Are you allowed to stay the night at WalMart?

[thenewkid64]

That is almost as bad as the guy who get the sewer outlet "close enough" and pulls the lever at a public dump station with no hose. Then has the b***s to not even wash down the mess . This is the same guy who you hear at the campgrounds complaining that the public dump stations are shut down and he for the life of himself cannot figure out why he should have to pay to use one

[Silvertwinkie]

Originally posted by thenewkid64
That is almost as bad as the guy who get the sewer outlet "close enough" and pulls the lever at a public dump station with no hose. Then has the b***s to not even wash down the mess . This is the same guy who you hear at the campgrounds complaining that the public dump stations are shut down and he for the life of himself cannot figure out why he should have to pay to use one

I totally agree 150%! Folks the likes of that are fairly worthless.....

[Porky Pig]

Originally posted by thenewkid64
That is almost as bad as the guy who get the sewer outlet "close enough" and pulls the lever at a public dump station with no hose.

You gotta problem with that?

Seriously, some of these Wal Mart lots are looking pretty ratty.

I've been monitoring the one near my house ... in Paso Robles .. we've been going there alot ... outfitting the new trailer ...

I counted at least 6 RVs that have been there for several weeks ... all of them very very old and rundown. They move to a different spot every once in a while ... but it is obvious that these folks are not passing through ... they are living there.

Haven't seen anyone dumping stuff yet ... but yesterday some guy was installing a residential style screen door on his 18ft. beater. This "trailer" was unhitched and blocked ... he wasn't going anywhere.

Feels sorta weird to feel disgusted and sorry for these folks at the same time. Not a pretty sight.

[gregg]

Well we have offending 18' beaters and high wide sob fivers--sounds like one of them needs money and one needs a kick in the a**.

[Rog0525]

For $3.50 this WEBSITE offers a directory of nationwide Walmarts that do not allow overnight parking.
I don't have one and can't vouch for it's validity.

Rog

[airstreamers]

well, i realize that this forum is over three years old now, but my curiosity is killing me! whatever happened in whitehorse, yukon. did they prohibit overnight campers in walmart or what? i, for one, am VERY appreciative of walmart and others that allow overnighters. we are always trying to reach our destination as soon as possible and who feels like looking for a campground at 1, 2 or 3 in the morning? and we don't use the facilities, so if we came across a campground that offered low cost no frills overnighting, we might use it, but to pay for something that you aren't going to use is a characteristic reserved for those with a lot more extra money than we have. we just want to get off the road to grab a few hours sleep and then it's back on our way. we also make purchases at whatever place offers us their hospitality. it is only right to do so. as for the ones who take advantage and stay for longer than a night (unless it is an emergency, etc.) or the ones who think it is ok to dump, etc., they are surely the same ones who act that way anywhere they are! shame on them! the old term we're going behind the woodshed and only one of us is coming back comes to mind!

[thecatsandi]

one my last cross country trip, I spent the night in a Wal-mart in eastern Arkansas. When I pulled in, there were at least half dozen RVs already therre. When I pulled out in the morning I saw the rather dark red sign says no overnight parking. Strange. No one bothered us.

[bikrmikey]

As of last July the Wal-Mart in Whitehorse still allowed overnight parking. I stayed a night and would guess there were 40 others that night. Even if camping is no longer allowed there are many pull over areas in that area on the highway that work well for an overnight.

[thecatsandi]

Oregon allows maximum 12 hours parking at there rest stops. I still prefer truck stops. They are generally further off the highway and quieter at night.

[Silver Threads]

I noticed there is always one parked at the local Walmart here in East Tn. If you are passing through on I-40, get off at the Harriman Exit. Drive about 4 miles, and you are there!

[airstreamers]

we have only stayed at one or two (we haven't gone much yet) and i know that when i went in to ask (at a walmart) if it was okay to stay for the night as it had that overnight parking sign like the one thecatsandi referred to, i was told that they always welcome campers. the reason for the sign was they were getting too many semis from competing companies using thier parking lots to stay in. it only makes sense that they wouldn't be thrilled to give comfort to the enemy so to speak! they made a big fuss over rv campers being very welcome. in fact, i was at the service desk and three different employees made a point of telling me we were welcome to stay! of course, i reciprocated by spending money in their store. you know the saying about one hand washing the other! i was only too happy to give them my business!

[ibgl6]

The walmart in Panama city (callaway area) allows campers I see them there all the time FYI it is located on Tyndall PKWY @ 7th Street in Panama City Florida Call me if you need better Directions

[regwh]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

Jack,
I am in agreement with your assesment of the smaller campgrounds. We stayed in a KOA in Amarillo, TX...the one out by the airport, near the railroad They asked us when we checked in whether we wanted a transient site or a longer term site. The longer term sites were the choice sites and cost a little more. The transient sites were basically just lined up in a big field. They had the basic hookups, some had cable and some did not. The longer stay sites had patio pads, shade trees, local telephone service, full cable and the like. They were also about $8 a night more if memory serves me. When we looked at the cost of developing a campground the intial up front costs were approaching $250,000 and that was with us doing the majority of the work with equipment we already own. We would have been able to put in around 120 sites of varying sizes. Figure a occupancy rate of around 35% year round and see what you have to charge to break even. Also in this day and age liablity insurance costs have become prohibitive! I would be interested to see why there are 80-90 RV's in their Walmart parking lot. I have seen a lot of Walmart parking lots and never one with that many RV's in it. I think the most I have ever seen was about 12 at one time and that was during an ice storm right along I-95. I wonder if that 80-90 number is the total over a season? But she says it is on occasion. Maybe a compromise would be to limit the number of RV's allowed to overnight at any given time? Perhaps make it seasonal? I know that the Walmart in Myrtle Beach, SC doesn't allow overnight parking due to local ordinance, but drive 15 minutes up the road to Conway, SC and it is OK.

Aaron

Hello
It may be time for an 'app' where users can enter locations of overnight friendly parking lots, be it WalMart or otherwise.
THis would be like an app in our city where users keep the community apprised of fuel prices, highlighting the lowest.
Reg

[Lily&Me]

Originally Posted by regwh

Hello
It may be time for an 'app' where users can enter locations of overnight friendly parking lots, be it WalMart or otherwise.
THis would be like an app in our city where users keep the community apprised of fuel prices, highlighting the lowest.
Reg

AllStays has things like WalMart, truck stops, etc., that allow overnight parking, also those that have dump stations.


Maggie

[dkrug]

Originally Posted by regwh

Hello
It may be time for an 'app' where users can enter locations of overnight friendly parking lots, be it WalMart or otherwise.
THis would be like an app in our city where users keep the community apprised of fuel prices, highlighting the lowest.
Reg

There is an app for that. We have one called "Allstays" camp and rv. Lets you sort by state, city and what sort of accommodations you want.

[Silver.Sanctuary]

I just read through the whole thread, convinced that somebody would focus on what must be the real issue in this Whitehorse debacle.

If there are 80 rigs in the Wal Mart parking area and RV campgrounds going broke nearby, there MUST be something driving the people away from the campground. Excessive pricing? Extremely run down/dirty facilities? Crime? Local culture that says "I shouldn't have to pay to park my rig". Somebody needs to identify WHY this situation is occurring and only then do they have a chance to solve the problem.

To have 80 rigs a night sounds like a place for a smart business man to operate! You could apparently have a fairly high occupancy rate by just attracting those WM campers to your campground.

In Albuquerque, I rarely see rigs in our WM (maybe too far from the freeways?) A local KOA seems to be always full and although near the freeway noise, it has very nice trees and other facilities. People are buying their discount tickets and staying for what seems to be a high price to me ($45 - $60) but they still fill it up all the time.

At any rate, no one addressed the root cause of the Whitehorse situation, and that would be where I would have started.

[J. Morgan]

I am camped in a Lowe's parking lot in Abilene right now....

It is 11:00 PM, so I think I wont get run out.

[85MH325]

Originally Posted by Dan Rossbach

I just read through the whole thread, convinced that somebody would focus on what must be the real issue in this Whitehorse debacle.

If there are 80 rigs in the Wal Mart parking area and RV campgrounds going broke nearby, there MUST be something driving the people away from the campground. Excessive pricing? Extremely run down/dirty facilities? Crime? Local culture that says "I shouldn't have to pay to park my rig". Somebody needs to identify WHY this situation is occurring and only then do they have a chance to solve the problem.

To have 80 rigs a night sounds like a place for a smart business man to operate! You could apparently have a fairly high occupancy rate by just attracting those WM campers to your campground.

At any rate, no one addressed the root cause of the Whitehorse situation, and that would be where I would have started.

Apparently after twelve years since the original issue in Whitehorse, and the original post here, the problem continues...

Whitehorse Daily Star: Walmart issues parking reminder

Whitehorse Daily Star: More RVs in campgrounds envisioned

I suspect that the problem is exacerbated by the otherwise homeless and unemployed who are tying to find a way to get by... and a place to park. Maybe the solution is to build more WalMarts near Whitehorse to dilute the concentration of RVs from a single parking lot...

[n2916s]

Florida City (last municipality on the Florida mainland before the Keys) passed an ordinance prohibiting overnight parking at Walmart (or any other retail business) because there were so many "homesteaders", some of whom would be there for weeks.

In Cody, Wyoming (east of Yellowstone) the rig count at Wally averages about a dozen during the summer, even while cheap campsites on the lake go empty at nearby Buffalo Bill State Park...

I get the concept for a quick overnight while enroute but Walmart as your vacation destination?

Mike

[Gearheart]

The issue in WH seems to be one of transients camping at WM for the summer. WM never intended to run a campground. a maximum 1 night stay policy should clear up their mess nicely.