Walmart and other over night stays.

I have always stayed in off the road areas like wal marts and truck stops too. Too much hassel to go get a site unhook the jeep get n the site in the dark or to leave in the early am. If you were next to me you would be thankful I was not there. Arrive about 8-9 pm leave at 5 am or earlier if I am driving cross country. Oh and you and I gave to pay for this pleasure. It is probably cheaper now to stay in a cg then run the genset all night but it is not the cost issue. Also many CG are closed in the off season as you go north and or west.

We have stayed in a few and will always ask at the service desk. I usually call ahead if I need to plan for an overnight. Once, in Maryville, TN, we stopped at WalMart, as I had called ahead, and then left the fifth wheel to check out our campsite for the next day in Elkmont. A few minutes after returning to our rig, there was a knock on the door by a tow service. He was there to enforce the no overnight parking ordinance. (We had taken a detour earlier that afternoon and thought we were at the WalMart which I had called.). Wrong! That taught me an important lesson- always, always walk in and ask!!

I've been overnight parking in out of the way parking areas since 1976, long before Walmart existed. Never had a problem and have never been asked to move.

If I didn't have to fuel up I could travel 1000's of miles without getting out of the motorhome.

-Tom

Effy wrote:
What's wrong with campgrounds?

Did you read the OP question?


Markiemark:C

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.

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.

The signs saying no overnight camping siting code blah blah may not be valid as parking lots are usually private property. A city may make law to please local rv parks but cannot enforce the law on private property. The Wm in Missoula Mt is posted as such but Wm doesn't care if you park there overnight. The exact legal term is public property in the private domain. The Wm in Roseburg Or. has posted signs that say no ON parking ask inside you find it's true.

As to the question as to "why not stay at a rv park? Or why not use state or FS. CGs
Last first is we are 38.5 ft plus a 20 ft enclosed trailer. Our MH alone not will fit in these parks, even if we drop the trailer elsewhere. As to the first we are FT have a quiet gen and enough inverter power to run it all overnight. If traveling point to point we "need" nothing and are only passing through. We do not need power water cable laundry bathrooms shower fire pits picnic tables etc. We only need to park for 8 to 10 hrs to recharge ourselves.
Thanks for reading!
JW

John & Angela wrote:

jdb7566 wrote:

Effy wrote:
What's wrong with campgrounds?

X 2

Handy in a pinch when they are open. But then again, what useful amenity can a campground offer an overnighter in a self contained rig.

x2

We like campgrounds when we are going to stay for a day or two or want to tour the area or just rest up. But when covering ground as in our fast (for us) cross country run of 9 days I really don't need the hassle of registering, getting into a spot, hooking up and then having dinner and going to sleep so we can pull out in the morning. Much prefer to pull in someplace, WalMart, Cabela's, BassPro, Flying J, roadside rest area etc where I can get level and prepare dinner and get some sleep. If someone had a spot like on the OH Turnpike rest areas where I could get into a pull through with water and electric for $10 with dump at the exit, I would gladly pay for the privilege.

jdb7566 wrote:

Effy wrote:
What's wrong with campgrounds?

X 2

Handy in a pinch when they are open. But then again, what useful amenity can a campground offer an overnighter in a self contained rig.

Effy wrote:
What's wrong with campgrounds?

X 2