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Show HN: Van, truck or car camp for $0 a night

landcamp.org

21–30 of 236 posts

Re: Show HN: Van, truck or car camp for $0 a night

#21
post #15
post #5

So it's kinda like Couchsurfing.com and Warmshowers, but expensive ($100/yr) and only for vanlifers? Interesting. I like the community peer to peer model, but it kinda feels exploitative to put an expensive business layer on top of it. What does the $100/yr provide that Couchsurfing's $30/yr doesn't, aside from a feeling of exclusivity? Or is that the point, to weed out poor vanlifers and allow only rich vacationers…

"rich vacationers" ? Most American adults can afford $100/year. Edit: I'll even add: most american adults spend $100 per month , not per year, on frivolous stuff. Fast food. Cable TV. Unnecessary high-end phones (instead of mid-range phones). All these people could definitely afford $100/year.

You can't use land camp if you don't own a home / property that has parking space and restrooms. At least after your 3 free stays are done.

Re: Show HN: Van, truck or car camp for $0 a night

#22
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"rich vacationers" ? Most American adults can afford $100/year. Edit: I'll even add: most american adults spend $100 per month , not per year, on frivolous stuff. Fast food. Cable TV. Unnecessary high-end phones (instead of mid-range phones). All these people could definitely afford $100/year.

You can't use land camp if you don't own a home / property that has parking space and restrooms. At least after your 3 free stays are done.

Correct, but solardev was criticizing the $100/yr price, specifically.

Re: Show HN: Van, truck or car camp for $0 a night

#23
post #5

So it's kinda like Couchsurfing.com and Warmshowers, but expensive ($100/yr) and only for vanlifers? Interesting. I like the community peer to peer model, but it kinda feels exploitative to put an expensive business layer on top of it. What does the $100/yr provide that Couchsurfing's $30/yr doesn't, aside from a feeling of exclusivity? Or is that the point, to weed out poor vanlifers and allow only rich vacationers…

Couchsurfing's downfall was lack of money (and incredibly poor use of funds) that led to the sale to the bizarre monetizing and "creepy engagement" scheme that ruined it. I would pay $300/yr if it would restore the Couchsurfing community and original site.

If this $100 site led to the kind of community we used to have, it's a bargain. But it's not clear yet whether they will foster a community.

Re: Show HN: Van, truck or car camp for $0 a night

#24

This has the feel of a site someone set up to gauge interest based on signups, rather than something that actually exists. I've never been quite sure how I feel about those: smart product testing or disingenuous bait-and-switch?

That's the new first step for startups: build a landing page, collect email addresses, only then start building a product. Hard to judge from the outside how much already exists (the first big image is a stock photo).

https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html says signup pages and waiting lists are usually off-topic.

Re: Show HN: Van, truck or car camp for $0 a night

#26

I'm interested but $100/yr kind of sounds like a lot. Is it free to host? I wouldn't mind building up credits for a road trip later if I didn't have to pay. Also maybe a monthly price would make more sense as I tend to be on the road only for periods at a time. (or maybe even a per-booking fee?) Anyways, yearly sub is kind of a non-starter for me though I like the concept.

> I'm interested but $100/yr kind of sounds like a lot. Is it free to host?

Sounds like it is... maybe?

> Membership is free if you only want to host (great traffic for businesses like breweries)

Re: Show HN: Van, truck or car camp for $0 a night

#27
post #15
post #5

So it's kinda like Couchsurfing.com and Warmshowers, but expensive ($100/yr) and only for vanlifers? Interesting. I like the community peer to peer model, but it kinda feels exploitative to put an expensive business layer on top of it. What does the $100/yr provide that Couchsurfing's $30/yr doesn't, aside from a feeling of exclusivity? Or is that the point, to weed out poor vanlifers and allow only rich vacationers…

"rich vacationers" ? Most American adults can afford $100/year. Edit: I'll even add: most american adults spend $100 per month , not per year, on frivolous stuff. Fast food. Cable TV. Unnecessary high-end phones (instead of mid-range phones). All these people could definitely afford $100/year.

I think that's a pretty privileged viewpoint. That's $100/year of disposable income for maybe a parking spot where you want to go, maybe available when you want to go. That's definitely not a trivial dollar amount for something like that, especially when there are free alternatives (strip mall parking lots, rest stops, federal lands, moving between neighborhoods, etc.). Then there's the question of being able to offer a designated parking spot (hosting) in exchange for staying credits. Paid private parking, especially extra spots, is an absurd luxury in much of the country, for many people.

I knew many people -- climbers, travelers, dirtbaggers, backpackers -- who really wanted to see the public lands that they partially own but could not afford to travel in luxury, people who ate ramen and rice and beans for months just to be able to afford to see the lands. There are also people who live in campers and vans because they can't afford rent. That $100 could definitely go to better uses.

If $100 is nothing to you, perhaps you're the kind of traveler this website is targeting. It's definitely not for everyone. I've met many amazing people on Couchsurfing and Warmshowers, which (at the time) were totally free and still today are much cheaper. The vast majority of the people I hosted were very poor but very well traveled, with stories to tell and friendships across the world. Very few of the rich people I've met have had the same experiences to share. Hosting them was a privilege, and not something I would've wanted to charge them for even if I could. I also met very interesting hosts traveling the same way, because at the end day doing that becomes way more relational and way less transactional -- the opposite of luxury travel.

Re: Show HN: Van, truck or car camp for $0 a night

#28

This has the feel of a site someone set up to gauge interest based on signups, rather than something that actually exists. I've never been quite sure how I feel about those: smart product testing or disingenuous bait-and-switch?

"disingenuous bait-and-switch?"

It's usually done without the actual company name or final "brand", so you wouldn't even know about it.

I guess these guys didn't get the memo, if this is actually a "demand gauging" website...

Re: Show HN: Van, truck or car camp for $0 a night

#29
post #5

So it's kinda like Couchsurfing.com and Warmshowers, but expensive ($100/yr) and only for vanlifers? Interesting. I like the community peer to peer model, but it kinda feels exploitative to put an expensive business layer on top of it. What does the $100/yr provide that Couchsurfing's $30/yr doesn't, aside from a feeling of exclusivity? Or is that the point, to weed out poor vanlifers and allow only rich vacationers…

Couchsurfing's downfall was lack of money (and incredibly poor use of funds) that led to the sale to the bizarre monetizing and "creepy engagement" scheme that ruined it. I would pay $300/yr if it would restore the Couchsurfing community and original site. If this $100 site led to the kind of community we used to have, it's a bargain. But it's not clear yet whether they will foster a community.

I sadly stopped hosting a few years ago. What happened to the community/site? I must've missed that part?
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