![]() If you want to avoid the last resort option, use The Dyrt PRO to download campgrounds and maps before you leave.īut we actually look forward to the occasional night in a Walmart RV parking spot. For the latter, there’s lots of advice out there about how NOT to sleep at Walmarts. For a smaller population - mostly seasoned campers or nomadic folk - Walmart is a last resort camping option for their RV or campervan. This week, they’re sharing their tips for making Walmart camping feel just like home.įor many, Walmart is a cheap place to buy toilet paper and potato chips. Every week, they’re bringing us stories from the road. Purchase fuel, food or other supplies as a way of saying ‘thank you.Shari and Hutch live on the road full-time in their vintage “canned ham” trailer. Park as far away from the store entrance as possible and leave as much parking space around your vehicle as possible.ĭo not use hydraulic jacks on asphalt or other soft surfaces.Īlways leave the area cleaner than you found it. ![]() No awnings, chairs, barbecue grills or pet enclosures set up outside the RV. Let’s all keep these in mind so that we continue to enjoy this impromptu convenience.Īsk permission from a qualified individual, preferably the store manager With that in mind, there are a few common rules of courtesy for staying at a Walmart or other free overnight location. Like so many things, a small group of travelers are ruining it for everyone. ![]() As such, they are using their influence on local jurisdictions to either enforce overnight parking bans or pass laws prohibiting parking in public spaces for the purposes of camping. Since the stores have such huge parking lots anyway, it made sense to allow travelers to use the space temporarily on their way to somewhere and Walmart stores tend to have a decent selection of the things RVers need so the symbiotic relationship is a good one.Īnother component of this crack down on overnighting on streets and in parking lots are the campgrounds who are seeing some of their business eroding. When Sam Walton owned the company, they had an open-door policy for RVers with the logic that someone staying overnight is likely to be a customer out of appreciation. Nobody is going to find a campground at 3am so this presents problems for RVers. While this has worked to get the derelict RVs off the city streets and out of the Walmart parking lot it also gives the rest of us one fewer choice for a quick overnight stay on our way to greener pastures.įurthermore the way to enforce this type of legislation banning camping is to find campers in the middle of the night and shoo them away. The solution? The City Council reinforces the ban on overnight parking in the city and begins aggressively ticketing, and towing, RVers who ignore that law. That store has thus gained a reputation as a place for unsavory travelers and the store’s sales have suffered due to shoppers wanting to avoid the parking area due to the panhandling and dubious RVs that occupy multiple spaces. This has brought about others seeking shelter and even going so far as to use the grassy areas around the store to set up tents and spend their days asking for handouts and generally loitering in the parking lot. RVs of questionable roadworthiness have gathered in increasing numbers in the parking lot of the store, some setting up camp for extended periods of time. In the Walmart that we have frequented often in Ukiah, California there has been an ever-growing transient issue at the store. ![]() What’s the deal? Turns out, we may be the problem. In fact a few of the Walmart stores I have seen actually have height-limiting barriers outside their parking lots so RVs can’t even get in. While the company itself has a policy of allowing and even encouraging RVers to use their vast parking lots for overnight stays by travelers, not all Walmarts are RV-friendly. As the gavel came down on the City Council meeting, another Walmart became off limits to overnight parking for RVs.
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