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Why do people say "out of" in the following example and similar ones? Is it only NAmE?
I was living out of my car back then.
Some might say that you should say "out of" since you're not always in your car, but a similar case could be made for a house. I'm not always in it, but say I live in a house.
I haven't been able to find anything relevant on the usage or origin.
I believe it originates from the phrase living out of a suitcase. Supporting this is a Google ngram plot showing the phrase with suitcase preceding car by almost 30 years.
Lexico defines live out of a suitcase as
Live or stay somewhere on a temporary basis and with only a limited selection of one's belongings, typically because one's occupation requires a great deal of traveling.
Living out of a car is typically done because one lacks a traditional residence, but the idea is similar in that all of one's belongings are in the car.
In USA, there is emerging community of co-called van-dwellers who live in a van/minivan/car/RV either full time or part time (often several months), spending most of the time either camping on public lands for free, campgrounds, or "stealth-camping" in cities.
For example, Quartzsite RV show brings together about 150 thousands people.
Saying "living out of (car/van/RV) means for those nomads means "my vehicle is my kitchen and bedroom, living room is outdoors".
Another saying they use is "I am not homeless - I am house-free" (if van/RV is their only residence, meaning they do not pay the mortgage).
RV = recreation vehicle = campervan.
