Parking and driving with camper in cities

[cgib55]

Hello Everyone,

Hope this is the right forum to ask this question. Just wondering what your experiences and recommendations might be about parking and driving a camping trailer in a city? Even large ones, like New York City!

Thank you very much, looking forward to hearing from you,
Cosby

Home - Cosby Gibson

[floyd]

We commonly drive through cities with our 13Scamp.
We have even parallel parked in medium cities like Nashville or Twin Cities.
You will have to watch it a little because some streets or restrictions apply, so watch for signs.
WE generally avoid really big cities because we don't speak the language!

BTW; NICE music and wonderful voice!

[EllPea in CA]

Well, we know that big stuff can go on NY streets, because we saw Michael Douglas do it in the movies:



LOL

I'm a west coaster, but in any NY visits, and anything I've ever read or heard, just parking an automobile in NY is bad enough, it seems like finding a spot for an auto and a trailer would be very difficult.

If you must drive through, it would be very helpful if you could drive your route with auto only and scope out what works for TV and trailer. This might not be practical though.

[captsteve2002]

We drove through Miami last summer. Then I drove the truck with camper to the airport to drop off my wife, it was 5AM, not many people around, but got some strange looks from the police. Wasn't told I could drop her off, and after she was out with lugage, I was off again.

[MCDenny]

We camped at the curb in a close-to-downtown Chicago neighborhood for two nights in front of my sons house. Even ran an extension cord out to the Snoozy.

No problem except for the noise of passing cars.

Maneuvering in tight quarters is a pain but then I think "Hey, I'm glad I'm not driving that semi". Finding a parking spot is a real PITA.


Denny Wolfe
Wanderingourway.wordpress.com

[hughharden]

Originally Posted by Ellpea in CA

Well, we know that big stuff can go on NY streets, because we saw Michael Douglas do it in the movies:



LOL

I'm a west coaster, but in any NY visits, and anything I've ever read or heard, just parking an automobile in NY is bad enough, it seems like finding a spot for an auto and a trailer would be very difficult.

If you must drive through, it would be very helpful if you could drive your route with auto only and scope out what works for TV and trailer. This might not be practical though.

Great movie thanks for the memory

[hughharden]

Originally Posted by captsteve2002

We drove through Miami last summer. Then I drove the truck with camper to the airport to drop off my wife, it was 5AM, not many people around, but got some strange looks from the police. Wasn't told I could drop her off, and after she was out with lugage, I was off again.

I tried to pick someone up at Calgary airport with an Escape 17B in tow and was told I could not wait for five minutes but had to go to the overheight parking lot. Bit of a scam I think.

[Radar1]

Generally we try to avoid the big cities (too many pedestrians and cars), but pulling a small camper like our 16' Scamp is not a problem. Parking can usually be found although it may not be as convenient since it's rare to find a spot long enough in the most popular areas, and underground or multi-level car parks are usually not tall enough.
We were driving by Mystic CT once, and while not a BIG city, it sure does get congested on weekends. We were determined to try out some Mystic Pizza (didn't see Julia Roberts though) and we were able to find street parking about 2 short blocks from the pizza place.

[FJ40Jim]

Same here, we avoid big city downtown if possible. When we are on surface streets, we pick a lane to drive in and stay in it. If we need to park, we look for a curbside spot for car & scamper (which is hardly longer than common crewcab PU truck), or look for a public parking lot with 2 empty spots in a pullthrough configuration.

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by hughharden

I tried to pick someone up at Calgary airport with an Escape 17B in tow and was told I could not wait for five minutes but had to go to the overheight parking lot. Bit of a scam I think.

I just keep driving around. Till my party shows up.

[Roger C H]

We mistakingly took 101 through San Francisco twice! I don't know how I did it, but the first time we found a nice straight road that led to the Golden Gate. But we haven't been able to since then.
As far as parking, malls or places with head to head parking we find work well if you can find two empty spaces head to head.

[stevebaz]

Go through the city very early and find a place to park. Then take a nap in the trailer until the working stiffs in the big city start work. Now wake up and walk or take a cab to the sites you want to see. Its easy to park at the bus and train station and private parking lots extremely early and take a cab, their all lined up waiting for you. Nothings cheep and you will only do it once anyhow. City's and RV's don't mix. Just like camping in your Prius.

[Carol H]

I have driven through the downtown of a number of large cities - have gone through downtown Vancouver during rush hour many times.

I even went shopping in downtown Portland the last Saturday before (2 days before) Christmas once :-) best part was I lucked out and found two open parking spots I could pull right through just a block from the store downtown I wanted to go to.

[Bryan L.]

We recently drove in DC. GPS took us right on the Mall. We did get redirected away from the Capitol by Capitol police. I guess hauling a trailer by the Capitol is frowned upon. We then stayed at a place within walking distance of the Capitol so parking was very tight. They had off-street parking behind the row house we stayed in. It was tricky to get the trailer in there from the alley but we managed it. Driving through any city does not worry me. Parking is a different story though!

[Steve Outlaw]

Originally Posted by Bryan L.

Driving through any city does not worry me. Parking is a different story though!

That's it...in a nutshell!