Walmart's Parking

[Dunner]

Oh, ok, I thought you meant they were occupied RVs.

[W4RLR]

Many years ago, my mother and I went to the old Walmart in the Osceola Square Mall in Kissimmee. The greeter there was sitting in a rocking chair, welcoming everyone. A closer look at his name tag showed his name to be "Sam".

Yes, it was Sam Walton himself. He used to fly all over the country in his personal plane to inspect stores and meet customers. Back then, Walmart prided itself on buying American made products and keeping American workers employed.

Sam is no doubt spinning in his grave on a daily basis.

[Madrona]

Originally Posted by jobriant

<snip>
It's simply not possible to make accurate "blanket statement" about Walmart, regarding Overnight RV Parking or anything else.

Sure it is! MOST stores allow you to stay the night and couldn't care less if you use jacks and slides and generators, or not.

You're always going to use common sense wherever you spend the night.

[Lindsay Richards]

Sure it is! MOST stores allow you to stay the night and couldn't care less if you use jacks and slides and generators, or not.

Jacks can tear up the pavement. I have seen evidence of this myself. The idea of the no slides is to give the appearance of parking not camping. The generator is to reduce noise which can bother other RV'ers and nearby residential areas (if any). The more we abuse our privileges the quicker we will lose them. That is the common sense.

[Madrona]

Originally Posted by Lindsay Richards

Jacks can tear up the pavement. I have seen evidence of this myself. The idea of the no slides is to give the appearance of parking not camping. The generator is to reduce noise which can bother other RV'ers and nearby residential areas (if any). The more we abuse our privileges the quicker we will lose them. That is the common sense.

Jacks CAN tear up the pavement. In those instances, don't use jacks. Common sense. Generators CAN bother residential areas. In those instances, don't use generators. Common sense. If other RV'ers want peace and quiet they won't stay the night in a parking lot. Common sense. Slides are not an issue as long as you don't protrude into traffic areas. Common sense. Slides alone don't have a bearing on appearance. Chairs out, BBQ out, awnings out, THAT looks like you are camping.

When you receive permission from Wal-Mart to spend the night in your RV, they expect you to use your RV like an RV. Common sense.

There is no abuse of privileges in my examples, just common sense.

[Madrona]

Originally Posted by Boeing Guy

<snip> Besides, WM, Lowes and Home Depot, any other less obvious places anyone has over nighted.

There is a thread for that over here:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f59/overn...art-94555.html

[jobriant]

Originally Posted by Madrona

Sure it is [possible to generalize about Walmarts]! MOST stores allow you to stay the night and couldn't care less if you use jacks and slides and generators, or not.

But that generalization is absolutely useless when you drive into a Walmart where you've never been before, and you don't know that specific store's policies or don't have access to a source that does know that specific store's policies.

Originally Posted by Madrona

You're always going to use common sense wherever you spend the night.

But assuming that the Walmart where you're parking is just like "most stores" ISN'T common sense.

Originally Posted by Lindsay Richards

Jacks can tear up the pavement. I have seen evidence of this myself. The idea of the no slides is to give the appearance of parking not camping. The generator is to reduce noise which can bother other RV'ers and nearby residential areas (if any).

That's absolutely correct.

Even the FMCA "Good Neighbor Policy," which doesn't address slide-outs, says that if you're going to use leveling jacks, put pads under them to protect the asphalt surface. (If you're on concrete, that's another story, of course.)

From my research, most (but NOT ALL) Walmarts don't really care about slides -- as long as they extend over an area not used by either vehicles or pedestrians.

I've found very few Walmarts that say "no generators," but some have this rule. The store's rule is generally because of nearby residences; as RVers, the courteous thing for us is to not disturb other RVers in the lot. But again, the individual circumstances on a given night make all the difference. If I go to bed in an empty lot, and wake up with half a dozen idling semis next to me, my little generator won't make much difference, so we'll fire up the toaster & Keurig coffee maker.

Originally Posted by Lindsay Richards

The more we abuse our privileges the quicker we will lose them. That is the common sense.

Absolutely true.

All too often, when an RVer says "I don't need any rules, I just use common sense" he really means, "To h*** with your #$%&* rules -- it's a free country and I'm gonna do what I wanna do, and nobody can stop me."

And these are the people whose selfishness leads Walmart managers to change their policy to "No Overnight RV Parking," and leads city councils to ban Overnight RV Parking. They're not the only cause, but they're one of the major causes.

[Lindsay Richards]

And these are the people whose selfishness leads Walmart managers to change their policy to "No Overnight RV Parking," and leads city councils to ban Overnight RV Parking. They're not the only cause, but they're one of the major causes.

Exactly what I was trying to say, but some folks always know better. If they want to do these things, it is up to them, but they shouldn't be telling everybody else it is OK and Wal-Mart policy. The clubs like FMCA and Escapees who have carefully researched these policies and written good neighbor guidelines should not be over ridden by somebody who has stayed a few times.

[jobriant]

Originally Posted by Lindsay Richards

Exactly what I was trying to say, but some folks always know better. If they want to do these things, it is up to them, but they shouldn't be telling everybody else it is OK and Wal-Mart policy.

Amen to that!

Originally Posted by Lindsay Richards

The clubs like FMCA and Escapees who have carefully researched these policies and written good neighbor guidelines should not be over ridden by somebody who has stayed a few times.

And most people have no idea the amount of time it takes to research it thoroughly. [moderator edit] One problem is that the database keeps growing, and thus there are more and more listings to re-check to be sure the information is still current. The "co-pilot" thinks I spend altogether too much time at it, but if I didn't, I'd just be underfoot, and she'd like that even less.....

[Dunner]

Originally Posted by Madrona

Chairs out, BBQ out, awnings out, THAT looks like you are camping.

There is no abuse of privileges in my examples, just common sense.

If my chair comes out, I'm takin' it up by the front door, along with my camera for Walmartian research and documentation.

[jobriant]

Originally Posted by Dunner

If my chair comes out, I'm takin' it up by the front door, along with my camera for Walmartian research and documentation.

But in a Walmart Parking Lot, your chair should NOT come out. RVers are allowed to PARK at Walmart. We are NOT allowed to CAMP at Walmart.

Lawn furniture isn't part of parking.

I hope the moderators will keep a close eye out for trolls here.

[Dunner]

Do you ever do anything for fun, 0'briant?

[kat_nda_sand]

Did you just get called a troll???

[Dunner]

Name calling is not allowed here and I guess a sense of humor isn't either.