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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I don't know how Walmart or other free sites can be taking away money from RV parks. Last spring/summer whenever we wanted to reserve a spot we found them to be full, several months out, within 4-5 hours of here. I ended up learning to check again daily in the event that someone cancelled and a spot opened up. Last May, still rainy season here, the only one available was a lake with the beach and boat ramp closed for renovations. Fortunately a spot opened up at another, smaller lake nearby a few days before our trip, but I had to forfeit most of the deposit on the other one when I cancelled.
There is a parking lot behind our local Chase Bank. It is completely unlit at night, I'm not sure why. It used to be a good place to spend a quiet night in your self-contained unit until some people decided they were going to live there in their vehicles full-time. Last time I was there the lot was strewn with their trash and an old tire they'd discarded. And a security guard was on watch.
Some Walmarts allow you to park for a night, others do not. Best thing to do is call and ask the manager politely and see if they allow it. If it's not allowed they usually have signs posted saying that there is no overnight parking. Some cities don't allow it, usually the bigger cities in my experience. The rural towns tend to be more o.k. with it. We've stayed multiple times at a Wal Mart for a few hours to catch some Zzz's. I think we've only spent the night once and it was a arrive super late and leave super early kind of thing.
There's an app called trucker path that lists all the walmarts among other things.
In it, people leave reviews of their experiences. How busy it was, how hard it was to maneuver, and whether or not they allowed overnight. The phone numbers are also listed and it's a good idea to call regardless.
Some walmarts have dedicated truck/RV parking spaces.
Another store like that who's accommodating would be Meijers. There are a lot of them in the midwest. Again, I'd call beforehand.
The RV bug has started nipping at me. I went to an RV show this weekend and decided to do more research. Two questions hit me 1) how safe us it to leave your trailer at a camp site for the day? What’s to stop someone from hitching it up and leaving with it?? 2) am I silly to want to hookup a camera outside to see whoever is outside? I know I have a lot to learn and I’ll be doing a lot of researching the sites listed here!
Find someone who already owns an RV. Offer to buy some gas and food
and ask them to take you with them for their next weekend out.
Next up is to RENT something a few times to gain similar experience.
It won't be too long before that bug is killed dead.
The RV bug has started nipping at me. I went to an RV show this weekend and decided to do more research. Two questions hit me 1) how safe us it to leave your trailer at a camp site for the day? What’s to stop someone from hitching it up and leaving with it??
You can get security devices to prevent this. Just as with your house, though, there's no iron-clad way to prevent someone from stealing from you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by littlelou
2) am I silly to want to hookup a camera outside to see whoever is outside?
Not at all, many people do this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by littlelou
I know I have a lot to learn and I’ll be doing a lot of researching the sites listed here!
There are many organizations/publications for RVers (not to mention umpty-thousand you tube vids).
In addition, you can free-form it, rather than buying one "off the shelf" and here's a site for that - www.cheaprvliving.com, which has a lively community of van dwellers and schoolbus dwellers
And I second the advice to rent one. In fact, go on several short trips and rent a different kind of RV each time. You'll quickly figure out which ones suit you and which ones don't. And if none of them wind up suiting you, that's very good to know. It will be a very cost-effective education. Off-the-shelf RVs are expensive and depreciate rapidly.
Find someone who already owns an RV. Offer to buy some gas and food
and ask them to take you with them for their next weekend out.
Next up is to RENT something a few times to gain similar experience.
It won't be too long before that bug is killed dead.
Oh, bosh.
We've RV'd in various vehicles for years now. Still love it. Talking about getting a diesel pusher. We'll keep the camper van but DH will retire at some point (fingers crossed) and we want something a little more roomy for cross-country travel.
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