Overnight parking going places?

[sjohnson722]

My first post here 🙂

Not new to camping (travel trailer) as when I was younger, the fam... five of us (with a handicapped brother) and a dog in an early 70's 22' Terry...would go camping for two to three weeks each summer.

This is MY first travel trailer and times have sure changed since I last went camping like, 44 years ago...

Question, when you're on the road with long distances between destinations (more than a day's drive) where do you pull over for the night without unhitching, etc.?

I have heard in the past that some Walmart parking lots are friendly, but how about truck stops or roadside rest areas that cater to both cars and trucks, other places?

Opinions, suggestions, warnings...

Thanks

[ford_truck_guy]

pulling into a parking lot and ASSUMING your allowed to park there is no different then Trespassing. It take very little time to ask if you can stay there. Unless , of course if you just don't give a **** .

[Gdetrailer]

bpounds wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:


I personally know a few folks who have very short fuses and take things personal, I personally like to stay on their good side..

I'm not talking about those type of places. But I don't think you have any interest in my clarifying.

I don't think you have any intention of changing YOUR bad habits so I think we are pretty much even.

I don't care what "places" you are talking about since in your mind apparently you must own those places you talk about.

The reality is, you don't "own" the property you are parking on, SOMEONE DOES. SOMEONE bought it, worked hard for it, pays taxes on it, insures it and when you pull on someones land, you are a "guest" of that owner to put it kindly.. To put it bluntly you are a "squatter" if you did not ask permission.

Unwanted guest? Perhaps but a guest anyways..

You get hurt on that land owners land and well the land owner is "liable".. You damage something on that land and you go Scott free and merrily drive off in the sunset and no ones the wiser and you got a free ride benefiting YOU..

It is all about YOU and nothing else counts. YOU get free parking, free place to sleep, free place to damage, remove alter property all without paying one red cent..

Guess what, the world is not about YOU, the sandbox we all live and play in is not just for YOU. It is owned by people other than YOU.

Be a KIND YOU and ask permission BEFORE you setup camp for the night, you might be amazed at the hospitality that might be offered for NOTHING is YOU simply ASK FIRST..

Heck, if someone with a RV broke down on the top of the hill I live on if they ASKED permission first if it was OK, I wouldn't have an issue stringing a nice 20A power cord over to their rig until they got it fixed.

I find someone pulling off in my driveway and sleeping there "just because" they felt like it, I wouldn't be very happy about them blocking me from leaving and the Police would be called..

Not all that hard or difficult to seek permission..

Yeah, I get it, you might be parking on a thousand acre plot of land in the middle of nowhere.. But it ISN'T YOUR LAND.. It is easy now days to find out who owns it and get in touch with the owner..

[bpounds]

Gdetrailer wrote:


I personally know a few folks who have very short fuses and take things personal, I personally like to stay on their good side..

I'm not talking about those type of places. But I don't think you have any interest in my clarifying.

[Gdetrailer]

bpounds wrote:

pianotuna wrote:

bpounds wrote:

I have never even once asked permission. I've found plenty of places without needing to do that.

more importantly, have you ever been asked to 'move on'?

Nope. If it happened, just get up and move. 10 minutes and gone. It's not like we unhitched or opened the slide. No big deal.

Sadly, there ARE some folks who may not "give you 10 minutes" to move and the outcome may not be in YOUR favor.

Which is why YOU should not assume that it is OK and why YOU should do the right thing and ASK for permission first.. Then you will not have to face a future problem in the middle of the night..

I personally know a few folks who have very short fuses and take things personal, I personally like to stay on their good side..

It isn't really much of a bother to seek permission and most likely it will result in goodwill. The worst that may happen when asking is a big no and you move on and be glad you asked first. Seems like a no brainer to me.

[wa8yxm]

For truck stops most Flying-J's offer RV overnight. Some TA and Loves as well. (the newer ones) Including Fair Play SC (Loves) and Tekonsha MI (TA) though both have very very very limited RV parking.

If you park in the Truck lot and have slideout(s) try to park so that the slid you have to put out extends over grass, not pavement..One time I parked in a truck lot with the slide over pavement and a truck driver did me the favor of totaling my Rig.. (Yes he actually did me a favor. but that's a much longer story).

[enblethen]

I was at a casino one time and was asked to move. Why, because the surf was very high and foam was coming into the parking lot! Directed me to a higher parking area clear of the surf and foam.

[bpounds]

pianotuna wrote:

bpounds wrote:

I have never even once asked permission. I've found plenty of places without needing to do that.

more importantly, have you ever been asked to 'move on'?

Nope. If it happened, just get up and move. 10 minutes and gone. It's not like we unhitched or opened the slide. No big deal.

[enblethen]

Many casinos allow overnight parking.

[JRscooby]

pianotuna wrote:

bpounds wrote:

I have never even once asked permission. I've found plenty of places without needing to do that.

more importantly, have you ever been asked to 'move on'?

Or even worse, woke up to find a boot on your rig? Could cost a lot more, and be more inconvenient than finding and paying for a CG.
My camper takes way to much set-up to even think of staying anyplace but a CG. But as I travel I have seen many places in small town where unlikely to have trouble just spending the night.

[Gdetrailer]

pianotuna wrote:

bpounds wrote:

I have never even once asked permission. I've found plenty of places without needing to do that.

more importantly, have you ever been asked to 'move on'?

Put in a different way, would YOU personally like to find some unknown person in a unknown vehicle/RV parked on YOUR land/parking lot/driveway AND they never asked for permission?

I wouldn't like it one bit.

I have had folks pull off beside my home on my neighbors driveway/land that have broken down, neighbor's home is back a long lane and can't see what happens at the end of their driveway.. Only a couple of times those folks have been nice enough to walk to my house and let me know they are there and their vehicle is disabled..

Others have just left the vehicle abandoned for several days with no notes..

Pulling off onto others property (private and business) and overnighting without permission is a risky thing to do.. Do it to the wrong folks and things may go sideways.. Not everyone will welcome your RV and that IS why you should ALWAYS ask permission.

[pianotuna]

bpounds wrote:

I have never even once asked permission. I've found plenty of places without needing to do that.

more importantly, have you ever been asked to 'move on'?

[Etstorm]

RV Parky app

[bpounds]

Google Earth is a great resource for finding stopping places. I use it a lot if we are in an area we are not familiar with. Google Earth can even show if a Walmart allows overnighting. If they do, you'll probably see parked rigs in GE.

I have never even once asked permission. I've found plenty of places without needing to do that.

I don't worry too much about posted parking lots, unless the signs are new and obviously a effort is being made. In general cops have much better things to do than roust sleeping tourists. They will respond if someone complains. And we never put out the slide when we are parking lot camping. We made the effort to choose a trailer that could be used for the necessities with slide closed.

[Matt_Colie]

Sjohnson,

One of the things that you have to decide long before departure is if you can live without deploying the slide. While it will not matter everywhere, it will make you unwelcome in some places that have limited space.

Apart from that, you have a whole lot of good information here. I can't help you about camp (cramp) grounds, we don't buy them often enough to matter. We do a whole lot of "Stealth Camping", but that is much harder to pass off with slides extended.

Matt