Dodge Caravan in SW

I've driven the SW several times, but usually in a car and stayed in hotels/motels. But this time I'm planning on staying longer, maybe 5/6 weeks, and the cost of hotels over that period is too expensive .... so I've thought of hiring a Dodge Caravan from Thrifty, which works out at about $260 a week including LDW - and sleeping in it for most nights.

Has anyone tried this - and is it a good idea? My main worry is safety and finding places to stop overnight. I know parking in many beach resorts on the seafront is forbidden overnight, specifically to stop people doing this - and lots of places just are not suitable.

If anyone has experience of this, I'd be interested in any tips and experiences.

Generally, we recommend against sleeping in the vehicle. It can be dangerous, and usually most places will not allow it - ie rest areas, shopping centers, etc. Many of the areas that may look conducive to this activity are usually private property as well, so at that point you would be trespassing.

This is not to say that many of us haven't done it, but there are some things you want to be aware of. If you do have to sleep in the vehicle, the best places to do this are where you find RVs parked for the night - 24-hour establishments, such as truck stops. There are some rest areas in the country that will allow an overnight stop, usually there is a logbook to sign in, but these are rare.

For more ideas on how to keep your costs down, see this page.