Boondocking at Walmart

westernrvparkowner wrote:

cjoseph wrote:
I...

So, call me cheap if you want.

...You don't know me.

If it is all about how much money you spend, how about the fact that between lodging taxes, property taxes, licenses, permits and various other taxes I pay $100,000 plus to the counties and state governments for the priviledge of operating an RV park. If those government entities decide to enact and enforce parking laws partially to protect that $100,000 a year income stream, wouldn't that be an admirable use of governmental powers? Using your arguments that everyone should act in the interest of money, the government stands to make much more by outlawing overnighting in parking lots and forcing those people into tax generating situations.
How much you spend at Walmart is about the most bogus argument offered when defending overnighting at Walmart. 99.9% of their customers are perfectly capable of spending money at Walmart without ever staying overnight in their parking lots. I bet if Walmart stopped overnighting tomorrow, RVers will continue to spend $100s of dollars there each month. Personally, I couldn't care less about people overnighting at Walmart, because I know it is a financial decision and they are not going to ever spend the money for a full service RV site even if Wally Docking went away completely. The would be staying at Rest Stops, Truck Stops, forest service campgrounds and all the other free and low cost options. Walmart is not a competitor to a full service campground.

Are some people that Wally Dock there to save money? Yes, most likely. I wouldn't call them cheap, but others do.

We are fortunate that we don't have to make decisions in daily life because of money. That's all taken care of for the most part. My DW and I have been truly blessed with good incomes and the foresight to make good decisions in life.

Like I said, you don't know me. The money not spent on campground fees is chicken scratch when compared to our overall RVing budget. I don't even think about it as "saving" money. I think of it as getting off the road and getting some sleep at a place where I am welcome. Wal Mart doesn't require I shop there. When I said I earned my stays by the money I spent there, that's meant as tongue-and-cheek. Sorry you didn't recognize that. I should have been more clear that it was a joke.

For us, Wally docking is about convenience 100%. The price does not even factor into it.

The real costs of RVing are gas, insurance and the RV. Now that we have bought a more expensive rig, we will probably pay more in taxes than on camp fees per year. I think you will find that most Wally dockers are doing it for the convenience. There are some who live from lot docking spot to other similar spots. I think they are the minority of Wally dockers.

As a business man, you can understand that time is money. Wal Mart is right there, just off the exit. Easy in for some sleep, and easy out in the morning. I squeeze an extra half-day of travel by leaving after work and Wally docking that first night. If the trip involves another day of travel, we'll usually make plans for a campground that second night and check in early enough for the kids to burn off some steam.

I really don't care what you pay in taxes to operate a CG. I pay taxes too. We all do. I only care that you run a good CG and it's worth the price of admission. When I pay the camping fee, that's all I want. When I sleep at Wal Mart, all I want is sleep without the hassles of checking into a campground and being an inconvenience to other campers.

I have been in campgrounds when late arrivals come. It can be a distraction. I've even pulled in somewhat late a time or two. When that happened, I felt terrible and wish I had just lain over in a Wal Mart until morning.