where can I unhitch and leave trailer parked for free?

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Rachelteacher

Member
Joined
Apr 23, 2019
Posts
8
Location
Greensboro, NC
I understand that I can sleep in the Walmart parking lot, trucktops, Cracker barrel etc. overnight for free but can I also unhitch, leave my trailer there and drive away to sightsee/go to the beach for the day?
 
Mind you, I'm only guessing..........

I would say no it would not be a good idea. The overnight parking/sleeping is offered because business is slow at night.

I also would not want to leave my trailer parked in such places. It would most likely get messed with and it may not be there when you returned.

If your looking for places you can drop the trailer (Free) and go exploring. You may want to check out the attached link and focus on real campsites,

https://freecampsites.net/
 
I ask because i stay at a campground when I go to the beach which is a few miles away. Since checkout is at 11am, we have to drive home instead of spending the day at the beach.
 
I'm new to rving and want to take a trip lasting a few weeks. Do you make all your reservations before departing? I dont want to be tied to a tight schedule, if we want to stay another night or so in one location, on the other hand, I'm not sure what I would do if I arrive somewhere and everything is booked.
 
Rachelteacher said:
I ask because i stay at a campground when I go to the beach which is a few miles away. Since checkout is at 11am, we have to drive home instead of spending the day at the beach.

Check with the campground. I've  seen it with many CG, they let you stay a little longer and charge you a slight fee. That would work as long as  someone else hasn't reserved your site. They may also let you leave it in a storage lot possibly for a fee. Most CG have them.
 
Rachelteacher said:
I'm new to rving and want to take a trip lasting a few weeks. Do you make all your reservations before departing? I dont want to be tied to a tight schedule, if we want to stay another night or so in one location, on the other hand, I'm not sure what I would do if I arrive somewhere and everything is booked.

We did the same thing. 3 week trip and NO reservations. But that said we are setup to boondock as needed. I used the link I listed above to find places.

On a trip from Alabama to Arizona we found 3 campgrounds to spend the night while traveling. The other nights were spent in rest areas and truck stops.
Once we arrived in AZ we stay at Horse Trails Boondock site for a week. (Free) and then moved out to Quartzsite, Arizona for a few days. (Token fee)

My point is for 3 weeks on the road the only camp site money paid was in Quartzsite, (I think $40 for up to 2 weeks) and we paid to dump our tanks twice. ($10 each)
 
Rachelteacher said:
I'm new to rving and want to take a trip lasting a few weeks. Do you make all your reservations before departing? I dont want to be tied to a tight schedule, if we want to stay another night or so in one location, on the other hand, I'm not sure what I would do if I arrive somewhere and everything is booked.

If you are in California and are traveling in June, July and August you better have reservations. Especially at the ocean RV parks.
 
My point is for 3 weeks on the road the only camp site money paid was in Quartzsite, (I think $40 for up to 2 weeks) and we paid to dump our tanks twice. ($10 each)
On the BLM land south of Qz, that $40 includes use of the dump facilities and fresh water that are on the BLM land, about 2 miles S of Qz and a mile or so east of US 95.
 
I've stayed at a Sams Club, A Cabela's and a Fred Meyers store for a couple of days, with the caveat that there was plenty of space available. Spent more than a few dollars there too.
 
Many private campgrounds have a storage or parking area where they might let you leave the trailer for the day for a nominal fee or even free as a departing guest.
 
Can you leave your trailer at these places while you drive your tow vehicle to other locations?
You are asking for a "rule" where only local management whim applies.  In general, nobody at a Walmart or Sams cares about you & your RV as long as you aren't causing a problem, so it is unlikely anybody is going to come out and check to see if your truck is there, 24/7.  But if the store manager decided you were being a nuisance, he might ask you to leave.  In my experience, a good guest gets cut more slack than one who takes excessive advantage of the host's goodwill.
 
We stayed overnight in a Wal-Mart parking lot in July 2007 on our way back from a trip to Yellowstone. I needed an oil change so in the morning I unhooked and drove over to the Wal-Mart Auto Center. As I was walking back to the TT, I could see the manager banging on the door to find out what was going on. Maybe it was random that he noticed (perhaps he was just coming in to work?) but he was not happy. Once I told him I was getting an oil change and we were not planning on leaving the TT, he was perfectly fine with it.


Personally, I'd not try to leave my rig unattended in a random parking lot. I'd be worried about it too much. The only time we left our camper to sightsee on check out day was in a campground up near Bar Harbor, ME. They told us where to park it and did not even charge us.
 
Joe, it would have been prudent to talk to him first. The local stores do not allow rv parking for extended periods due to municipal bylaws, too many abuse the privelidge by using it as a campground and leaving a mess. We limped into a Wallyworld with a blown tire on the fiver, they didn't have the one we needed so told us to get a tow truck and take it somewhere else. :eek: I asked if we could remove the wheel and take it to another shop. Nope! Needless to say they didn't get any business from us.
 
Roy M said:
Joe, it would have been prudent to talk to him first. The local stores do not allow rv parking for extended periods due to municipal bylaws, too many abuse the privelidge by using it as a campground and leaving a mess. We limped into a Wallyworld with a blown tire on the fiver, they didn't have the one we needed so told us to get a tow truck and take it somewhere else. :eek: I asked if we could remove the wheel and take it to another shop. Nope! Needless to say they didn't get any business from us.


In hindsight I agree. We had already gotten permission to stay. At the time I didn't think about it and figured it would only take 30 minutes and I was spending money so everyone would be happy.  ;D
 
I can?t imagine any place close to a tourist attraction,such as a beach,would be willing to accommodate those requests.  It would quickly get out of hand,I think.
 
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