Keeping clean on the road

iKeeping clean is by far the hardest task on the road or at least it was for me. It wouldn't a big problem if it wasn't so important to keep appearances to get jobs and rides. So here's some tips for keeping clean on the road:

~Large truck stops generally have showers and bathroom facilities you can use for free or cheap. It's pretty easy to sneak in the showers in the larger ones. 

~Universities and high school locker rooms are easy enough to go into and wait for the place to clear out and take a quick shower. I would only advise this though if you can fit into the age group. University dorms might also have shared bathrooms you could pop into at night depending on the security. You can pay students cheap to get you in with their pass if you need to, they could use some extra pocket cash.

~Knock door to door at hotels and motels and ask to pay for a quick shower. People might want five bucks for the snack machine. Be polite and do this during the afternoon you don't want to get thrown out of the place by being rude or waking people up. 

~Carry a small travel kit with toothbrushes, toothpaste, combs, and shaving tools. Women might want to bring a small makeup case if you're going to be looking for employment. You can go into public bathrooms and wash up with a small towel and clean up a bit It's best to look clean and not like a hobo because people judge you very harshly on the road.

~Cheat your way through cleanliness. If you're a guy cut your hair short to keep from looking greasy. If you want to keep your hair long or you're a woman try wearing hats or keeping it tied back. Visible dirt can be washed away at gas station bathrooms. If you stink carry a can of Axe and if your clothing is starting to get a odor lie them out in the sun for a few hours. Blue jeans can be worn for long periods of time with out looking nasty and they rarely carry noticeable body odor. Underwear should be changed often, if you don't have a clean pair air one out in the sun for a bit and change into it. You can get a rash around your waist from not changing them often. Socks also collect grime and begin to get crusty if you air them out. Just run them under hot water in a sink and leave them to dry.  

~If you're going to be applying for jobs carry one nice pair of clothing. Roll them into a cylinder shape and wrap them in plastic. Rolling your clothing saves space and doesn't wrinkle them as much.

Feeding your face for the day

Ways to get food in your belly when the going gets tough.

For a days worth of food you're going to need about five dollars. Getting the money can be tough but five bucks a day is pretty doable.

~Fast food: If you got a Taco Bell, go to Taco Bell. The dollar menu is very filling there and best choice for value out of the fast food chains. For any restaurant go there when they close and employees should still be there closing for about an hour after. See what food they're throwing out for the day. Try to aim for places that need to make daily food like donut shops, bagel shops, and pizza places.

~Buffets: Places like Cici's and Golden Corral are cheap for an all you can eat buffet. The best part? They're easy to steal food from and walk out. You can get two days worth of food from one trip costing about six to seven bucks. 

~Learn to cook cheap: Noodles and rice can be mixed with seasoning for a filling quick meal you can cook with a hobo stove. Light to carry and cheap to buy.

The dodgy ways:

~"Ask directions": If you have a vehicle go to the first window and just ask directions to the nearest walmart. Pull in between the two windows and fiddle with something in your car and wait for the car behind you to order and pull up to the first window and pay. This is where you pull up to the second window and hope the car behind you ordered a lot of food and take off.

~Order pizza: Call into a pizza place and order 4-5 pizzas about two hours before they close. Say you're going to come in and pick up the pizza in about thirty minutes. Never come in and instead come in right after closing and and pick them up out of the trash. The box should protect them.

~Hotels: Go into a decent hotel in the morning before breakfast and wait away from employees eyes. Come down after breakfast starts and other people have gathered. Eat as much as you want and see if you can carry anything with you.

Last resort ways:

~Dumpster dive: Yeah it's gross but it's free and easy. I haven't come to this yet but I would if it meant I might go hungry. The amount of walking I would do would kill me if I wasn't eating enough.

~Scavenge: Go to the mall or other places where people leave food trays out. You'd be surprised by the amount of uneaten food they just leave.

~Make a friend: When you travel you'd also be surprised the way certain people view vagabonds. Some people are willing to give you a hot meal or a cheap cup of coffee to hear some stories.

A place to lay your head

Finding a place to sleep is rough, even more so when you're hitchhiking. The last thing you want to do is fall asleep in a stranger's car. So here's an outline of some places to crash:

~If you have a car find a parking lot for a night. If you don't have a car try a site like http://www.erideshare.com/. It's going to cost some gas money though.

~If you're hitchhiking get a tent. Or you could do what I did and bring extra jackets or hoodies and wrap yourself tight and sleep on top of a park bench. I recommend sleeping during the morning before the sun rises and wake before noon, less chance of getting trouble from the locals. The roughest time to get a ride is 12 am to 8 am anyways.  

~If you got friends use them for a bit. After you've been on the road for a while it's nice to crash on someones couch and get a nice shower for a couple of days before you hit the road again. Or you could use sites like http://www.couchsurfing.org/

~All night diners aren't really a place to sleep but it's a warm place to stay for most the night when rides are hard to come by. A five dollar menu and a decent sized tip can get you a place to stick around till morning. It's cheaper than a motel.


~Dumpsters. Now hear me out I'm not talking about ones where you stick food but there's plenty of cardboard only dumpsters and they are warm. I stayed in one when it was freezing out and my pack got locked in the persons house I was staying at that night. Cardboard is pretty cushy too.