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

dahkota
Explorer
Jul 15, 2015
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.
2chiefsRus
Explorer
Jul 15, 2015
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.
monkey44
Nomad II
Jul 14, 2015
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.

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Options between stops - SE USA

13 Replies

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