Drive night Sleep day Boondocking

[delosholly]

This Sunday my DW and I took our TC over to Little River Canyon in Alabama for the day (need to run the truck every now and then). Anyways, this area is part of the National Park system, but it is a Preserve and does not allow overnight camping, only day use until the sun goes down.

While we were there, we picnicked and had the TC available for using the restroom. we stayed around 7 hours. It was then that I started thinking about boondocking spots for future travels. Since we are not retired, often we need to get to a destination, the drive there is not our main function.

So why not drive during the night and sleep during the day at one of the many, many day use only type locations: preserves, monuments, refuges ... located all over the place? There is no fee, and at first when you arrive you can take advantage of the sites they offer or take a short hike, then sleep a while, eat when you get up and leave before dark.

I know that night driving has its advantages and disadvantages (old person's night vision and deer to name two disadvantages) and that sleeping during the day could pose a problem (but not too bad with proper window blocking).

I am posting this because I have not read about anyone else doing this or could not find the thread search keyword to locate the thread.

Del

[RoyB]

We did this alot in younger days... Leave the honky tonks at midnight and head for the gulf beaches overnite - sleep a few hours during the day somewhere then do it all over again. haha...

Today I have to get off the road before dark and get somewhat setup somewhere - have a good supper and hit the hay... Then back on the road again early the next day...

Roy Ken

[icanon]

Good for you if like it, for me I done my share of shift work when I was working don't want to do that anymore.

[WyoTraveler]

Bck in our youger days in So CA and working 5 days a week we'd leave Friday night late and drive our TC all night to get our destination. Have fun Satuday an Sunday and drive all Sunday night to get home.We were thrashed at work on Monday. You have alot time the best way possible.

[GordonThree]

Sounds like a good theory.

Are you and your wife already working swing shifts? Your bodies are trained to easily (quickly) switch between day-dwelling and night-dwelling?

When I have a long period of time off work, I sometimes slip into night-dwelling easy enough, but switching back to day-dwelling is pretty hard for me. The transition at either end leaves me kinda foggy, I would not want to be operating heavy machinery at high speeds.

Talking with a retired friend, this is the only way her husband would travel. He'd spent his entire career working swing shifts at a salt mine and could sleep any time, day or night, didn't matter. So he'd drive at night and sleep in rest areas during the day, she was just along for the ride.

[gbopp]

It's definitely an option if, you have a destination.
I wouldn't like doing it just to save money.

And, like many others, I chose to drive during the day because I enjoy the drive and seeing the landscape.
If I need to drive at night, it's no problem.

Maybe what you are proposing would also work at Walmart and other locations that do not allow overnighting?
Unless it's posted for no RV parking, you would probably be okay.

[kohldad]

I can understand why they closed the camping areas as they were a bit trashy three years ago when I looked at them. Shame folks didn't clean up after themselves and ruined it for others.

I save my days for sight seeing and nights for sleeping. There is just too much to see during the day and too many places to boondock at night to catch a good nights sleep. Even traveling I see lots of beautiful country and would hate to miss that by traveling at night. So much for seeing an interesting thing and not being able to stop to investigate.