Not Utilizing RV Parks or Boondocking

[Floridastorm]

Just wondering how many RV folks choose not to use RV Parks and places like Walmart or boon docking to overnight? Instead using motels, hotels, or AIRbnb. It would seem that it may defeat the purpose of having an RV but there may be some people who just don't like RV Parks and would never stay in a Walmart parking lot or boondock overnight.

[stickdog]

Let's just say my wife would prefer to join the bears in the woods before using public facilities. During the ten years we've been fulltime we've spent 4 nights in hotel/motels. Three nights were in NYC as the wife had never been there and I wasn't going to pull a 5er down Broadway to Central Park. The other was going to the daughters and had to work in the morning so got a late start on what otherwise would be a good days drive.

[free_radical]

Floridastorm wrote:
Just wondering how many RV folks choose not to use RV Parks and places like Walmart or boon docking to overnight? Instead using motels, hotels, or AIRbnb. It would seem that it may defeat the purpose of having an RV but there may be some people who just don't like RV Parks and would never stay in a Walmart parking lot or boondock overnight.

I Stayed in motel few months one winter in Alberta when the weather got to - 30 C
And I didnt have enough solar to recharge the battery.
Long nights and too short days up there.

Something interesting
Family of five traveling the World in 1928 Graham Paige car

https://youtu.be/VOgskJZ4WRc

[Ron3rd]

A Walmart parking lot would be the last place I would overnight.

Moderator comment: Sorry, I was replying to your post and hit "edit" instead of "quote". I apologize.
Barney

[JIMNLIN]

Our life doesn't evolve around a RV so we motel more than we use the camper.
Were old time campers since the early '60s. Owning a 8'....9.5"....10.5' truck campers and one TT and three 5th wheel rvs trailers over the years we were avid campers at one time. Now not so much.
Everyone does not own a rv for the same reason(s) and everyone doesn't camp...glamp....boondock.....WM parking lot camp....rv parking lot camp like others. Thats just life so I accept the fact other won't do it like I do.

[olfarmer]

Fulltimer50 wrote:
I RV just to get away from Motels etc.

Likewise, that is a good reason to RV, I agree 100%!

[Lwiddis]

“Although we have considered the notion of RVing out to California,...”

I wouldn’t! Our campgrounds are full! lol

[Y-Guy]

There is a time and a place for all of them. We haven't WallyDocked in years, often stay in RV resorts, State parks, or USFS sites, though I avoid "RV Parks" with a lot of full time sites at last the ones that look like dives. Right now I'm sitting in a hotel room over looking the Ocean in Canon Beach Oregon while our RV is at home. It was a quick two night get away and it was faster for us to not pack up, unwinterize, drive, etc. Plus I'm over looking the ocean, and there are very few ocean front RV sites. I'm not beholden to anyone's rule I do what I want to do. This weekend it was a hotel.

[pnichols]

NMDriver2 wrote:
If you ever cross the AZ/CA desert in the summer you will want to use a motel. Your RV will still be an oven at 2AM.

We have also stayed in a Casino Hotel while the RV was parked in the lot.

When we are visiting any major metro area (San Francisco for example). We leave the RV out on the edge and get a hotel for any sight seeing/activities. We leave the RV at a Truck stop/State Park/Campground and drive into town for museums, dinner, shows, etc. and sleep at a motel/hotel for a few nights. At Point Mugu Naval Station we put the RV in the For Sale lot and left it for 2 weeks while we were in San Francisco.

Another example is the Balloon Fest in Albu. If you want to see the dawn ascensions it is best to get a in town hotel that offers a shuttle service and park the RV out of town, unless you can get a space in the Festival RV area.

So yes we have and will continue to use hotels with the RV. Sometimes the convenience of the hotel far outweighs the hassle of getting an RV space, if one is even available.

"If you ever cross the AZ/CA desert in the summer you will want to use a motel. Your RV will still be an oven at 2AM."

Not necessarily with certain self-contained motorhomes under similar conditions. Our small Class C can be cooled down in minutes in extremely hot conditions. 😉

We did it in the Texas Panhandle in August when parked in a remote spot exploring. We ran both the coach rooftop air conditioner and idled the engine with the cab A/C blowing on full power. The double air conditioners worked like a champ to provide a comfortable lunch in minutes inside the coach while parked in the blazing sun in the middle of the day.

We have also parked in the Deep South in a Walmart parking lot in August and merely ran the rooftop A/C off the built-in generator while we slept in the extreme nighttime heat and humidity. We pressurized the interior to insure that no fumes could enter. 😉

[spoon059]

Can't say that I have. Although we have considered the notion of RVing out to California, leaving the camper in storage and flying to Hawaii once we're retired. We went to Maui for our honeymoon, but a 12 hour flight when you're 6-04 250 lbs isn't comfortable... A 5 hour flight from LA would be substantially cheaper and more comfortable.

[NMDriver2]

If you ever cross the AZ/CA desert in the summer you will want to use a motel. Your RV will still be an oven at 2AM.

We have also stayed in a Casino Hotel while the RV was parked in the lot.

When we are visiting any major metro area (San Francisco for example). We leave the RV out on the edge and get a hotel for any sight seeing/activities. We leave the RV at a Truck stop/State Park/Campground and drive into town for museums, dinner, shows, etc. and sleep at a motel/hotel for a few nights. At Point Mugu Naval Station we put the RV in the For Sale lot and left it for 2 weeks while we were in San Francisco.

Another example is the Balloon Fest in Albu. If you want to see the dawn ascensions it is best to get a in town hotel that offers a shuttle service and park the RV out of town, unless you can get a space in the Festival RV area.

So yes we have and will continue to use hotels with the RV. Sometimes the convenience of the hotel far outweighs the hassle of getting an RV space, if one is even available.

[RobWNY]

If we go somewhere for a day or two and it's not a camping trip, we stay in a Hotel and the RV stays home. If we're going to be somewhere for a few days, we bring the RV if there's an RV park nearby. We have never stayed at a Walmart or Cracker Barrel etc. but we would. It's just to sleep.

[Merrykalia]

I purchased my RV so I didn't HAVE to use hotels/motels, where who knows who slept or was IN the bed the night before. I don't know for a FACT that the sheets, pillowcases, blankets, comforters have been cleaned, don't know if the toilet was sanitized and other areas.

In my own RV, I know who slept in the bed, what was done, when the sheets were changed, when the toilet was cleaned, etc.

I will say that we were heading toward a girls' week beach vacation and my friend got off work late, so we left about 3 hours late. I had a stop in mind to camp halfway, but it started raining about 2 hours into the trip. When we got to the halfway point, we kept driving and got within a couple hours from the beach and pulled into a hotel about midnight and spent the night. I had a popup at the time and she had never helped me set it up and in the rain, at night, was not the time to teach her. We got up in the am and arrived at the beach by 11 am. Had a most fabulous week!

[Lwiddis]

I never stay in a private RV park unless I must such as to dump and fill with fresh water before boondocking. Very rare but happens. To those that fear boondocking or believe they will “suffer,” I’m happy you are somewhere else packed in like a sardine.

[RetiredRealtorR]

We've never boondocked, and the thought of overnighting in a WalMart parking lot just isn't our cup of tea. We travel to enjoy ourselves, not to be cheapskates or risk our safety.

At times, a motel is exactly what we want, even when our mode of transportation is an RV. At Disney, our DP sat in the parking lot when we stayed at the Contemporary Resort. In Custer State Park we enjoyed one night each in their amazing lodges. Sometimes the 'experience' just isn't the same in an RV, and those are choices we make.

[ppine]

I want nothing to do with parking lots, motels, rest stops and other people. That is why I have an RV in the first place.

An RV park is handy one day a week on a long trip.
I like USFS campgrounds except for July and Aug.