Cloud Dancer wrote: I can not help but wonder how come:
We do not see photos of Walmart campers, with awnings out/carpet down/pink flamingos etc?
Nobody ever specifies the exact location of where they see all these Walmart campers/offenders?
I have NEVER seen a single one?
In the years I've been here, I've seen post after post describing these "campers". Although we travel a lot and stay at WalMart's often on our trips, we have never seen anything like these folks describe.
A single photo would go a long way. If someone has one but supposedly doesn't know how to post it, send it to me. I'll post it.
I ask, what does it matter what another RVer does at Wal*Mart? If it so offends, then you need to vacate the area and find a nice greedy CG owner to make you happy with their noisy, costly, circus atmosphere. They're not qualified to be among we happy Wal*Mart parkers.
I think that DickA got wore out and fell asleep trying to ride herd on all of these posts.
Or he's letting it run and hopes that everyone will get "Walmart" out of their system (a least for a week or two) so he can catch a break.
What would be the purpose of closing this thread? Seems like it's well within the rules of the board. I'm still a relative newbie here - am I missing something?
I'm just having fun myself! I see folks parked (?) at Wal-Mart in Atlanta, Texas all the time. Never more than 3, always out of the way, never seen anything I would consider out of bounds. Personally I have never done it but I would consider it if traveling a long way and needed a nap or if I was running early for check in time at the campground.
Gee. Campers, workers, and now owners of unrelated websites. Is there anyone NOT benefitting?
No, wait...
I was trying to think last night - what if I was a CG owner? Confronted with this hit to my business, what would I do? IOW - WHAT is it that I could offer the RVer that Walmart does not? Because that's their real problem. No product for that market. And I think I figured it out. Believe it or not, I don't hate CG owners - just the nastiness and whining. There is no price low enough for that 'entitlement' stuff. But they do have a dog in the fight.
Takes a lot more than dump stations - it takes services. Package deals that make it worth my dollars to roll in there. Do they wash my rig? Check fluids and tire pressure? Do they have a fluff 'n fold service? Do they serve any meals? Can they provide a restful night's sleep? Can somebody do the hookups for me so I can relax, and undo them when I'm ready to go? Can they do this without wanting my life story and laying down the law? Can they treat me like a valued customer instead of like a vagrant? Behave more like a concierge instead of some podunk sheriff?
Those are all things Walmart does not do for me that I expect to pay for - IF the price is nice. But since I don't know of a CG that does any of that (though I did find one place in GA that came close once) - I simply don't buy those things there. Nobody guaranteed them success, or that the business climate wouldn't change. If they want to succeed in business, then they have to start thinking like business people.
(I swear, Joe, if we were in this biz? We'd be kickin' butt and chewin' all the bubblegum we could stand. Such a good idea, I HOPE somebody steals it and grows a chain of them. Even I would stay there sometimes.)
Serena, where do you go camping? Sounds like you don't like campgrounds much and I was thinking last weekend that maybe a little boondocking in the boondocks would be kind of fun. I don't know much about the options and was thinking it might be time do some research on the boards. Want to give me a few quick tips?
I swore off commercial RV park CGs after the last one I stayed at was a muddy mess on December 31, 2004. It was a KOA in West Omaha, NE on I-80. The entirety of the RV park was muddy, and dotted with an unreal amount of dog feces that got tracked into my coach. Site after site didn't have water or electric turned on. Finally found one that had elec. The CG Mgr. was rapping on my coach door at 9:30 a.m. looking for my credit card for payment. I had pulled in after midnight, and didn't know I had broken their Cardinal rule by not registering at their kiosk in the middle of the night. He said he was watching me go from site to site from his trailer window......thanks for nothing. I gave the guy my CC and went back to shaving. Before pulling out I had to go to his site to get water, pick up my paid receipt, at which time I related the dog feces issue to him. This guy was a real non-caring jerkwater about the whole deal.
I could go on relating past RV park CG experiences with barking dogs, screaming kids, cars blocking you in, loud radios with drunken RVers, slamming doors.....they can keep it. None of which has ever happened at Wal*Mart. Getting rid of CG loud drunks alone, is worth it to me. A commercial RV park is no where to take a family. They couldn't pay me enough per night to put up with a CG every night.
I dunno' bout that, Sunseeker. I'm certainly no expert. I just know what I want. I've managed literally hundreds of rental units and hired and fired a lot of on-site managers, so I feel like I know what to look for. I don't avoid CG's altogether at all. I Waldock or do the casinos while on the road or scoping out the local parks. I don't put on a lot of miles. Maybe 50-100 in a day, and usually not by the fastest route so I have time to really see where I am. I do read the reviews, but those are pretty much chained to other people's wants and expectations, so I no longer make decisions based on that alone. I have met others who do it this way. A couple of us stay in touch and trade CGs we discover for the areas we travel in common.
For example, there's one in S FL in a heavy tourist area that has a well-developed website and does lots of advertising. Went over there to have a look. Got over there, it was quite possibly one of the worst I've ever seen. A bunch of trailers parked around a little pond that looked like a giant mud puddle. Yet the reviews were all glowy and raving. I have worked with the owners of that park in the past, and they have my respect - but this particular venture emphatically does not. I COULD be something neat. But it just isn't.
Another park, same area, with absolutely rotten reviews was actually better physically, and at about the same price. Nothing in the directories or their websites could tell me that, so I'm happy I didn't book anything in advance.
A third got bypassed when I spotted the junkies gracing the entry and got a peek inside - wayyyy bad news, that one. Price became a non-issue real quick.
The fourth had an off-season special, nice grounds, and a fairly no-hassle arrangement. I don't have to like every last thing about it to see they are doing a good job with what they have. So I will hang for the month, and then see what else is to be discovered. Maybe I'll be back for the winter, or maybe I'll find something I like better. I don't know yet.
If I find one I can deal with, or that I actually like, I put in there for a while, rest, and hang out. For me, the best mix is something non-resort, non-drug trade friendly, and not overpriced. And by not overpriced, I mean that I don't intend to pay what would be rent on a decent apartment, when I've brought the apartment with me - because that makes no sense to me. I could rent an apartment, they would do all the maintenance, and provide whatever I want because it's a competitive market out there. For that kind of money, I should own the property I live in and gain the appreciation myself. Or I could just buy a lot of my own. So there's no real value to be had. (IMHO - because I'm not vacationing. I'm a fulltimer in a Class A, so my needs and wants aren't the same as someone else's might be.)
To date, the co-ops are beating the pants off most of them. Being owned by their users seems to make a real difference. The others I find sometimes are not necessarily heavily advertised at all. They don't have to be, I guess. They provide value, people know that, and the locals know where they are. It's possible (I can't verify this) that they either haven't tried or don't qualify for some of the directories. Everything in this world has not found its way into Woodall's. So, when I leave here, I will likely Waldock it again for a while and see what happens.
I don't know if Sunseeker liked it, but I did. It was a good post. You very well explained your situation and criteria.
You are quite correct in that your needs are different from others. Mine are too. But, not the same as yours. I've posted this before, but it was a while ago and may be enlightening to others who primarily go to a CG, stay there, and then go home.
Why I boondock: I am fortunate enough to live in a rural neighborhood at the end of a cul-de-sac. Among the dozen or so houses at the end of our long, winding, dead end residential street are probably 15-20 children between the ages of infant to high school. Many folks like camping in campgrounds because they get to chat with the neighbors, watch kids play, have a fire, BBQ, drink adult beverages and generally enjoy a rustic, relaxed community of like minded people (Rv'ers). Well, if you replace our stick houses with RV's my neighborhood is just like a campground. The kids are always out riding their bikes, skateboards or scooters. Shooting hoops or playing softball. The men drink beer and the women gab. We're always BBQ'ing, sitting by someone's firepit, hanging out in a garage, shooting pool, and on and on. It's a great place to live. But...
I camp to get AWAY from all that. For example, this weekend my oldest DD is having a slumber party. I'm outta here for that. I'm gonna pack a tent, bag, pad, ice chest, chair & lantern in the truck and head to the mountains for a QUIET time in the wilderness. No campgrounds, so sing-a-longs, no drunken neighbors two sites down. Just me, my ipod, my book and the serenity of a (hopefully) level clearing somewhere along a 4x4 trail just minutes from my house (it'll take longer to cruise down the trail than it will to get to the entrance of the trail from my house. Cool, huh?) And when the wife and kids go, we generally do the same thing, but on fire roads and easy trails where we can bring the trailer.
As we don't really utilize the 'travel' part of our travel trailer we've never needed to overnight in a parking lot en route to our destination. We've never camped anywhere further than we can drive to in a day; 400 miles from home is our furthest to date. But, trying to find some CG somewhere and going through all the hassle of registering, parking, etc. just to get a few hours sleep is not worth it to me. I'd much rather just pull into a parking lot right off the freeway and rack out until morning. Then at sunrise it's as easy as putting on shoes and shades and getting right back on the freeway.
A little winded, but hopefully someone found my ramblings interesting and/or useful...
68 Me & DW
93 DD
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