Living out of my Taco, looking for advice!

Keep in mind, Colorado is going through many vagrancy law changes that include living out of a vehicle. Many counties in the metro area will run you off nightly once discovered. Parking lots at Wal-Mart, if not overrun already by campers might be able to be had for a short stay. State parks are implementing rules to curb people living out of cars also. Could be more feasible if you were the typical mount bum as NF camping in remote areas (not close to any towns) are rarely checked, though that doesn't work well for a person with a job.

One thing I can say for certain, do not drink while car camping in the Denver Metro area. You don't have to be in the drivers seat to get a DUI.

 

Gym memberships are so cheap at $10/month here in DFW that this would be a no brainer to have if it's available in CO. $10/month for shower/dressing room facilities can't be beat. If this is a somewhat long term situation for you, maybe look into an RTT and a small gas powered generator. Be a lot easier pack up and be mobile along with saving the bed and cab for extra personal storage.

 

Great idea, I saw this rec center when I was scouting out my future work location. It would be great to work out and shower before work every day.

Thanks for the advice, I will definitely keep it in mind and research this further.

I agree - looks like the membership to some of the gyms around the area I'm staying comes out to be around $150/annually which is crazy cheap.. I think the biggest things holding me back from an RTT at least for the time being are price and how un-stealthy it is if I am going to be camping on the street or something at night. If I were full time dirtbagging around that would be a more appealing option for sure.

 

State the area you are working at in Colorado and I'm sure one of the TW brothers can tell you a good secluded area you can park nightly in a stealth mode but still be within reasonable driving distance to your job. If you plan on just sleeping in your truck, a hospital parking lot or parking garage would be my choice.

 

Uhhh. It can be pretty tricky sleeping in your truck in a city. A popup is pretty much out of the question since you're trying to stealth camp. Like others have said, Denver is getting more strict about the vandwelling life. I'd think your best bet would be to stay on the AFB or drive out east. Sleeping in the city wouldn't be ideal. Any free camping in the mountains would be an hour+ away.

 

For reference sake we did have snow storms on the front range corridor thru the end of May. Last year most of the front range moisture came after March. It wasn't bitter cold, but it was wet and heavy.
June was the nice month followed by the July heat wave (dry heat).

Good luck and keep us in the loop!

 

In another life I was a startup engineer. A lot of guys (welders, electricians) lived out of towed campers at parks. This was down south (Tenn, Alabama etc) and not Colorado. YMMV.

 

Call some climbing gyms near where you want to stay and see if they allow overnight parking for members. It's become kind of a thing for climbing bums. Also April-July is snow climbing/skiing season in CO. I'm looking at doing Little Bear with snow and at least Maroon peak via bell chord in May and June respectively.

 

If you haven't already, jump on Expedition Portal's forums for good ideas on how to set up your truck, storage, sleeping platform, kitchen, etc. I split my time fairly evenly between that one and TW.

Depending upon what you're doing at Buckley and what your status is, you'll have access to their gym facilities and maybe laundry (most AFBs of decent size have them, but I'm more familiar with the likes of McConnell AFB). Buckley Outdoor Rec will also have small campers you can rent on occasion and might even have a campground on site (you'd have to research that one for sure).

 

Definitely always been a thing for climbers, but this whole #vanlife thing has caught crazy traction in the past few years... Still waiting on a start date, haha but that sounds awesome. Are you on a 14er quest?

I've dabbled over there... lots of great ideas for sure. Looking to insulate my camper soon for warmth and general comfort. Also hoping to get access to a lot of the amenities on base, fingers crossed.

 

Hey. I’m stationed on Buckley. If you have any questions I’d be happy to answer.