Where To Camp In A Minivan? (Available Options & Considerations)

When it comes to the utmost versatility for camping and traveling, your minivan can turn out to be your best companion. When you have a minivan, you don’t have to worry about booking costly hotel rooms or even where you are going to sleep that night. 

However, you do have to worry about where you can park at when you are camping in a minivan as knowing where to camp is vitally important. 

When camping in a minivan the options are virtually endless. You can stop off overnight in pretty much any store’s parking lot, rest areas, etc. You can also go to a traditional campground or simply park in one of the many National Forest parking areas and just move around as you like. 

Everyone has a different opinion of what exactly they want out of camping in their minivan. If you are trying to save money then you likely won’t want to go to a regular campground very often if at all. However, if you are more interested in having a fire, getting a nice hot shower, etc. and are willing to spend the money then a traditional campground might be a good option for you. 

When camping in a minivan you are much less likely to be kicked out of places than you would be if you were in an RV, bus, or even a larger Sprinter style van. A minivan can go undetected for many days since people use them for simply getting around all of the time. 

You should be able to easily pull over in a hiking parking lot and as long as there aren’t specific times for that park you should be fine spending the night there. Since you are less obvious than most other camping vehicles you can also get away with stopping virtually anywhere for a day or two without being detected or without any issues even if you are noticed. 

Most often when you are camping in your minivan you will want to stop in either National Forests or in land that is owned by the Bureau of Land Management. You can typically stay in either of these places for free for 7-14 days but make sure to follow all posted signs or rules for the area you are visiting. 

If the land you are on is public land then you are normally allowed to camp there unless there are signs that prohibit doing so. This is why many people who camp in their minivans choose a National Forest to do so. 

It means that with this vehicle, you can save a lot on your weekend getaways. You can easily convert your minivan into a comfy camper for a couple of people.

Can you sleep anywhere in a campervan? 

People who are new to camping in a minivan will often be unsure where they can and cannot sleep. However, what is allowed and what you can get away with are typically totally different things. 

For example, many Walmart parking lots will have posted signs not allowing overnight parking but often if you are camping in a minivan you will be fine there for a night. The same is true for a wide variety of other lots such as malls, retail stores, and even the side of the road. 

If it’s late at night and you pull over for a while next to an empty field you will likely be just fine there until the morning even though it might technically be considered trespassing in most areas. 

Although you can’t really sleep anywhere legally when you are in a campervan you can practically sleep just about anywhere for a few hours or one night. 

Once you get past one night though people will often start to take notice and you could be asked to leave. Also your results will vary as some security people will be much more protective of an empty parking lot than others will be. 

As mentioned earlier almost anywhere in a National Forest would be fine for you to camp for a few days or weeks but again you have to follow all the posted signs or risk getting woken up or kicked out. 

How many people can sleep in a minivan? 

Whether you are planning on camping in a minivan long term or you are just going to spend a night or two when you are on a cross country trip, you will definitely want to know how many people can sleep comfortably in a minivan. 

With all of the seats as normal and simply reclining them you can have 6-7 people sleep in a minivan at once. However, if you are talking fully laid down flat in the back the most you will be able to fit is 3-4 adults. 

For this many adults to sleep in the back of a minivan the seats would have to all be removed or folded into the floor. That would then give enough room for 2 people to lay down longways with their feet towards the rear door and one or two people sideways behind the driver and passenger seats. 

If someone is extremely tall or larger then you might not be able to fit two people side by side at the top or someone might have to be more curled up rather than laying all the way out. 

Obviously if the people who are sleeping in the minivan are smaller or if they are children then more than four could easily sleep back there. 

The benefits of minivan camping

Nowadays, many owners of a minivan are thinking about using their vehicle for camping. When this is the case of some minivan owners they would obviously have to think about whether it is a beneficial move. 

To know whether it’s a good idea for you you should consider the benefits that you get out of camping in your minivan. 

• It is an affordable camping option instead of having to pay for an expensive hotel to stay in.
  
• It is a comfortable option as well when you stock your minivan with the right supplies for camping in your minivan.
  
• It is more secure than staying in an unknown place.
  
• In addition to using the vehicle for camping, you can drive it as well whenever you need and can easily move from place to place.
  

So, for these reasons, it would be a good idea to use your minivan for camping.

Know about the easy conversion option

Some people prefer to build out their own minivan for camping while others prefer to buy a kit specifically designed for this. You can easily find a conversion kit to suit any brand of a minivan and when you get this kit, you will get it equipped with different supplies that will help with the easy conversion of your minivan into a camper. 

For instance, with such a conversion kit, you can get a lot of room for kitchen utensils, a 12-volt cooler, 5 gallons of water and a two-burner stove. It means that you are saved from the task of collecting some of the different supplies with such a kit. You can even get other supplies based on the minivan-camper conversion kit you choose. 

You will often get many other supplies that are otherwise hard to believe in such a conversion kit and often you will find that there are many things in them that you would never have considered before. 

So, camping with a minivan will become easier with such a conversion kit. Just conduct an online search to find a seller to get this kit.