I'm wanting to do more travel in the US, but I can't

>>1280320
In the more dense cities like NY, SF, Chicago, Boston, DC etc. it'll probably be cheaper to book a hotel (assuming you are flexible and willing to book way in advance) than get a parking spot.

>>1280320
The bigger problem is getting carjacked and murdered. Wal-Mart parking lots in rural areas are probably safe enough, though. You can go in and buy a bottle of soda, then claim you fell asleep in your seat oops.

>has a 2-year old car
>can't afford hotels
lel

>>1280320
trade the subaru in for a van
nationwide gym membership
butane camp stove
12v fridge
park pass
you can travel pretty cheap

>>1281364
You don't even need to pretend. Walmart is okay with people sleeping in their parking lots. Mostly this policy is aimed at the rv bus crowd of retirees who shop there anyways, but as far as I am aware corporate headquarters still hasn't changed the policy.
Granted, I haven't actually checked up on this for several years tho.

As for OP, camping is free on national forest lands as long as you are set up more than a mile from a structure, less that 100 feet from the road side, and do your bathroom and camp cleaning greater than 300 feet from open water sources, streams ponds rivers etc. Free. Just have to worry about bears in parts of the western states.
Showers are available at public pools, gyms, and actually bike shops will usually have a good idea where to find showers, if they themselves don't actually have one. I know several bike shops I've gone into have cheap showers for bike based tourists. Might be more of a western states thing tho.
As for a bed, how big are you? Can you sleep comfortably in your car? I'm tall so I need a tent to stretch out in myself. A good sleeping pad is so worth it. Thermarest has a fantastic series that came out a year ago that get big and fluffy but will still pack down to almost nothing.
Find privacy a mile down the trails, remarkably few people bother to hike further than a mile.
As for food, do you like hot oats? Can you cook red beans and rice? Like for real, red beans and rice can keep you alive for a long friggin time. Add lime juice for better nutritional uptake. Add multivitamin for health.
I like using a cheap two burner camp stove running on propane, makes cooking a semi complex meal so much easier than doing a single burner shuffle. Walmart has a 25$ stove by ozark trail (I think) that works well enough. I got almost a week of cooking off a single canister.
Aaand now I realize you were mostly asking about sleeping in cities.... some of my post still applies I guess.

>>1280327
Chicago parking garages are like $45. Find me a hotel at that rate that isnt a crack den or an hour from downtown.

>>1281583
>12v fridge

A vehicle and power this fridge 24/7 without draining the battery?

>>1281977
Depends on how much you drive.
One aux battery will be fine if you drive half an hour every few days.
I like a chevy 1500

>>1280327
What the fuck are you talking about? Have you seen what a hotel costs in NYC?

>>1281583
>>1281977
Seems better both electricity-wise and certainly space-wise to just forego the fridge altogether and only keep non-perishables stocked.

>>1281860
haha this reminds me about my recent stay at an 80 dollar a night hotel that was a complete and utter shithole. It smelled of cigarettes, had guys toking in the parking lot with a girl that may or may have not been for hire, and had a back entrance that had been broken so it was always open. There was always a vagrant waiting outside in the parking lot too trying to make eye contact as I walked out. I mean fuck me, that was 80 bucks. I hate meth and I wish the USA would get it's shit together.

That's a pretty creative idea.

Just make sure the trunk will remain open all the way, if you're sure nobody's gonna steal your car and shoot you.

Plan B is to just sleep in the backseats with all of the windows slightly open for air. I'd recommend covering up the windows in case of a clear day to avoid heat stroke in the morning.

>>1282592
just jerry rig some car batteries to power it and switch them put every couple of days to charge.

>>1281482
i thought the same exact thing. Almost 30k car and cant afford a hotel.