Walmart's Parking

[BFlinn181]

I think we should use a special font to identify humor and sarcasm to help people recognize it for what it is. I am amazed how some folks continue to get their panties in knots over the tongue in cheek actions and behaviors reported here. I remind folks it's not parking in you remain in your vehicle. It's not camping because that denotes a more natural setting. WALLYDOCKING is the term people seem to like for stopping for the night at a Walmart. I've done it from Oregon to Maine and will continue to do so.

Awnings, chairs, kiddie pools, patio mats optional.

[Lindsay Richards]

we know who is usually behind that

I just told you about my experience with the little idiot politician who started the ordinance in our town. It was because of camping in the parking lot. The ordinance meetings were unbelievable. There were no campgrounds in town. Towns, especially small ones, are like little kingdoms. camping, grilling and the other things some advocate is just like waving a red flag in front of a bull. It isn't the general public that cares, but the local busybodies and politicians. They see parking and drive on. They see strangers camping, BBQing, awnings, lawn chairs, ETC in their districts and they see a chance to be a hero at the next meeting. Somehow, a small segment of RVers think this activity isn't hurting RVing. There is a large downside for the big group and a small up side for just a few. I prefer to be in the larger segment that is trying to protect this privilege that I have used at least 150 times. I do feel bad in talking about the politician as he is now dead.

[CLIFFTALL]

Originally Posted by BFlinn181

I think we should use a special font to identify humor and sarcasm to help people recognize it for what it is. I am amazed how some folks continue to get their panties in knots over the tongue in cheek actions and behaviors reported here. I remind folks it's not parking in you remain in your vehicle. It's not camping because that denotes a more natural setting. WALLYDOCKING is the term people seem to like for stopping for the night at a Walmart. I've done it from Oregon to Maine and will continue to do so.

Awnings, chairs, kiddie pools, patio mats optional.

It might have been a good idea if our rules didn't frown on it.

Forum members may use standard fonts available on the forum. The standard font size is 2. The use of bold, large or colored fonts should be used sparingly. Posts containing inappropriate formatting will be removed or modified at our discretion; e.g. all caps or excessive color.

Cliff

[chuckinthebus]

Originally Posted by BFlinn181

I think we should use a special font to identify humor and sarcasm to help people recognize it for what it is. I am amazed how some folks continue to get their panties in knots over the tongue in cheek actions and behaviors reported here. I remind folks it's not parking in you remain in your vehicle. It's not camping because that denotes a more natural setting. WALLYDOCKING is the term people seem to like for stopping for the night at a Walmart. I've done it from Oregon to Maine and will continue to do so.

Awnings, chairs, kiddie pools, patio mats optional.

Nice thought, but those who frown on others having fun, would not understand it anyway. Happy Wallydocking y'all.

[slickest1]

We have Wallydocked many times in our travels,and more than enough times the campgrounds were full or it was in the off season when they were closed. We were headed south one winter with our fiver and paid $40 to stay overnight in a campground and wound up getting stuck in the the middle of the campground. Luckily I had a four wheel drive and got out on my own. Cost me another $30 to wash all the mud off . To top it all off the water that we paid for was shut off and the breaker on the power post kept tripping. Then the owner was upset about the tracks I left, and I never even got off the main road in the campground. I will stick to Walmarts while traveling and when I get to where I want to be I will find an RV park. If someone else does not want to Park at Walmart then they shouldn't. It is really that simple.

[max49]

Originally Posted by georgetown350

Most Walmarts that do not allow overnighting have city ordinances which means the city is banning the practice and we know who is usually behind that. It has nothing to do with how we park. The only ones who notice if our slides are out ( or other items) are other Rvers. The general public couldn't care less.

You know this for a fact?

Wal-Mart Campers EVICTED! (Live).wmv - YouTube

Don't worry, things don't change, I'm pretty sure we have a lifetime guaranteed right to be able to stay at WM parking lots. And if they try to break that lease, you'd have a great case in court and WM has deep pockets.

Williston Walmart has put an end to the era of camping in the parking lot - YouTube

,

OMG the nerve of this WM, kicking these people out without a 30 day notice.

Homeless camp in Phoenix, Arizona? - YouTube

are you still sure nobody cares?

I think you don't care. It's all about you and you could care less about the image some RVers are reflecting.

LongLongHoneymoon.com #76 - Wal-Mart "Camping" (Overnight Parking) - YouTube

Now this guy is not abusing the privilege, but he'll lose it too.

It's too bad. Wal Mart has been too good for our own good. They gave us a place to shop and rest for the night. But they gave us enough rope to hang ourselves and people took advantage of it. They did'nt want the hassles of giving us rules and enforcing them, holy cow they were nice enough to let us spend the night for free; do we need them to hire people to tell us and enforce the rules? I could'nt even blame them for putting an end to this.
I was proud that I own a MH, but I can see how many people think of us as freeloading, homeless bums who found that overnighting @ Wal Mart is not enough for them, they want to take over and live there.
It's amazing the posts I read here, they're not humble, appreciative, smart enough to try to protect this privilege, arrogant and act like they have the God given right to stay at WM for free.
Oh I get it now, they're not really RVers, they are posing and wanting WM to keep the rift raff from staying in the parking lot of their town and trying to make us all look bad.

[RedneckExpress]

No Walmart tonight, staying in a parking lot near a McDonalds in Coopersville, Mi, parked near where a number of truckers stop for the night.

Now, I did attempt to locate a campground, however, just about everything is closed and what is still open is rather pricey. I was originally aiming to stop at the Rest area on I-96 east bound towards Grand Rapids, but found this spot by sheer accident. Since I'd already had a couple near misses with Deer in the area going to one of the campgrounds, I was quite done with driving in the dark.

So, here I sit till tomorrow, then back on the road.

[georgetown350]

No Walmart tonight, staying in a parking lot near a McDonalds in Coopersville, Mi, parked near where a number of truckers stop for the night.

Now, I did attempt to locate a campground, however, just about everything is closed and what is still open is rather pricey. I was originally aiming to stop at the Rest area on I-96 east bound towards Grand Rapids, but found this spot by sheer accident. Since I'd already had a couple near misses with Deer in the area going to one of the campgrounds, I was quite done with driving in the dark.

So, here I sit till tomorrow, then back on the road.

your diary is giving me a good chuckle

I have never been a big fan of rest areas.... have you ever tried a Flying J ?

[georgetown350]

Quote:
Originally Posted by georgetown350
Most Walmarts that do not allow overnighting have city ordinances which means the city is banning the practice and we know who is usually behind that. It has nothing to do with how we park. The only ones who notice if our slides are out ( or other items) are other Rvers. The general public couldn't care less.










You know this for a fact?

Yes I know this for a fact. MOST Walmarts where you cannot park overnight are because of city ordinances. Most means not all and I'm pretty sure those Rvers from your videos were not evicted for using their slideouts and awnings but rather from taking up residence. As I said before, Walmart makes the rules so if they say you cant live in their parking lot then you godda go. I personally would gladly give up my privaledge of overnighting for the less fortunate that have fallen on bad times and need somewhere to stay assuming that was the case.

[max49]

Redneck, I can appreciate what you're doing, traveling the country on a limited budget. It seems you're not staying at one place more than one night and that's what I appreciate being able to do. I have done a little of that and really enjoyed it.
Oh how much I would have loved to find a WM when traversing the CA coast. It is so beautiful but it was hard to enjoy when I was always worrying about where and if I would find a place to sleep. Even the sardine can packed in, no view, $100 a night CGs were full. Or we could wait at a State Beach CG for when they had the lottery drawing for a few unreservable 1 night spots to see if it was "your lucky day". The whole park was full of CA residents; but of course, CA is broke.
Enjoy your journeys.

[max49]

Originally Posted by georgetown350

Yes I know this for a fact. MOST Walmarts where you cannot park overnight are because of city ordinances. Most means not all and I'm pretty sure those Rvers from your videos were not evicted for using their slideouts and awnings but rather from taking up residence. As I said before, Walmart makes the rules so if they say you cant live in their parking lot then you godda go. I personally would gladly give up my privaledge of overnighting for the less fortunate that have fallen on bad times and need somewhere to stay assuming that was the case.

Yea, me too, they're ruining it for all all of us, but they they'll miss and need it more than me.

How do you know that for a fact? Do you think the general public does'nt see slide outs and know that even though you have a bus, it's still not big enough?
You said "As I said before, Walmart makes the rules "; I thought WM thought we were mature enough to appreciate the privilege because I have never seen their rules for overnighting in "their" parking lot. I'm sorry, I feel like the dumbarse, could you please post a link to these rules and that should 'end this thread'.

[RedneckExpress]

Originally Posted by georgetown350

your diary is giving me a good chuckle

I have never been a big fan of rest areas.... have you ever tried a Flying J ?

Yes, I've stayed at both big name and small independent truck stops, however, not all have a place for RVs to park that doesn't deprive a trucker of a spot to sleep, so I usually leave the truck spots open for those that need it for their living, I'm tiny by comparison so there's more alternatives open to me that aren't open to a professional driver.

Originally Posted by max49

Redneck, I can appreciate what you're doing, traveling the country on a limited budget. It seems you're not staying at one place more than one night and that's what I appreciate being able to do. I have done a little of that and really enjoyed it.
Oh how much I would have loved to find a WM when traversing the CA coast. It is so beautiful but it was hard to enjoy when I was always worrying about where and if I would find a place to sleep. Even the sardine can packed in, no view, $100 a night CGs were full. Or we could wait at a State Beach CG for when they had the lottery drawing for a few unreservable 1 night spots to see if it was "your lucky day". The whole park was full of CA residents; but of course, CA is broke.
Enjoy your journeys.

I did the California coast from Oregon to San Francisco back in 2007, stayed mostly at State Parks / National Parks along the way with no reservation. It was, however, late september, early october at the time, and of course a number of years ago. California's coast, is much like Oregon's during the summer months, almost impossible to get a spot at during those times, so I've traveled most of the west coast when the tourists want nothing to do with it.

California's fuel prices have kept me away ever since, but there's alot of less expensive parts of America to go tour, so I'm not too sad about it.

[max49]

I'm sorry Georgetown, I guess these are the rules you were talking about?

Stay one night only. Obtain permission from a qualified individual. Obey posted regulations. No awnings, chairs or barbeque grills. Do not use hydraulic jacks on soft surfaces (including asphalt). Always leave an area cleaner than you found it. Purchase gas, food, or supplies as a form of thank you, when feasible. Be safe! Always be aware of your surroundings and leave if you feel unsafe.

[max49]

Originally Posted by RedneckExpress

Yes, I've stayed at both big name and small independent truck stops, however, not all have a place for RVs to park that doesn't deprive a trucker of a spot to sleep, so I usually leave the truck spots open for those that need it for their living, I'm tiny by comparison so there's more alternatives open to me that aren't open to a professional driver.




I did the California coast from Oregon to San Francisco back in 2007 without reservation, stayed mostly at State Parks / National Parks along the way with no reservation. It was, however, late september, early october at the time, and of course a number of years ago. California's coast, is much like Oregon's during the summer months, almost impossible to get a spot at during those times, so I've traveled most of the west coast when the tourists want nothing to do with it.

California's fuel prices have kept me away ever since, but there's alot of less expensive parts of America to go tour, so I'm not too sad about it.

Hmm, I did it about 2007 from Mexico to Malibu so I was in the opposite end of the state but it was in Dec/ Jan. If this is not the busy season, I don't want to go there when it is the busy season. I did find refuge at some MX tracks, spent the night and watched the races too.
Have u been to CO?