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I spent years traveling Australia.living in vans and buses.i never belived in the stealth way van life..if the government get there greedy hands into van life It will become ss expensive as living in a house.

Cai aqui de paraquedas pois vou acampar lá e estava procurando infos e ainda descobrir q o brother é BR. Realmente estamos em todos os lugares. Parabéns pelo vídeo, muito bom

Choosing stealth is not a matter of pride it is a matter of having a peaceful life instead of getting hassled by our authoritarian society which will absolutely happen eventually in my experience. Ask yourself the question, when you pull up somewhere, do you want half the street and anyone who drives down it, knowing you are in the back and wondering if they are going to phone the cops or if they are real Karens, knock on the door, or let them remain oblivious to the fact and vastly increase your chances of a good nights sleep? Our system uses information against us usually, give them NOTHING and their ignorance will be your bliss.

I got harassed relentlessly when I lost everything and found myself living in my car for 7 months. Eventually I earned enough money to upgrade to a van but the harassment continued. "It's illegal"...."You're not ALLOWED to be here"..."Go away!". So I transformed my van into a stealth campervan. Ladder racks on the roof. High vis shirt over the passenger seat. Clipboard overflowing with paperwork on the dash. Looked nothing like a campervan in the end. For three years after that I could park anywhere I wanted and nobody said a word to me about it. Quite often 'good' people out walking their dogs etc. would want come up and chat to the 'tradie''...because everyone loves tradies. People don't mind a parked van at all, it's humans who produce their own electricity and live without paying rent or a mortgage and fees and rates to millionaires that they all hate upon. It's disgusting.

Good video. My opinions. I own a home & pay council rates. I’m not close enough to a beach to get free parking for a few hours but those living near a beach (looking at you northern beach owners) can park their vehicles in front of my home for an eternity, free! We ALL pay council rates as owners yet Australia has turned non-egalitarian and thinks those not living near a beach don’t deserve to enjoy the beach for a few hours without paying enormous amounts to park there. I haven’t seen this mindset anywhere else in the world (excluding the UK). Even Los Angeles you can park very cheaply or for free at the richest areas. As for van lifers, I have no issues those living this way. We should be free to live as we please. Isn’t it a free country (world)? This country has so many regulations and nanny-state rules, it’s strangling. Sure, we need rules but sometimes it goes too far (usually to benefit the wealthy as pointed out above). If beach car parks cannot be used to sleep, I have no issues with other car parks being available or areas where vans can stay overnight. Many streets are too narrow/congested and personally, I’d prefer a car park than a street. Other than that, people need to relax and stop being “Karen’s”. Allow people to live as they please. Sure, there are the bad ones who don’t comply and I agree, they should be dealt with. I wouldn’t be causing a fuss if I was living in a van. I would fear someone may break the van or harm me. So I believe most do the right thing. I’d say some tourists are disrespectful as they know they’re leaving soon, but encourage having carpark facilities for them to use. In fact, if I were a tourist, I’d stay in a campground or somewhere more remote & not in a city. As for paying rates as a van lifer. We know it’ll increase substantially over time and really, how much would be collected by each council in Australia if we split the cost up? 20 cents per van? Not worth the hassle.

It is possible that it is not the full time vanlifers that are the problem, they are generally more attune and respectful to the communities they stay at, possibly more likely it is the overseas tourists that show no respect and setup anywhere like its a campground. I also see daytrippers and large groups frequent a beach or park, get up and leave all there rubbish on the grass, no attempt to take it with them or place it in a nearby bin, they too are not paying council rates for the area they visited and trashed with their rubbish. We have all seen this behaviour. Hmmmm, you have touched on an interesting subject.

hastag vanlifer was parked in a free 48 hour spot where I camped, so all good. Next morning he gets up and relieves himself at the back of his van. Toilet block literally 20 metres away, and used by all the tent campers. So yeah if he's that lazy and anti social I don't think i'd want him parked outside my house beach views or not.

Everyone better get used to the idea of others living in their cars and vans. No rentals and buying a home is becoming out of reach.. It's happening all over the world. Cost of living will force a lot to do this. A concept change is needed within society to help with affordable living. We should be able to live in tiny homes, vans, caravans and break free from the control of council/government laws and restrictions.

I’ve got a bloke who’s setup camp on a parking bay on the nature strip outside my house. He’s got his chair and table out on grass and having a good time. Been there for 3 days now. I can’t park my car out the front of my house, can’t mow the nature strip, have had to ask him to keep his language under control (told me to get F’d so that didn’t work) and he likes to play music at night. His car is registered, it’s legally parked so there’s bugger all I can do about it. There’s always two sides to the falafel.

We have have too many rules and regulations in Australia and if someone chooses to live in their van then good on them. It should be nobody elses business! Queensland is the only state in Australia where it is illegal to sleep in a vehicle on a public road (except designated rest areas). In other words, all states of Australia except for Qld you can sleep on the side of the road if theres no sign saying you can't park. We live in Queensland and we'll take our van as close as 20 minutes away and sleep overnight. We love the coastal water, breezes and views on offer and will never comply to these ridiculous regulations. We all pay expensive registrations, insurances, tolls and fuel taxes so that's enough for the greedy government.

dont get a permit system.. that will just make the option of van life unaffordable and no doubt turn it into another way for the rich to abuse the poor.

Selfish, fame hungry, van life KZbinrs have ruined it for everyone in the space of less than a decade. Before backpackers and the internet, you could camp anywhere and people were happy to stop and chat. It doesn't even occur to the short sighted fools that showing everyone on Earth every precious secret puts a death sentence on those places forever after. It is amazing how many boring people, now of all ages, that think the whole world wants to see them eating a sandwich and breaking down how much their weekly budget is while cooing after a coffee.The worst of all are the foreign travellers that claim some sense of genius for exposing places in a country they and their families have not paid forward in with effort and taxes. Secret places that families have relied on for generations for vacations and pilgrimages across the country. There was a code of secrecy in Oz before, especially around surf spots and free camps that is gone forever. All for a pack of narcissists who will mostly do one lap and never go again or go back to their own nation. Narcissists like you.

I like what you do, but it is not just you.

Normally vehicles parked on the street or in car parks are empty vehicles. Uninhabited. Normally you know who is living close to your home, the neighbours. Normally in hotels, and motels, it is expected that for a short time strangers will be living close. Normally when camping, living close is the agreed deal. It is the imposed unknown that is disturbing. As I said before People have paid a fortune for the known situation. As you know it is an imposition if some one randomly approaches your home or their home imposes on normal street space. A formal framework may have to be thought through. Property has value and people have paid for it. Had to pay to get ownership and then pay and follow the rules. So there is a range of matters here that have not been formalised and may have to be considered and voted on. 😮 Living space, dwellings and land usage is a very old 'town planning' matter. Normal for new land uses to be addressed so all know the limits and society's wants. Costs are shared. Valuation and payments need to be considered. Value of land is reflected in the latest price paid. Van life is an economic decision. Hope my thoughts are helpful. 😊

People in homes with wonderful views have built in front of someone else and are blocking their access to the view. 😮 😊 People driving very big 4WD vehicles to see driving conditions ahead are blocking normal cars view ahead. 😮 😊 People using their parking space as storage space or office space are illegally removing their off-street parking and crowding the street parking 😮 😊 Also adding to their habitable space illegally 😮 😊 Garbage bin night heartache for years. 😮 😊 Visitor parking heartache for years 😮 😊 People illegally building and illegal granny flats 😮 😊 Wow, they say that 3 fingers point back when the finger pointing 👆 starts. 😮😮😮😮😮 👉👈 Hahaha 👍 People with phones in carparks add more eyes and safety and interests for those doing passive walking exercise. I have seen early morning walkers staying safe near the road and not in the carpark space, just to be careful.

Is it all part of the agenda!? Can't make the cost of living rise, then have people living for free/ cheap OR mobile?? 😇😇😇

A "permit" is just another way to collect tax. The more we pander to accepting "permits" for every activity in life the more we will be USED as revenue. It's about time that people actually started to look long term at what is actually being put in place step by step, year by year. The erosion of freedom is real. It's important to remember that it's impossible to comply your way out of tyranny.

Sleeping at the beach is not about the view for some; it's the sound of the waves and salt air in the lungs. As a surfer it can be a fundamental part of connecting to the rhythm of the ocean.

As far as I know it is not illegal to sleep in your car. Local council signs such as "no overnight stays" are not binding as far as I know. Parking signs are the only limitations to the amount of time your car can spend in that designated spot, regardless of the occupants activity. Where is the legislation that clearly states what activities are "allowed" overnight in a stationary vehicle?

Have just started living full time in the van with my dog. A friend of mine suggested whale beach. I bought a norther beaches parking permit and so far ive been there a couple of weeks with no problem from rangers. There are 'no overnight parking' signs around but about 6-10 vans park there. Do you know if there is a resource or a group for info on good places to park?

Interesting topic, It's ramped in Newcastle area & getting worse, One person parked at a boat ramp has been there for over 2 yrs with his dog ( i must say he is clean ) & the signs say " No camping or overnight stay " Council mow around him every week. He's certainly not living only surviving i suppose you could say. Times are tough

Totally agree mate - if only the minority didnt ruin it for the majority

Thank you for your video Bless you🙏

Well said thankyou

The issue in my area the eastern suburbs is lacking of parking for residents let alone visitors or overnight stayers. Residents need to generally park their cars at night as during the day they maybe using their cars. If we had plentiful parking it may not be as big an issue but we have last significant amount of car spaces to go gets and share cars if it was up to me I would love to see the share cars in public car parks and not on the streets and then use some spots for vans. I would suggest a permit system. There are extra costs to residents as we pay to keep the space clean and well maintained and for the development of facilities that van lifers would require and their maintenance. Generally though van lifers are not wanting to or able to pay a fee to cover these costs. But I do agree we should be cater to van lifers.

Stealth camping and Van life is always a risk in Australia. Avoid the beach or public car parks car park and limit parking at the same place in a residential place

Stealth camping and Van life is always a risk in Australia. Avoid the beach or public car parks car park and limit parking at the same place in a residential awesome

You forgot to take your camera off the roof and then pack up the one on the ground before you left!

Homeless and choice are 2 very different things. . .

You (and many who have commented here) are "connected" Van dwellers. You stay in an area and you treat it with care and respect. You're like locals. You want to be able to continue to inhabit particular locales and not spoil it for yourselves or others. You are "connected" to your usual haunts and that brings respect, responsibility and community minded behaviour. Sadly, the "travellers" ruin it for you. They don't care what the locals think and they do whatever they want because they are going to move on (probably never to return) and they won't need to deal with the mess / damage / rankled locals. Not their problem. I live in an area that gets a lot of "travellers" and their behaviour and habits are often disgusting, thoughtless and dangerous. Everywhere is a toilet, every bush is a trash can. Night-time drunken parties around the swings and play equipment often end with bodily waste, smashed bottles and sharps strewn where our children play the next day. Feeling cold ? Just light a fire in a trash can and use whatever you can find as fuel. Sorry about the bush fire the sparks caused... but we moved on as soon as we heard the sirens... so not our problem. To "travellers" any resource can be stolen, wrecked or just used up without any thought for others. A lot of localities have good reason to be angry. We can't tell the travellers from the rest until it's too late.

As someone who lives in their van and surfs i never sleep in the carpark or take the best spots all day especially on weekends Lots of locals or just people who have worked all week or live in the area cant get a park cause van lifers take all the spots.

I make sure to leave no trace, just like when bushwalking, and then if confronted by anyone I tell them I'm doing fatigue management. I don't put chairs outside. I don't put anything outside. I don't unfurl a tarp. I don't do anything to attract attention or annoy people. I have had eggs thrown at my bus when I was parked in Newcastle. That wasn't fun. Any place I park for more than a week makes me a target.

The council can designate a carpark for overnight by not putting up a sign. They should create sections where this can be the case. How about serving everyone interest instead of this mentality of only caring about themselves.

I live in an inland remote area, and "overnighters" poop straight on to the ground in these "overnight" areas that do not have toilet facilities .

just park in quiet street somewhere overnight and go back to the beach in the morning.. The next step you can do is write to the council and ask them to show you the contract you have with them. Council have far too much power, the only reason for that is because we give it to them.. and I'm not only talking about car campers.

Stealth is best option.

Ive been an itinerant Australian since 1988. A lot of campers are now how you say it: fucking scumbags! Tasmania’s still good &free. But mostly anywhere along the north to southern east coast i avoid ! Outback is the best but avoid indigenous areas unless you want rubbish everywhere and ur van smashed! But things are only going to get worse thanks to globalism!

Could anyone explain me why so many millions are spent all over Australia to accommodate the “boating community” and no-one whants to know about us? Please don’t say they pay a fee or fishing licence,etc. I would happily pay it if I could share/use all or some, of those (always) half empty huge areas designated to “Cars with boat trailer Only” thanks for the video. I’m forever a paying member of the CMCA (Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia) most people will have a reason to belong to this club, Im (myself) still trying to know why!

form an association and offer to pay $300 per week to help pay for council facilities etc You wont thou even thou 2 "homeless" occupants of a motor home are on on $850 a week

Nsw is the nanny state. If they can't make money off you they don't care about you or your situation. A lot of talk in this country but nothing ever changes. Goodluck. This country has gone to shit...we keep stabbing ourselves in the foot.

Plenty of places to camp in Australia but camping in a city or large populated coastal town is asking for conflict……

In the USA, Walmart and other large retail centres allow people to stay overnight in their car parks. As long as they don’t occupy car parks during busy hours, stay clean (no litter) and no public nuisance type behaviour.

Why not stay at proper camp sites?

Lot of work being a KZbinr mate, stick at it

I was really young in the 90's when i went travelling in a van around Aus, rangers were EVERYWHERE back then, parking signs and all the same restrictions were everywhere too, you couldn't stay anywhere for free back then either, and they know there's people sleeping inside all vans, they've seen it all before, and they will fine you and just leave it on the windscreen, nothing has changed!! You have to be smart and be in the know about where to stay for free and it's usually in less dense areas, sneak in at night sneak out at crack of dawn, you can never get comfy. Also Service stations in rural Aus have shower facilities especially for truck drivers, but anyone can use them, it used to cost $1 a shower back then!

I have live in my car for almost two years. No city will tolerate this. If you want to camp then find a campsite, if you want to live in the inner city im afarId you need to find somewhere to live more traditionally. Or find somebody who is willing to let you park at there house occasionally. You cant have your cake and eat it too. Im homeless but i dont feel entitled to park in city when there are actual places that are free and welcoming to me Dont forget you dont Contribute to the costs of the city, or facilities like the shower you are abusing

In QLD you can't even camp overnight in a street away from the beach not in front of someone's house. I was fined $352 in Bowen and didn't even get a knock, found the bill on the windscreen when I woke up. I don't understand how this is even legal. There are a million reasons why someone could be sleeping in their car or van overnight.

people pay big rates to live in that area, I can see their point, especially if the areas are mistreated.

They are worried of being exposed to their nation destroying agendas