Over Night at a Rest Area

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We don't overnight in rest stops. They are too noisy for us to get a decent night's sleep and there are too many alternatives for us - BLM land, casinos, and state and commercial RV parks.

However, having said that, the argument that truckers need the rest areas more than RVers also implies that they have that need as much during the day as at night and therefore RVers should not be stopping in those long truck/RV slots at rest stops at any time, day or night, and I do not agree with that argument.

Rest stops are for all drivers. All pay the taxes that help to build those rest stops, either through fuel taxes or general income taxes, federal and state, so all should have access to rest stops. You are not supposed to park your RV with the cars, so there is no other place than the Truck/RV slots, and we stop during the day and, yes, take up a truck space. We don't stay long - perhaps we stop to eat lunch, or for me to check that everything in the RV is OK, or perhaps to use the wifi connection if our phones do not have access to data - but we do stop and I don't see anything wrong with that.

 
Because we are destination campers we utilize whatever is available to us regarding stopping for a few hours to get a little rest. I have not seen any signs that ban RV?s from rest stops. I normally stop around 11-12 at night so it?s sometimes difficult to find a space at a rest stop.
 
Oldgator73 said:
Because we are destination campers we utilize whatever is available to us regarding stopping for a few hours to get a little rest. I have not seen any signs that ban RV?s from rest stops. I normally stop around 11-12 at night so it?s sometimes difficult to find a space at a rest stop.
If not geting off the road till that late is "destination camping" I don't want any. ;)
I am off the road at least 6-8 hours before that. On the road by 9 off by 4 is my moto. I no longer need to rush. 250-300 miles a day is plenty.  :))
I have talked to a couple troopers about the big sines about no overnight camping etc. They said the signage was so it was easier to keep people from setting up permanent campsites. They would much rather you slept in the rest area than crash from tired driving.
Bill
 
WILDEBILL308 said:
If not geting off the road till that late is "destination camping" I don't want any. ;)
I am off the road at least 6-8 hours before that. On the road by 9 off by 4 is my moto. I no longer need to rush. 250-300 miles a day is plenty.  :))
I have talked to a couple troopers about the big sines about no overnight camping etc. They said the signage was so it was easier to keep people from setting up permanent campsites. They would much rather you slept in the rest area than crash from tired driving.
Bill

You know what they say ?To each their own?. However, the end of May this year we are taking the grandkids on trip from Dover, DE to Ft Walton Beach, FL. We have no real timeline so if we travel 100 miles and find somewhere we want to see we will stop. If we cannot find an appropriate place for the RV we will get a hotel room. No real plans, not needing to be anywhere at any particular time or date.
 
Oldgator73 said:
You know what they say ?To each their own?. However, the end of May this year we are taking the grandkids on trip from Dover, DE to Ft Walton Beach, FL. We have no real timeline so if we travel 100 miles and find somewhere we want to see we will stop. If we cannot find an appropriate place for the RV we will get a hotel room. No real plans, not needing to be anywhere at any particular time or date.
So you have plenty of time to make some basic plans. What route are you going to take? I-85, or I-81 or I-95 south to I-10 west? How old are the Grandkids? What are they likely to be interested in? There is a app called Visitor tips it is like the big racks of brochures and pamphlets at big rest stops and state line rest stops. You can see if there are any attractions ahead of time that might be interesting.
Inquiring minds want to know, why if you have a RV would you "get a hotel room".
There are plenty of aps to find places to stay like RV Parky. RV park reviews Google maps. With over 3 months to make some basic plans ;)
Bill
 
We stop overnight at rest areas often and have done so in many states, never had a problem.
We stopped at a truck stop once - never again, there was trash everywhere, "Lot lizards" roaming around - awful. 
A lot of rest areas are patrolled at night by security and some by state  troopers.
In my opinion they are for everyone.
 
WILDEBILL308 said:
So you have plenty of time to make some basic plans. What route are you going to take? I-85, or I-81 or I-95 south to I-10 west? How old are the Grandkids? What are they likely to be interested in? There is a app called Visitor tips it is like the big racks of brochures and pamphlets at big rest stops and state line rest stops. You can see if there are any attractions ahead of time that might be interesting.
Inquiring minds want to know, why if you have a RV would you "get a hotel room".
There are plenty of aps to find places to stay like RV Parky. RV park reviews Google maps. With over 3 months to make some basic plans ;)
Bill

My wife will undoubtably do an Internet search for interesting places to stop along the route. When I say we will get a room what I mean is if we are somewhere we want to explore for than a day or three and there aren?t any suitable RV parks we will get a room. Just because we have an RV behind the truck does not mean we are tied to that RV.
 
Oldgator73 said:
My wife will undoubtably do an Internet search for interesting places to stop along the route. When I say we will get a room what I mean is if we are somewhere we want to explore for than a day or three and there aren?t any suitable RV parks we will get a room. Just because we have an RV behind the truck does not mean we are tied to that RV.
Interesting, I have never been someplace where I couldn't find a "suitable RV park" What do you need to call it a suitable RV park?
Bill
 
Oldgator73 said:
You know what they say ?To each their own?. However, the end of May this year we are taking the grandkids on trip from Dover, DE to Ft Walton Beach, FL. We have no real timeline so if we travel 100 miles and find somewhere we want to see we will stop. If we cannot find an appropriate place for the RV we will get a hotel room. No real plans, not needing to be anywhere at any particular time or date.

I hope you're not planning on taking I-95 through SC. If you can find some way to avoid it, I would. When we came down to FL last year, Just about the entire length of I-95 through SC was THUMP, THUMP  THUMP. It was terrible. The road is concrete and you could feel every joint. I ended up getting a blow out. You can see remnants of tires the entire length from truckers also getting blowouts. I will never take that route again until they fix it. 
 
WILDEBILL308 said:
Interesting, I have never been someplace where I couldn't find a "suitable RV park" What do you need to call it a suitable RV park?
Bill

Not too expensive. We like State and National Parks.

Rene T said:
I hope you're not planning on taking I-95 through SC. If you can find some way to avoid it, I would. When we came down to FL last year, Just about the entire length of I-95 through SC was THUMP, THUMP  THUMP. It was terrible. The road is concrete and you could feel every joint. I ended up getting a blow out. You can see remnants of tires the entire length from truckers also getting blowouts. I will never take that route again until they fix it. 

We will be going through Shanandoah NP and the Smokey Mountains. Spend some time in Ft Walton Beach and Destin then head down to Tampa. My cousin has 5 acres where we can park the TT and plug in. Take the grandkids to Bush Gardens and Sea World.
 
california allows you EXACTLY 8 hours in a rest stop... so park and get changed quickly.

 
People - Please don't read more into a comment than is intended.  I NEVER said RVers should not use rest areas and that they should never park there if they're tired.  That would be stupid.  Of course they're for everyone, especially when needed.  After all, it's our tax money that supports running those rest areas.  The reason I made the comment is that on our last several long trips I've noticed a lot of closed rest areas and the next one was so crowded people were parking out along the highway access ramps.  It's got to be tough being the only driver who is on a schedule and planning on making a stop at the next rest area, only to find it closed.  Imagine being the solo driver who continues another maybe 40 miles to the next rest area which is so crowded he/she cannot park safely.  All I'm saying is try to give the truckers a break because they're still working and many of us RVers are not.  Be nice to others!

ArdraF
 
dcrbtt said:
Are you allowed to sleep over night at a rest stop?
I recall a rest stop up north many years back (I think it was in  northern CA) which has a sign which said "No camping". There were no other signs.

Anyway, a local cop just happened to  come in to this rest stop while we were there so I asked him about that sign.

He said it only meant no tent camping and we could stay over night in the RV.

FWIW, I don't ever recall seeing a rest area that was open that didn't allow RVs overnight, other than one in Canada that had a four hour limit that was next to a very busy road.

And I doubt if the CA 8 hour limit signs are enforced unless misused by many hours longer.

-Don-  Auburn, CA
 
mypursuit said:
CA says there "There is an 8-hour stay limit. No overnight parking or camping."

The "camping" definition was clear there  (Tents or sleeping on the ground in a sleeping bag, etc).

But how do they define "parking" ?

I assume it means if leaving the vehicle for  hours or something like that, but anybody here really  know what it means?

-Don-  Auburn, CA
 
DonTom said:
CA says there "There is an 8-hour stay limit. No overnight parking or camping."

But how do they define "parking" ?

I assume it means if leaving the vehicle for  hours or something like that, but anybody here really  know what it means?

The bottom line is your vehicle is only allowed to be in one rest area for no more than 8 hours. Parking means a vehicle sitting on one place. But, even if you move the vehicle to another space in the same rest area, you still cannot be in the same rest stop for more than 8 hours. The "no overnight parking" means the same as not being in the rest area for more than 8 hours whether it's in the daytime or nighttime.
 

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