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Jaxon · 05-14-2009, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverAvion

i havent seen this asked yet....
what is wrong with the camp ground owners wanting to earn a living?

Nothing wrong with folks wanting to earn a living but to have a lobby make my decision for me through legislation p*sses me off (the whole concept of RV'ing and fulltiming speaks to this). Most folks who stay at a WalMart do so as an overnighter - replenish supplies and then take off at first light. Sure, there's the anecdotal story folks camping for weeks at a WalMart but I submit they are the anomaly and genetic misfits (folks that Jeff Foxworthy used as material...). I agree that WalMarts business practices have been less than stellar but sometimes the cure is worse than the illness... That's how precedents are set and we suddenly realize we've been screwed...

Boondocker · 05-14-2009, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverAvion

i havent seen this asked yet....
what is wrong with the camp ground owners wanting to earn a living?

Nothing wrong with wanting to make a living. But that doesn't mean they have the right to take my money. Whats wrong with me not wanting to spend $40 for a parking space when I am just needing a place to park for a few hours? And what is wrong with a business deciding that it is OK if I want to park over night on their property

digitalmaine · 05-14-2009, 06:27 PM

luckily this was voted down. thanks to many emails from common sense people like yourselves.

wahoonc · 05-14-2009, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverAvion

i havent seen this asked yet....
what is wrong with the camp ground owners wanting to earn a living?

Nothing but there is a fine line between a week long stay in a campground using ALL the facilities and someone that is going to stay for a bare 8-9 hours and be on their way. I have stayed in some campground where the nightly rate would have done a 5 star hotel proud...and I brought my own bed with me! Some campgrounds are way off the beaten path and others are right along the highway, The ones very close to major highways would do themselves well to offer a handful of bare minimum spaces for a budget price for those that are just quickly passing thru. I think they would be pleasantly surprised at the turnover and the profit.

Aaron

overlander63 · 05-14-2009, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 62overlander

So many have given up the road atlas and gone to GPS. The huge down side of GPS is you miss all those green tent symbols clearly printed on the atlas.

All I have to do is type "campground" or "RV" into our GPS, and it gives us the locations up to 50 miles away. Strangely enough, nary a Walmart or Cracker Barrel is shown...

It's pretty slick, but I still carry our Atlas with us.

overlander63 · 05-14-2009, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by digitalmaine

luckily this was voted down. thanks to many emails from common sense people like yourselves.

That's a good thing. Common Sense prevails, for once.

Ganaraska · 05-14-2009, 08:51 PM

Some random thoughts:

1) Walmarts are seldom located next to railroad tracks.

2) Earning a living is one thing, passing a law to force people to buy your goods is another.

3) I would have expected Walmart to encourage the Maine law. It would relieve them of an annoyance that brings them no profit.

thecatsandi · 05-14-2009, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mustang

I wouldnt want to be seen at a walmart. Last time I went into one, I thought I was out of place cuz I was paying with cash, and not food stamps or that welfare card. I dont even feel safe in there parking lots when I deliver there. The people that work there are all trash too. Crying about employee abuse, whining to unions and to scared to organize.

I guess what baffles me is, I have an Airstream cuz I want better.(quality) Ive owned Harley Davidsons in the past cuz quality to. I buy American cars, and Trucks because? you guessed it "Quality". Why would I shop at Walmart??? You cant even use quality in the same sentence, its an oxymoran to walmart.

Airstream: Agreed
Harley: Dis-agree, my BMW does not leak has more horsepower for the same sized engine and looks cooler.

I stay in Wal-mart or Cracker Barrel or Truck Stops when I am on a mission to get from one place to another distance place with no agenda. Once I get there I stay in a campground.

rgesch · 05-14-2009, 09:26 PM

O.K., once again I wasn't going to say anything, but this time I will! In fact I will cross post! So, check it out: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...sal-51223.html

Once upon a time camping was camping. You could pull into a campground in the early afternoon having no idea where you are and you could find a place to camp for a night or two. Now most "campgrounds" are mostly permanent and/or seasonal sites with few real camp sites unless you have a reservation. No real "adventure" there. Now they feel threatened by others who welcome us to park for one lousy night???

Try to find a place to park and snooze for the night after a "Sorry, No Vacancy" campground rejects you... good luck!

For the past ten years or so, campgrounds suddenly feel threatened by private businesses who allow RVers to stay overnight? They want governments to pass laws and restrict such practices? Hey! Take a hike! As G. Gordon Liddy once said, "I Use To Live In A Free Country!"

It's a long way from one corner of Maine to the other. If anyone is willing to let me sleep in their yard or parking lot as I ping-pong from from point to point, that is between me and the yard/parking lot owner. The bureaucrats can TAKE A HIKE!!! Who are they "protecting?" NO ONE!!!

HiHoAgRV · 05-15-2009, 06:28 AM

The first thing that comes to my mind is the few differences between a RV parking in the front lot and the 100 Trucks behind the FlyinJ plaza. Years ago our Govmt decided that the long haul guy and gals MUST stop and rest on a regular basis.

Now we have State and Local Govmt's telling RVers, who use some common sense on drive time, that they have to pay a local CG to do the same as Truckers.

In some cases both groups are donin' the same thing - trying to get safely to a destination.

Ken J · 05-15-2009, 07:29 AM

Something that has not been mentioned a whole lot - have you seen the price of campgrounds over the past ten years? It used to be you could stay in a campground much cheaper than a motel - not so much any more. That is why folks are flocking to Wal-marts.

Ken J.

eubank · 05-15-2009, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken J

Something that has not been mentioned a whole lot - have you seen the price of campgrounds over the past ten years? It used to be you could stay in a campground much cheaper than a motel - not so much any more. That is why folks are flocking to Wal-marts.
Ken J.

Oh, I don't know! I have to take a motel-trip every year for the university, and the prices jar me every time! (The university people want to book me into their fav locations, but they're just out of sight on prices! Duh. What a waste of state money. So I book my own trips and try to go "el-cheapo.")

Lynn

Silvertwinkie · 05-15-2009, 07:48 AM

When I get to my destination, I always stay at a campground. In fact when I find myself planning a long trip, I try to seek out a campground (that has a reasonable price for an 8 hour or less stay). Anyone who travels the highways knows what rest areas and truck stops are like. They are not quiet by any measure. A Wal-Mart or Cracker Barrel would be far less noisy than a truck stop or rest area.

In the end, it's the proposed law that was troublesome. As has been clearly pointed out, truckers are required to rest and to me it makes little sense to spend between $20 to $40 for a 5-6 hour on average stay at a campground. I know the campground owners have to eat too, but there are things they could do to attract customers, like different layer pricing for simple overnights who would most likely not even disconnect. But rather than let good ol capitalism work and come up with something, they'd rather lobby their state officials to force folks to pay full boat for a 8 hour or less stay. I don't find that reasonable and gladly see that the law was shot down, and rightly so. There is a great deal of socialism being thrown around here lately, I see no need to throw yet another log on top of the fire.

IMHO, right was done here.

Frank's Trailer Works · 05-15-2009, 08:12 AM

I could not help but notice that in the WBCCI directory there is courtesy parking in Falmouth, Gray, Lincoln, Mount Chase, and Strong. Most folks offering this enjoy having folks stop by for a quick visit. It is free. I guess a parking lot is more desirable than at someone's home where a home cooked meal and some fellowship might be offered. To each his own.

overlander63 · 05-15-2009, 08:18 AM

I noticed that campgrounds (now called RV parks, or RV resorts, probably so they can charge more $$$), still run less than half the price of a mid-price motel room. The campgrounds we have gone to lately have charged anywhere from $35 to $60 a night, and the motels down the street were charging $75-$110 a night.
I've spent the night in a Walmart parking lot, and a Flying J, and they were worth almost what we paid for them. The Walmart had a guy in a mini street sweeper come through at 1 am to sweep the parking lot for an hour and a half, and there's nothing like the stench of a hundred idling big rigs at a Flying J to clear the sinuses.

thecatsandi · 05-15-2009, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by overlander63

The Walmart had a guy in a mini street sweeper come through at 1 am to sweep the parking lot for an hour and a half, and there's nothing like the stench of a hundred idling big rigs at a Flying J to clear the sinuses.

Ear plugs solve both problems. I like the low rumble of the trucks. I find the diesel rumble is soothing.

tomjunw · 05-15-2009, 08:43 AM

Walmart isn't the greatest place to park. But if you are traveling, and need to get some sleep, and and some supplies, then go again,who want to pay the campground rate for nap? Also if you stop at 8:00-10:00 at night, and on 6:00-7:00 in the mourning what camp office is open? If they cut-out Walmart, there is Flying J, and Cracker Barrel.

eubank · 05-15-2009, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomjunw

Walmart isn't the greatest place to park. But if you are traveling, and need to get some sleep, and and some supplies, then go again,who want to pay the campground rate for nap? Also if you stop at 8:00-10:00 at night, and on 6:00-7:00 in the mourning what camp office is open? If they cut-out Walmart, there is Flying J, and Cracker Barrel.

You guys need to learn public-lands camping! It's a gas!

Lynn

overlander63 · 05-15-2009, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thecatsandi

Ear plugs solve both problems. I like the low rumble of the trucks. I find the diesel rumble is soothing.

I don't mind the sound of the idling diesels, but the smell of diesel exhaust get get pretty thick. I don't think earplugs would help.
I read in a trade publication a cat's purring is the same frequency of an idling diesel engine. Coincidence?

tphan · 05-15-2009, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TBRich

Good question... I guess for the same reasons that people spend a bazillions dollars on their rigs (or even a half-bazillion), then they use random pieces of wood to level their rigs rather than buying a decent set of leveling blocks (maybe $25)... or use boards & rocks found in the campground to elevate/guide their sewer hose rather than buying a hose support system (maybe $20)... because they penny wise and pound foolish. Seeing this in camp grounds always makes me wonder ..."Why?"

Boy, no kidding. I also wonder why people sit on garage-sale lawn chairs around a campfire, when they could be sitting on state-of-the-art seating systems (maybe $50 a piece), looking at a portable, propane-fired flame system (maybe $150). Or why people sit outside at all, talking to their neighbors, when they could be inside watching their new flat-screen TVs (maybe $350), in air-conditioned comfort (maybe $300 plus electric usage). Or why some people boondock out in the woods, when they could be in a nice KOA (maybe $40 a nite, full hook-ups plus wifi) that has a pool, restaurant, and gift shop. Or why some people fix up old Airstreams, or other vintage trailers, rather than buying a nice, new, class A diesel rock-star bus (maybe $500,000). Why ever try to get by with less, or rein in spending and consuming, or use what is available and free?? Why stay for free in a Walmart lot when there is a $40 Jellystone Kampground readily available at the next exit? I just don't get some people.