Brief side trip parking

[wrgrimes]

I have searched and found partial answers- like never leave AS unattended or park only in secure rv parks and in between.
Question- you are driving along the interstate (say I-20) passing through a city (Shreveport) and learn of a museum (Norton Art Gallery, a large collection of Remingtons) that is in a residential neighborhood with street only parking. What do you do with the AS? Chance it in dicey tight quarters? Find a public lot, ask permission if possible, and use multiple locks? Keep driving, you can always check the museum images on you iPhone?
Certainly, people have needed to stop in inconvenient places on the road between rv parks/campgrounds.

[Fungus]

First. Bad idea to take your trailer through Shreveport on I20. Also bad idea to drive your TV through Shreveport on I20. Or your tank. Worst highway we’ve been on.

Second. How long do you plan to view the Remingtons? Overnight? No. A few hours? Yes.

[wrgrimes]

I live here and know how bad the roads are☹️
Just an example of what to do if someone needs to separate from their AS for an hour or two.

[richard5933]

Park the trailer and tow vehicle, still hitched up and locked, somewhere safe. Then catch an Uber to the museum.

[rd tighe]

We talk to the museum and present our situation. They often have great suggestions. We have also been know to call the police to get their input.when there's a will there's a way.

[wrgrimes]

Uber and police- good ideas!
And calling ahead.
Thanks

[SuperTrouper]

Suggestions so far are good, speak to the facility you are planning to attend by phone or calling local police on non-emergency line. Outside of that, if it's daytime, there's room to park comfortably and the area seems reasonably quiet, park nearby and make your visit. Late night or dicey neighborhoods are a no no and just as people have mentioned about camping spots, if something doesn't feel right, it isn't! Move along. Trust all of your senses. - brad

[Bill M.]

We have a dog in the rig too. I am in the "just skip it" crowd. I will be following for suggestions. But camp in the area and come back unhitched is the best I can do for downtown stuff.

[Acheron2010]

I scout in advance, particularly looking for Harvest Host sites in a given city that might be the actual museum I am visiting. For larger venues like zoos, I try to use Google satellite views to see if there are bus parking areas, and plan an access route.

[Aironius]

Aceron2010 has a good suggestion. I have used Google street view to find a place in downtown Boston with a parking garage big enough to hold my motor home. Better than driving in and then looking around...

[wrgrimes]

Above comments are greatly appreciated.
Planning is key, just getting some ideas for spontaneous moments.

[Jim J]

We like to find stops along the way to visit and break up our day. When we do, I park my TV and Trailer and walk. Larger Museums usually have Bus/RV parking.

I have never had a problem finding parking within 4 blocks of a museum even in crowded cities like Atlanta, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati. Smaller towns like Tupelo, and Jackson, MS are even easier. Some cities like Austin, TX have nearby park and ride lots and shuttle busses to get you around the city.

In oldtown Santa Fe, we parked in a municipal lot and paid for 2 spaces we took up. In Annapolis we parked at the Football Stadium (paid parking)

This may not work for small museums in large cities like LA, New York, Chicago and San Francisco. For those I would look for "Bus Parking" This is where charter busses go to park after they drop off their clients. From there Uber to your destination.

[GammaDog]

Stream of consciousness here… we’ve parked all over, even parallel parked, in residential neighborhoods for lunch or sightseeing… school parking lots on weekends, churches on weekdays work great… asking the museum is genius… we have security cameras in the trailer and outside if needed connected via a Verizon Jetpack… the Ring and Blink products will trigger motion alerts and have two way voice comms if that helps… leaving a note on your dashboard that you just had to enjoy “East Dingleburg” for a couple hours and won’t be long reassures folks that you are not planning to reenact the “I’m just emptying the shi++er, Clark” scene from Christmas Vacation… commercial lots might work in some towns… mall parking lots usually have a fringe/rarely used area… Uber extends range… restaurant parking lots can work especially if you eat first then tell the manager that your airstream will stay a bit longer while you shop and sightsee…

The only thing worse than I20 in Shreveport is the entire rest of the Louisiana road system… but our goal is to use the AS to go everywhere and see everything we want including any park, restaurant, museum, historic site or point of interest. If someone wants to see the Remingtons, having an AS should enable that, not prevent it.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

The first gotcha is that you really don't *know* what you are getting into without chugging down this or that street. Doing that with the trailer in tow is not the best approach. If there's a doubt about "fitting" ..... don't go there.

For us, the simple answer is Harvest Hosts / Boondockers Welcome. Park things there and then head off. Maybe you get an Uber, maybe you unhook, maybe you walk ( since the Museum is a Harvest Host ).

Bob

[bcheever]

I found this is not as hard as I thought it would be.

Small towns - find street parking a 10 minute walk outside the city center. Try not to park in front of houses, look for lots that are not crowded, street next to grocery store etc. You'd be surprised how many secure spots there are.

Big cities - park outside of town and Uber in or better, change your plans and overnight in a KOA or RV park.

Extended side trips - some RV parks have room for temporary storage or get a full site, plug in your trailer to charge and leave it. We recently left our trailer in Oregon and took a quick 3 day drive in the TV to San Francisco. We discussed it with the park owner first.

As for security- have good insurance.

Honestly I'm more concerned about *driving* in cities than parking. One of the main reasons we got the trailer was to really see America. Don't let parking hold you back.

[wrgrimes]

Some really great suggestions.
Reassuring.
Thanks

[PatLee]

Firemen at fire stations are very helpful with advice on where to park.

[Por Sonia]

Originally Posted by rd tighe

. . .
. . . when there's a will there's a way.

Bingo!

Lots of good suggestions.

Peter

[AldeanFan]

Visitors to Niagara on the Lake often park in one of the church parking lots during the week or a school parking lot during summer or on weekends, then use bicycles to see the sites.

Shopping malls usually have parking that will accommodate a truck and trailer, and usually have access to public transit.

Be smart, and follow your gut, if it doesn’t feel safe keep moving.

Google street view is a great way to check if you will fit in a parking spot or lot.

[richard5933]

More than a few times I've called the local Chamber of Commerce or Tourist Office to ask about appropriate and safe parking locations. They are usually quite helpful.