Safety while stopping overnight to get some sleep

Flying J they have seprate R.V. area,most are patrolled to keep out lot lizards.Many drivers carry cash for road expensives and don't want visitors sneaking up. Many local police will stop for free coffie and to let their presents be known

Also the Second Amendment should be your guide to personal safety.

If this is how you "guide" your personal safety, stay home. And this is from a life member of the NRA.

A gun, knife, dog, alarm, baseball bat or whatever cannot and should not replace situational awareness. Personally I think you are safer in a campground than a parking lot but stuff can happen anywhere. For those of you who sleep in your clothes, ready to run at the slightest threat, how safe do really think your DRIVING is? Scared, startled awake and sleep deprived is no way to hit the road.

The overnight spots such as Walmarts, etc. are best used with a self-contained RV like a class A, B, or C. If it doesn't feel right, you can just drive away without having to exit your RV to get into the tow vehicle. This has happened to us on several occasions where some unsavory characters were hanging around too close for comfort. Just drove away and found a better spot.

We've also used Lowes with success. Flying J's are among the best even though they can be a bit noisy (Shower #19 now available!). But they are safe, IMHO.

#1 I look for a Site well lit. #2 Park with someone else near by.

People get shot, or knifed, or robbed, or have stuff stolen in campgrounds too; don't kid yourself. If you read enough here, you'll realize that you get an 'interesting' mix of guns, booze, testosterone, and loutish neighbors in some campers. I'd much rather sleep someplace where I can just slip into the driver's seat and drive off without any sense financial loss.

Try to park where you can't easily be blocked in. If you can, stay inside. use your own bathroom. Save your vehicle checks for early AM hours when any creeps are likely sleeping it off. If you have to go out, be aware of who's around.

I drive a small C that can be parked with the cars. I prefer large truck stops like FJ, best where there's a separate auto parking lot for the restaurant. If you have mobile data service, you can partly scout stops beforehand with Google Earth & its 'Street View' feature.

For routes that you'll drive again, note the good spots. For instance, I drive I-40 to the east of here pretty often, and have a stop at a FJ that I use regularly. They have a pretty quiet separate lot for cars & RV's. I'll be staying there one night soon on the way to the OBX, and maybe on the return.

As other have said, be observant and trust your senses.

Jim, "All's fair in love and eBay."

We've stayed at Walmarts multiple times with no trouble at all. There are usually 18 wheelers or other RVs there also.

I’ve never stopped in a parking lot overnight. I have stopped in rest stops and truck stops to nap for a couple of hours on long solo drives. I don’t like rest stops even though I’ve never had a bad experience in them. But I’ve been annoyed a couple of times with deadbeats. The most common story is my mother is in a hospital in CA and I ran out of gas or broke down and need some help to get there. So I give then the number of a state agency that will sometimes help people in that situation and send them on their way.But some rest stops do have security and they would probably be OK.

I lean toward truck stops myself, they can be noisier but little keeps me awake anyway. And most casinos I’m familiar with have security patrols, another option. I agree with at least one other poster, I avoid cities like the plague, I sort of consider them target rich environments.;)

All of the above. Also carry the personal protection of your choice. Pit Bull, handgun, shotgun, or DW. Situational awareness it the key.

Here are some options for overnighting.

Free Campgrounds

Free Campsites

Casino Camper

Remember, it's just for a quick overnight stop.
It's not camping so, please don't go into 'camping mode' like some do in WalMart and other parking lots.

Be safe and enjoy your travels.

I like and feel safest in a Sam's Club parking lot. They have much better security than any other place. Got friends who had a bad experience in the New Braufels TX Wal-Mart. Now they write down the address of their location and plan on calling 911 instead of (repeatedly) calling store security. Since their experience, I now have a small pad of paper that I write my location down on and set my fully charged (and turned on) cell phone on even though I have not had any problems except for the loud radios. I follow their guidelines that I helped write on their http://freedomparking.webs.com/ page. It is mostly common sense and based on actual personal experiences in staying in parking lots and from talking to many store managers in many states.