Survived my first night! So far it's been going pretty good:
> Escaped from an island prison
> Swam to a freshwater research station and got some supplies, including a life jacket and diving bag
> Swam to shore and found a working motorbike at a small camp site
> Swam across a stream to siphon fuel from a broken down car, and used it to refill the bike
> Explored the area and found a bigger campsite with an actual working RV
> Started my quest to find a good base location near a big city, and came across a small town.
> Spent an afternoon and evening raiding the town, spendding the night in my RV
> Woke up to find the RV engine didn't want to start anymore (in all fairness I did ram several zombies with it), so went looking for another vehicle and found a working firetruck in town.
> Transferred everything to the more spacious firetruck, did some light repairs (replaced the side mirrors), and continued exploring
> Found a military outpost (avoided it due to its deadly automated turrets), private resort, more camp grounds, a second small town, two small factories and a mansion. Also made note of several broken down vehicles along the way, which can be scavenged for parts later
> Spent the rest of the day clearing the mansion with an M4 I found, and a baseball bat. Stocked up on food and various supplies, and made some weird discoveries: a full suit of armor, a mace, a samurai warrior helmet, and a flintlock musket (in a secured room I had to access by using a sledge hammer to break through a wall)
Luckily my firetruck's engine started without a hitch when I woke up, so now I have to continue my search for a viable base location.