Sleeping in a van

[S]

I've had another idea recently, inspired by a local vacant lot next to a Walgreens that has suddenly become the community used car lot. I think most of you know what I mean; someone puts their used car there trying to sell it, and soon there are a dozen.

Why not park there at night, put up a "for sale" sign, sleep, then drive off the next morning?

[Mark Sedenquist]

Lurker Steve,

A vacant lot is still owned by someone -- see above. Put I admit that is a clever dodge. Your posting made me laugh out loud!

[PNW Judy]

Really? Are you sure? I'm not an expert on legal matters but this doesn't make sense to me.

On my recent trip to Roswell, NM, my car was hit in their Wal-Mart parking lot. Wal-Mart had absolutely no liability in this issue and the person was uninsured so my uninsured motorist coverage covered the incident.

I have a friend who was backing out of a parking space in our local mall and she was slammed by someone driving way too fast down the parking lot driving lanes. Fairly major damage occurred to her vehicle and she had some minor injuries needing treatment. Again, the mall had no liability for this event. In neither case did the insurance companies go after Wal-Mart or the mall.

I, personally, would never think of doing such a thing. I suppose some whacko who doesn't believe in assuming any responsibility for themselves or their actions could try to sue these entities in a civil action, but I'd be dumbfounded if they actually won anything.

Do you know of any incidents where owners of parking lots have been held responsible for such events?

[Mark Sedenquist]

I was commercial real estate property manager for thirteen years in my pre-RTA life. Yep, real estate liability law is very clear about the risks of maintaining a parking lot. Wal-Mart (& every other owner of real estate) will always try to decline to provide coverage, but a "mad-dog" lawyer can always make it stick. I have seen a number of mom & pop property owners taken for thousands of dollars in such scenarios.

Responsible RV'ers and roadtrippers, like yourself, serve by their actions to overcome the problems caused by others -- but the risks are always borne disproportionately by property owners.

Sorry to hear of your accident on the last road trip. Bummer!

I want to thank all of you for your advice.

I have been doing a lot of research along my route and I'm pretty sure that I will have no problem finding cheap campgrounds to stay in.

pensfan

[D H PETERSON]

We have travelled coast to coast and border to border, spending many, many nights in Wal-Marts, Costco, large shopping centers, rest areas on freeways and in truckstops.
Never once have we been asked to leave or been bothered by anyone. These areas are usualy well lit during the night which gives us some sense of security. As others of you have mentioned, we park in an out of the way space, do not leave any evidence of our having been there when we leave, and do use the restroom facilities if we can. We also carry a port-a-potty, have a 12 volt refrigerator and are almost as self contained as a small motorhome. We camped in this way all the way to Alaska and back thru both the U.S. and Canada. If you haven't tried it, why not?

[PNW Judy]

Interesting. I don't think it's right that property owners should be liable for something beyond their control. Guess I should sue Wal-Mart in Roswell to fix my door? I wouldn't. I would feel like a jerk doing that. But I guess not everyone would feel that way. It's certainly something to consider when finding a place to park for the night.

Yeah, bummer on the wreck...nothing serious. A guy backed into my driver's door and creased it up by the hinge. I had to drive the whole way home climbing in-and-out over the passenger side. But I'm lucky that it was driveable. It could have been worse.

what about sleeping in an SUV? i getting ready to leave on my roadtrip and was planning on spending some of the nights just in the back. i have a mitsubishi montero sport, will that be enough room to get a good nights sleep, or will it be too cramped? has anyone else ever done a trip sleeping in an suv? does it work?

I once took a long-weekend trip in a brand new (at the time) 1978 Mazda RX7. For those unfamiliar, it was a two-seat hardtop, hatchback sport coupe about the size of a Miata. I actually slept in the back of this car; I curled around the rear hatchback area, with my head at the rear where I could look up through the glass at the stars, and my legs and feet snaked between the seats and stretched toward the front console area (all in a sleeping bag of course, as I was in Death Valley and it got COLD at night). I slept well. I am 50 now, and this type of sleeping arrangement is a thing of the past, along with tree-climbing, fence-jumping and ANY kind of contact sports. Bob

[PNW Judy]

Why don't you just give it a try some time in your driveway? You don't have to sleep in it all night to give you an idea if it will work for you. Years ago, we often slept in the back of a Suburban but that would be roomier than your SUV. I have also slept in a VW Scirocco and a VW New Beetle. Just put a cooler or duffle bag or something on the floor to raise your feet and lower the seat as far as it will go. Actually, pretty comfy! But I wouldn't want to do it every night.