Skip to main content
Gerry | Vanagon
Checking account...
← vanagon.com home · Continue the discussion in the forum
Subject:Re: Most Outrageous Vanagon Stealth Camping Spots?
From:David Etter
Date:Mon, 29 Oct 2007 21:59:01 -0300

In 76 while sleeping in a 'Rotary International' roadside pull-off in
Guatemala to be awoken at 1:00 am. by banging on rear window. It was
earthquake time so the wheels were chocked. Peering out the window I
saw 7-8 Machetes glinting in the moonlight.
        Speaking no Mayan I stumbled through an explanation in
Spanish that I was a tourista and not the local military. They
stepped back a few yards to mull over our fate. I slipped into the
drivers seat, and sent my wife out the passenger window to remove the
chocks and await the campesinos decision. Lucky for us they were
drinking too much and started off over the edge of the mountain back
to their village.
        Not sure what I would have done, had they came back while my
now 'ex' was still outside the van.

                                        John Smith (name change) ;-)

P.S.: It might have saved a lot of future headaches.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

>All right, all right...
>You started it. Let's see who has the strangest/weirdest stealth camping van
>story.
>
>Mine is  deciding to wait overnight for a fuel injection shop to open,  for
>a turbo diesel vanagon injection problem I was having one winter, and this
>was in Tacoma, Wa.
>   Parked in a huge empty industrial lot. Wasn't 10 minutes before some
>weirdo was knocking on the driver's door selling drugs. Gotta get outta
>there, so......
>  Drive to a nearby neighborhood.  Parked there about 6 minutes and a guy
>comes out of a house across the street with a rifle. I'm telling him,
>'relax, relax...just waiting for a shop to open, having a car problem etc.'
>..he grumbles but let's us be.
>  Slept with boots on that night, and fully clothed,  ready to jump up in an
>instant and get out of there fast if need be !
>Scott