Yup. Pretty much.

Invisibility and Inaudibility. Ninja.

Where does this Tesla get recharged?

There are over 400 charging stations in Las Vegas. For charging stations that aren't specifically for the Tesla, the Tesla has an adapter.

Sleeping at charging stations could make sense. Limo tint is critical for safety reasons.

How To Sleep In A Tesla Model S Or Model X

https://cleantechnica.com/2017/08/13...del-s-model-x/

Doesn't the much cheaper Toyota Prius have the same climate control capability as the Tesla?

Hybrids cant run the A/C continuously without also starting the engine briefly to charge themselves back up. I'd think the engine restarting every 15 minutes would be rather disruptive to sleep. A tesla can literally run the A/C nonstop for a week straight without recharging.

I wonder about this. People become curious when they think you have something to hide. A car with blacked out windows might actually draw more attention, vs some run of the mill regular ass boring looking car parked next to a dozen others. It's not like someone cant still peek through your limo tint with a flashlight. And once they become aware someone is actually in there people get really weird, like tugging on the door handles, tapping the glass, loitering around your car like psychopaths. Lot of unhinged people walking amongst us. You gotta hide in plain sight IMO.

How about the plug-in model? It has a solar panel on the roof to help recharge when parked, but that won't help much at night.

Regardless, a Tesla or Prius or anything else is not going to be in stealth mode with the a/c running. Hotel security is going to notice right away that some car in the parking garage has the a/c running.

You cant hear the A/C running at a distance. Heck even up close it barely sounds like a small fan running from under the car, I dont think anyone would notice, and if they did they wouldnt recognize what they were hearing and probably just ignore it.

Plug-ins can run the A/C all night without issue as the battery packs are sufficiently large enough for this, however no current models exist that actually allow for this as the OEM's assume you must have mistakenly left your car on and therefore just shut the vehicle off entirely after a period of time. For instance the Chevy Volt will turn itself off after 2 or possibly 4 hours of inactivity. You could easily just turn it back on once you wake up in a humid/freezing car but still a slight annoyance.

Lastly the solar panel is a bit of a marketing gimmick. It only captures enough power to run the ventilation fans, not the A/C compressor itself. The idea being to help reduce some of the intense heat in a car sitting outside in the sun all day, akin to leaving your windows down. I dont think you could sleep in the day like this, and obviously it does nothing at night.

So, you have ZERO idea of reality of parking a van in Las Vegas where security both patrols and video surveiliance is used.

Your "advice"boils down to "PLAY DEAD" inside your van, ans you later cite some YouTube poster about paying dead while "Stealth camping".

Sorry, do you REALLY think hotel security will allow a large vehicle to simply park overnight without ANY investigation of its occupants or their presence on hotel casino property:

Security: "Oh, that's okay, that really big vehicle is okay, because you know, it shows no signs of life, not even a pinky being visible inside ..... Probably only contains about 500 lbs or so of explosives and that ticking sound isn't a timer"

What world are you living in, Reggie ?

Gzesh what are you talking about? Do you think hotel security guards comb a 5 story parking garage peeking into the windows of every parked car with a flashlight?

He's just trolling. LOL

this is the area off hwy159/blue diamond/charleston right by red rock casino where van lifers park on a daily basis. its right by the catch basin/flood control area right past the High school.

over 400, ? Source ?

(I would be pleasantly surprised and would consider getting an electric vehicle for around town, especilly as I could also charge it at the house I guess.)

More than 400, actually.

Source: https://getjerry.com/electric-vehicl...ions-in-nevada

Ok, but they must be well-concealed

Good luck sitting and charging for a minimum 2 - 4 hours.

We are talking about overnight parking and vehicles that have not moved.

Guards absolutely patrol every floor and lot. There really are not a lot of random, unknown overnight vehicles.

So, yes, keeping track of overnight parking would be part of their responsibilities. Observation does not mean "peeking into the window of every parked car". For one example, overnight hotel guests will generally have furnished a vehicle description and tag upon check-in. Also, every lot will have surveillance systems in place.

(I'm speculating, but based on 30 years in Las Vegas and having dealt with such issues in the legal context, including trespass, illicit commercial activity, and the like. Were such surveillance not conducted, I expect there would be way more entrepreneurial hooking trade going on in parking lots for example.

Who is "staying" unauthorized, on the property is a security consideration.

The vlogger Bikeking slept inside the Bally's parking garage for months and never had any problems. I know a California player who, when he plays poker in Vegas, sleeps inside the Bellagio parking lot in a 100k Mercedes. He'd do it for several nights and never had any problems with security.

Cars and minivans are naturally stealth.

RVs and high top vans are not stealth. Can't lump them together with cars.

Gzesh there is no system in place for casino security to track vehicles. Any suspicions would have to be done purely by hand note taking which is simply unfeasible given the volume of vehicles in these garages. Random foot patrols are not on the hunt for immobilized vehicles. They're just performed as a show of force to keep would-be thieves at bay and other unpredictable events like stumbling upon someone passed out, on drugs, injured, or otherwise in need of assistance. I havent been to the Aria in 3 years but when I rented a car I never had to furnish any info about my vehicle at all, nor have I at any hotel I've ever stayed at in my entire life. Checking in your car is just not a thing. The examples you provide of activities detected by surveillance are easily identifiable and thus the reason surveillance is conducted. People sleeping in a car for a single night is not easily detected and thus not part of what they are looking for, because there's nothing to see. Thats why people refer to it as stealth camping. You cant just point a finger at a lexus and say "hmm, that look suspicious, it's been here for 8 hours" and even if you got lucky then what? What could security unearth? They walk up to the lexus and start tapping on the glass to see what happens? Then the owner comes around the corner chirping the horn and asks "hey wtf are you doing to my car?" while the security guard chokes on his tictac and says "oh oh, i dunno, we thought someone might be sleeping in it". To which he replies "why the fk would you think that? Did you scratch my paint with your janitors key set? Who's your manager, stay the fk away from my sht, k thx".

Creepy vans that stand out might get randomly checked. Regular ass looking SUV's and hatchback's wont unless they just happened to be spying on you and noticed you crawl into it, or someone else did and reported it. If you're going to stealth camp in vegas, parking garages are an easy opportunity so long as you're smart about it. Dont keep the trunk open showing your mattress and bed linens for 15 minutes for a bunch of passerby's to see and wonder "wow is that guy living in that thing?" or for security to notice while youre just sitting on the bumper of your own car before slithering in like a snake. And dont try to camp out for days at a time. Keep your car there only as long as someone might be gambling. Leave after 8 hours and go to another garage for the next night.

The rules of stealth parking are almost set in stone among the Youtube van dwellers. I already posted them earlier in this thread.

I think some of those rules are out of date given how vanlifers choose to equip themselves. IMO they arent very stealthy and require particular environments to blend in. These guys all want whats tantamount to a full RV in the size of a sedan. Storage, cooking appliances, lightning, A/C, a proper place to sit and read, etc. I'm no vanlifer but if I had to I'd commit to the car being only a sleeping quarters, whilst the rest of your life exists exclusively outside the vehicle. No propane burners with a skillet so you can enjoy scrambled eggs at the walmart parking lot. No pressurized water system so you can take a ho bath in 30 seconds in an alley.

Your meals should be prepared and consumed away from the car, as will your bodily functions and hygiene, and you need a vehicle that is not obviously running for climate control with the lights OFF so some lady walking her dog at 11pm doesnt notice you surfing for meme's in your car in the neighborhood. Hence, get a Tesla or a hybrid if you can tolerate it, some form fitting window shades, flat folding rear seats or perhaps even remove the passenger seat and extend a sleeping area all the way to the dashboard, and thats it. Go to sleep at a regular hour and wake up early to relocate somewhere else. Shower at the gym, eat some kind of MRE food (meal ready to eat) and spend your days outdoors, or gambling in the casino since thats what we're talking about, etc.

I find this whole thread fascinating. I have never ever considered van life. I am enthralled by reading these stories and it is something I never ever would have considered. Very informative and thought provoking.

My anecdotal evidence:
1. I have left a car in the Planet Hollywood parking garage for a week and it was untouched and uninspected. I knew the head of security and he said it was never commented on.

2. I have slept overnight in the back seat/trunck of a Ford Escape that was parked in the Bally's parking garage. No one ever knocked on the windows or did anything to the car. Multiple days may have been different.

Gzesh is right security can and will investigate any and all vehicles. The Orleans, of all places, told us in no uncertain terms that we would be ejected and our vehicle would be towed from the property if we parked a 1/2 ton pick up and small trailer in their giant, nearly vacant parking lot for a few days.

Then again it is probably hit and miss. Sometimes they will and sometimes they won't. The FBI has some of the best surveillance techniques and apparatus on the planet and it took them 13 years to find Whitey Bulger, and he used to work for them!

Wanted to amend my post about the new prius solar panel. Apparently testing has proven that with 8 hours of uninterrupted sunlight the car can be expected to recapture up to 4 miles of range. Not sure how much climate control power that offers but probably a lot. It was the older prius models that introduced the solar panel that had no value other than running the blower motor to exhaust excess cabin heat.

Bump


Are you still seeing vans parking overnight in this area?

I'm making my way down to Vegas now, just crossed into Arizona.

Doing some research online and looking for spots on iOverlander, it seems like overnight parking could be tricky in Vegas.

Not seeing many places where I'm guaranteed a hassle free night. Anything near a casino and it looks like there's at least a 50% chance security will tell me to move along.

I'm looking to stay for a week, maybe more if the live games are good and it's not too difficult to find free overnight parking.

Not opposed to staying in hotels for part of my trip if I can get a good deal on something nice, but don't want to be overpaying for some crappy motels.

It's going to be my first time in Vegas. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears.