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!

[Notakwanon]

Drove from Baltimore to Toronto 3 weeks ago, as I have done at about this same time of year for 15 years, and in all that time have never found a private or state park campground open. Have slept in the hospital parking lot at Burlington when the skyway was closed because of ice, a Walmart at Hamilton, the Husky truck stop at Niagara, a parking lot at Letchworth, a highway rest area in NY not far from Buffalo, and others. Truck stops have food and facilities but are noisy all night. If I could find a better place I'd use it. Finding a stop in winter is a continuing problem. Come summer, there will be a lot of campgrounds opened up along the route.

[work2much]

Given the time of year many resources here may not be open or accessible but I have found free campsites.net to be a good place to look for boondocking spots wether it be walmart type places, or parks, rest stops etc. We try to camp mainly in public blm type places and this has really helped us find some pretty nice spots.
https://freecampsites.net/#!Oneonta+NY

[Jim]

George3037 wrote:

romore wrote:
:? Did you consider a campground? I don't expect to park for nothing on property someone else is paying for and maintaining.

We're in the middle of winter here. No campgrounds open with all the snow. Most don't open till middle of May.

DOH! Didn't even consider snow...sitting here in my shorts with the A/C on.

Funny story, brother and I went camping once and headed up into the hills. Started snowing, eventually we had 12" or so on the ground. We hadn't considered campgrounds being closed. Anyway, it soon got dark, and we happened upon a closed campground with lots of snow everywhere. No evidence of any traffic in there. We just pulled into a spot, hooked up electric, dropped money into the night slot and waited for a knock on the door. Which never came. Left the next morning happy as can be. Never did see anyone else at the park.

Of course you're talking about 'feet' of snow, not just a foot. So...good luck!

[JoeChiOhki]

George3037 wrote:

romore wrote:
:? Did you consider a campground? I don't expect to park for nothing on property someone else is paying for and maintaining.

We're in the middle of winter here. No campgrounds open with all the snow. Most don't open till middle of May.

Aye, this time of year is all about the truck stops. Most of the midwest and northeast shut down their campgrounds after September, so you're stuck trying to find a wally dock or my fall back, truck stops.

I usually find a small corner in the parking area for the trucks where the big rigs won't fit and park there to keep from taking a spot a tired OTR operator needs.

I usually have more trouble finding sources for refilling the fresh water tanks than parking.

Allstays Camp & RV App is a MUST have for off season rving in the midwest and north east.

[George3037]

romore wrote:
:? Did you consider a campground? I don't expect to park for nothing on property someone else is paying for and maintaining.

We're in the middle of winter here. No campgrounds open with all the snow. Most don't open till middle of May.

[Jim]

I was thinking the same thing as Romore. There's like 20 or so RV parks within a few miles of there. Surely one of them would have been suitable. Most RV parks have after hours check in too. You can find these using a cell phone and the RVParky app.

Also, in a pinch, remote freeway entrances are generally wide enough to pull over and spend the night.

[SidecarFlip]

Problem with stealth camping in an urban setting. Myself, I have no issues. I find a nice pull off in the sticks and spend the night.

Should have looked for a Cracker Barrel and parked there. If you patronize them, they don't say anything.. and the food is good. Truckstops work too so long as you park in the back lot.

We have even slept in rest areas on the Interstate, we just park in the truck parking area.

Walmart is getting fussy but it's more about local ordinances than the Walmart itself.

I spent over 20 years as an over the road trucker. I've slept in rest areas on the Interstate more times than I can count.

[romore]

:? Did you consider a campground? I don't expect to park for nothing on property someone else is paying for and maintaining.