I do understand people don’t want homeless camps parked outside their houses. But cops harass people sleeping in their cars wherever they are. Some rest stops only allow you to stay for 3 hours. Some cities ban any sleeping in a vehicle anywhere in city limits from 10PM to 6AM.
If it weren’t prohibitively expensive I’d buy an old semi truck and drive it around without a trailer. It would be like the ultimate cheat code for sleeping in towns without getting harassed.
In the more caucasian parts of the US, I have definitely experienced state troopers who will complain that people are sleeping in a rest area. Some rest areas specifically have signage saying you can’t sleep outside of the truck area (and cars are not allowed in the truck area) and others will make it a point to knock on your window every 30-40 minutes to say “Hey, just checking that you are okay. Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to bother you.”
I’ve also noticed this increasingly happening in some of the more popular climbing destinations. And… in that case I can’t at all blame the locals. The popularization of #VanLife coupled with the increasing tendency for dirtbag climbers to actually be ridiculously rich teenagers during a gap year and “Leave no trace” has become more about hiding your macbook and jackery charger than not literally shitting all over the trails and parking lots. It really sucks for those of us following good practices on a weekend (or week long) trip but I’ve also grown to increasingly hate the vast majority of “dirtbags” so…
But, generally speaking: If you park in a rest area and don’t have a car packed to the brim with boxes and luggage, nobody cares.