how to boondock

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bklyncat58

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Nov 22, 2015
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we have never boondocked .we are planning a trip to myrtle beach s.c. in april .we live in s. jersey .I keep hearing how you can stay at Walmart .would we stay hooked up to the truck and just put the legs down. we have a 26ft travel trailer .how long will my lights work for can I put up my atenna to watch tv .can I make coffee in the morning. any help
 
Disconnecting from the truck or not is your choice. Most leave it connected for an overnight stop, but if you need to drive the truck somewhere, e.g. restaurant or the beach...

Your lights work off the trailer battery, but how long that lasts depends on how many lights and how long. None of your 120v outlets work without shore power, so an electric coffee maker won't work. A coffee pot on the gas stove does fine, however.

You can use your antenna, but the tv won't work without external 120v power.

Be aware that not all Walmart location allow overnight stays. City ordinances or shopping center policy may prohibit it. Nor should you plan to set out the BBQ grill or lawn chairs - it's not a campground.
 
Take heed of Gary's caveats. I can tell you from first hand experience (not at Walmart) that being loudly woken by law enforcement at 2am and being told to 'move on' is not a fun experience. The only time we were 'camped' where we shouldn't be, I drove to a nearby Marriott Hotel, checked into a room at 2:30am, and parked the coach in their back lot.
 
Gary RV Roamer said:
.....Nor should you plan to set out the BBQ grill or lawn chairs - it's not a campground.

& I don't think it would be advisable to unhitch a TT for that matter, at something like a wal mart.
 
Tom said:
Take heed of Gary's caveats. I can tell you from first hand experience (not at Walmart) that being loudly woken by law enforcement at 2am and being told to 'move on' is not a fun experience. The only time we were 'camped' where we shouldn't be, I drove to a nearby Marriott Hotel, checked into a room at 2:30am, and parked the coach in their back lot.

Tom, you've probably told this story before, but I don't recall...... so what sort of place were you when you were run off?


We done this a few times now, but have always been careful to ask if its ok.....
 
We have stayed overnight in Walmart parking lots a few times while traveling (plus one night at a Cabelas). I do not consider it "camping." I always call the store first to confirm they allow overnight parking. I also ask where they want us to park. We pull in, level the trailer, and put out the slide (we look for a spot where the slide will be over grass, not stuck out into a lane). Most of the time we don't unhitched, but sometimes we do to get fuel for the truck, a much easier task without the trailer. We are well set up for boondocking with a stove top coffee maker (an Aero Press makes great coffee!), LED lights, big fresh/gray/black tanks, a 12 v TV and VCR, etc. As others have said, your wall sockets won't be powered. In the morning we take a shower, have coffee, pack up, and are generally gone by 8:00.

There are a few places we have seen where folks obviously stay for multiple days, but you won't find that allowed in popular tourist areas. I would be amazed if the Myrtle Beach area allowed parking lot overnights at all, but the OP may have been talking about his travel to the area.
 
Brad, it was the mid 80's, and I was dockmaster for a fishing tournament involving 80 boats. We'd rented a bunch of dock space from the Marriott at the Berkley marina, and I decided to bring the coach and not worry about our boat. Figured I'd be too busy dealing with all the other boats. Parked the coach on the street at the edge of the marina, overlooking the harbor.


I woke up to loud banging on the door and a very bright light. Thought I'd just lay there quietly, and they might think there was nobody home. That's when Chris woke and started yelling "Tom, there's someone at the door!". I tried explaining to these two large officers that "I'm with that boat club over there ...", but it met with a firm "move on". That's when we checked into the Marriott.
 
The Walmart web site for each store lists if it allows overnight parking or not.  One of the rules is even if they allow it you have to ask.

--jg
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
You can use your antenna, but the tv won't work without external 120v power.

Unless it's a 12 volt DC Television which there aren't many out there I don't believe.
Or if your TV was powered by a INverter.
 
Stayed at Walmarts, rest stops and truck stops many times. Never been asked to leave. If at a Walmart or truck stop we always spend some money there. We are destination campers. I just can't justify spending $30-$50 to pull into a campground to spend the night.
 
UTTransplant said:
We have stayed overnight in Walmart parking lots a few times while traveling (plus one night at a Cabelas). I do not consider it "camping." I always call the store first to confirm they allow overnight parking. I also ask where they want us to park. We pull in, level the trailer, and put out the slide (we look for a spot where the slide will be over grass, not stuck out into a lane). Most of the time we don't unhitched, but sometimes we do to get fuel for the truck, a much easier task without the trailer. We are well set up for boondocking with a stove top coffee maker (an Aero Press makes great coffee!), LED lights, big fresh/gray/black tanks, a 12 v TV and VCR, etc. As others have said, your wall sockets won't be powered. In the morning we take a shower, have coffee, pack up, and are generally gone by 8:00.

There are a few places we have seen where folks obviously stay for multiple days, but you won't find that allowed in popular tourist areas. I would be amazed if the Myrtle Beach area allowed parking lot overnights at all, but the OP may have been talking about his travel to the area.
Excellent advice.  This is what we always do.  That is call the store for permission, park on the side of the lot if possible so opening the slides does not increase our footprint.
 
About using your TV/lights etc.  Assuming you have access to the trailer at home, test it out before you leave. 

If you have incandescent light bulbs or florescent bulbs swap them out for LED's.  Each incandescent bulb pulls about 1.5amps. 

TV depends on size and type for the amount of power it uses.  If it will run off of a 100watt inverter plugged into a cigarette lighter outlet you will be fine for an evenings use, assuming you will be driving for 6-8 hours to recharge the battery from your tow vehicle. 

BTW, trying to charge trailer batteries from the tow vehicle is not an efficient process.  The small wire size combined with the distance from the engine to the trailer battery, means it takes a long time to get the battery charged. 
 
By the way.  Parking overnight at Walmat is not boondocking.  It is overnight parking in a parking lot or rest stop.  Boondocking is staying in your RV out in the boondocks in a location with no defined parking/camping spots and no facilities. 

Then there is "dry camping".  That is camping in a spot with defined parking spots for camping but no hookups.  Such as many National Forest CG's and state parks.

Sorry, just being picky about definitions.  :)
 
This is pretty late on this thread, but there are more options than just Walmart. We were chased off of the Walmart lot in Kamloops British Columbia a couple of years ago at 2 AM in the winter, in the snow. Was not fun.


If you have an Android device, consider the UC Public CG app in the Play Store. It has an amazing collection of public campsites that are either free or low-cost. This year, we found free camping in both Bryce Canyon, and Grand Canyon.  That is pretty rare for high tourist-density areas.


I have absolutely no affiliation with the authors of the project. I just find it an extremely useful resource.


Frank.
 
By the way. Parking overnight at Walmat is not boondocking. It is overnight parking in a parking lot or rest stop. Boondocking is staying in your RV out in the boondocks in a location with no defined parking/camping spots and no facilities.

Then there is "dry camping". That is camping in a spot with defined parking spots for camping but no hookups. Such as many National Forest CG's and state parks.

Sorry, just being picky about definitions. :)
Actually thanks for the definitions
 
Don't remember. It was a local ordinance.

If Walmart owns the lot, you can usually stay. If they rent space in a mall, then it is the mall authorities or local laws that decide.
 
Never unhook for an overnighter!
Just park such that the trailer is mostly level.
Park farthest away from the front doors so the shoppers have prime spots.
If you arrive at night you will see other RVs parked. Park among them, but not too close.
You can do whatever you want inside your rv, even run generator, not a big deal. Be considerate that other RVs dont want to hear a gen right next to them, aim that gen away if you can.
Stay away from Semi rigs parked, they will run their motors all night and you will be miserable.
There will be signs posted on the light poles if you are not allowed to park overnight. Look for the signs.
Walmart doesnt care if you park, but sometimes the city will. In that case the police might ticket you, but probably just wait until 2am to knock on your door. In this case there will be nowhere to legally park overnight in the city, even private property such as walmark.
This is typically more a blue city thing, or a popular tourist area thing,might not even exist in SC.
Cracker Barrels also welcomes you and even have RV parking spots. Don't stay all day, stay at night, eat b'fast there then leave so to not block off parking spaces for paying customers.
Leave the truck stops for truckers who legally have fewer places to stay and are limited to how much time they can drive per day, unless there is specific RV/car parking spots that the trucks can't park in anyways. Truck stops are noisy all night and lit up like the sun - is a last resort
 
We never had any problems staying at Walmart’s. We would always spend money in the store. We never stopped at a Walmart if there were no other RV’s parked. When I was on the road I would drive until 11 or 12 at night. Stop, get the grandkids in bed, have a glass of wine sleep for 5 or 6 hours and hit the road.
 
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