honesty..
"Liquid water" 😂
I know what you mean though! It's been -25c here for a while, and when you hear water dripping outside, it's amazing haha
@IAmMisterD ha, that makes sense I guess. Like suddenly the thing you've been surrounded by for months has changed form, it completely changes the landscape around you
As opposed to solid water commonly known as ice:)
He's correct in how he described it. H2o is water and exists in three forms .. solid (ice/snow) .. liquid (rain) ... vapor (steam)
Cabela’s is where you slept not too long ago ! Up the hill around the back , rv parking then cars ! 💯✌🏼🚐
Very interesting talk about difficulty in receiving mail and packages when you’re a van dweller. I had wondered about your weekly drives across Mass. and appreciate your reasoning. Your videos really show the realities of van life. Great video!
I truly enjoy your Van life Channel.
Enjoy your travels of the US East Coast, it is so beautiful.
Thank you for sharing. Safe travels.
Bob.
Bob from Hamilton. On , Canada.
Cheers.
You live a complicated but interesting life; I appreciate you sharing it. I hope you are getting some return on all the work you put into your videos. Thanks.
Why do you continually confuse a convenience store with Cabela's? There is absolutely no similarity between the two. Cabela's sells hunting, fishing and camping gear.
You are doing great! Setting a good example and helping others to learn about the reality of living in a van in a big city. Looks like your RUclips numbers are going up! I just put a little over 1/2 a tank of gas in the minivan I bought last September. I have not been driving it much, just waiting to save up the cash to get some repairs done before I take to the road. I am having fun watching all of the videos here and learning so much about so many different subjects. Very helpful info. your are posting!
I am so glad you are finding the content helpful Dottie, good luck with your endeavor!
When we left Florida in a big RV, we renewed our licenses and registration. Florida gave us an "official" address at the courthouse. The address on my license was the license plate number of the RV. Many times people asked "Is this your real address?" I said "Yes!" We also used a mail service in the same city to forward our mail to wherever the wind had blown us.
Did you also have a house or apartment, or did you live full time in your RV?
FYI, Redline Alewife garage has overnight parking, there’s also a TJoes in that area, walkable from station.
Your van life channel is one of the better channels. At least yours are interesting. Most just show folks sleeping and cooking. Keep up the good work. 👍 As for the PO Box address I think you would have a legal argument: Yes, a van can be considered a residence if you live in it, although legal considerations may vary depending on your location, as long as you are primarily inhabiting the van and have taken steps to make it habitable with necessary amenities like sleeping arrangements, cooking facilities, and sanitation options. The one requirement for P.O. Boxes are that mail be picked up regularly which doesn’t appear to be an issue. Massachusetts which is known for being liberal should not prohibit people from using or rather should I say claiming said van as their primary residence. It might be worth talking to a state representative to see about getting a law passed in your state that would let full time vehicle dwellers use a P.O. Box address provided they can also provide an alternate more permanent address as a secondary residence.
There is absolutely no salt in the frozen veggies unless they have sauce. :)
Good to know, wonder why I was so thirsty
@@undertheradarvan Maybe it was the lack of salt? I'm a freak about counting sodium and you've been eating a lot in previous meals. I'm not the least bit worried considering the amount of exercise and sweating you get....so I didn't mention it.
Get a PO Box in Boston, any mail which requires a physical address can continue to go to your relative, but everything else can go to your PO Box. Have your relative mail you an envelope once a month with any important letters.
"It's 35 degrees right now..I feel like I'm in Florida" 😂
Perhaps put an Electric heating pad on the gray water tank
If I were to do this, I'd want a little base of some sort instead of having to go to an unfriendly motel etc. when I'm ill or whatever. I have a nice home, but I'm working on a tiny house on some rural property. I'm converting a portable shed into a livable space in the woods. It's only going to cost a few thousand dollars. Granted I own the land already. Something I see around here a lot are people renting out RV spots -- in semi-rural areas -- for permanent RV spots. They have mailboxes with individual numbers on them. Just some thoughts I have watching today. You do what works for you. I think watching your videos is going to keep me from making some costly mistakes on my travel vehicle when I get to it.
If you already own land then you are all set, you don't need to live in a van. I don't know what state you are in, but MA would never let you convert a shed into a habitable space on a piece of land. Other states I'm sure are more lenient.
@@undertheradarvan Rural Arkansas. I bet there are places that have loosened up. These are a common option for homeless projects.
I put a link to a ChatGPT result and it went away. lol Any way, apparently you can, with the right permits, do a tiny house-shed house in MA. It can't exceed 400sqft.
You mention this in early video and the win for me is to have something fairly small I can travel anywhere in and not pay for a motel or really lose any privacy.
2:48 your Dustin Hoffman impression plus "liquid water" comment... you should've titled this one, Rain Man😂
Hey Matt, always look forward to your videos and how you are making out here in the winters in Massachusetts. I dont know if you ever get McDonalds coffee. but I think they are the best,, and cheaper than DD and Starbucks and Cumbys for that matter.. The only think I would say abt the address thing is, its great you have someone gettin your mail and keeping it safe. I just thought it seems to me a lot of stress on you to go back and forth to Pittsfield each wk, just to get mail. But I do think RMV, and ins co., lets you use BOTH PObox for mail,ing address and a res address for where the vehicle is parked. So u can still get ur mail from them. It would show up on your registration. I think ,, the two lines of addresses. res,idence and mailing.
A lot of van life people use a mail service for their “mailing address.” And then they’ll pay for a 30-day stay (or whatever time frame is required to establish residency in whatever state), and they make that their physical address. It’s kind of cheating the system, they don’t keep paying for the RV park spot. They just pay the min residency time frame, and don’t renew each month. Just enough to get it on a rental agreement to “prove” residency and show to the DMV. Not sure what’s required in MASS to establish residency, tho.
I tried the mail service option first, my car insurance disallowed it and threatened to cancel m,y policy. That's why I don't bother with those anymore.
Mr. Grumpy Gills lately. Cheer up! Although I sound the same on most days 😂
I sleep at the Hooksett rest area in NH. The local police check it out, but I think that is to prevent those who stay in one place for a long time and not move their vehicles.
I might do that sometime, thanks
I think you might be worrying about stealth too much, I did dimension drawing surveys of over 100 McDonalds all over Massachusetts most being in the suburbs of Boston, they almost always took all day to do, I would sleep in the parking lots or on the street nearby many of them with my Roadtrek campervan that screams RV and not once did I get bothered, I did this all through winter so my heater was on and nobody bothered me. As a matter of fact I liked having my heater on because it would let anyone who might think about breaking in to steal something, that I might be inside so it’s a bad idea.
Amazed you got away with that in Boston. I'm tempted to try but those construction crews sometimes arrive super early, even before I get up.
Thanks for "clearing the air" re Pittsfield - Boston. All makes sense now. The government sure want to block and stop people living your way (van, etc.). Why can't they simply build tiny houses with "real" addresses so everyone has a "base"? It could be a 350-400 sq.ft. home. My company builds such small homes and since almost no one under 50 can afford a $1million + home, this could be the future of affordability.
Don't you know Boston is on the list of C40 cities? Do you know what C40 city is? It's not a good thing. Here's a few more ... Los Angeles, CA .. Washington, DC .. Houston, TX .. New Orleans, LA .. Miami, FL .. New York, NY .. Chicago, IL .. Philadelphia, PA .. and more. Do you see the common denominator? The new green scam ... you'll own nothing and be happy!
So many towns have ordinances that all new housing must be "family sized" with a minimum number of bedrooms. Even if you;'ve already purchased the plot of land. It sucks.
In October 2024, Florida banned living in vehicles.
@@AAA-x1b4h why??
Storm coming! Decisions decisions on where to weather it out. Make it an adventure.
More storms might break me. I'm so done with this winter.
I look forward to your videos every day.
thanks
Prior to van life I lived in San Francisco. I’d often park my car and just take the bus to get around town. If I did van life in a major city that’s what I would do, park and just take public transit. Like you said, parking can be hard to find.
Absolutely. I've seen a few people comment why I don't just drive to DOWNTOWN Boston in my big van! Public transit is faster, cheaper, and easier here. Probably in most cities.
I'm sure this time of year you pretty much need to do the drive because of year end docs getting sent out, but maybe you could work out a mail forwarding forwarding with your relative once a week (or 2) using one of those priority mail envelopes. Pay them $10 or 20. Save on wear and tear and gas and time. Anyway, you're a smart dude. I'm sure you know the options but I've been thinking about some of these logistics things. I want to begin a 2-3 year roadtrip around North America before the end of the decade.
I looked up Pittsfield rents. You can get studio apt for abt $1K per month and commute to Boston one day a week. You could do your meal preps and charging much easier. Just an idea💡
I already dwell in Pittsfield for free so why would I pay $1k? Also that is not even close to what it actually costs to rent a 1 BR apartment anywhere in the Berkshires. No idea where you are getting that from.
I think you actually like driving out to Pittsfield… I would too as it looks pretty nice. I just know my Ford Transit can easily guzzle up $60 of gas a day when I’m on the move. As far as Mass “rest stops” go, they’re not rest stops… they’re commercial service plazas and suck for overnight parking.
Would your relative in Pittsfield that you use as an address be willing to forward your mail to a PO Box closer to Boston?
And I crack up every time you call Cracker Barrel “Cabela’s” 😅
I'm gonna have to go down that rabbit hole ... how exactly did the name Cracker Barrel come about?
I do enjoy driving in my van and I wouldn't have even considered this lifestyle had I not enjoyed it. But there are definitely days where I have to drive, and I don't want to. If I had a residence I could just park it in the driveway and cash out for as long as I want. I don't have that choice now.
Portsmouth, NH, that’s where I live.
Why not head south for a week or so? I’m sure you get vacation time once in a while. You are tougher than most sir. Winter in Massachusetts is no joke!
I plan on doing that soon... March or April
Matt, it makes for a good video, but do whats best for you. I checked your new upcoming project, Roof Rack, man its nice
Can't wait to get it installed!
So today is Wednesday, another day before another storm. I had to get out so back I went to good old market basket in athol, where you shop a lot. You know, they have that "market kitchen." Well today the television wasn't working but there was another happening! This lady was on her cell phone to every airline in the world trying to get a one way ticket from Boston to Tampa. OMG, she had a crowd around her! Sorry I don't know the outcome but I can tell you she didn't want to spend four hundred for a one way ticket. It was as if she was talking for all of us. How high are the snow banks in that lot? Yeah, twenty feet anyway. Thanks for the video. People in Mass have to commute a ton, no worry.
I hope it wasn't an emergency for her and she was trying to reach a relative or something. That said, I can;t wait to get back there and for Lake Denison to be open again!
I agree the address thing is difficult for van dwellers. People who are retired, maybe dont want to maintain a residence. So they are on the road,, but the double edged sword is that you need to claim a residence somewhere to get mail, to get plates and ins for vehicle, and for a bunch of other stuff, like maybe banks, or taxes, or health insurance, doctors,, and the list goes on,, it cant be easy to navigate this conundrum.
Yes, it's way more complicated than people think. It's probably the number #1 thing people should plan out even before buying a van,
@@undertheradarvan yea, agree, but I can imagine daunting at the least.
There's literally a sign right by the door that says "Sam's Food Stores", lol.
@@IndieRageRadio Matt sees the world through a slightly different lens 😄
Or maybe his red rods and cones in his eyes are completely blown out from the interior of his van and the red sign was invisible to him 😅
I didn't notice that until your comment lol
I don't know Matt. The peripatetic van lifestyle seems to be one big existential struggle. Like sharks that must constantly swim to survive. Perhaps there is more affordable housing outside of Boston or maybe share with a roommate.
MA rent is really high, particularly in and around Boston. Google some Boston rents lol
!It's a struggle I'm enduring to save $48k a year. No pain no gain!
Bro- buy a scanner for your relative. Have them open & scan your mail and email it to you or something. Save $500 / month worth of wear and tear on your vehicle
Maybe I don't want my relative opening and reading all my mail?
Bro you can have a mailing address in addition to your physical address ya know. You can get a PO box somewhere in the Boston area so you wouldn't have to travel so far to get your mail.
I do have a PO Box which I use to receive Amazon stuff. But you cannot open PO Box in any town in MA unless you have a residential address in the SAME town. So you are compelled to have them close together.
I enjoy your videos so I feel its my duty to tell you its obvious that you're van is a home. I live in the Brighton neighborhood you stay in a lot and way before i found your channel I knew someone was living in your van. Theres no need to enter thru your driver's side door and try to be stealthy all the time. Its very noticeable. I live on Hobson St and see your van all the time. I don't think its a big deal as long as you move spots people don't care
Well now I'm going to have to stay away from that street for a while!
I think it's fine! I was trying to give you some outside perspective is all. I would say as long as you don't stay in one spot for multiple days it's fine. Also, not to point out the obvious, but is it stealthy to make videos on YT showcasing the neighborhood your trying to be stealthy in...?
It's kind of 2-edge sword; The gatekeepers at RUclips are giving you preferred treatment because you are a workaday person, as opposed to the typical vanlife RUclipsr trying to live off of internet fame, but being a digital nomad would get you away from the cold hard city.
Green Mountain coffee sucks! Yuck! I don't like Starbuck's coffee either. Dunkin is the best, but I like my home brewed Folger's 2nd best.
Holy shit! $10 for only 2 gallons? Damn! You got robbed!
You're suppose to park at rest stops/areas. They're made specifically for that purpose, so you can rest. There aren't any statewide restrictions for overnight parking in MA. Some may have signs stating "No Overnight Parking" or "2 Hour Parking Limit", but unless it's posted, you can park there overnight and the cops won't do anything.
In theory but I have seen staties tap on windows in the lots at rest stops late at night
I was actually going to mention to you in your previous video to be careful with the frozen foods and salt content.
I learned the hard way!
4:49 What were the Ford designers thinking when they decided to put the fuel tank filler pipe in that stupid location? And then having to notch a section off the door.
its supposed to secure the tank from gas thieves but the hinges they used on the gas flap are plastic, it easily breaks off!
@@damkayaker I actually like having the filler right there. Makes it very easy to pull up. And in Winter I’d hate to walk around a 22 foot van.
@@damkayaker Ford almost had it right…the drivers door could easily seal and totally conceal the filler neck and prevent fuel theft. But now a flimsy cover.
@@Supernaut2000 I think the reason they don't is so you can open the fuel door and then close the driver door to prevent fuel fumes from entering the cab. I have a similar fuel door on my Sprinter van and Mercedes indicated that the driver door should be shut during fueling.
@@Supernaut2000 - Oh is that was their idea for that? That is actually good idea to have the door in closed position cover the fuel filler access ... but they botched it. A future recall issue like the old pickups that had the fuel tanks in back of the bench seat. The Euro styled full size vans should have stayed in Europe. No room under the hood for the battery so it's jammed under the drivers seat.
Your relative could mail your documents to a PO box, so you don't have to drive. Just an idea from a lazy guy. Not sure about how feasible/legal it is, I'm watching from Italy
That's asking a lot of someone who's doing a lot already
Boston-Pittsfield 2x/week for years? How many miles do you put on that van per month bro?
Seems like alot of miles but most of my last 30 yrs I have averaged about 25k per yr. in the Boston area as a painter. Not hard to do.
65k miles in 3.5 years, so 19k miles per year
Do you ever go to Salem? Never been to Massachusetts but Salem is on the top of my list of places to go especially in the Fall. I'm from southern Wisconsin myself.
LOL. Salem around Halloween is a traffic HELL so investigate before you do it
Love Salem and have been to all the museums there! I would never drive there though, best to go by train.
Massachusetts rest areas, camping facilities and parks are an abomination ...been waiting to use that word...but fits.
Compared to the rest of the country, absolutely. Our rest areas are prototypes from when they were still designing the Eisenhower Highway System. Not fully thought out things and never since upgraded.
You have a very simple option you go to the post office and pre-purchase and pay for the cardboard overnight express mail envelopes. Give your relative 10 of them and then have him her mail them to your pace of employment however often is necessary to get the important mail to you. You can also get that PO Box and have your relative address those cardboard overnight envelopes to your PO Box in Boston. You’re making a big drama where doesn’t need to be.
You also cannot register to vote unless you have a normal address.
I never stop at those service stations, they're such a scam.
🙋🏼♀️
Hi ruth!
And more snow to come. Why do you travel so far from work? Oh the pike can be stressful!!
There's no good time to travel on the pike. At night it is endless lane closures and road work!
😎
😎
What kind of work do you do?
finance
pretty great you have that set up!
Are there any truck stops on I-90 you can utilize?
I was able to get a friend whom let me use their address in exchange for watching the house while he’s in Costa Rica surfing.. rn I’m plugged in outside his house in my van doing upgrades (skylight,side steps,solar panel). Someone can use your help in exchange for house sitting.
That's a great arrangement
Your putting a lot of miles on that van. The time is going to come when things start breaking down and need repairing. The 100,000 mile mark seems to be when all the troubles start occurring. If it was me I would have a least 10,000 dollars in my bank account for vehicle repairs. Engine work, tranny problems etc...... Then a plan B when your van is in the shop for a month getting some major work done like a engine over haul etc.. I watch another RUclipsr that lives in their vehicle and that's exactly what happened to them. Their engine needed major engine work and was in a repair shop for a month. They ended up renting a U-Haul and living in the back for a couples of weeks and then found a place to stay for a couple of weeks. It took this person by complete surprise. Take it for what its worth! Just saying!
That day will probably happen and I'll just have to roll with it, like they did. I'll try to make a good video out of it!
Would an RV part or campsite with available power to plug into be an option for you? How is the heated vest working out?
Not in MA, no campgrounds for RV sites open in winter.
@@undertheradarvan Hi Matt. While admittedly there are not many campgrounds that remain open during the Winter in Massachusetts, there are a few. One that I am familiar with is the Circle CG Farm Campground on Main Street in Bellingham. I'm aware of this site because one of my wife's previous colleagues is a traveling respiratory therapist who stayed at this campground during their contract period at her hospital.
Their FAQ page specifically states that they are open year round and they have rates for daily, weekly, and monthly stays. They have tent sites with no utilities and 30 amp and 50 amp electric sites with water and sewer hookup.
Might be a nice place to go if you need to relax and recharge your battery bank. Maybe review it on your channel so other Winter van lifers/campers know about the place.
I hate Boston where do you find a place to park there? There’s never any parking. The traffic sucks!!
HOURS if not DAYS of exploring neighborhoods, finding places, and generally trying to snag a spot by 5pm before most people return home from their workplaces.
Why don't p.o. boxes good for an address in America
Patriot Act of 2003 made illegal their use as residential addresses for passports, IRS, vehicle registrations, etc.
Dude, do you realize how much $ you could save with the simple expedient of making your own coffee? At least a couple hundred a month, don't you think? I hate coffee shops for that reason, unless I'm spending a long time there reading or writing. I drink three cups of single-use filtered coffee and my monthly caffeine bill is about $20.
I know I could save a ton, but coffee shops to me also are my place to access wifi so I can live and do these videos which take hours.
Could I politely request that you don’t point to the camera the whole time you talk to us? It makes me uncomfortable and I really like your content outside of that lol ❤
Didn't realize I was doing that while doing it, promise I won't do that again! lol
Thank you.....I felt exactly like you when I was watching the video. No more pointing.......
Dont you have heating in that van, take the coat off while driving
Bro it takes 2 hours of driving to heat up the van from -5 to 70 in a van using only the car heater. That's assuming no stops. Where do you live that you never wear a coat while driving?