stopping for a single night - rest area or rv park?

Flying J, I really don't like spending $30 +, just to catch 4-6 hours sleep, if you're tired enough, the lights & noise won't bother you.
Besides, you can grab a quick bite before hitting the road.

I vote for rest areas. I am the son of a long haul trucker and the sound of idling diesel engines is just white noise to me. I think that paying $40 for a six hour stay in a campground is a waste of money. There has been many a night when I have rested in a rest area or travel center parking lot. Flying J even has RV parking and they don't mind if you park there for a few hours. It's a lot like Walmart not minding if you park in their lot, they know you may come in for supplies, or eat in their restaurant.

Txsurfer wrote:
Just getting into this and have a toy hauler with no slides - what's the general consensus on midway stops between point A & B. Is it worth the hassle to set up everything for a single night in an RV park or just layover at the rest area for 4-6 hrs of sleep?

No overnight campgrounds for me... Call me cheap / frugal / stubborn / naive.

My preference:

#1 Walmart or other commercial lot
#2 Rest area / Welcome Center with specific RV parking
#3 Other public parking lot, gravel lot, scenic turn off
#4 Keep driving until #1,2 or 3 comes along

Maybe I'm too young to RV, not even forty yet. I want to drive 10-12 hours to get where I'm going because my vacation days are precious. That means leaving early, arriving late. I don't set a daily mileage - that's too variable with traffic, construction, etc.

First, trying to line up campgrounds based around long days spent driving is beyond my patience / type-a skill level. I tried doing this my first long trip and it was so stressful, I decided it's just not worth my worry.

Second, paying someone $30-40 for an overnight parking spot is not in my budget. I'd rather spend that on fuel, park in a Walmart and have a steak at Texas Roadhouse or another chain that follows Walmart around.

Some rest areas are used by big rig units to catch up on mandatory rest, if you happen to be sandwiched between to refrigdrated units with the cooling Diesel's running, and you are not used to the noise you will not sleep much, on the other hand an RV park might be quieter, we sometimes rent a pull through space and only hook up the electric cable, no leveling jacks unless it is really uneven.

navegator

I stop at a campground. No need to disconnect from tow vehicle. Hook up electric and water, put out slides, and you are all set. Minimum amount of effort.

RV park/campground.