Newbie question about quick overnights

Overnighting at Walmarts is just too handy not to do it. Convenience and comfort are two of the reasons we own a motorhome. Yeah, it's obviously not a campground, but the freedom of choice is personal, and appreciated.

Two Hands wrote:
We stay overnight at an rv park/campground. We just don't think that a WalMart parking lot, or a Cracker Barrel parking lot, or a Fred Meyer parking lot is a campground. That said we once had to spend a night in a truck stop parking lot at Jake's Corner in the Yukon when we had a breakdown.

Exactly they are short, sleep a couple of hours and move on. They should NEVER be a campground. Go to campgrounds or RV parks for that.

When we stop at Walmart's it is only when we are hot traveling. Just stop get a bite to eat, catch a few winks and move on. We do not even level, pull out slides, or disconnect.

Matt Collie has the best advice posted. Lived in NYC area for many, many years. NO ONE SHOULD EVER GO THROUGH NYC WITH AN RV! Tappan Zee Bridge the only viable option. Gun laws in NJ are very, very strict. You also might want to avoid NJ Turnpike in an RV - can get really dicey. Safe travels.

OK Mtnbikerx,

Pay Attention here because I am going to lay out a lot fast.

First: Have a laptop to carry and an inverter to power it. Old is fine, get someones cast off. Vista will work, but 7 is better. Price on this can vary from free to ~200$ .

Second: Buy a copy of Street Atlas (S&T is no longer available.) with the GPS puck. Learn to do a rudimentary job of using it. This will cost 50$us for the 2015w/GPS or 20$us a 2010w/GPS on Ebay.

Third: Here is the good part. Go to the Discovery Owners site and collect the overlay data for what ever you might want. They have many. Get at least:
Cabelas Casinos
Cracker Barrel Flying J
Loves OverNight Parking
Walmart Supercenters Walmart that ban ONP
This is all Free. The real trick will come in learning to use it.

In many Decades of RV travel, we have paid for fewer than two dozen campgrounds during the travel. Campfgrounds on the East coast (where you will be all the time) are between 40 and 60$us PER NIGHT!! Any decent motorhome is well enough self contained that you don't need anything other than fuel for about three days (if you are just a little careful with water).

Other route advice. Do Not Go Through NYC use the TAppen Zee to cross the Hudson if you don't want to go farther north and Avoid NJ if you are carrying any weapons.

Matt

DutchmenSport wrote:
We don't do overnight's in Wall Mart. We look for Good Sam campgrounds or KOA campgrounds. We don't mind paying for a site that has water and electric, and even sewer. When we travel, we are not in that big of a hurry. The travel is just as important as the destination. When we pick a campground, we enjoy being able to get out, walk around, take in the atmosphere, rest comfortably in place that's somewhat safe.

This is not to say we would never Wall Mart camp, but for us, the question is "Why?" We don't mind paying a few dollars for a good night sleep in peace. And sometime use the swimming pool, or amenities in the park. Much more pleasant that having a semi truck engine rumbling all night beside us.

.

+1

Traveling is no fun and not a vacation if you spend a few days traveling like hell 400-500 miles a day quick sleep and move. For us the journey is just as important as the destination (well almost). For me nothing better than a hot tub at a rv park after a day on the road.

I'm an RV Park guy. For starters, I need at least electric for medical equipment. But I'd stay in RV Parks even if I didn't have that need. I like the idea of an entrance/exit road, often gated at night. If I was a crook, I'd want to be sure I could get out after I got in. I also like the quiet hours that come with a FHU CG. And I'm a single RVer, so having WIFI and cable in addition to FHUs is a bonus. And with all the KOA haters, I've never been denied a spot if I stop early enough.

Depends on the situation, we always go to a campground when we stop early, but we are late night people so we sometimes drive until midnight. I don't think anyone would want us pulling into a campsite next to them at midnight with my rattlin Cummins. When we drive late we usually stop at Cracker Barrel. The lot is empty, we pull around back and go to bed, get up the next morning, go in and have breakfast, then head out again.

Campgrounds are better but there is nothing wrong with pulling in and spending the night in a parking lot. Some people on here don't know the difference between camping and sleeping a few hours. I have never camped at WM, or Cracker Barrel or Bass Pro Shop, but I have slept a few hours at all of those places. Everyone is different, do what works best for you. It is not about the cost of the campground.

Truck stops are too noisy for us. We try to find Wal Marts that are out of the way if we can. The ones right off the highway are usually pretty noisy too. We usually end up needing something from Wal Mart anyway, so we kill 2 birds with one stone.

-Michael

Thank you all very much for the replies. Although we are not planning to pull off the road at 3:00 to relax (get thereitis) we will take the advice offered regarding truck stops and WalMart. First vacation in 30, 40? Years :-)