Overnight at Truck Stops

[Mary F]

Several posts are under review and have been removed from this thread.

Please, please, please, keep discussions on topic; and remember that personal attacks are out of bounds.

Thank you.

[Mike Magee]

IIRC, at Galveston one can pay $10 for an annual permit and camp on the beach for as long as desired. Provided that beach has not washed away now....

Free camping at rest areas in national grasslands. I have stayed at the one just outside Felt, OK in the panhandle, and it was super quiet.

[k0wtz]

mike mind posting some of your finds?

bob

[ZachO]

Don't do it!!

Secrets are becoming un-secret all too fast on their own these days, thanks to this here interwebs.

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by k0wtz

mike mind posting some of your finds?

bob

I haven't made all that many personal discoveries. The grassland rest area was one. The Galveston beach, I read about elsewhere. When I do find one, I post it on https://freecampsites.net/ so anyone can enjoy it.

(edit) Oddly, I just looked and I noticed that my posting of the Felt OK picnic area boondock site has disappeared off of the freecampsites map. Not sure why. Perhaps a recent rule change?

[emij]

Originally Posted by Kevin A

Interesting thread...to each, his/her own way of doing things. For us, if Mom is not happy, I'm not happy. She likes a nice campground with amenities (water, electric) and quiet sleeping.

I feel the same as your wife But in bringing our new to us Scamp 16 home last weekend, my husband stayed overnight for the first time ever at a truck stop in Missouri. It was somewhere between Columbia and Kansas City. It was pouring rain and after dark. He went in and asked if they minded if he parked for the night and the woman behind the counter said she didn't mind at all. Went to sleep as the only person on the property, woke up early in the morning surrounded by big rigs. He counted it an adventure and something interesting to have done. I doubt we will ever do that again, especially if I am along!

[Peder_y2k]

At truck stops, I park our Subaru and Mity Lite in a spot too small for a truck with trailer, preferably near their restaurant for breakfast and restroom stop in the morning. The constant rumble of truck engines running all night can be bothersome, but so is overnighting near a highway. We stay overnight in rest stops also, but make it a point to not look like we are camping.

[k0wtz]

you mean you don't bring out the beer cooler, picnic cooler, put up the clothes line dryer, get the barbeque out and of course the awning! the people at walmarts have told me all sorts of stories why would someone want to spend a week at the Walmarts?

Sam Walton didn't intend it that way but he encouraged overnighting. He was a smart man he made friends so many ways!!

Subtle is the best idea!!

bob

[LyleB]

I've slept in my car at a Walmart once or twice in the past - not a pleasant experience. I regularly catch a few hour's of sleep in the back of my truck (cap and mattress) at highway rest areas, usually quite comfortably.

Earlier this month I spent a couple of nights (not consecutive) in Walmart parking lots in my Scamp. Quite a pleasant night's sleep both times.

Ear plugs help a great deal with noise - cheap and pretty comfortable. At Walmart, I went inside and bought four black poster boards, 97 cents each. I quickly taped these over the windows with duct tape - bright parking lot light problem solved. Only problem was that I over slept in the morning the second night and didn't get back on the road until almost 10 AM.

I find rest areas, truck stops, Walmarts, etc a great addition for travel. Even when motels were $25-$50 per night I always felt ripped off for a few hour's sleep. Now with the going rate for a motel being closer to $100+/night, and campgrounds charging $25- $30 the slight inconvenience of Walmart is more attractive all the time when all you want is a place to park for 5 or 6 hours.

[ninklink]

I'm planning to retire in Spring 2019. I'd like to travel down the west coast across the southern states to Florida then up the east Coast to Charleston Carolina then across to Poplar Bluff Missouri then back home to Abbotsford British Columbia. Just wondering if anyone has tips for how to plan the journey and where to stay. I've read that Passport America is the best value for campgrounds. If we have to stop due to tiredness there's always Walmart but since we have a small dog I'd prefer a camp ground. Any ideas, experiences with campgrounds and scenic must see places would be appreciated. I don't see any mention of KOA on these comments. Is there a reason for that?
We will be towing our 21' Bigfoot trailer with our new 2018 Nissan Pathfinder that has the upgraded 6000# towing capacity using a weight distributing hitch.
Thank you fellow campers!

[Rzrbrn]

Tony, I have been RVing now for about 4 seasons, staying out about 3 to 6 months each season. I am retired. We went down the West coast, using all road closest to the Pacific Ocean. We drive a Toyota Tundra with a 17' Casita. Some of those roads were harrowing, to say the least. Narrow, Edges of the roads falling away into the ocean, full of bicyclists, just go slow and you will be ok. Did I mention go slow?

I was shocked when I first encountered Border Patrol guard stations on I-8 and I-10 along the southern border. Had to stop, given an eyeball basically, and was passed through, no problems. The first couple of times I just was not prepared mentally for armed guard stations when going east and west: For me anyway it was a bit of cognitive dissonance. But do be sure to drop down to the National Parks on or near the border with Mexico. Amazing places. If you plan on going to Key West in FL, make reservations months if not a year in advance, even at the private RV parks and motels. You may want to park your TT on the mainland and just stay at hotels or motels in the Keys, difficult to maneuver.

KOA's are expensive and many times not well maintained for the prices they charge. Also private RV parks in general tend to be sardine cans.

You may want to join Good Sam or Passport American to get discounts. Always ask for discounts, old age, military, etc. Of course, in your case just don't tell them WHAT army!

One more thing, make sure you keep your gas tank full. And in West Texas, there are few national recognized gasoline stations.

Welcome to the US and Have fun!

[cpaharley2008]

We have used KOA's for past 10 years, about 75% success rate on cleanliness and value for the money. They will always find a spot for you, somehow. Also if you join, they will give you a 10% discount, so after 10 stays, one is free. POA has a lot of restrictions, weekdays, no holidays but all you need is to use it 2-3 times and it pays for itself. We travel with 2 dogs.

[thrifty bill]

KOAs tend to be at the high end price wise. In addition, they seem to have a way of locating their campgrounds between a heavily used freight train line and the interstate. Of course, there are plenty of exceptions. But I tend to avoid KOA when I have a choice.

Now I willingly stay at the KOA in Townsend, TN. Its a gem!

Passport America is a space available, during the week kind of thing.

Generally, the US is seeing a nice increase in the number of campers out there without an increase in campsites. As a result, a lot of campgrounds are full, full, full. the more popular FL state parks tend to be filled with reservations 13 months in advance!

[John in Michigan]

Tony, we prefer state, national, regional and local government campgrounds. There are SO MANY options. To check what is available in a given destination, you could use RV Parky, allstays, freecampsites or similar website to find campgrounds and reviews.

[CarlD]

Tony,


I use this website on my computer. It is not the only resource you should use but it does find more than you can fine on google. I always get a second on campsites it displays by doing more research on the web and google maps.


US AND CANADA CAMPGROUNDS - FORMAL AND DISPERSED PUBLIC CAMPING LOCATIONS - Home

[Rzrbrn]

I forgot to suggest you get the Allstay app for your phone. But remember to use it BEFORE you are out of range of cell towers. This has 95% of ALL campgrounds. I would say a 100% but someone will always say it left out a site or two. Best $10 I have every spent.

[Kenny Strong]

I have stayed at many Walmart they usually have very nice grass along the parking

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by ninklink

I'm planning to retire in Spring 2019. I'd like to travel down the west coast across the southern states to Florida then up the east Coast to Charleston Carolina then across to Poplar Bluff Missouri then back home to Abbotsford British Columbia. Just wondering if anyone has tips for how to plan the journey and where to stay. I've read that Passport America is the best value for campgrounds. If we have to stop due to tiredness there's always Walmart but since we have a small dog I'd prefer a camp ground. Any ideas, experiences with campgrounds and scenic must see places would be appreciated. I don't see any mention of KOA on these comments. Is there a reason for that?
We will be towing our 21' Bigfoot trailer with our new 2018 Nissan Pathfinder that has the upgraded 6000# towing capacity using a weight distributing hitch.
Thank you fellow campers!

The reason you don't see any mention of KOA is their cost most likely. For what they charge you can stay at a cheap motel. Passport America is great but make sure their restrictions don't cover the period of time they don't let you use the discount. We are life members and have found them very good but sometimes aggravating that the campground won't let you stay even one night in peak season. We are also RPI and Coast to Coast. We joined Coast to Coast through a discount resale place and it cost about $250 to join then we paid the $89 this year to join RPI through the same home park. Our home park is in TN and very cheap annual dues $39 and we live in CO. Works nice for us because we can use all the parks in CO. Campgrounds are $10 a night for either group. I prefer Coast to Coast campgrounds because RPI tells you to go find a site and report back to them. But we've used both many nights. You might want to check into them by looking them up on line or in the ads of Trailer Life or Motorhome magazines. Walmart is getting to the point you can't stay overnight any more in most places. It is because the homeless have moved in, stayed for days and trashed the place. They've screwed it up for all of us. I'm sure they've lost a lot of business also but made it safer for all.

[ninklink]

Some excellent tools given here on how to plan our trip and find quality campgrounds on a limited budget. Part of the fun is the preparation and planning. Thanks to all who participated! Keep the thread active by recommending specific campgrounds along I-5 from top to bottom and along I-10 to Florida. I’m not sure yet what route we’ll take to Poplar Bluff Missouri from Florida.

[richardr]

Originally Posted by ninklink

Some excellent tools given here on how to plan our trip and find quality campgrounds on a limited budget. Part of the fun is the preparation and planning. Thanks to all who participated! Keep the thread active by recommending specific campgrounds along I-5 from top to bottom and along I-10 to Florida. I’m not sure yet what route we’ll take to Poplar Bluff Missouri from Florida.

If you are just overnighting, there is a huge rest area on I-5, just south of Portland. We spent a quiet night there last summer with a lot of other RVs and cars. They allow rigs to stay 12 hours, but I didn't see anyone get kicked out.