I was just thinking about a similar idea. Best of luck!
Show HN: Van, truck or car camp for $0 a night
71–80 of 236 posts
Re: Show HN: Van, truck or car camp for $0 a night
#72For anyone looking for actually free, no strings attached (and no subscription) camping, check https://freecampsites.net/ instead. It's a community wiki of free camp sites, usually on federal lands of various sorts (National Forests and BLM lands often have primitive campsites with fire rings and not much else). It's great for travel around national parks, especially. But please do leave no trace, pack out what you b…
Everything you wrote is bang on - please, please, PLEASE: Leave no trace. Haul out your garbage. Don't shoot, shit, or camp within 100 yards of streams, creeks, or rivers. Don't make fire rings where they already exist. Abide by fire restrictions that might vary by county. Stay on existing, marked hiking and motor vehicle trails. As a resident of the West (which has huge swaths of "public" land) I am so tired of folk…
> Don't [...] camp within 100 yards of streams, creeks, or rivers.
Why? Alligators? I keep away abit because of the humidity. But I have never thought off it as a rule?
Re: Show HN: Van, truck or car camp for $0 a night
#73For anyone looking for actually free, no strings attached (and no subscription) camping, check https://freecampsites.net/ instead. It's a community wiki of free camp sites, usually on federal lands of various sorts (National Forests and BLM lands often have primitive campsites with fire rings and not much else). It's great for travel around national parks, especially. But please do leave no trace, pack out what you b…
You can camp for free in all unimproved areas of US national forests that aren't designated wilderness areas or otherwise designated as off limits for dispersed camping. This is something like 98% of the forests. The exact rules can vary a bit from place to place, so always check with the ranger station in that area (don't rely on the website!) for anything special.
You usually need to have a permit if you're parking your car at a trailhead, though.
But in general, the rules are:
Leave no trace. This means: no litter, bury all your poop (but no toilet paper) in holes at least 6 inches deep, use spots that have already been used for camping before when possible, etc.
Don't damage anything.
Don't cut live trees or other plants.
You can collect and burn all the firewood you want, but you cannot take any out of the forest.
Generally speaking, do not use fireworks or firearms.
Fires must be completely extinguished if there is no person around. Completely extinguished means that you can stick your hand into the ashes without discomfort.
Store your food in a way that prevents animals from getting to it. Do not feed any animals, not even squirrels or birds.
No camping within 100 feet of any water sources, trails, or improved campgrounds.
You cannot stay in the same area (I think, but I'm not sure, that "the same area" means within 50 miles) for more than 14 days within a 31 day period.
Do not build any structures.
If you leave your campsite unattended for more than 72 hours, the forest service deems it abandoned and may disposed of everything in it.
No amplified sounds (music players, PA systems, etc).
Also, for most of the "don't do this" rules, there is an implied "without a permit". For instance, you can remove wood from the forest if you have a permit to do so.
Re: Show HN: Van, truck or car camp for $0 a night
#74This would be a huge liability for the land owner:
1. Slip and falls. 2. Forrest fires. 3. Trashing the place.
Re: Show HN: Van, truck or car camp for $0 a night
#75> All members are vetted By who? There's literally zero information that would make me trust this: who's running this, how's it backed up, what proof you have that this works. But, cool idea. Love the reciprocity focus. Kind of like couchsurfing, but shinier?
> trust me bro It’s an MVP to capture interest. Simple As.
Yep, if there are zero members, then the statement "all members are vetted" is mathematically true. Well done.
Re: Show HN: Van, truck or car camp for $0 a night
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
Also, you leave out (which the comment you mentioned does) - please respect local rules. For instance, in Death Valley, you can free camp most anywhere (refer to NPS guidelines) two miles off of a designated roadway.
But try to be aware of what you're signing up for: Death Valley Germans [0] [0] https://www.otherhand.org/home-page/search-and-rescue/the-hu...
For the curious, the subject area: https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=14/35.9193/-117.0431&laye...
Re: Show HN: Van, truck or car camp for $0 a night
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
Everything you wrote is bang on - please, please, PLEASE: Leave no trace. Haul out your garbage. Don't shoot, shit, or camp within 100 yards of streams, creeks, or rivers. Don't make fire rings where they already exist. Abide by fire restrictions that might vary by county. Stay on existing, marked hiking and motor vehicle trails. As a resident of the West (which has huge swaths of "public" land) I am so tired of folk…
> Don't [...] camp within 100 yards of streams, creeks, or rivers. Why? Alligators? I keep away abit because of the humidity. But I have never thought off it as a rule?
This is to not disturb animals who depend on water access at night as well as avoiding contamination of water sources.
Re: Show HN: Van, truck or car camp for $0 a night
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
Everything you wrote is bang on - please, please, PLEASE: Leave no trace. Haul out your garbage. Don't shoot, shit, or camp within 100 yards of streams, creeks, or rivers. Don't make fire rings where they already exist. Abide by fire restrictions that might vary by county. Stay on existing, marked hiking and motor vehicle trails. As a resident of the West (which has huge swaths of "public" land) I am so tired of folk…
> Don't [...] camp within 100 yards of streams, creeks, or rivers. Why? Alligators? I keep away abit because of the humidity. But I have never thought off it as a rule?
It's because of the risk of contaminating the waters (with human waste like urine, food waste, etc.)
Also, if you camp near a water source, you may be unknowingly denying the local wildlife from accessing it.
Re: Show HN: Van, truck or car camp for $0 a night
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
> PLEASE: Leave no trace Someone once mentioned "Leave it nicer than you found it" as a life philosophy, maybe in relation to Japan? I'm not sure anymore. I've taken to that, like when going for a forest walk, even if I pick up literally one tiny plastic wrapper, that's still leaving the forest better than I found it. Of course, pristine is pristine, but if there is trash, go for that good feeling and consider an eas…
Thoreau, in Walden, on borrowing an axe: "The owner of the axe, as he released his hold on it, said that it was the apple of his eye; but I returned it sharper than I received it." A high school English teacher used this passage to impress upon us this same philosophy of "leave it nicer than you found it" (in particular, I remember him telling us that our parents leave us in his care and he saw it as his job to "retu…
Thanks. Love what you've written here.
Re: Show HN: Van, truck or car camp for $0 a night
#80$400 per night for a 2-stars hotel? Is that really the case? That sounds absolutely insane, even for most 5-stars.
Try to find a hotel less than an hour from Yosemite.