WALMART and Safety personal experience

One thing we noticed is that lots of the Walmart's in the USA are smaller than in Canada. In Canada the Walmart's are generally associated with a large commercial plaza that includes many other stores. They partially share a very large parking lot. In the US, lots of the Walmart's are stand alone stores that have much smaller parking lots that don't accommodate large motorhomes pulling toads without impeding the flow of their parking lots. I could see in these cases they wouldn't want you blocking up good parking spaces, especially if it was a 24 hr store. Funny story happened to us in California I think it was. It was about an hour after dark and we pulled into a Walmart for the night. We were enjoying a beverage after the long day and this couple in a pick up truck pull up beside the coach with the lights shining on our drivers side wall. After a few minutes of sitting there, they pulled even closer to us with the headlights shining brightly through the windows. They lifted the hood of the truck and were fiddling under the hood. I went out and asked if they needed help. The man said he had replaced the headlights and they were out of adjustment. He said he had travelled an hour in the dark, and could hardly see where he was going. What at first seemed like it could be an issue, turned out to be a couple in need of a wall to help adjust their headlights. We stayed at many Walmart's and rest areas with no problems. If the area looks less than desirable, keep going till you find something else. With the gun laws the way they are in the USA, i would have to assume most of those motorhomes have a gun on the other side of the door. This might discourage most people from wanting in there too badly.

OutdoorFT said:

Not a Walmart story...but another big name you may recognize...7/11. Rarely do they place those in nice neighborhoods. But, it was about 11pm the day after the storm last week. Roads were still a disaster and required 4wd. Got some snacks and a pizza. As we are checking out, I see a little hooded guy standing outside at the door (cold, hoodie okay)...but he stood outside. Not smoking, constantly turning to looking in. One would think to just come in, right?

As my wife and I walked out, he mumbled something and we kept walking. I knew he was right behind me, so a quick turn caught him off guard. With a little voice raising, he turned and walked up to the store.[ I dont go anywhere like that unarmed.]

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    I VERY seldom tuck in my shirt. I carry my Cell Phone in a horizontal holder, on my right side. I Often rest my hand on it, especially/occasionally when the "Hoodie/Shady Types" are around, showing reference to......

Hmmmm ? 

robertusa123 said:

I can  guarantee that town with pass a local ornitaze banning overnight parking

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No ordinance yet and no "No parking overnight" signs in the lot and I see overnighters there.

Hi pcshme and all,

Maybe the way to go about it is say you are out of gas and were on the way to visit your (father,mother,_fill inblank_) in the hospital and could they spare any of their dollars with you.  :

Agree just tell them you called the police to assist them and they will be there very soon. Regardless, you still loose sleep to these people praying on you.

Only did Walmart once, there was just no other choice. Didn't unhitch or even pull out the slides, just put my head on a pillow for a couple hours. I would try to avoid Walmart parking lots if at all possible.

We are destination campers. When we travel I normally drive till about midnight or later. We have stayed in our share of Walmart parking lots, rest stops and truck stops. If we stay at Walmart or a truck stop we always try to purchase something even if it's only coffee. Haven't had any problems yet. At Walmart I try to stay only if there are other RV's there and try to park close to them (safety in numbers). I guess I just don't like paying for a spot at a campground for just a few hours.

I've been staying at the mart of wal for a while (it's free!) and so far I've only had one bother (not really a big bother, just a few eggs short of an omelet and outgoing but nice.)  As a precaution I keep all my doors locked, take the keys out of the ignition and I carry utility knives, a baseball bat, a walking stick, heavy dowel rods and those spiked wrist cuffs from Hot Topic, i.e, as much weaponry as I can get away with, without inviting any legal hasslement.  Key thing is to forgo things like guns, knives, samurai swords, nunchucks, etc. and stick to weapons that have non-weapon uses so it's plausibly deniable if anyone sets out to give you trouble for being armed.  The rv has a door alarm but I haven't figured out how it works yet.  So far it seems like the walmarts in nicer neighborhoods are, paradoxically, the least inviting for overnighters.  I like to relax with a few wine coolers in the evening, and if Officer Friendly comes nosing around and sees that I've had my seagram's, I could be in (unreasonable, ridiculous, pointless) trouble.  The less uptight the neighborhood, the safer.  Also in persnickety neighborhoods, the kids raising a ruckus are well-protected, spoiled entitled brats and probably have rich parents so they get away with much more than they should.  They're the ones to worry about...I used to live in a town like that and I was that type of rowdy delinquent kid so I know.  Drunks, homeless, crackheads, etc., they're just desperate and if you make clear that you don't have what they're after/you're not an easy mark, they'll go away.  But spoiled suburban kids...they just want to see the world burn because that's how bored and narcissistic they are.

Knowing my route and planed stops I look for a large church parking lot (Google earth). Calling the church ahead of time I have always received a cheerful approval for my overnight stop. Occasionally on a Wednesday evening we have been invited to an evening fellowship meal.

As far as answering the door late at night I have a sign on the windshield with my cell number... Banging on my door will be received with a loud demand to call the number listed. If they persist I would not hesitate to 911.

So far in 25 years I have had zero problems. Still the nation is moving in the wrong direction, so be observant and prepared.

Cheers

around here,.... the 24 hour Walmarts have become magnets for homeless people living in their cars out in the busy parking lots.

They often stand out in front with small children and panhandle money,  They eat at the McDonald's and use the restrooms to take "Bird baths" in.

It hurts me to see children and families living like this ...  and for that reason I don't patronize Walmart. 

TonyDtorch said:

around here,.... the 24 hour Walmarts have become magnets for homeless people living in their cars out in the busy parking lots.

They often stand out in front with small children and panhandle money,  They eat at the McDonald's and use the restrooms to take "Bird baths" in.

It hurts me to see children and families living like this ...  and for that reason I don't patronize Walmart.

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I have not seen any of that at our local Walmarts - there are at least 8 of them within a 25 mile radius.  I suppose tht some of that may happen from time to time but the ones in my area seem to have pretty good security plus this is not really a high crime area (but not crime free either).  Actually, more than RVs, I see 18 wheelers camped at the store closest to me but this is because the drivers live in town and can't bring their trucks to their home - mainly on the weekends.

Bill

I believe the mild climate we have here in so. Cal is very attractive to many people down on their luck and living in cars on the streets. 

  So unless there is a actual public complaint  (and here we have all become tolerant of the homeless problem) 
the cops are overwhelmed and tend to turn a blind eye to the monumental homeless problem that we have here in California....
 
on the plus side !  soon we are going to have this really cool 98.6 billion dollar bullet train that goes from nowhere to somewhere else 

In the meantime the downtown urban areas,  the Walmarts, and the riverbeds here are lined with large homeless encampments of that fall between the county/city enforcement zones,    and they continue to grow,  often they have several hundred families living in tents in any one river bed encampment. We take blankets and clothes down to them around Christmas time,  it's really sad.

the Walmarts around here have a no overnight rv parking policy,  so as a result the industrial streets and Home Depot parking lots are swamped with barely running old class C's every night. ( no offence meant to class C's or DearMissMermaid  )   

  I've seen enough misery in the world, . ... so I rather pay more than go to Walmart.

UTTransplant said:

I never give panhandlers money - never. I would have called 911. This is for my personal safety and for the other people this guy will targeting the future. I might hit the panic button on my vehicle too. Nothing like loud noises to draw attention to a situation.

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The panic button on my vehicle while dialing 911 would be my first thoughts.  Let Walmart security/managment know that I'm there. 

Thank you for moving this thread! It was always about Walmarts not boondocking.

NY_Dutch said:

I've never had a problem while overnighting in the RV at a Walmart or other parking area, but I have been approached by a panhandler with a similar sob story while in my car in a parking lot. I told the fellow I had no cash, but I would call 911 for him and have an officer come help him find an agency to assist him. He grumbled a bit and then left...

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I like this answer, "I have no cash, but I will call 911 for you and have an officer come help you find an agency to assist you."

VGS said:

I like this answer, "I have no cash, but I will call 911 for you and have an officer come help you find an agency to assist you."

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I recently used something very similar.  My wife likes to got to JoAnn Fabrics on some of our shopping trips so I just sit in the car and read my Kindle.  On no less than three separate occasions while sitting in the parking lot I have been approached by the same young lady who is very decently dressed and she has the same story - something about wanting to see her mother in the hospital and the bus stop is close by and she has no money.  The first time I just told her no because the story didn't fit with my knowledge of the area (The hospital is 4 blocks away).  The second time I told her that I knew her game and to scram - which she did.  The third time I just frankly told her that she was too stupid to recognize that she had approached me and my car twice previously and I would call the local police to give her a ride to the hospital.  At this point she literally ran away.  Been back to that lot a couple of times but haven't seen her again.

Panhandlers are a real problem in this city and they won a court battle that lets them hold up signs for their begging (free speech) but they stand in the traffic islands  and freeway exits and are general nuisances - sometimes 4 to a corner.  So the city comes up with this plan to buy a small bus, paint it up and arrange to pick up these panhandlers in the morning, take them to a day job where they are paid at the end of the day and then return them to wherever they want at the end of the day.  This program just started and results:  6 people on the first couple of days.  That probably only leaves 100 still out there.  I could go on and on but this is not the place to get too vocal about a problem that a lot of cities are having.

Panhandling at busy intersections and malls is so profitable that there is a guy in the Ft Lauderdale area that operates it as a business. He hires people to panhandle for him on a commission basis, equips them with suitable signs and delivers them to prime locations. He himself lives in a swank area and drives a luxury car on the profits. Wonder if he pays income taxes, though?  Truly America is a land of opportunity!

I always wondered why his hires don't just panhandle on their own and keep all the donations instead of a percentage.  I figure that either they are just drifters who move on as soon as they make a few bucks, or he has a knee-breaker to make sure that free-lancers don't cut in on his action. Maybe both.

pcshme said:

On most forums EVERYONE says they never had a problem staying at walmart
I am looking for comments from those who have had a problem and how they dealt with itl

I wonder about those folks have HAVE HAD A PROBLEM AT WALMART,, I mean robbery attempts,,pan handlers, people parking for hours with engine running next to rv...

I would like to hear what you do to make yourself feel comfortable at Walmart.

My short story is pulled into Walmart around 1am and finally got to sleep around 4am, when at 5am a fellow in a white stealthy van (no windows etc) bangs on my door with a story about his mother in law, hospital and forgot wallet (get the idea).  I would have not responded but he banged a second time,,I looked through window, and I decided to give him a small amount of money hoping he would leave.  I gave him my smallest bill which was $10.00 and he left , saying he would be back in a hour to pay me back for the gas money.  Right,,,,

So now I am nervous,, what should I do,, not answer at all ,, what if someone or a group of people get violent and break a window or jump on my rv?

Here is what I think I can do,,
1. Since I have a small Class C, just get in the driver seat and pull away
or
2. Dont respond and see what happens
or
3. Respond and give them a small amount of money like $5.00, explaining that I am poor and don't have cash.
or
4. dial 911
what do you think, i really prefer boondocking and really don't like commercial campgrounds.

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pcshme
If you simply call the store and report a "pan handler" they will send someone who will deal with him.
(but any "illegal activity" should be reported to 911).

However if someone parks next to your RV and leaves his engine running you will have to put up with it, ask them to turn their engine OFF.... or better yet MOVE.

If they bang on my door at 5 am, my repsonse will be.  " I am armed.  State your business or leave immediately."  I would not open the door but may display the pistol in the window next to the door.  Just saying - stand up for yourself.  Of course this would NOT be my reaction if the door banger is wearing a police uniform and has a squad car.

I'll look out the window,  if it isn't a cop knocking...  they will hear me rack a round in my shotgun.

Dial 911 ?  ???    ...    when seconds count,  the police are only minutes away.