Walmart Camping

[Wertles]

I thought I heard that Walmart would let campers set up in their parking lot overnight. Is this a company wide policy or does each store decide their own? We're leaving for vacation on Friday and we're going to make it a 2 day drive instead of one since I have to work. I was planning on going till we get tired and find a Walmart to pull in to or should I find a rest stop instead?

 

[GCroyle]

I don't have your answer, but here is over 400 responses.

Wal Mart overnight parking - Airstream Forums

 

[JMetzger]

The wife & I have spent many a night in Wal-Mart parking lots. They like it as you will always go in & spend money. The Wal-Marts that don't is usually campgrounds put pressure on towns & cities to force ordinances to stop it . You also can stay at Cracker Barrels & Flying J. When we stay we always ask first & we do not do any thing but stay overnight, no unhooking, grills or awnings out or anything like that.

 

[HBarlow]

I have spent many nights parked in an RV in Wal-Mart parking lots. Wal-Mart permits overnight RV parking at their stores or SAM's Club stores but leaves the final decision to their store general managers.

You should always park as far away from the store entry parking as possible and against an outside curb if possible then go inside, buy a few needed items, and ask if it is okay at the customer service counter. Store managers usually don't want RVers to occupy spaces near loading docks or around behind stores for obvious security reasons.

The only time I've ever been refused was in cities in FL where local ordinances prohibit RV parking because the residents and their city councils are unfriendly rectal orifices.

It is generally not a good idea to set up lawn chairs, outdoor cooking, etc.

 

[Wertles]

Thanks guys. We will give it a shot this weekend. There will be no awnings, lawn chairs or such things. Just looking to catch a few zzzzzz's before finishing the drive. I was telling some people what we were planning and they thought I was nuts so I just wanted to check with those who had done it before.

 

[Superglide]

Enjoy your trip, Wertles. BTW, before you leave, could you kindly nip down to the Dinosaur BBQ and throw a few ribs in the mail? I couldn't get enough while I was there on course at Harris Corp. years ago. What a great place.

 

[AABEN]

We will go in and buy some things then ask if it is OK to spend the night. We have never been turn down.

 

[Dutch & Di]

We have found that if WallyWorld "owns" everything, you'll most likely be ok. Some stores are in with others and the land is owned by someone else. In those places we have on occasion, been asked to move on. Same with Sam's Clubs. The only place where they are real pains is in Yuma. We've actually been awakened at 5 am and told by a local cop to LEAVE! Not only was it rude to be awakened out of a sound sleep but to have to get up and drive in the dark while trying to figure out what to do when your only half awake is dangerous. We had pulled in about 11 pm so there was no one to ask and that "look at me, I'm a Bad A-- cop" had surely seen us while he was cruising around earlier. We had planned on having an early breakfast and checkout the local RV parks but that sure didn't happen after that and we won't go back. We just drove to Denny's, had our breakfast and found another city to spend our money in.
That said, in our 15 years of fulltiming, that is the absolute worst that has happened and we haven't let it stop us from using WM's when we need them.
On the other hand, we pulled into WM late one night about a year ago in Deming, NM and here comes a security guard. We looked at each other and said "Oh Crap!! The guy said "are you staying the night?" Dutch told him that we had planned to and he said "follow me, I'm going to take you to the RV parking section". They didn't care if we stayed, they just wanted us all be parked in one area of the lot. How neat!!! ' Diana

 

[Wertles]

Enjoy your trip, Wertles. BTW, before you leave, could you kindly nip down to the Dinosaur BBQ and throw a few ribs in the mail? I couldn't get enough while I was there on course at Harris Corp. years ago. What a great place.

We are blessed with great BBQ around here for no good reason. Love the Dinosaur but even better is a small Taste of Texas BBQ joint run by people from Harvey country. Needless to say, they know me by name.

 

[wcjp]

Found a few Wal Marts in Southern California that local ordinance prevented boondocking. Never a problem with Wal Marts located in the middle of nowhere. Look for the semi trucks. They are a dead give away to boondocking.

 

[JMetzger]

You can go to Walmart - No Overnight Parking Stores - Wal-Mart Guide & you can get a listing of the Walmarts you can not stay in.

 

[Grizzly]

Besides some Wal-Marts, we have had good luck spending the night at some Flying J's, some Casinos and all Fred Meyers in Alaska.



Diana, I know the feeling of getting woke up at 5 AM and told to leave. It happened to us at a Wal-Mart in Kissimmee, Florida, near Orlando. I did manage to get reservations at the RV Park in Disney World for the next two nights.

 

[Dutch & Di]

Hey Griz--What a bummer to be awakened so early right?? But we got over it, well almost

I agree about other places. We are right now in a Home Depot lot-out of the way of course. We have also used Cracker Barrel, Lowe's and on occasion a Mall lot. We don't use Flying J or Loves anymore as they are just too noisy but I wouldn't turn them down if it was a "had to" situation. Diana

Besides some Wal-Marts, we have had good luck spending the night at some Flying J's, some Casinos and all Fred Meyers in Alaska.



Diana, I know the feeling of getting woke up at 5 AM and told to leave. It happened to us at a Wal-Mart in Kissimmee, Florida, near Orlando. I did manage to get reservations at the RV Park in Disney World for the next two nights.

 

[EZeis]

I once fell for the "you can stay overnight at walmart". I woke up to a fine under my wiper blade. But the fine was way cheaper than a campground so the joke was on them. No wonder crime is high, cops are too busy writing out chump change tickets instead of working hard on major crimes. Makes me wonder how many DUI people drove by while he was writing up my 15 dollar parking ticket. Get this, there were 10 or more cars parked around us overnight and none with a ticket.





Earl

 

[Grizzly]

Hey Griz--What a bummer to be awakened so early right?? But we got over it, well almost

I agree about other places. We are right now in a Home Depot lot-out of the way of course. We have also used Cracker Barrel, Lowe's and on occasion a Mall lot. We don't use Flying J or Loves anymore as they are just too noisy but I wouldn't turn them down if it was a "had to" situation. Diana

We learned our lesson. From then on I'd go into the store and ask the manager for permission to spend the night. If they said yes, I'd ask, where do you want us to park. We would also buy a few needed items while in the store, unless they said no.



We carry a current issue of the Wal-Mart Road Atlas, which includes the location and map of all the Wal-Marts and Sams Club.



It really bothers me to spend $35 to $50 just to park the RV over night. If you're going to be there for a few days and you need all the hook-up's, that a different matter.



george

 

[Dallam]

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[AEdelheit]

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[Troubleshooter]

Some other websites for potential free / low cost overnight camping:



Free Campgrounds for RVs



Casino Camper - Free Overnight Parking - Casino RV Parks



Boondocking - Escapees Discussion Forum

 

[wcjp]

Discovered a new reason to Wal Mart boondock. RedBox. We grabbed Subway for dinner and new kids movie for my daughter to watch.