Staying in parking lots??

We have stopped in rest areas, Walmart, truck stops, and even small town grocery store parking lots (with permission) for overnight stops.

You do need to be aware of restrictions plus possible crime... many cities have passed RV parking laws and some RVers have been accosted while staying in some of these types of overnight stops.

There is a website dedicted to free overnight camping spots...I don't remember the name of the website but I bet it has free and camping in the name.

We do it all the time. Flying J has spots for RVs in front of the station. We stay mostly at Walmarts. There is a list of Walmarts on the Yahoo Walmart Group.

Walmart RVing Invitation

We stop over at WalMarts & FlyinJs a lot traveling from one race to the other, just no time to look for a camp ground.

One city you dont want to overnight RV in, is Pittsburg PA, because you will be less than a third class citizen with LEO running you off from one place to the other.
It is a city law there, you can not park an RV & Enclosed trailer on any city street for any length of time, even to get out & check a tire or something else with out being issued a ticket.
Neil

Below you'll find hours of reading already posted on this forum regarding the subject of Walmart overnighting.

Clicky

well we never have and never will.You meet the nicest folks in a camp ground. and they will keep a eye on things too.and theres a bit more safety there to.just to many good things cg way. we would rather give our money to a cg than a crook. no its all happy- camping

Monaco Montclair wrote:
well we never have and never will.You meet the nicest folks in a camp ground. and they will keep a eye on things too.and theres a bit more safety there to.just to many good things cg way. we would rather give our money to a cg than a crook. no its all happy- camping

We find the same things in Walmart parking lots. have met lots of nice people, they have cameras on the lot all the time and usually have security that patrols at night.

For the most part walmarts up in new england are happy to have you. In some cases, depending on locale thier might be local restriction. there's a walmart in Pa at the NY / PA line on I 84, they often have overnight guests,

I know a lot of people use Wallmart parking lots, but we don't. If our travels require a stop overnight somewhere, we try to find a KOA campground. KOA's almost always have pull through sites. So for us, there's no hitching or unhitching.

You see, for some strange reason, I have this great need for electricity! If I am to remain a happy-satisfied-content camper, I need to make sure my wife's electric leg razor has power!

KOA has a great app for your phone, just like the web site. Punch in the state your in an "presto"! A map with all their locations! We've done this quite often. I love Wallmart, but I don't love them so much I want to spend the night there! The choice between asphalt and grass? well, I'll take the grass.

(It still baffles me why anyone would spend a bazillion dollars on an RV and then go cheap by camping at WallMart!)

also cracker barrel is a good stop over and I,ve done a few churchs . one thing we all need to remember,never ever open the door to a stranger ,look out the window and ask to see I.D. never had a problem but you never know??

Lots of people do it. You will need to be able to do without utilities, be prepared for intrusions (noisy traffic, customers) and be prepared to protect yourself if you choose the wrong neighborhood. Do not turn an overnight parking/stay into a campsite with chairs, grills, awnings, etc.