Sleeping on back roads?
I would be interested in hearing from folks who have experience with creative/questionable solutions for sleeping while travelling on back roads. While I know there will be varied reactions from busin...
Forum Discussion
Conformity:
If you have an RV, you should always stay in a campground. After all, if you can afford an RV, you should be able to afford a campground. And to save money, you can get an RV without tanks and batteries, as you will only camp with full hookups--so why pay for tanks and batteries. And make sure you get rid of your Class B and get a Class A diesel pusher which is less than 10 years old, as some campgrounds won't take Class Bs. And get rid of your pet(s) which is the wrong breed or over the weight limit. Make sure to plan carefully to arrive when campground office is open.
Alternative:
Seems like Europeans, Australians, etc. , are more open to dry camping and boondocking outside established campgrounds, whether in established boondocking areas or Walmarts/side of the road/etc.
Some poster (maybe George of Ms Tioga fame) observed that during the day, he was out and about seeing and doing stuff. At night, just sleeping so was not seeing anything--so what was point of campground (other than national parks, some large state parks). Self-contained, self-sufficient RV. Plus, many commercial campgrounds were no better than parking lots. Add in the cost of the RV plus campground fees, and you'd be paying a lot.
Bumped into one couple with a Class A in Lake Mead who had not paid for a campground in decades. They boondocked in designated and dispersed camping in public lands and dry camped at Walmart, etc., when on the road. More public lands out west.
Resources:
Allstays.com. Great source of possible overnight places. Lists Walmart, Kmarts, etc., plus public campgrounds, casinos, etc.
24 Hour. Anything open 24 hours. IHOPs, gyms, laundries, service stations, etc. Saw a posting that the Irving gas stations in Maine often allowed overnighters. Wonder if other 24 hour gas stations would mind.
Parks. Rural towns often have city parks with free overnight camping spots--mostly the small towns in Midwest.
Escapees--the full-timers club has Days End, listing of places to park. Also, some Escapee members offer driveway parking to fellow Escapees.
HarvestHosts. Farms and vineyards providing free overnight parking.
Stealth. Believe George's strategy was to find a spot during the day, a second slot for evening, then a night spot. The night spot was often a commercial area (RV places would be a nice fit).
No judgment here--some posters like motels/hotels which don't have parking lot security (can always have breakfast or dinner at hotel as contribution), hospitals, and churches (attend service or drop some dollars).
Fraternal Organizations. Good bet would be Elks (and Moose, etc.) Which often have RV parking for free or nominal for members. Escapees even has a once a year Elks initiation for full-timers to join Elks. As these organizations have lots of locations in rural areas--maybe a really good choice.
If you have an RV, you should always stay in a campground. After all, if you can afford an RV, you should be able to afford a campground. And to save money, you can get an RV without tanks and batteries, as you will only camp with full hookups--so why pay for tanks and batteries. And make sure you get rid of your Class B and get a Class A diesel pusher which is less than 10 years old, as some campgrounds won't take Class Bs. And get rid of your pet(s) which is the wrong breed or over the weight limit. Make sure to plan carefully to arrive when campground office is open.
Alternative:
Seems like Europeans, Australians, etc. , are more open to dry camping and boondocking outside established campgrounds, whether in established boondocking areas or Walmarts/side of the road/etc.
Some poster (maybe George of Ms Tioga fame) observed that during the day, he was out and about seeing and doing stuff. At night, just sleeping so was not seeing anything--so what was point of campground (other than national parks, some large state parks). Self-contained, self-sufficient RV. Plus, many commercial campgrounds were no better than parking lots. Add in the cost of the RV plus campground fees, and you'd be paying a lot.
Bumped into one couple with a Class A in Lake Mead who had not paid for a campground in decades. They boondocked in designated and dispersed camping in public lands and dry camped at Walmart, etc., when on the road. More public lands out west.
Resources:
Allstays.com. Great source of possible overnight places. Lists Walmart, Kmarts, etc., plus public campgrounds, casinos, etc.
24 Hour. Anything open 24 hours. IHOPs, gyms, laundries, service stations, etc. Saw a posting that the Irving gas stations in Maine often allowed overnighters. Wonder if other 24 hour gas stations would mind.
Parks. Rural towns often have city parks with free overnight camping spots--mostly the small towns in Midwest.
Escapees--the full-timers club has Days End, listing of places to park. Also, some Escapee members offer driveway parking to fellow Escapees.
HarvestHosts. Farms and vineyards providing free overnight parking.
Stealth. Believe George's strategy was to find a spot during the day, a second slot for evening, then a night spot. The night spot was often a commercial area (RV places would be a nice fit).
No judgment here--some posters like motels/hotels which don't have parking lot security (can always have breakfast or dinner at hotel as contribution), hospitals, and churches (attend service or drop some dollars).
Fraternal Organizations. Good bet would be Elks (and Moose, etc.) Which often have RV parking for free or nominal for members. Escapees even has a once a year Elks initiation for full-timers to join Elks. As these organizations have lots of locations in rural areas--maybe a really good choice.
