Within the next few weeks we will finally begin full-timing. With the many mobile apps available we can plan good routes and stops but the question comes up as to what to do when weather or other situation keeps us from getting to our next planned stop. We will first be traveling in AL, FL & SC, and we wonder about staying overnight at rest stops or travel stations. I saw a post saying that some folks occasionally stop at travel malls/stations, but I wonder what travel stations and if that is for gasers and diesels or just diesels. Our rig is a gasser & TT with total length 55'-56'. Also we wonder what protocol there is for staying overnight at a rest stop or in a travel station. If a rest stop doesn't specifically say no overnight, then is it ok? And do certain types of rest stops have different rules (xway vs hwy vs welcome centers, etc).Lots of questions but just trying to know where we can light for a night if needed. Many thanks in advance and specific info on AL & FL greatly appreciated as those will be our first travels.

We stay at rest stops when required - weather, or timing, traffic, whatever interferes with destination. Most Truck stops (Flying J, TA, etc) accommodate RV's as well as trucks, and other travelers. Never seen one that says "no over-night" although some have 'truckers here' and 'RV's here' signs. Remember, they want our fuel/gas business and restaurant bucks.We often make one night stops at state parks on the way somewhere too. But we're small, and some state parks are small sites too, so depends on the rig.

When we need to make an overnight stop on our way from Point A to Point B, we prefer to stay at WalMarts versus truck stops or rest areas for a couple reasons. First, our experience has been that truck stops can be pretty noisy and we don't sleep particularly well there. Second, we believe that if lots of people spend the entire night in a rest area, there may not be enough room left for those travelers who really need a short rest when driving through the night. Our first preference is a campground but as you mentioned in your post, sometimes the unexpected happens.

We have stayed quite a few times in rest stops in Florida and SC and prefer them to Walmarts. We will stay in truck stops IF they have a separate RV area - we don't like taking truck stop spaces from truckers. We stayed at a Walmart once in South Carolina - our last time. It was a teen gathering place as well as the local 'hot rod' club hangout. There is less noise, commotion, and action at rest areas.

Many thanks to all for the responses and info. Much appreciated and more welcomed. So if I understand correctly, overnight parking is legal in most rest areas if needed? Great to know too about Flying J and TA. These basics are great to know and I'm sure we'll need them. We've always traveled with our German Shepherd dog and with our smaller rigs we always stayed in state and public parks and the dog was never an issue, but now with our extended-stay larger rig we've found that we can't drop in on just any privately owned CG without calling and checking first. So we can't plan on using an un-scheduled CG and that is another reason why we might need a non-CG over-night if we can't make our planned stops. Thanks again to all.

I would advise that you not have such a rigid plan. Have a couple campgrounds in mind before your must-do stop. Also, don't plan long days of driving. Pull into the campground by 3pm and you won't need reservations. There are always sites at that time. In 16 years of full-timing we rarely made reservations and many times we didn't even know where we'd stop for the day. We just drove until we came to an area we wanted to explore. It could have been only 50 miles to a new location.

Options between stops - SE USA | Good Sam Community

13 Replies

Ductape
Explorer
Aug 21, 2015
Google is your friend. Half of what you read on forums is wrong, and it's hard to know which half sometimes.

Can I park and sleep all night at Florida's rest areas?
Answer: the rules only allow for 3 hours of rest.

http://www.dot.state.fl.us/statemaintenanceoffice/RestAreaQA.shtm

Any truck stop will allow overnighting. It will be noisy.

Most Walmarts. Some noise, but less than truck stops.

If fulltiming I would make it a point to avoid situations that would place me in one of those spaces overnight.

Just my .02
MichiganTravele
Explorer
Aug 21, 2015
We generally plan to travel only 250 a day and we have done an overnight in Walmart on several occasions. Most states prohibit overnight stays in their rest areas. We have had generally had good luck with Walmart. Sometimes local laws will not allow you to camp overnight, so we always call ahead to make sure it is OK and where they want us to park.
We sometimes make reservations and sometimes we don't. If the park we are headed to is very popular and fills up quickly we make reservations.
BTW we have been fulltimers since June 2011.
holstein13
Explorer
Jul 27, 2015
Most states DO NOT allow overnight stays in rest areas. Just a few of them do such as New Mexico.

You can download an app called "State Lines" that will tell you what states allow what.

Not all Walmarts allow over night stays either. There's an app called "Allstays" that will tell you which ones do and which ones don't. In addition to Walmart, you can always consider Camping World, Cabelas and a few other big box stores.

I'd also recommend the "Days End" guide by Escapees and also Harvest Hosts for lists of other possible overnight stops. Last week, I spent the entire week parked in a church parking lot (with permission, of course).
MartyW
Explorer
Jul 19, 2015
Thanks for the info, and thanks for the specific GA info. That is where we are headed after FL, so this is good info to know ahead of time, and so if unplanned overnight is needed in GA it looks like a truck/travel center. Better fore warned. Many thanks again!
C-Bears
Explorer
Jul 19, 2015
When we took vacations during the winter and came to Florida I would drive 22 hours (all night) without a break. Didn't want to waste limited time off.

Being retired and full time in the RV is TOTALLY different for us. We average a maximum of 300 to 325 miles a day, don't really like breaking camp until after 9am, and prefer to be set up in the next CG by 3:30pm.

I would rather have full hook-ups each night to take advantage of all the comfort and systems my RV is equipped with, and I paid for. In addition to our slower pace across the country, we generally like to find an interesting location to spend 3 or 4 days at if we have traveled several days in a row.

If an emergency would come up I guess we would spend the night at a rest area or truck stop, but have avoided it so far.
wannavolunteerF
Explorer
Jul 19, 2015
you mentioned AL and FL specifically, but I will tell you GA does not accept overnights in rest areas.. that being said, if you stop for weather, etc.. I don't think a LEO would really push you to get on the road. Unless there is something specific going on, I think most of the time, you could call and find a place to stop, even with your GSD. Remember there are lots of options in the SE. State Parks, COE parks, National Parks and Forests, and a large variety of private parks.
MartyW
Explorer
Jul 15, 2015
We had hoped the plan could be less rigid but the issue of our pupster not being accepted at all campgrounds is causing us to be sure we can stay at a certain CG before we pull in. We thought long and hard about what rig to get this time and the one thing we didn't take into consideration is that our pup might not be accepted at all campgrounds. We never had this issue before staying at state/public parks. If we had known that in advance probably another MH with generator would have been the choice, and heck who knows, it still may be shortly... Thanks again for the input.
ependydad
Explorer
Jul 15, 2015
Generally speaking, with a rest stop/Walmart/truck stop, you're at the mercy of the weather unless you have a generator. We are fair weather Walmart goers because I need A/C when it's hot or I won't sleep and I only have 1 battery so furnace use is generally limited when it's cold.
2gypsies1
Explorer III
Jul 15, 2015
I would advise that you not have such a rigid plan. Have a couple campgrounds in mind before your must-do stop. Also, don't plan long days of driving. Pull into the campground by 3pm and you won't need reservations. There are always sites at that time.

In 16 years of full-timing we rarely made reservations and many times we didn't even know where we'd stop for the day. We just drove until we came to an area we wanted to explore. It could have been only 50 miles to a new location.
MartyW
Explorer
Jul 15, 2015
Many thanks to all for the responses and info. Much appreciated and more welcomed. So if I understand correctly, overnight parking is legal in most rest areas if needed? Great to know too about Flying J and TA.

These basics are great to know and I'm sure we'll need them. We've always traveled with our German Shepherd dog and with our smaller rigs we always stayed in state and public parks and the dog was never an issue, but now with our extended-stay larger rig we've found that we can't drop in on just any privately owned CG without calling and checking first. So we can't plan on using an un-scheduled CG and that is another reason why we might need a non-CG over-night if we can't make our planned stops. Thanks again to all.