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

[Curly2001]

Years ago we camped by using the Woodall camping guide book. Sometimes before we left home we would call ahead guessing how many miles we could/would drive in a day before we stopped. Sometimes we just went to the campground with directions from the book and we were lucky to fine a space and sometimes, not. Today is a whole different bag of fish. We plan ahead now and usually make reservations in local campgrounds. That gives us peace of mind knowing we do have a safe place to stay and who knows, if it is nice enough we play tourist there for a couple of additional days.
Curly

[JIMNLIN]

Before the net we carried a Trailer Life Campground directory and stayed at a likely looking RV camp place when making long daily runs.

Now we use the same directory but use the net and google maps to see where/how the campground/area looks.

[jdc1]

bukhrn wrote:
We've done WalMarts, Lowes, Rest Areas, Truck Stops, which I find Flying J the best, the RV sites are separate from the truck area and a little quieter, noise doesn't bother me as much as some, as when I stop, I'm tired and go to sleep pretty quickly.
There are also Cracker Barrels, Churches, and some Casinos.

Agreed. I just came back from a trip. Slept at a couple of rest stops and quiet roads near Pilot/Flying/Loves. Didn't sleep in the fueling station lots. Too noisy. The roads just past them are much more quiet.

[pianotuna]

Sjohnson722,


https://freecampsites.net/ has a great little trip planner and you can filter for the amenities you wish to have.

[agesilaus]

You always need to call and get permission first. Otherwise you could be surprised by a 2AM knock on the door by a local police officer telling you to move on.

[DrewE]

midnightsadie wrote:
welcome stopped lot of overnighters, very best is a church parking lot, theres been times they even rigged up power for us, even had a pot luck supper.

I assume (or at least hope) you ask permission at the churches first.

If someone were to pull in and stop overnight in my church's parking lot, they'd be rather surprised if the next day were a school day as the lot fills up with students of the high school next door who have permission to park there in exchange for making a donation to the local food shelf or some other local charity of their choice.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

Sorry, I guess I should have added the signs have an ordnance referenced on them. I know some are to discourage folks.

Once saw a Class A DP with BBQ Grill, Chairs and Mat out in the parking lot of Walmart in Cedar City, UT - four straight days without moving (we left the area on the fifth morning).

[midnightsadie]

welcome stopped lot of overnighters, very best is a church parking lot, theres been times they even rigged up power for us, even had a pot luck supper.

[Gdetrailer]

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:


The town, a northeast Dallas suburb, where we had our last S/B home has an ordnance about no overnight parking/ sleeping in a vehicle. Does not say RV, but anything, from your car, to truckers, to RVs. There are signs at Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, even the First Baptist parking lot. Might be one reason why there are no truck stops in that town.

No 'wally docking' places are most often near larger cities, and I've found them in tourist areas. I think, could be wrong, Moab, UT does not allow overnight stops for sleep except in a campground.

Just because there is a sign up, does not always mean it is not allowed.

Sometimes the signs have been put up to discourage folks from "camping out" (like putting out the slides, putting down the levelers, putting out camp chairs, and firing up the huge BBQ and partying like it is tailgating season for days on end) or could be due to being over run by homeless folks hanging around and never going away..

You HAVE to ask. Some folks see the signs and turn around and move on, some folks see the signs and setup anyways.. Myself, I like to ask.. So far, have never been turned down even when there are signs posted..

As far as any place outright "banning", yeah, that can be an issue for folks who make their living over the road like truckers.. Truckers MUST log OFF hrs somewhere, if they are not allowed in a parking lot, they WILL be pulling off the side of the road and PARKING there..

Making for a huge hazard to the driver and other motorists.. AND YES, I HAVE seen this a lot especially on/off ramps on some local Interstate roads near me..

Heck, on one Interstate road there is a "weight station" pull off for portable scales that when the station is closed the gates are LOCKED! Have had to dodge a lot of trucks parked on the sides of the road from the weight station down to the next exit several miles away..

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

We are retired, and I'm almost never in a hurry. Try to keep daily drives down to under five hours per day.

Once did 612 one day and 498 the next. If it had not been for my baby sister's funeral, I would not have done that. Wife insisted I stop at a place where we could put the slides out and I could get a good night rest. Well, 6 hours.

We can't pull out slides on both sides and not unhook in a Walmart parking lot or truck stop. Too wide at 14 ft for a truck stop, and I've seen slides hit by DA kids in Walmart parking lots.

Almost always I can find an RV park with pull-thrus for a one-night stop on long trips. We've been coast to coast, Key West to Blaine, WA, Maine to San Diego - 46 states we've stayed in at least 2 nights. We take long trips, just at a slower pace than many, and I think we enjoy them more.

It is not difficult to find places to stop. One of those experience things in RVing. In three years of regular travel, you will look back and wonder why you ever asked.

The town, a northeast Dallas suburb, where we had our last S/B home has an ordnance about no overnight parking/ sleeping in a vehicle. Does not say RV, but anything, from your car, to truckers, to RVs. There are signs at Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, even the First Baptist parking lot. Might be one reason why there are no truck stops in that town.

No 'wally docking' places are most often near larger cities, and I've found them in tourist areas. I think, could be wrong, Moab, UT does not allow overnight stops for sleep except in a campground.

[Gdetrailer]

agesilaus wrote:
And be aware that not all Walmarts allow overnight stays. The local government can ban that.

Sort of correct, for the most part, it is up to each Walmart manager to decide if overnighting is allowed. In some cases the local township/city may have an ordnance which may prohibit/limit overnighting which will override the Walmart managers decision.

I would highly recommend looking up some Walmarts that may be close to your route and PHONE and ask first. This way you can have a better plan in place instead of driving 10 hrs only to find you can't and will have to find other places..

Walmart typically will want you to overnight as far away from the store as possible, typically lawn and garden center in some places.

I will warn up ahead, overnighting in Walmart parking lots or even at rest stops WILL be noisy. If you are noise sensitive, you may want to find other quieter alternatives. I found in ear hearing protectors often takes care of most of the parking lot noise.

Although right now, they may be quieter through the night since most WM stores close at 8 PM-9PM and open 8 or so in the morning to public for cleaning and restocking (not 24hr like they used to be)..

You would be shocked at how much traffic there is at WM at 12 AM - 2 AM in the morning.. At the stores we often stop at, 2 AM-3 AM the street sweeper comes out to play after the customer traffic slows down.

I should note that the stores we have visited often have signs up stating no overnighting but when we asked they told us it was OK to do so in spite of the signs.. I got the feeling the signs were put in place to discourage homeless folks at those WMs..

[ford_truck_guy]

When traveling, we also like full hookups for the night so we can shower and be refreshed..

Not to mention, we really like giving the money to those local owners of the campgrounds.

[IAMICHABOD]

Welcome to the Forum,there have been a lot of good suggestions plus more to come I'm sure.
A good app to download is RV PARKY it will tell you what is in the area you are in or on the route you choose.it includes campgrounds plus
Rest Areas,National, State and Municipal Parks,Military Campgrounds
Casinos,Walmarts,Cabela's,Cracker Barrels,Camping Worlds,Flying J's,Pilot Travel Plazas,TA Travel Centers and others.

I have found it very handy when traveling.

[sjohnson722]

Thanks all. Checked out that freecamping.net page. Looks very useful 🙂

[Sandia_Man]

We've overnighted at all the above for the purpose you mentioned. Sure, some are noisy, brightly lit, or whatever is considered less desirable than an actual campground, hard to be overly choosy when it's free. Congrats on the TT purchase, hope you love the RV lifestyle as much as we do. Over 3 decades of RVing and still can't wait for our next adventure.