Walmart's Parking

[RanCarr]

Originally Posted by Clifftall

A campground ?

What if there is no campground in the area?

[RanCarr]

Originally Posted by Ridgmar

I travel mostly by myself and have stayed at over 50 Walmarts over the years, maybe more.
I have never had a problem on the lots. I look at the area and only once went to another location.
No one has ever bothered me.
Campgrounds don't offer what I need when traveling to a destination - a quick place to sleep, in late and out early and food or supplies as needed.
That you Sam!

The only problems we ever had at WM lots were thoughtless selfish people who drive in and park among us with their generators running all night, keeping everyone else awake. If someone wants to run their gennie all night they should park away from the rest of us.

[Madrona]

[moderator edit]

We love overnighting at WM's. Everything in one stop, hard to beat! However, it's a parking lot. Parking lots are noisy. My generator can hardly be heard over the din of traffic, kids yelling, horns honking, wind, etc. I only expect a good nights sleep when staying in a WM lot, not peace and quiet.

[Lindsay Richards]

If it is very hot and we have to have the AC, we will go to bed with the generator and AC on and the first one up for a potty visit, turns them both off. Usually would be about midnight or so. Can not expect people to swelter. I also sleep with a radio and ear buds, so it takes a lot to bother me. I have noticed that more and more truckers are using Wal-Mart. Many now have a small generator to keep their AC on instead of idling their engine as they did before. My wife has some earplugs and will use them if necessary.

[fredaevans]

Many, many good points being made over God Only Knows how many pages. But lets turn this around for a second. YOU ARE NOT in your 'mo-beel hummer.' Just out shopping; do you go to WalMart?

Do you seek out a Supervisor/Store Mgr. and tell him/her 'No MH here, just shopping and I wanted to thank you and your fellow locations how much I've appreciated the over nighter when I was too pooped to drive another mile.'

Well?

[Madrona]

Originally Posted by fredaevans

Many, many good points being made over God Only Knows how many pages. But lets turn this around for a second. YOU ARE NOT in your 'mo-beel hummer.' Just out shopping; do you go to WalMart?

Do you seek out a Supervisor/Store Mgr. and tell him/her 'No MH here, just shopping and I wanted to thank you and your fellow locations how much I've appreciated the over nighter when I was too pooped to drive another mile.'

Well?

I do indeed bring it up, but not necessarily with a manager. I almost always ask, at whichever WM I'm at, if they allow overnighting. If whoever I'm talking to has the time, I'll mention some of the WM's we have spent the night. I'm always interested in hearing any experiences a particular store has had with RVer's in the lot overnight and I'm always willing to share my experiences. And yes, I always tell them how important and appreciated the WM policy is to RVer's that want to take advantage of it. And I almost always mention this thread and tell them how they can read it on this forum. I would love to have some WM employees chime in here from time to time. I figure by talking to any employee about this it is going to get back to management at a store meeting or whatever.

[Madrona]

Originally Posted by RanCarr

The only problems we ever had at WM lots were thoughtless selfish people who drive in and park among us with their generators running all night, keeping everyone else awake. If someone wants to run their gennie all night they should park away from the rest of us.

And if you notice someone running their generator, don't park next to them and expect them to shut it down. I do everything I can to park away from others, generators or not, just for a little space. Most WM lots are large enough to do this. It always surprises me to see RV's parked so close to one-another in a WM lot. If they are traveling together I get it, but otherwise, it's just weird.

[RedneckExpress]

Originally Posted by Madrona

And if you notice someone running their generator, don't park next to them and expect them to shut it down. I do everything I can to park away from others, generators or not, just for a little space. Most WM lots are large enough to do this. It always surprises me to see RV's parked so close to one-another in a WM lot. If they are traveling together I get it, but otherwise, it's just weird.

Depends on the Walmart, the few I've stayed at stated a specific side and set of spots as being the area that was allowed for overnighting, so it doesn't take long to get alot of RVs close together if it's a heavily used walmart.

[Barbara S.]

Originally Posted by Madrona

It always surprises me to see RV's parked so close to one-another in a WM lot. If they are traveling together I get it, but otherwise, it's just weird.

Why would you call it weird? If I were pulling into a WM for the night I would much rather park (fairly) close to another RV rather than be off by myself. I see it as a security issue - safety in numbers.

[Lindsay Richards]

If I were pulling into a WM for the night I would much rather park (fairly) close to another RV rather than be off by myself.

That was you.

[BFlinn181]

Originally Posted by Barbara S.

If I were pulling into a WM for the night I would much rather park (fairly) close to another RV rather than be off by myself. I see it as a security issue - safety in numbers.

My issue with this behavior was based on an RV that pulled in next to us one night. It was cool, so we had windows cracked open. I awoke about 5 am to the CO alarm. My neighbor had his RV parked so that his generator exhaust was pointed right at my open window, filling our coach with enough exhaust to trigger the alarm. If I had had a potato....

So, park close, but be sure your exhaust is pointed in a safe direction if you use your generator.

[Barbara S.]

Originally Posted by Lindsay Richards

That was you.

No, not me. As a single RVer I have not overnighted in a Walmart parking lot. Most of my travels are from home to campground or campground to campground.
I have stopped at WM to take a nap in the daytime when I was falling asleep while driving (not a good thing to do ) or to stop, buy groceries and have lunch, and then back on the road.

[Madrona]

Originally Posted by Barbara S.

Why would you call it weird? If I were pulling into a WM for the night I would much rather park (fairly) close to another RV rather than be off by myself. I see it as a security issue - safety in numbers.

I think that most people that overnight at WM are loners. I know that applies to my wife and I. If we wanted company we would stay in a campground. We're not mean and nasty, just like our space.

As much as I like to stay at WM, it's really just a second choice. We prefer a lonely spot next to a river or lake or something with a view. More often than not, we are parked alongside a highway or county road somewhere.

Believe me, I do understand the security issue, especially for a single RV'er, but that's what God made guns for.

[Madrona]

Originally Posted by RedneckExpress

Depends on the Walmart, the few I've stayed at stated a specific side and set of spots as being the area that was allowed for overnighting, so it doesn't take long to get alot of RVs close together if it's a heavily used walmart.

Yeah, I get that, that's why I said "Most." If the lots is small and we don't have any choice but to park next to someone, we will travel on.