Your go-to read is “Walden on Wheels” by Ken Ilgunas. Ilgunas is a remarkable guy in his determination to examine what human beings are capable of, not as “extreme” sports but as a regular lifestyle. After going $32K in debt for his undergrad, he worked it off by doing summers in Alaska working in a lodge and saving everything. Then he got his Masters at Duke, by living in his van in the parking lots, and wrote a book about getting by, not just living in a van ($1700, I think) but on $1.25 of food per day - same meals every day.
After the Salon article came out that was the start of the book, Duke made it illegal to camp in their lots, but the trouble with enforcing such a law against vans is that it’s very hard to prove you’re doing it. The law against cars depends on seeing the sleeper there, or noting how odd it is the car is 100% covered in shades.
So, smarten up, people! If you can’t umm, get a room, get a van.
