Walmart and other over night stays.

Bill.Satellite wrote:

Effy wrote:
What's wrong with campgrounds?

Having traveled full time for about 14 years now, I could give you a list a mile long.
The first is really simple. I need somewhere to stop over night. I have no intentions of using ANY facility but I would like to have power. The campground has no "overnight" provision so I have to pay $30-$40 when I arrive at 5pm and leave at 9am and never disconnected my tow vehicle. I just need somewhere safe to sleep before I head out again. Wal-Mart says "come on in"! The campground says "We don't give a damn, pay us our money or go somewhere else!". I fully understand that sentiment and I go somewhere else.
If park owners were smart enough to have an "in after 5 and out by 9" policy at a discounted rate I would stay there at every opportunity. OK, not every opportunity as it would also need to be VERY close to my intended travel route. Wal-Mart generally is and campgrounds generally are not.
I would guess that in the last 14 years of full time travel I have spend 80% of my time in a campground. However, that other 20% was spent over-nighting where no other reasonable option was available.

I think it comes down to real estate for the campgrounds. They put in services and hope they can sell their product. It's a tough business especially when trying to entice the new generation of self contained motorhomes with satelite. Solar. Inverters. Generators etc. Really what can a campground offer except inconvenience, having to unhook. Possible security issues etc. The only time we use campgrounds is when we camp. Other than that they just don't make sense for an overnighter.