The big difference that I see in this matter, is those RVers that use pavement parking for a night and are on their way to their destination, Which I would put Gary in that group. Then there is the other groups, one of which is trying to use the parking lot of a store, for a campground, staying multiple nights or weeks. Here in Stuart, we have RVers, that are really mobile homeless people, usually in vans, old RVs, old trailers, etc. They will pull into the local Wal Mart Super Store and set up housekeeping until they are sent on down the road by the Sheriff's department. Big sign up to the effect of no overnight camping but only enforced if a person stays more of a night or two, misuses the store, panhandling the other shoppers, etc.
They must have a circuit that they use for parking for I wll see the same RVs here for a couple of weeks, then gone for a month or two and back again. These folks use the store public restrooms as their personal bathhouses much of the time. A couple of weeks ago, I walked into the men's room and there standing at one of the sinks, was an older unkempt looking man, stark naked taking a bath out of the sink. Had water all over the floor, making a real mess that some store employee was going to have to clean up.
I think a lot of RVers will use public/private parking for a one or two night stop, on their way to their destination, at times at the big box stores, etc. Personally I tend to prefer hospital parking lots fro an overnite stay if I am not at a campground.
Like I said, I will tend to stay at the Hi Country Campground in Whitehorse, when we are there as I know it will be a multi night stay. Then when heading on north, we may just boondock till we get to Fairbanks, sometimes stopping in Tok at a campground for a couple of days. I just don't understand the allure of camping on the pavement for longer periods of time when there are usually beautiful spots to boondock in the same general area. Security? Idea of roughing it, is slow service at Starbucks or Kentucky Fried?
If we don't want or need, the services provided by a FHU campground, we will find a nice boondock spot and at least have the joy of stepping out the RV door onto dirt/grass/gravel and not pavement. LOL Probably one of the things I like about spending a week on the Denali Highway in Alaska. Literally hundreds of places to pull off the road and set up camp, in the wilderness setting. We also enjoy a campfire in the evenings many nights, so the government campgrounds are nice in that most have fire pits. On occasion I have seen pavement campers set up their propane fueled fire pots and set around it like they are out in the wild and woolly country side. LOL
Most RVing is not cheap, no matter how you do it in a motorized vehicle. I have a nephew, that owned a VW camper van for several years and that was about the lowest cost RVing I have seen. He got about 20 mpg, ate and slept in it and would pavement park most nights, occasionally finding a free boondocking spot. As a single guy, it worked for him till he got married, then bye bye VW Vanagon.
On my first driving trip to Alaska from Oklahoma, in 1962, I had a Ford Falcon, a surplus two man tent, a surplus sleeping bag and a tarp. Found if I would buy a large bucket of fried chicken and biscuits, when passing through the larger towns, that would cover my eats for about 3 days. I didn't stay in a private campground till I reached Fairbanks, most of the time just pulled off the road and set up camp. I like the way I camp these days in my truck camper and 5th wheel much better. LOL
When I am old and about to die, and my kids ask me what I did with all the money I made in my lifetime, I can tell them, most of it I spent running back and forth to Alaska, the rest I just wasted. LOL
joe b.
Stuart Florida
Formerly of Colorado and Alaska
2016 Fleetwood Flair 31 B Class A w/bunks
www.picturetrail.com/jbpacooper
Alaska-Colorado and other Trips posted
"Without challenge, adventure is impossible".
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