Community Forums

PalmSprings · 08-16-2011, 09:17 PM

If the RV parks think by forbidding RVs overnight stays in their town is going to channel some business their way,well they are not thinking clearly.
Many RVers blowing through town for a night or two that normally stay at a walmart etc will just keep going on through town.
If they wanted to stay in the RV parrks they wouldnt stay at walmarts. Passing an ordinance like this is not a productive move . Few if any RVers will roll over for this one.
Now if there are other issues,like a few inconsiderate RVers being the cause of the ordinance ,well I can understand that point better.

Bob and Inga · 08-17-2011, 05:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dagray

Not all no camping ordinances are because of the RV Parks. I work for a city that has a no camping ordinance. There are no RV Parks aroune the area. The reason is because of junk campers and homeless people sleeping, littering, building cardboard condos, etc. We have a Walmart and do not enforce it on Walmart property unless you set up your old ratty looking motorhome and stay for several days or weeks and dump your sewage on city streets.

Good point Don. I remember one Walmart we used for 'shopping' only, I would never visit it after dark. Looked like the slums of some cities we have been through.

Bob

GPW · 08-17-2011, 05:18 AM

Just more Bad Laws passed for the "special interest" of a greedy few... Typical !!!

rpasetto · 08-17-2011, 06:19 AM

We ran into a situation a few years back, trying to arrange a group of us to meet in a Walmart parking lot so we could all caravan to a rally early the next AM. As usual we asked the Walmart management for permission; they informed us that the campground down the road had pressured the town to prohibit overnight parking.

We went to another parking lot, shared by a Lowes, a supermarket and a Kmart, a few miles away in the next town. The net net: the Walmart, fuel stations and the local breakfast place all lost our business all due to the uninformed township and a greedy campground.

chillyrodent · 08-17-2011, 07:50 AM

Hello - noob here. I just amplified this topic a bit here. Van Horn appears to have a chamber of commerce- like entity, and its website has a business directory. If the city passed this ordinance and enforces it without businesses (other than RV parks) understanding the repercussions, it may be that other businesses (and the economic development corporation) should be educated about what they are losing while RV parks push this law.

wa8yxm · 08-17-2011, 08:42 AM

I said that up thread Chilly... So yes, I fully agree with you (I said it differently, I recommeneded those who used to frequent the town no longer do so and inform the businesses they used to patronize as to why they won't be back)

PalmSprings · 08-18-2011, 12:36 PM

How about posting this info on the chamber of commerce and or visitors center websites.
There may be other city,county, "visitor promoting" websites for RVers to voice this objection.
This way,not only will visitors read our posts,but, in addition, the visitors may offer critical feedback to the visitor websites. Then the managers may pressure to get this whole ordinance overturned so as not to appear visitor unfriendly.

Try city and county commissioners emails etc.
EG city or county park and rec commissioners who meet monthly
City/county supervisors and more
They are concerned about negative impacts on $visitors$ to their area.

Perry White · 08-18-2011, 12:43 PM

I thought if you dumped your tanks in a street sewer it glows real bright lime green color. I seen it in a movie once.

PalmSprings · 08-18-2011, 12:51 PM

Barry whites post
I thought if you dumped your tanks in a street sewer it glows real bright lime green color. I seen it in a movie once.

==========================
MY RESPONSE
Im not sure what you post is referring to ,or was it just one of those posts from" way out of the blue"?

What the hell Im in a chatty mood right now. So.....

naaaah,i tried that in a bank parking lot,although it wasnt lime green.
Unless youre some kind of alien?

=====================

born2travel · 12-09-2011, 06:25 AM

I did send a letter to the mayor, town manager, chamber of commerce and CC'd the campground where I had intended to stay in Van Horn. I got a response back from the chamber of commerce and she was frustrated about it but was continuing to carry the mail about the loss of business potential. The campground owner's response made it pretty apparent that the campground owners were behind it. He mentioned that most cities and towns had the same ordinance. Based on my travels they either don't exist, aren't enforced or the few places I have dry camped simply ignore it. He also mentioned he hasn't lost business as a result of the ordinance. He certainly did because my money isn't going to be there. He likely hasn't seen an upsurge of business either. The politicians didn't respond at all - go figure!

As I said I rarely dry camp. But when a place pulls something like this I simply let them know how I feel and refuse to spend money it their taxing jusridiction. No food, no fuel and no campgrounds.

BigV · 12-09-2011, 07:30 AM

Funny how different cities think.

In Port Orchard WA (near my S&B) they provide FREE rv dump. They have a business association that works hard to attract tourists.

Entering Utah there are signs warning about driving drowsy and encourage people to stop and rest.

Then you have towns that put up signs "Nothing to see here, just keep moving".

Federal law requires commercial drivers to stop and rest. It trumps any local ordinance. You would think States would get the clue that drowsy driving is dangerous and allow over night parking on private and public property.

In fact, when I return in the spring I think I'm going to ask my Senator to propose such a law.

Monacoach · 12-09-2011, 07:37 AM

We will be traveling through Van Horn Texas this winter. Thanks for the heads up, I will adjust our travel plans to ensure that our fuel tank and bellies are full before we approach Van Horn. I will also make curtain that we don't roll through close to bed time. I'm not fully convinced that this ordinance info is for real as I could not see it on the city link however I don't have a problem boycotting a town based on a rumour.

RustyJC · 12-09-2011, 07:45 AM

Then there are other towns and cities in Texas that work to welcome RVers - even to the extent of providing public RV sites with hookups. Here's one example - Tomball, TX (NW of Houston):

Quote:

Spring Creek Park, at the northwest edge of Tomball, has 110 covered picnic tables, basketball and tennis courts, ball fields, camping, RV hookups and a playground. Smaller local facilities include Juergens Park, Matthews Park, and Dyess Park. The Tomball Sports Association, Cypress Creek YMCA, and Tomball Redcat Football groups run youth sports programs.

Rusty

ga traveler · 12-09-2011, 08:01 AM

It does not bother me if someone stays overnight in a parking lot on a trip. It does bother me to see people camp in parking lots for days on end. We live just south of Atlanta, Ga. We go a couple of times a year to Pigeon Forge, Tenn. There are campgrounds galore in this area. The parking lot at Walmart is full of campers every night. The last time we were there, I saw a new 1/2 million dollar motor home parked there. It stayed for almost a week. We came out of WalMart late one night and when we drove past the motorhome, there was a streak of water a hundred feet wide coming out from under his motorhome. He had obviously drained his holding tank onto the parking lot.