By Randall Brink
It has become a cliche to refer to that halcyon time “before the pandemic.” So much, in retrospect, seemed better then.
The RV travel lifestyle was different regarding things like access to RV parks and RVing costs. There was another different thing: There were virtually no daily news stories in local and city newspapers about RVing, or rather, the problem of RVs and people in homeless encampments and on city streets.
Fast-forward to 2022. The chances are good that if you read your daily newspaper or watch local news on TV, you will see a story segment about RVs and RVers. Chances are it won’t be a good story.
RV boom
One of the biggest RV-related news stories during the last two years has been the number of new RVs delivered. The numbers for 2020 and 2021 far exceeded those for years before the COVID pandemic. It seemed like everyone wanted to get out of quarantine, get into RVing, and enjoy the freedom of the great outdoors.
There was much excitement for the RV lifestyle, even though space in RV campgrounds was rapidly becoming scarce. Yet, initially, positive stories emerged; many people adopted the RV lifestyle. They were learning to live in RVs full time, to boondock. Offices and “8:00 – 5:00” were becoming a thing of the past. People were working while on the road, taking advantage of new technology for internet connectivity. It seemed like, for the first time in two years, things were changing for the better—and fast. The new era of happy campers and sunny times were a constant theme of announcements from the RV industry about the sheer number of motorhomes and towable RVs manufactured and sold.
Upheaval and despair
The darker side of that storyline began to emerge fully in 2021.
- Squatters in Wichita Falls, TX, parked on Christal Dickerson’s property. She didn’t know about it because she resides in NJ but was informed of the squatters by a property caretaker. She had to file a lawsuit and pay $500 to evict them.
- The City of Seattle evicted 26 illegally parked RVs and other vehicles used as dwellings from a homeless RV encampment in West Seattle. City crews hauled away more than 50,000 pounds of refuse and debris.
- More than 2,700 people live in RVs and other vehicles in King County, WA. The number is increasing rapidly. The city has begun enforcing its 72-hour parking ordinance. They are forcibly towing RVs, and removing discarded detritus left behind by the homeless. One rousted encampment dweller said he had moved his RV “about a mile away.”
- Almost half of the U.S. workforce does not earn enough for rent.[1]
- City-run “Safe RV Parking Lots,” such as the one established by the city of Oakland, CA, to provide a controlled encampment along with some city services, have been an abject failure due to the complexity of homeless issues and lack of mental health and law enforcement resources at the sites.
- The City of Denver estimates that more than 1,000 spend each night in vehicles on its streets.
Problems as a result of the pandemic
A wide array of social and economic problems resulted from the pandemic—the lockdowns, quarantines, and business closures, along with the sudden surge in the cost of everything, particularly housing.
Despite efforts at the federal level and in many states to enjoin landlords, banks, and mortgage companies from foreclosing on rent and mortgage delinquencies, those moratoriums eventually ended in mid- to late-2021, after which evictions and foreclosures escalated. Even when people could keep paying their rent, rents doubled once the federal and state officials lifted the moratoriums.
As housing evictions soared, other socioeconomic problems, unemployment, deteriorating mental health, drug abuse, and despair drove unprecedented numbers of people from their homes and shelters onto the streets or to find makeshift solutions to their housing crisis. Many turned to RVs as their ad hoc solution.
The unprecedented RV industry boom in 2020 meant plenty of older class A, B, and C RVs on the market. Cheap. Many older motorhomes and trailers were given away to eliminate storage and insurance costs by owners who could no longer afford to keep or use them. An RV could be bought in any metro area for a few hundred dollars. A major towing company in Spokane, WA, began selling RVs to the homeless for $1. They weren’t in great shape. Some of the engines barely ran. They leaked. Their chassis and drive trains were old and, in many cases, were worn out. They would make it a few blocks or across town to a residential or industrial side street, parking lot, or public property where other people in similar impecunious straits parked in what eventually became “homeless RV encampments.”
A spiral of diminishing choices
On September 11, 2020, Searchlight Pictures released “Nomadland,” a motion picture starring Francis McDormand, about a woman who, having lost her job, home, and anchor, began living full time and traveling throughout the Western U.S. in her camper van.
Stories of homeless RV encampments were suddenly news, reported nightly on local and national networks. They were becoming the subject of significant documentary films and major Hollywood features. The storylines depict people attempting to live their lives amid an unexpected and unplanned spiral of diminishing choices in jobs, homes, and locations.
Not in my back yard
Huge homeless populations have long existed in and around every major U.S. city. They are growing. The encampments they create to gather about themselves a sense of community and safety often spontaneously appear in locations inconvenient to municipal government, businesses, and residents. Calls for the public-sector establishment of homeless encampments are almost always conditioned by the cry of “anywhere but here.” Municipal efforts to deal with the camps have resulted mainly in epic failures. Now, those encampments include thousands of old, mostly derelict RVs. As one frustrated urban homeowner said, “These are not campgrounds.” However, they are still RVs and are viewed by many, particularly non-RVers, as a part of the RV world and the RV lifestyle.
The political, social, and legal issues posed by itinerant RV parking range from violations or local ordinances prohibiting parking of large vehicles on residential streets to civil law aspects of private property and public nuisance regulations, adverse possession, and the right of citizens to use public lands without unreasonable restriction. We will undoubtedly see even more significant reactions to homeless RV parking in the days and years ahead. Do not be surprised if the result is adverse actions affecting all RVers (e.g., retailers curtailing overnight parking).
Solutions to the problems created by itinerant RV parking have eluded large and small municipal governments and individual homeless persons. To arrive at meaningful, practical solutions, governments, charities, and all stakeholders must look to alternatives to moving the problem around within the towns and city limits. There will never be an urban idyll for homeless RV campers.
Hope for cities and homeless citizens to be free of horrid urban encampments
In Part Two, we’ll look at potential solutions to the problems and see some surprising possibilities hiding in plain sight—options not readily found in the City Council toolbox.
[1] AffordableHousingOnline.com
Related:
What’s the difference between legitimate camping and simple vagrancy or homelessness?
There’s a group of us starting to address this issue at a national level, at the first ever National Vehicle Residency Summit: https://vehicleresidency.org/. Check it out if you’re interested in participating…totally free and virtual.
That sounds like good information Vanessa I will check it out
The organization HOWA (Homes on Wheels Alliance) supports people who live in their vehicle; car, van, cargo trailer, truck, etc. I have met some of them. A lot are widows trying to live on less than $1000 in Social Security. By living in the deserts of NV, AZ and NM, on BLM land, they are able to live and even save money. Bob Wells of Cheap Living, the premier boondocking organization, interviewed one lady several years ago that had lived in her car for 5 years (I think I remember correctly) and saved enough to buy a piece of land in AZ or NM. She said she was going to keep living cheap for several more years until she could afford to develop the property. I hope she has done it or is well on her way.
I always wanted to RV full time. After reading these comments, I don’t want to anymore.
Thank you Diane much appreciated
66 years old, disabled with a debilitating, progressive illness, on social security. Really no choice but to live in a van. I don’t drink or use drugs and I’m not mentally ill. These are my “golden years”. Haha. Now not only do I move from State Park, to National Forest, to BLM land, moving every 14 days. But I’m looked down on by most of the rest of the rving community that have fancier rigs than mine. But I’m also looked down on by the people in towns. I’ve spoken to people in gas stations and they’ve turned away and not spoken back. It’s difficult enough to have had to give up almost all my possessions and live without electricity and running water. But then to be looked down on or ignored as if you don’t count it all. That’s sad.
I’m so sorry to hear of your very difficult life, Kath, and especially about how badly people treat you. I’ll bet that “hurts” even worse than your physical ailments. If I saw you at a gas station, or store, or wherever, I might even speak to you before you spoke to me. I do not judge anyone by outward appearance, and wish others didn’t either. It’s so selfish. Good luck to you, and take care. 🙂 –Diane
About 99% of these “types” are simply making great effort to evade the work-a-day world. The other 99% are mentally unfit.
Interesting math, Donn. 😉 Have a good night. 😀 –Diane
The title of this article is the problem and speaks volumes. Homeless? What do you define as a home? RVs are homes to those that call them home.
Changing a word in the title will not fix the problem. It’s simple to see that some of the homeless category of people has moved from a tarp draped over a stolen shopping cart or two and unlawfully living on someone’s else’s property to a condemned RV. Just throw your garbage, trash, feces, beer cans, etc. out the broken window for someone else to cleanup.
Homeless tweekers that live on the streets stealing everything from propane tanks to the bicycles they use for their theft raids and drugs.
We have been working remote full-time on the road for 5 years and have seen various forms of “RVing”. It really comes down to 2 distinct categories: 1) those who choose to live in an RV and 2) those who have no choice.
In the second group, there are also 2 distinct categories: 1) those who ended up in this situation due to unfortunate circumstances (fixed income, large, unforeseen bills beyond their means, etc.) and 2) those who ended up in this situation due to addiction and other mental health issues.
Exactly John. Nailed it.
There is a third and quickly growing group, those who were imported.
It’s pretty easy to figure out who falls into each category. The difficulty comes with figuring out how to help those who fall into your Second Group. Neither deep financial holes nor mental health and addiction issues lend themselves to easy solutions – mental health and addiction being the most challenging. It will be a long, hard slog for us all.
It’s American to shame homeless people and to herd them around like they are cattle. Just read the Grapes of Wrath.
As a homeless RVr I never asked to be in this position and working my butt off trying to make things work only to get yelled at day in and day out by nosey vigilantes looking to move me along.
I have a gun and will defend myself if need be.
If you’re not trashing where you’re camped you probably wouldn’t be getting shamed.
Your gun is useless against anyone with half a brain.
His comments indicated no instances of “trashing”. His comment about his ownership of a firearm is/was inappropriate however.
I don’t trash where I stay but get shamed every day. I’ve been homeless for 3 plus years. I filled for disability when my back went out (broken back 2 times neck pelvis in 6 places) denied disability 4 times already. Refilled my disability had spine fused years ago but still having issues. I keep my self clean and where I stay clean. I finally got credit to purchase a used RV buyer beware mine has major issues. It looks great get compliments all the time but at same time I’m shamed for pulling into a park. Get law enforcement called on me before I can even get out of the door. Have been told by Monrovia police no RV anywhere in city limits. Such bullshit when you see the same RV at the grocery store every night, another parked on a street by freeway every night for years. I get surrounded stopping to get food. City parks are ok if you have a camper van but pull in with a class a and watch the people dialing police. I’m stretched to the point of not being able to leave because of the gas prices. Who actually believes Biden won anyways. Politicians don’t work for us but for big corporations and people accept it. Nothing will get better until people start holding local and regional politicians accountable. If you don’t speak up they will continue to push what they want not what’s best for us. If your homeless and not on drugs or have a mental issue, being homeless can push you to one or both of these. The police constantly harass you, people look down at you and make rude comments. Nobody knows the others situation or reasoning so who are you to judge others. I’m looking forward to Trump coming back this year and nesara/gesara going into effect. People will be able to enjoy life again have money be prosperous. No more maritime laws for corporations but going back to constitutional law. Everyone deserves the same rights under God so those who chose to be homeless living RV life good for you. Those who look down on RV life, not all of us wanted this but it’s the hand we’ve been delt. I can’t work I have no income I have nobody to turn to for help. I try to be honest and respectful but growing tired of all the “Karen’s” who think I need to go away. Sanity is just a state of mind so barrel who you push it may be the final straw for that person.
Peace and love to you all!
Max
Yeah! Good job in ur reply this time..💪…u r not alone … There aren’t as many ‘freemen’ out here as as we would like to see out here, but that will be the result as soon as we get more people awake to our God given rights.. Can we please get more people to learn our rights, the ones that were expressed thru our Constitution, (the ones that supersede any man made law after the Constitutions,whether the uninformed like to ignore thru their ignorance or not, they exist and have ALWAYS EXISTED FROM GOD)? Starting with educating anyone involved as LEOs. (No need to warn others of u exercising ur right to bear arms by the way…lol…) Hang in there hopefully Trump is on the way for some support…lol…as for me I’ll keep my faith in God to keep me and like minded people free and safe and HAPPY LIVING LIFE to my our fullest, in peace and with brotherhood. After all isn’t there really just ONE RULE: just don’t hurt anybody else, BE KIND TO EACH OTHER🙌🙏💥… Blessed be everyone… Just Sandy, like the desert 🏜️
Agree 100%!
I understand your comment, and am in agreement with you on all but one. While I am a staunch supporter of the 2nd Amendment, I do not support the use of firearms for circumstances of disagreement. Your comment shows a premeditated thought of violence thought that will work sorely against you in a courtroom.
Shorby, I am sure other homeless ones did not plan it this way either. At least you have an RV and a roof over your head. Think about those who are on the street with absolutely nothing. I suggest you Ignore the nasties and insults from those who are clueless.
I had a nice home , but due to exorbitant taxes and insurance selling was the only option. Luckily, I have a nice camper to live in and I stay at the most reasonable RV campgrounds. I have met many wonderful nice people who are like minded living in their RVs because that is what they choose. Many are financial limited and live off the grid and make it work. At this time of my life I would not trade it even if I could afford another house. You can make it work.
Pick me, pick me!!
I am *technically* a homeless RVer-with a family, but not because we cannot afford a home, because we don’t want to.
We were transferred to CA 2/27/2020. Any idea what fun that was??? At the 3mos mark of “2wks to slow the spread” we moved into our weekend popup(all 7 of us-with pets). At an RV park with full hookups. We now at least had access to a small fridge & cooktop.
By the end of the year(November?), with no relief in sight, we bought a bus(43′ motorhome with a semi-monoquoque chassis-for safety). We spent more than we did on our first house(20yrs prior, but still).
We discovered that we loved the lifestyle. Our kids were happy, our money went further-despite my MS & accompanying bills, it was great on so many levels!!
So when the housing market went post-pandemic crazy, we stayed put.
What our future holds, we dont know. But for today, we are happy. However we are not on the streets.
We stay in campgrounds. Can only think of 2-3x that we have done otherwise and each time we had a reservation, paid for a night of camping but didn’t make it for whatever reason(weather, kids spent an inordinate amount of time exploring, etc). We ended up at a truck stop, walmart, etc that night.
For the most part we stay put for 4-6wks in the same area-with stable friends for the kids, then travel for 1-2wks, rinse and repeat.
We have been around & continue to stay around folks that do this because they have no choice. We have been around some that mostly stay on the streets, only get a campground once a week or only when it’s hot to cleanup & have electric. I can say that both groups have some things in common-most dont have regular jobs. Some have addiction issues, but not too many, most just don’t seem to want to work. Not disparaging, just an observation.
It’s an interesting life.
As an aside, we landed in LA approved for a $1M mortgage, with every intention of purchasing a home, we had been homeowners for 20yrs across several states. But today? Were so happy that I cannot imagine a house in our near-term future, but never say never. All because of the pandemic that showed us something different-something we wouldnt have thought of otherwise. Life is good.
Bravo for you & your family. Rather than whine you all targeted your needs and handled them with wisdom.
The solution is for the rich to freely give help to the poor. You bored millionaires and retirees neet to camp FAR from where there are any jobs to be had.
My rent went from $2K/mo to $2300/mo, and I defaulted early to afford a $200 1973 camper trailer and a $1800 1999 Suburban. Another thousand in repairs got the camper livable and looking tolerable. But finding a good place to park it? Every RV park is full of RVs that are less than 10 years old AND AT LEAST $100K. Get that rich junk the hell out!!! You can afford to get away from the cities, so go. Stop asking over a grand for a gutted shell with water damage and no roof. Sell us the Y2K stuff for $500. You’re killing us for your luxury. That’s inhuman. We have more right to live than you have to luxury.
You say the solution is for the rich to give help to the poor? I am a millionaire and retired at 56 and have no intention of living in the boonies. We have been full-timers for over 8 years because we choose to and can afford to live anywhere because we worked and saved our money. Instead of getting the ‘rich junk the hell out’ I wish every RV park we paid to stay at would get rid of the junk RV’s that never move. That’s why we pay extra to stay at the nicest RV parks we can find. I am angry that so many people lump those of us with great-looking coaches into the same category as people who are living in crappy RV’s. RV’s can be old but they should be taken care of.
I bought an older RV a 2007 5th wheel, it was a mess. So I renovated it. Spent quite a bit to do so but now the RV parks here in FL are so unaffordable because of so many people moving here. At this point I just pay almost $300 just to store it and live in a Apt. Smh.. Looking into buying my own land soon but that’s tricky also for having RVs here…
Wow! I retired at 57 and went full time RV, 2X million on my books. Have recently found it harder to get good spots because of the influx of newbies. Have lost sooooo much money in the stockmarket due to the economy and repairs are always ongoing for an RV. I’ve considered trying to go back to sticks and bricks and maybe trying to go back to work. The wife thought she would try and find a remote working job first to no avail. Any way the RV junk is out here and my rig looks good for 2016 make but a broken frame from the manufacturer that they have finagguled their way out of making things right has made it impossible to get rid of my junk and I’m not trusting the junk being made and put out here. I see things getting worse yet. Housing cost are stupid high and apartments are just as bad. So not sure what I want to do, go or be. Good luck on your adventures as we will all need it with this economy.
Your reply reeks of arrogancy. I applaud your being economically well off, but quite sadly, your distain for those of lesser means (finances) is morally despicable. I do believe the person you replied to was/is, a bit on the abrasive side, however while his “hyperbole” is apparent, whether intentional, or spoken in frustration, your self rightous mentality comes through most loudly. None are more unjust in their judgments of others than those who have a high opinion of themselves.
Charles Spurgeon
Ty well said.
It’s your entitled attitude that makes it difficult fir all RVers. You are not entitled to someone else’s hard earned money. You are not entitled to camp on someone’s private property.
“Almost half of the U.S. workforce does not earn enough for rent.”
FALSE
If this were actually true, there would be 78.76 million “homeless” in America.
America doesn’t have a housing shortage, we have an addiction crisis.
“Eluded” is a euphemism for enabling these people to continue doing this.
I retired 6 years ago and if my house wasn’t paid off there is no way I would be able to keep it. My pension is diminished by inflation and even though I live in a fairly low cost of living area, it eats up every cent to live. I have an RV that one day may be my primary residence if things don’t turn around.
Great that means if I go camping in my old RV people are going to assume I’m a homeless drifter. Awesome. Can’t have anything nice.
Public Perspective of Homeless RVs:
We have wonderful neighbors, and have no problem having our RV parked at home.
With that said, we have a big RV encampment within 5 miles of our home. We use our RV very often, and as such often take it to the grocery store, for supplies. Unfortunately, last year we have had a woman bang on the outside of our RV demanding we leave, and that we could not park here. Told her we were just shopping, and would move soon. She only calmed down when she saw my young son. However, there was no apology when she realized we were not homeless people.
“Almost half of the U.S. workforce does not earn enough for rent.”
That should be at the top of the list, right there.
“Almost half of the U.S. workforce does not earn enough for rent.” I’d like to see actual unbiased data to back up this statement.
https://affordablehousingonline.com/blog/almost-half-of-the-u-s-workforce-does-not-earn-enough-for-rent/
There you go. Unless you think only the John D Rockefeller Weekly is valid.
Thank you. I asked for data, you provided. Not sure what the rest of your statement was meant to imply…
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/aug/12/housing-renter-affordable-data-map
Thank you. That was both fascinating and enlightening. And sad.
Well, actually, the author did supply an article that provides that data. I don’t know if it was unbiased or not. Affordablehousingonline.com doesn’t seem to be a government sponsored database. If it was I wouldn’t believe a word of it. But it seemed to be legit…
Just live and open your eyes while out and about and honestly u see all those cars parked at people’s houses, apartment’s
If you work hard enough or have a decent paying job, you can afford decent housing. Millions do. Not buying this sob story.
This comment is so completely and incomprehensibly unaware of real life, I just feel sorry for you on your pedestal.
I have had both, tyvm… and am currently typing to you from a friend’s driveway in an older RV that we are working on. It us our home. While I am in love with the nomadic life and I like the freedom…. it’s not what I would have chosen for my 12 yr old son. I would have happily waited till he was older and moved out, and then done my travels. As it is, here we are trying to make the best of things.
Our experience, coming from 4 years of retired fulltiming, 2015-19, was that if an RV park offers monthly rates, 75+% were permanent residents. Mostly well kept by working residents, but still unable to afford a house with few spots available for transients like us. The 2008 collapse accelerated this diaspora and by 2019 it was clear that the free roaming travels we enjoyed were kaput. We quit simply because the RV Lifestyle was replaced with desperation and it wasn’t enjoyable anymore. The comparisons were pretty stark. Homeless RV folk are a whole different subset when you look at why they are literally on the street. In no way are these folk the RV Lifestyle. Their solution is an RV Reservation where they can be reintroduced to stability and social services beyond simple warehousing. If they can’t comply the Justice System can correct that. If we have the will.
This quote is a part of a sentence. It should be a paragraph all on its own! Great choice of words, B. James.
“[T]he RV Lifestyle was replaced with desperation”[.]
But they are, as you said also, a subset. This makes them a part of the RV lifestyle. Just as they are part of the human race, desperate, and with little wherewithal to pull themselves out of this with society ignoring the larger problems which I suspect are driving this fast growing problem. The justice system? Part of the problem maybe? You can’t solve this with jail time, I don’t think. Probably not what you meant, though. Thanks for your input; interesting points you make.
Just prior to the pandemic I was in a California Beach Grocery store. The woman in front of me was literally counting Pennies to buy dry ice. I finally got sick of the drama and bought her dry ice for her. I found out she was homeless and was all excited to have rented a camper for 3 days. The camper was like one her family had owned in her youth. She was looking forward to sleeping in a bed, cooking her own meals taking a shower in her tiny bathroom. When she got to the camper it was a mess but she cleaned it up. She bought her groceries but when she got back she found the refrig wasn’t working thus the need to spend her last bit of money on dry ice. My thought was “she rented this run down wreck from basically a slum lord”. Somebody who takes advantage of the homeless and does not maintain their rental property. I wonder how common is this disreputable and despicable practice? I once watched somebody dumping in the storm drain. How often does this happen?
Oh you mean like Cousin Eddy?