as i am making my way north for the summer i am finding more and more wal marts (especially in colorado), not allowing overnight parking...
today alone ive seen 3-4 that are closed to overnighters..
also this morning while discussing the situation with another fulltimer, we both dont want to use campgrounds, cant afford them etc etc...
now we know some folks like CG and to each his own for sure...the more folks that use CG the better for all concerned...
during this mornings discusion we felt that pehaps the CG owners are either convincing wal mart, or the town zoning boards to implement these rules/laws...
the CG owners seem to have a united front, but the rvers dont in this instance...
how about in towns where wal mart is forced to stop over night parking, rvers boycott the CG in those towns...
it almost is the same as with the gas companies, if a united front boycotted mobil for 5 days, there would be a price war..
why dont WE turn the pressure on???
what are your thoughts...
been on road 6 months now...campground 2 nights wal mart about 30% of time..the rest creativity....i doubt if everyone is either at campgrounds or walmart..
If yuo camp at a Wal-Mart then you can boondock. Just find a queit piece of earth somewhere and set up. Do you need pavement under you for camping?
DW, 2 girls, and me
07 Freestar
76 Parklane Tent Trailer
08 Minn Kota 30 lb Troller
56 Featherlite 10' Cartopper
Nights camped in 2007: 14
Nights camped in 2008: 3 so far
17 years Professional Driving accident free all over North America
If you haven't asked at the service desk you don't know if overnighting is really prohibited or not. In well over half of the cases where I've seen signs in or around the parking lot, I've been told it's OK to spend the night when I checked. Try it and you might be surprised.
John
2008 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40' QSP
2006 Chevrolet Colorado Toad
BlueOx Aventa LX Tow Bar
SMI Air Force One toad brake
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It sure would be nicer if some of the campgrounds offered "overnight" camping...where we wouldn't use the amenities (pool,lake, fishing, etc), and only wanted 8-10 hours with some electricity & water at a discounted rate. I'd pay $5-10 for that, and they would make some extra money for sites that wouldn't have been use otherwise. It might be an option for some campgrounds to think about.
I'm not to crazy about Mintaka basically living full-time at Walmarts. It seems to me that that is overdoing a good thing. It's one thing to stop for the night on your way somewhere...another thing to make it an almost every night stop.
Also, a lot of the parking lots that Walmart has, aren't set up for the weight of some of these DP motorhomes and larger Super C homes. Yes, they get their trucks in the back, and they have the extra surface for that weight, but why would they pay to have that extra support in the front parking area when mostly, it's SUVs. When ever I go to Walmart with the RV, I park as far as I can from the front....and then walk in to talk with the Manager....and ask permission. I'm usually told where I can park, or if I can park. Then, I proceed to spend money...usually more than I would if I'd stayed at a campground...go figure??
Just my opinion, but hey, I'd like to be able to use Walmarts from time to time too....and it's somewhat embarrassing to see a parking lot with 15-20 RVs parked for the night!
Bill, Claudia, and the Paps
DH Bill / DW Claudia / DD Jenn / DS Chris The Paps! Sophie, Abby, Brandy, Kahlie and Annie
2000 Winnebago "Minnie" 31C, Ford V-10
Purchased April Fools Day, 2008 The Pets
I highly doubt there is a big push by CG owners to boycott city councils on the Walmart issue--I really dont think they care if someone parks at Walmart overnite--it is more then likely the towns people and police that get tired of seeing RV's parked at their local Walmart espcially if it looks like camping and not just stopping for a few hours sleep before traveling on. But then it's easier to blame the CG owners
05 Trail Bay 27DS
07 Tundra SR5 4.7
00 Harley Electra Glide (My Baby)
07 Civic for cheap gas
Margarita machine---nothing better then sittin in the shade on a hot day sippin a Margie!
We were allowed to stay at the Walmart in Kingman, AZ, signs prohibiting overnight stays, because of a city ordinance, were all over the parking lot. Even the police came by, no problem. We have been gone 3 weeks, spent less than 5 days in a cg.
Ronnie & Rebecca
Check out our journal: North to Alaska
FMCA #388387
Full-time RVer's since 2004
Monaco LaPalma Workhorse chassis 37' 2-slides
I adopted a don't ask, don't tell policy when overnighting at Wal*Marts. I pull in, pull the curtains and shades, and hit the rack after shopping in their store, and watching a little TV. Hey I'm a customer, I drop a ton of money there each year, I'm not a freeloader.
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