Wal Mart parking?

Redsky wrote:
In my 44 years of traveling around the USA I have never had staying at a Wal-Mart or any other parking lot as my only option and it will always be the very last place other than an active landfill dump where I would choose to spend the night.

There are zero advantages to staying at a public parking lot and I always know in advance where I am going to be the following day and what my options are for spending the night. If I can make it to a city where there is a Wal-Mart than I can make it to any one of a hundred places in the area where I can stop and sleep.

There is a misguided herd mentality that drives people to think that Wal-Mart is the only free place to safely spend the night with an RV when nothing could be further from reality.

The attractive thing is there is a Wal Mart in every town. Easy to find and they will have all the supplies needed before continuing on. It is a matter of convenience. From your post I see it is not for you but to call it a misguided herd mentality shows you have no tolerance for opinions other than your own. Which I find misguided.
If I am less than a day from my final destination and it is late evening I find it convenient to get the provisions I need at the same store I am familiar with at home and be on the road early the next morning. You may feel different but I don't find you misguided for that. You just have a different opinion and I'm good with that.

The above-mentioned shooting has absolutely nothing to do with WalMart. You can read the same thing happening all across the country and not done in WalMarts. I would wager that the shooter knew the occupant in the car. If that car was parked in front of your house the same thing could have happened.

alid wrote:
wal-mart shooting

This is why I don't do wal-mart.. I know this area... it is a small town. Campers in the parking lot witnessed the shooting. No reason.. someone just walked up to a car and blasted the person sitting it it 3 times in the face! Then the shooter went home and OD'd on drugs.

I don't care how much you say that they have security and cameras.. there is no way that either of those things helped this guy. The shooting was within eye-shot of the campers in the parking lot.. and it sounds like there were quite a few.

A shooting can happen anywhere at any time....it's just luck of the draw sometimes. THIS was not a random shooting

Every WalMart is different. Over many years we have from time to time stayed overnight in a WalMart Parking lot. We try to use common sense about where to park and in some Walmart lots there is very little room while other have acres of space. With our Monty we always have the bedroom slides out at night.

We have travels so many years that we have pretty much learned which WalMarts have space and which do not. As a courtesy to WalMart and others, we normally do not stop overnight in a Walmart lot that is small and/or crouded. The last one where we stopped overnight was the WalMart on I-25 near Fort Collins, CO. There was only one other RV there that night but about8 or ten semi-trucks parked. Plenty of room. A month ago we stayed overnight in the WalMart lot at Cody, WY. There were about 8 or 9 other RVs there that night and there was room for at least a dozen more.

We try to use commons sense when parking overnight at a Truck Stop too. Many are crowded with trucks so we rarely stay where we would take a truck spot or close in. Many truck stops have acres of space where even trucks rarely park. For example the last truck stop where we stayed overnight was the Truck Stop at the North edge of Lamar, Colorado on US 50/US 287. We parked along the back edge at least 50 yards from the nearest truck. Even with dozens of trucks in the lot overnight it was quiet where we parked.

I tend to stay at either Walmart (most often since there are more of them,) or Flying J truck stops when in travel mode.

We did a 45 day round trip from Richmond VA area to LA earlier this year. We stopped at a lot of places along the way and on the way back that we were interested in seeing. However, the first place om my list of stops was Vicksburg, and the National Battlefield there. It took us two days to get there, so on the 1st and 2nd night we stopped at Wally Worlds because they are convenient, relative inexpensive (after buying supplies ;). I didn't even consider a camp ground those two nights because I didn't want to go wandering miles off my route to find a CC, nor did I want to pay 20+ dollars for the privilege.

We'd pull into a WM and my wife would go in to get permission. The manager would usually also tell up roughly what part of the lot he/she would like us to park. We never put out our slide since our floor plan allows us to use the bed, get to the bathroom, and use the refrigerator without it being out. And we certainly never unhitched the TT from the truck.

Most times, we'd end up getting something we forgot, or needed but didn't have. And sometimes I buy some hot prepared food.

I would never drop the trailer, put out the awning, or put out our camp chairs & stuff like that.

Also, we'd usually be back on the road before 7am.

Keith Haw wrote:
Hope this is the right forum.

I have a question about WM camping. I've seen "The ABC's of Wal Mart Camping" and it said never open slider. Is that a fairly solid rule? Reason I ask is, in our current TT, the restroom isn't usable without the slide out. Never thought about that when we were looking at the TT and it's to late now to do anything about it.

When I stop at WM. I park as far from the store that I can. Check in with the with management. Then pick up stuff for dinner. Open up my slides that I need. Enjoy dinner and have a good night sleep. IN the morning, back to the store to get breakfast and any supplies I will need until my next stop. Stop at the front desk and thank them for the night stay. Always had a good nights rest. Yes there can be traffic during the night, but I can deal with it. I am just thankful for WM letting me stop overnight on THEIR property.

The "rules" will be determined by the type of camper you own and the store manager. If I were to overnight there, I would park on the outskirts, open my slide and go to sleep. If my family needed the ac, I'd use my generator. Daybreak, I'd go inside for coffee and to restock the icebox and then be on my way. We would have been hardly noticed, if at all, and Walmart got a little business from me. Common sense and a little forethought is really all that is needed.

eric1514 wrote:
How do you find the manager? Do you ask a checker or is there some part of the store they always hang out in?

Eric

Go to the Customer Service Desk and they will page the manager. We always thank them for letting us stay and they are very appreciative. It's only common courtesy.

Our first Wally Docking experience was this past February, in West Virginia, when it was 10 degrees F. on our way to sunny Texas. We called in advance for permission/instructions and arrived at the Super Center about 11pm, parking where they requested, then I waved at a passing police cruiser going by at 11:15. It was a pretty level spot. I left no exterior clues that we were over-nighting, including the stairs.
The furnace did fine for a few hours, but I think the cold temps reduced the pressure in the LP tanks or they froze or something. Plus, I hadn't considered insulating the one single-pane window in the coach, which is in our overcab bunk area. We woke up freezing about 4am, I put another sleeping bag over us and we toughed it out. Then, about 5:30am, the parking lot sweeper decided it was the Indy 500 and our rig was the infield. I think he did about 25 or 30 laps around us. I'm certain it was just to mess with us. I guess a guy driving a sweeper at 5:30am when it's 10 degrees has to get their jollies somehow. About 7am, we left. I was happy to have had a place to get a few hours of rest, and it was kinda funny how aggravated the Better Half got at the sweeper. She's always nice. I tried to pretend it was Mom's vacuum cleaner and went to sleep.
I'd do it again. I might have some different equipment, though.

BCSnob wrote:
So let's review....

1) Can't come after dark to a campground because we might shine our headlights on someones RV/campsite, make too much noise with our tow vehicles, make too much noise setting-up, etc.
2) Can't sleep in a parking lot because we're being cheap, free loaders taking money away from campgrounds.

I guess the rule is we must all only drive after sunrise and be in a campground before sunset.

Heh- I'm one of those road warriors who travel as far as we can while the kids are behaving in the backseat. Last week, we traveled from 9am to 11pm and pulled into a RV park. I was as quiet as possible, but the truck makes noise, the jacks make noise and we make noise. I felt bad for my neighbors, but it is what it is.

I would have preferred a Walmart stop but we are without generator(s) and in the summer heat of Florida, we wanted A/C (otherwise, none of us would have slept).