Toilets and General Safety for Lady Vandwellers: Which Vehicle is Safest? vandwellers

Hi! I'm so happy to have found this subreddit. I'm a 26yo female grad student planning on wandering the U.S. (and maybe Canada too) for a year or two, but I'm having trouble figuring out which vehicle to get. I love the idea of a really minimalist setup like a camper van, but I'm worried about the safety or lack thereof of not having a bathroom.

I know people have emergency toilet setups, but I don't know much about disposing of waste one way or another (so RV plumbing might not be the best option anyway). I'm actually planning on getting the $20/month Planet Fitness membership for showers and hair styling and all that, since gym showers are probably going to be bigger and nicer than anything short of a 5th wheel! So showering isn't a huge concern, but going to the bathroom in relative safety/privacy at night is, especially once I take my bra off. I'd also prefer a private place to brush my teeth in the morning and night. (Not a gas station bathroom, you know? Electric toothbrushes aren't stealthy.)

I'm also going to need to plug in some devices pretty often. If nothing else, I definitely need my Chromebook and cell phone! It would also be nice to be able to brew my own coffee and use a microwave and refrigerator, but I'm aware that might not be possible. I'm prepared to live off room temp energy shakes if it comes down to it, but it would be nice if it didn't come down to it.

Obviously for my needs I like class Bs a lot, but they're so expensive and it doesn't seem like they get great gas mileage. Since it's just me, it seems like I should take advantage of my ability to utilize the least space possible! I also really love the idea of a truck camper, but it sounds like women traveling alone are generally discouraged from choosing them for safety reasons. It also might not be the best choice if I need to stealth camp by a McDonald's to borrow WiFi for work or school! Or maybe I could just chill in a massage chair at Planet Fitness to write my papers, haha.

Anyway, what's the safest option for a woman traveling alone, in your opinion? Should I save up for an older class B or get a newer conversion van? Does it really matter too much as long as I have a PF membership and AAA (in case I break down on the side of the road)? Will a conversion van have the electricity I need, or am I going to need to hit up McDonald's for my morning coffee?

Sorry for the wall of text, and it's great to dip my toes into such an awesome community!

Submitted March 19, 2015 at 10:32AM by nomadpso http://ift.tt/1bgLvlv vandwellers