Where to Stay BESIDES Wal-Mart?

[EllenL]

We typically pay to stay in private parks. Occasionally, we would like to stay somewhere cheap or free. What businesses other than Wal-Mart are welcoming of RVs? We are a big rig, so can't go driving around town without a prior plan. I'm aware of the "free" forum, but am interested in the experiences of other RVers. We tend to travel interstates or major roads, and do our sightseeing from our tow.

[jrf]

"Occasionally, we would like to stay somewhere cheap or free."
-----
The operative word here is "stay"; the wording of your post implies that you see Wal*Mart (or a similar location) as way too many other RVers do, i.e., as an alternative to paying for an RV park, and as a base for "camping" and/or local sightseeing. A Wal*Mart is not a campground or an RV park; if RVers want to take advantage of Wal*Mart's "tradition" of allowing overnight stays, that's all well and good. But, please don't use it (or any other public business location) as a "free squat" and contribute to the problem of increasingly limited access to these free, convenient *overnights*.

It takes some planning to find free or inexpensive stayovers/camping options, especially with a large rig, but it can be done. You mentioned that you'd looked at www.freecampgrounds.com, and another good starter source for finding places to stay is www.hitchitch.com ; there are links to fulltimers' blogs and also to "travel resources." Also try www.movinon.net; lots of links. I also encourage you to check visitors' centers in towns along your way; they often allow overnight parking or can tell you where it's available (and acceptable) in the local area.

[elh3946]

Unlike the OP, we rarely stay in RV parks or travel the Interstates. We are also NOT blacktop boondockers...not because we don't approve of it, but rather because we always stop early in the day...by 2 or 3 PM, and we're always off the road by 4 PM...and who wants to spend the afternoon and early evening in a parking lot? (Wal-Marts and other business parking lots should be used ONLY for ONE overnight stay...come in late, leave early. No slides out, no awnings out, no jacks down, no BBQs out, etc. It's only to be use to catch a few winks...anything else gives a bad name to all RVers, and results in the "you can't park anyplace but an RV park" ordinances that more and more municipalities are passing.)

To find places to stay, we use Don Wright's Guide to Free Campgrounds, Western Edition a lot (there's also an Eastern edition). In addition, we also use the following resources, not in any particular order:

Coleman's National Forest Service Campground and Recreation Directory
Camping with the Corps of Engineers
Passport America
National Park Service Camping Guide
Adventures on America's Public Lands
Casino Camping, Guide to RV-Friendly Casinos

We also belong to the Elks, so sometimes spend the night at one of the lodges.

[EllenL]

Geesh! I didn't expect folks to be so literal. When I used the word "stay," I meant overnight only, not as a replacement for an RV park. What word should I have used to avoid your concerns? While I appreciate your suggestions, I feel a need to state that we never abuse the overnight privilege offered by Wal-Mart, etc. We park late, leave early, typically shop and make sure we leave no mark. We don't run the generator, which is more than I can say for the truckers who stay. We always ask for permission and ask where they would like us to park.

My question was directed to the issue of are there other big retailers which offer this option for overnight parking?

[sundevil6]

Generally it depends on local laws. Often KMarts, Targets, Sam's Clubs, and shopping centers allow overnight parking. Flying J Truck stops are always a good safe place to stay also. If we're traveling, we usually stay in a rest area with the truckers, or at a J. We feel safe and usually have some form of protection with us.

[Plain Jane]

Our guide, Casino Camping, features a state-by-state listing of RV-friendly casinos that are within 2 miles of an interstate exit.
It's Appendix B at the back of the book and is cross-referenced to the text. Directions are accurate, and we'll never, ever take you and your big rig to places where you'll get stuck (been there, done that!) Blacktop boondocking at casinos is safe and secure, and you're not required to go in. They're hospitable.

[barbnor2]

I believe that Cracker Barrel also allows overnight parking.

As to the ones making comments about staying in a Wal-Mart lot, if we didn't do that, we couldn't afford to travel, even more so since the price of gas has gone so high.

Not everyone can afford to stay overnight in a campground and pay $30 or $40. If I can't find a very inexpensive campground, we stay at Wal-Mart. We buy our gas there and we buy our groceries there. We usually spend more than the price of a campground, but it is for gas. Couldn't afford both.

[dhbando]

We usually look for a supermarket that's open 24 hours and park closer to the door as not to be so obvious. Denny's are open 24 hours also. Flying Js are usually a best bet.
_________________
Dan

[kingrokon]

You don't state what part of the country you live in or travel in.

If you live or travel in the western area of the country approximately west of a north-south line through Denver, you should be able to find places to camp on US Forest Service or BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land. This land covers a large fraction of the western area of the US.

Most of the campsites are in the unpopulated areas away from cities and towns. Some of these sites will take large-sized rigs. Also note that some administrations of the individual National Forests are friendlier to free RV camping, while certain other ones are more prohibiting. Out away from the populated areas, you can sometimes find campsites just by driving a few miles down the Forest Service roads which are usually unpaved gravel. Generally, any site where there are packed-down tire tracks leading in (showing repeated use, not just where a single vehicle has been), and there are no signs prohibiting camping, will be OK. A fire ring (ring of stones) with signs of recent fire inside usually indicates that other people have been camping there. But sometimes there won't be any sites along a particular road, they'll all be full, or all the campsites will have been blocked off by the unsympathetic administration of a particular National Forest. So it pays to scout in advance or start looking a couple of hours before dark. The “Free Campgrounds” site only scratches the surface of what is available and generally only lists the larger areas where several campers can park.

If you travel in the Midwest or East, your options are a lot more limited. There are a scattering of National Forests in the South and Appalachians, a few areas of state land, and municipal parks in smaller towns that may allow free camping. The more rural and remote, the more likely that you will be able to free camp. There are sometimes places that are remote enough so that even though camping is not officially endorsed, no one cares (or at least knows) if you're there.

It is sometimes possible in rural areas to park in a pull-out on a seldom-used back road away from any farm houses. This would be pretty much a pull-in-at-dusk, leave-at-sunrise kind of deal. Use caution and common sense. One disadvantage is that every car that passes in the middle of the night may have you on edge, wondering what they are up to. And if it’s a remote area, they may be curious or nervous about what you are up to as well. It’s desirable to find an area so remote that it’s not likely anyone is going to drive by during the night, but such areas may be hard to find.

If you're actually off the road onto someone's private property, you should definitely ask permission. One problem we had was not an unfriendly farmer, but one who was so friendly and talkative that we couldn't start getting set up for the night. Since it was his land, we didn't dare to be rude by cutting him off.

On a few occasions, in SMALLER TOWNS, we've camped behind convenience stores. Of course, always ask, preferably while buying something. Some of these are open 24 hours a day, giving at least a perceived degree of safety. But the ones that sell alcohol also sometimes have undesirables hanging around, although they usually pretty much ignore us. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea at all to stay behind a convenience store in the larger cities.

[HDSpringer]

EllenL

We too have a big rig, a 41-foot class A and a 24-foot trailer. At almost 70 feet, you have to be very careful where you pull in.

While traveling to our destination, we almost always stay overnight at Wal-Marts. We usually come in after 9:00 or 10:00 at night and are out by 7:00 the next morning. We always ask permission and ask where they want us to park. We also usually pick up some supplies while in the store, which is the reason Wal-Mart invites campers.

I don't mind paying for a campground and we always do while we are at a destination for more than an overnight stop. But if I'm only staying long enough to get some sleep and don't need or want hook-ups, pool, spa, etc., the campgrounds don't offer that option. You have to pay full price regardless of your length of stay.

Wal-Marts are probably more secure than any other location. Generally there are about a dozen or more cameras scanning the lot at all times. Rest areas and truck stops like Flying-J or TA are OK, but very noisy, and many rest areas do not allow overnighters.

More often than not, state or federal parks can't handle a big rig unless you intend to disconnect what you're towing. Again, not necessary at a Wal-Mart.

Additionally, you can always get in and out of a Wal-Mart without much trouble. At the truck stops, unless you stay in the truck parking area (and the truckers hate that--just listen on the CB when you pull in), you may have difficulty manuevering a big rig with a toad. I've even had difficulty making the turn out of the RV lane at some Flying Js.

I've also had problems at Cracker Barrels. They have bus parking but if you're towing, many of their parking lots are a challenge to get in and out of, especially if you don't get out before the lot starts to fill for breakfast.

We just returned from an east to west trip, and mostly stayed in Wal-Marts from Pennsylvania to Oregon and back. I don't want this to sound like a commercial for Wal-Mart, but our experiences over the years have proved they are the easiest to find (generally in every town and near the interstates), and more likely than K-Mart to allow overnighters.

Bottom line: Wal-Mart more likely to welcome you, and is the easiest to find and get in and out of.

I hope this helps and that I haven't been too long-winded.

[aischa]

I like FJ a lot, because we get food, stay the night, can do your laundry, watch the bigscreen if the race is on, get water, dump, propane and fuel, apply for a discount card and WI-FI too. There are just not enough travel plazas as of yet.

[Corley]

Cabela's sporting stores welcome overnighters as do the large stores that usually build around them. I always ask just to see if they have an area they set aside. Most businesses, even furniture stores, carpet stores, etc. will agree if you ask. I never did this until I paid $33 for an overnight at a trashy campground with unacceptable showers, overflowing trash barrels, and junk cars by the office. I spent 8 hours there, couldn't get TV reception; didn't use hookups. The only thing it had was easy access to the Interstate.
I've discovered that the Passport America and other inexpensive areas/parks are too far off the highway to save any money or time. So now, I pull off anywhere, ask the store with the biggest parking lot to stay. The cgs close to the exit are a ripoff with a captive clientele, and just unnecessary--why did we get self-contained rigs? Yoohoo--anyone notice that an exit is not a destination? It is a place to sleep. And it is environmentally foolish to use 3 gallons of gas to make a round-trip to a budget cg.
_________________
MAC and Two Dog Night

[tincup]

I have stayed (overnight) in church parking lots, municipal buildings, school parking lots and even construction sites. I've always asked permission first and informed the local police when possible. At a couple of construction sites, I've even been offered a job as security if I wanted to stay for several weeks ! The only place I was turned away was a church in Nebraska, but they apologized and said they were setting up for some sort of festival that evening in the parking lot.

As I rarely travel the interstate, I find that just about any town with a large enough spot will let you stay overnight. But ask first.
_________________
Paul

[acefullm]

My wife and I were full-time pretty much for two years, traveling up and down the West Coast. We loved to come to the beach at Dana Point and would stay at the San Clemente Wal-Mart, usually only for a night or two. The day came when that was outlawed and we were forced to get more creative. It was an eyesore for the neighbors, I think, more than an objection from Wal-Mart. It has been four years now since we quit RV driving, but I miss it a lot. With gas prices where they are now, I think a lot of people will stay longer wherever they can stay. We liked Thousand Trails campgrounds whenever we could find one. I am now building an income to purchase our next motorhome from a great product idea that would be really easy for RVers to do. Anyone interested can email me.

[anniepoo]

As many have said, the secret is to be gone in the morning.

I fulltime and work in Silicon Valley, so I'm effectively in the same place
'forever'.
I get up in the morning and move. Last thing I do before bedding down is move. I've been in a whale of a lot of mall parking lots in the SF Bay Area. I've been asked to move only when I violated my rule (well, on one occasion I got asked to move by security about the 4th time I came back in 2 months).
SF Bay has to be one of the most hostile places to urban boondock. The bay has a large homeless population, extremely high housing prices, and the RV-sized piece of land you're parked on is worth about $40,000.
Yet once I got an RV small enough to move every day, all problems disappeared.
Where I've stayed this week:
Friend's driveway (I was helping her), Luckys parking lot, Target lot, closed Riteway drug parking lot; on a major street in front of a high school stadium.
_________________
working fulltimer, 21 ft 1977 Jamboree.
No:fridge, generator, hot water
yes:good times, laughter, friends
"Oh, Sam, I can't sleep without wheels beneath me" (Barbara Stanwyck, in 'Union Pacific')