Had to stay in hotel anyways

[mattyj]

I went up to Oneonta NY today I had the truck camper all loaded and stocked up and I couldn't find a place to spend the night boondocking in a parking lot without the chance of being hassled in the middle of the night . I went to Walmart and the manager said I can't stay there and I asked several locals and everyone said the same , they did not think I'd be allowed to park there overnight . So I said the hell with it and got a Hotel room for 93.00 for the night. Sometimes I wonder about a TC you can't park it anywhere!

[zcookiemonstar]

That is why you need to plan ahead. When on the road we try to find several places ahead of time in a two to three hour driving window. You may have to stop a little earlier or a little later to make it work. We try to call ahead if it a store or something to confirm we can park overnight. Now if it was your final destination and you had to find a hotel well that is just poor planning on your part. Problem with a lot of campgrounds when on the road is no one answers the phone after 5 or 6pm so you don't know if you can get in or not.

[Kayteg1]

mattyj wrote:
I told the hotel desk clerk what happened and I asked her if I could park in her parking lot, she said no I did not try to negotiate any parking deal with her but in their restaurant later the waitress said no one checks licsence plates or Anything thing else so I guess I could have parked there. Yes

That is unavoidable when you deal with employees.
One time, driving pickup I had to find a hotel on the highway going to popular weekend area.
Their price was like $150 for the night, but being that mid-week they had like 80% of vacancy.
So dealing with owners, we settle on $80

[tinstartrvlr]

x2 on thinking outside the box.

Desperately tired, and all rv parks I called were full. But I ended up in a full rv park once after offering the owner some cash to just park somewhere on the property. Didn't need hookups and didn't even unhook; just a place to park and sleep. He had a storage area in the back and that's where I slept. Cost me 10 dollars and change to park for the night with no concerns about being run off.

[ppine]

Cannot relate at all. Find an RV park or a campground.
I left the East Coast in 1972 after going on a hunting trip and not being able to find a campground. Now I live in a state that is 87% public land. Big difference.

[mattyj]

bighatnohorse wrote:

mattyj wrote:
I went up to Oneonta NY today I had the truck camper all loaded and stocked up and I couldn't find a place to spend the night boondocking in a parking lot without the chance of being hassled in the middle of the night . I went to Walmart and the manager said I can't stay there and I asked several locals and everyone said the same , they did not think I'd be allowed to park there overnight . So I said the hell with it and got a Hotel room for 93.00 for the night. Sometimes I wonder about a TC you can't park it anywhere!

I was wondering if you tried any negotiation with the hotel desk clerk regarding a lower fee to park in their parking lot?

I told the hotel desk clerk what happened and I asked her if I could park in her parking lot, she said no I did not try to negotiate any parking deal with her but in their restaurant later the waitress said no one checks licsence plates or Anything thing else so I guess I could have parked there. Yes

[bighatnohorse]

mattyj wrote:
I went up to Oneonta NY today I had the truck camper all loaded and stocked up and I couldn't find a place to spend the night boondocking in a parking lot without the chance of being hassled in the middle of the night . I went to Walmart and the manager said I can't stay there and I asked several locals and everyone said the same , they did not think I'd be allowed to park there overnight . So I said the hell with it and got a Hotel room for 93.00 for the night. Sometimes I wonder about a TC you can't park it anywhere!

I was wondering if you tried any negotiation with the hotel desk clerk regarding a lower fee to park in their parking lot?

[billyray50]

Rest area off 88? Born and raised in Syracuse NY. Too dam cold for me now. LOL. Not going up there till May 1st but then I have seen it snow on mothers day before.

[cmcdar]

SDcampowneroperator wrote:
Local town sports fields. Baseball diamonds. Church lots. School lots. VFW, Union halls. Theaters , malls.
. Truck stops, rest areas, big box stores are for well, not us.
There is no limit to overnighting places if you think away from the box. When you do, patronize the business, or donate reasonably to the non profit as a thank you. Then those free places will not be hanging a no overnight parking sign.

This is NOT necessarily true.

In New York we have ZONING. A great many towns and cities will not allow any overnight parking (even cars) in most parking areas and/or streets.

The op said parking someplace where they would not be told to move.

[cmcdar]

ronday wrote:
Being from northern NY nothing is open in March. I remember traveling south in April and had to wait for the campground to snow plow a lot for us in Penna. Traveling north from Florida in April it is always difficult to find a campground open. Ron Day

^^^ THIS ^^^

When we are driving home from Florida, we overnight in Walmart parking lots (KY & OH) near the interstate.

No campgrounds open north of Georgia this time of year.

[cmcdar]

RV Dealerships.

I have heard of folks staying in the parking areas of RV Dealerships.

Often they don't know if you are waiting for service or to purchase something.

[ronday]

Being from northern NY nothing is open in March. I remember traveling south in April and had to wait for the campground to snow plow a lot for us in Penna. Traveling north from Florida in April it is always difficult to find a campground open. Ron Day

[SDcampowneroper]

Local town sports fields. Baseball diamonds. Church lots. School lots. VFW, Union halls. Theaters , malls.
. Truck stops, rest areas, big box stores are for well, not us.
There is no limit to overnighting places if you think away from the box. When you do, patronize the business, or donate reasonably to the non profit as a thank you. Then those free places will not be hanging a no overnight parking sign.

[deltabravo]

Hotel parking lot.

[sbryan]

Most Cracker Barrel and Walmarts will let you stay the night. There are a few that won't due to local laws. Lots of apps for your phone to help you find places to stay, even in the dead of winter. You just need to be resourceful. We just drove back from Florida through PA and Western NY. Stayed mostly at Cracker Barrels because the coffee and breakfast is good.