Walmart Stay

[Seann45]

If memory serves me right Bend has an ordinance against staying overnight at Walmart (or anywhere else)

[Screwby]

I use Allstays and FreeCampGrounds website when traveling. I’ve always called ahead to a WalMart, Cracker Barrel, Cabelas, Lowe’s, Home Depot etc. We’ve never had a problem and they’ve always seemed happy to have us as we always spend money there for convenience and as a thank you. If it’s late and we just need sleep then I’m not paying a campground $30ish dollars for a spot to park. We are all solar, have plenty of water, and don’t care to try and level up in some KOA or local park. Flat pavement, well lit, right off the exits, and RV friendly seem like a good option to me.
We use our common sense, we are not unarmed and helpless, and we leave the place the same or better than we left it. I understand if it’s not for some people, there are times when full hook ups and shower houses and fellow campers are a comfort. To us, sometimes “urban camping” is the better option. Most of these stores are right off the exit with huge parking lots. There are plenty of places to eat, shop, get gas, or just take a walk to stretch your tired legs nearby. We just spent 2 weeks exploring Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa. We spent a total of $25 for camping when we stayed in a couple local parks that had full hookups which were first come first serve spots. That left us a lot of extra money we used for National Park admissions and other experiences instead of using it for a place to park for 6-8 hrs.
Everyone has their individual ways to travel, ours is flexible and open ended. If yours is reservations and time schedules that’s awesome too. We all are after the same thing, fun in the RVs with our family!

[LuckyDuck]

Originally Posted by WeRJuliian

Around here (Florida), I have read of communities making those rules as a result of pressure from commercial campground operators, who would rather you paid them for your overnight stop.

Per the Walmart website, many(most?) of their Florida locations will not allow overnighting. Rest areas are the same.

As a retired city administrator, I can tell you such ordinances have nothing to do with campground competition, at least here in California. Rather it has been necessary to stem the wave of transients and homeless squatting in public and private locations in cities. Ratty old vans and motor homes or just bed rolls on a patch of grass are “campers.” You can’t selectively allow “real RVers” and prohibit the homeless, so the ordinance has to apply to all. Sad.

[Dancingqueen]

On a positive side of staying at WalMart, I happened to meet a store manager while walking thru a WM parking lot in Texas. I thanked her for letting us rv ers stay overnight. She told me it was a 2way street. She loved having us there because the night cruisers were deterred from just that and for hanging out doing God knew what because they didn’t know if we were watching them or asleep! Win win for everyone!

Just use common sense if you stay over or boondock at Wal Mart!

[GuanoJuano]

I've stayed at WalMart many times. Some of them were very quiet and pleasant, others have been noisy and uncomfortable. But they are free. I always call ahead when on the road to make sure it is ok to stay. I found in the last year or so that more of them are saying no to overnight stays. My last one, when i talked more to the manager about it I found out is was more about the the big trucks and not a problem with the campers. They've had times where big rig trailers were left in the lot and messed up their pavement. So when you ask make sure to clarify to them that you are a camper, not a big rig. There is also another alternative, boondockerswelcome.com I use that sometimes. If you can find a place on there people are glad to share a spot for you. It's a great community.

[Bassdogs]

We have had the best experience by finding a parking site on the lawn and garden side. You can park along side of the boundry curb and are out of the parking lot traffic flow. I always scan the lot for other RV's as there is comfort in numbers. WM usually wants you to stay away from the building and generally to one side or the other so you aren't blocking or interfering with regular customer traffic.

PS: As another poster mentioned, we are NOT unarmed and we are not defenseless. The alarm is set on the locked tow vehicle and the TT is locked.

Good travels to all.

[vcbice]

I've stayed at WM's several times and would do so again.

Like others have said, you do have to check to make sure it is OK. IIRC there is a Walmart app for this. It is not free.

I have also found that some other places will allow a late night stay. A Target I found one day allowed me to stay. But, I also don't mind a truck stop.

Keep in mind that these stops are just long enough to get some sleep. I stop around 9 or 10pm and am gone by 5 or 6am. If you want a place to stay while you run around town or sight see, these are not the places to stay. Find a campground.

[FrankD]

Allow me to share some info I obtained from WM corporate after I observed that the London, KY store was "booting" big rigs, etc. One gent in a big rig had just pulled in, parked and went to sleep. A company hired by the store manager to boot them, booted his rig, then pounded on his door and demanded $500 to remove the boot.

While sitting there in a pickup for about an hour, I noticed this group of 4 people had done this to about 10 different vehicles. BTW.. there were no signs stating this policy!

WM corporate stated in email that they really like big rigs, RVers, and overnite parkers as they help with store security and those groups are highly profitable to WM as a whole. However, each store manager is the ultimate authority for their location and corporate will not over rule them.

Thus the ability to use or not can change at a moments notice.

Also WM corporate does not offer any hook ups for electric, water or dumping, but they allow you to use their restrooms inside as necessary.

I have noted that the stores that allow it, have specific areas away from traffic assigned for this and they are usually very quiet.

[Dancingqueen]

The Allstays Camp and RV app is the ,most inclusive and informative for many places to camp. I mostly use it for walMart to Park. Hasn’t failed me yet. It is only $9.99 thru your App Store. Read the comments at each WalMart for general comments. I am grateful for those. Guides me to the better neighborhoods, friendliness of staff, etc. Happy Trails😀

[koko]

We actually think it's fun to stay at Walmarts and Cracker Barrels. We don't do it often; but when we do, we always ask management and have had good experiences each time. We seem to get on the road sooner, because we just pull in and we're good to go. We always eat at the Cracker Barrel, we always need something at Walmart; so we feel we aren't mooching from either establishment. We're very selective about location.

[Seann45]

Camp Wal-Mart... the most expensive campground in the USA. While your setting up the RV momma is inside "stocking up"

[RVcoffee]

There is an iPhone app - Walmart Overnight Parking by Allstays - that helps you not only find the closest Walmart that allows RV parking but gives directions, shares some practical tips about navigating off of the main route to that Walmart with your RV, tips on where the parking is in relation to the entire Walmart parking lot, commentary about traffic, noise, etc. and even sometimes amenities near by (like food). It also has phone #s in case you just want to verify with the Walmart staff. It's been helpful.

[Usmade56]

We are snowbirds mich to Arizona and back
We look for an elks or vfw to overnight at. Some have hookups some don't. Have a friendly beverage in the club and make a tax deductible donation for the stay. Plus, meet some friendly people. You do need to be a member of the organization you stop at. Elks.org has data on lodges and their RV accommodations.

[grantsoo]

Originally Posted by SouthCo

Why not look up what Walmarts are in the areas you mentioned and call? It doesn't matter if someone on here says you can and then you get there and management says you can't, right? Someone on here could tell you if they have recently been allowed but I'd call. And I'd ask for the management employee's name who said it was ok, if in fact they say it's ok...

I live in a ground floor apartment that faces a Walmart parking lot. The lot is posted "no overnight parking." There also has been local publicity concerning campgrounds complaining about the loss of business to Walmart.
Even so, during the summer months we have new "neighbours" every night.
People like the trees that abut the parking lot on our apartment lawn. As expected, we have met some very nice people.

The best advice that I saw when I used to camp regularly was:
Get the ok from management or security, but be prepared to leave at 2 a.m. if someone knocks on your door and says you can't stay. (never did have the knock on the door)

[norty1]

Another option:

If you are member of the American Legion or Elks, many chapters have a couple of rv sites that members can use for short stays if you are a active member of the organization.

[jsimonson]

The Allstays app is a good reference, but beware. Although Walmart may allow you to stay we have been chased out of Walmart parking lots by local police always in the middle of the night who state their city ordinance does not allow “camping” within city limits not designated for such purposes. Call the Walmart to confirm and call the local police department verifying no ordinance prevents overnight stops. Too much hassle for us, so scraped Walmart stays off our list.

[rodpod]

Originally Posted by mtdawg

Although there have been plenty of replies both pro and con, I'll add my 2 cents. We will use WM while traveling. If we have a long day and quit late at night, we'll stay in a WM instead of paying a campground fee for 5 or 6 hrs. of sleep. I use Allstays exclusively and have never been disappointed. My experience has been that by arriving late, others are there already. Lets me know that camping is probably okay. I've never had a problem other than noise from traffic or other campers.

We just returned from a 2300 mile round trip vacation in my 29 MV. We stayed at 2 different Walmarts in Georgia one on the way up and one back. Both were clean, safe and accommodating. I spoke to the manager at one, as i was the only RV. They were very accepting of RV-ers. The second one had about 6 RVs so I found a fairly level spot and stayed the night. We shopped at both locations as well. Since we are new to RV-ing our experience with Walmarts is limited, but so far so good. The comment about doing your research is well advised. I checked them out first online and using Allstays.

[Dancingqueen]

Moose also allows member rv stays. Minimal charges. Must be member of Moose. Again Allstays app can show you where they are. Must check inside.

[Bassdogs]

[QUOTE=Seann45;665995]Camp Wal-Mart... the most expensive campground in the USA. While your setting up the RV momma is inside "stocking up"[/QUOTE

Yes and No. We often leave home with minimal supplies and don't stock up until our last overnight on our outbound trip. We time our last overnight to fill up the pantry and fridge with the stuff we will need for a longer stay at our destination when that destination is out in the boonies. No sense packing cases of water/drinks, 15lbs of potatoes, etc for a 1,000miles. We stop early so we can relax, enjoy a nice dinner at a nearby restaurant, stock up with supplies, and grab some fresh donuts in the am. That is pretty much why WM allows overnighters. We are good customers.

[Tunce the traveler]

We just call "Uber" we drive around 6 hours give or take close to a town campground or RV Park. Stay hooked up and let someone drive us into town for dinner or brew house and or a good park for walking to get that blood moving for a while. We always have one day pack to carry sandwiches &Drinks and the same for Tunce. We make sure every travel day has fun time for the 3 of us.