WalMart, Lake Havasu - no stay

Ron said:

Have you joined Good Sam??? They as a part of Affinity Group are one of the biggest supporters to force you into campgrounds.? GS is no longer the RVers friend but have allied themselves with campground organizations.? No GS is NOT the RVers friend.

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As a newbies living outside the US we came across Good Sam first and joined - you gotta start somewhere! If GS is not the RVers friend, who is? I have to admit that the Wall Mart thing sounds great but probably wouldn't be for us, just doesn't appeal - we'd be on a holiday and woudl want a pleasant area, with facilities etc so the parking lot of a store doens't really fit that bill

Jason:

You are right on.  WM is not a substitution for a campground and an overnight stop at a WM serves an entirely different purpose than a stop at a campground.  I am opposed to anyone using WM in place of a campground.  We use WM as a safe and convenient place to overnight when we are on the move between campgrounds located great distances apart.  I find mostly fulltimers at WM who are working the Interstates for a two or three day long haul.  Campgrounds are just not practical for that purpose, unless you want amenities and have the extra time for registration, finding them off road, etc.  Most weekenders have no need at all for an overnight stay at WM or Cracker Barrel or a truck stop.

There is no stay at either of the Super Walmarts on I84 in New York.  There may be a no parking if Walmart doesn't actually own the parking lot (like in a mall).

Jason_Chinn said:

As a newbies living outside the US we came across Good Sam first and joined - you gotta start somewhere! If GS is not the RVers friend, who is? I have to admit that the Wall Mart thing sounds great but probably wouldn't be for us, just doesn't appeal - we'd be on a holiday and woudl want a pleasant area, with facilities etc so the parking lot of a store doens't really fit that bill

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Escapees and FMCA are both very good even though FMCA requires you own a motorhome. Escapees has go to bat for the RVer on several occasions and I am sure will continue to do so.

Phil said:

Maybe that's why some people call us trailer trash.  :-[

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I know this is an old posting, but some people may be interested to know that if you travel 5-15mls south of Havasu, you will see some great RV spots on BLM land that are regularly used by passing RVers, & they are set back off the main road so you don't get the usual Wallyworld irritating noises in the night!

I stayed at the Lake Havasu Walmart last year for several nights without a problem. Several other RVs spent the night also.

seilerbird said:

I stayed at the Lake Havasu Walmart last year for several nights without a problem. Several other RVs spent the night also.

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Since the original post was made over 4 years ago, perhaps the Lake Havasu WM has changed its policy.

Wendy said:

Since the original post was made over 4 years ago, perhaps the Lake Havasu WM has changed its policy.

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The last time I was in the Lake Havasu area (8 years ago) I recall seeing a sign that said something like RVs can only stay overnight in RV parks. Wal*Mart had nothing to do with why you could not stay there overnight, they just had to go by the local law.

According to the Overnight RV Parking website, the Lake Havasu City Walmart is a no overnight parking area by both city law and mall regulation. This was supposedly confirmed as recently as February, 2010 by a phone call to the store by the administrator of the Overnight RV Parking web site. There are also RVers reports from 2008 and 2009 saying the same.

I suspect that Walmart doesn't care, so if you escape notice by local authorities and mall security (if any), you would be ok.

Tom said:

Earlier this evening we were at WalMart in Lake Havasu City (shopping, not camping). There was a sign at the entrance to the parking lot saying "No overnight camping allowed". But a few RVers appeared to be settling in for the night.

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Generally.. "Overnight" refers to a specific hour (IE: 2am) and if you park till 1:30 and take off anc come back at 3:15, you are good... Generally, note time varies place to place.

Now as it happens.. Depending on the road I actually prefer to drive at night so I can deal with "no overnight" park 6pm to mid, drive mid to 6am, park till noon.

Also, Generally.. It is not the store that makes the rule.. it is the city, county or state.  And the law enforcement types may be "Restricted" from coming onto the lot to ticket you without an invite from management... THIS too depends on where you are parked (What city,county,state)

It also depends on how well the law is written.

And many overnight parking restrictions are there so lot cleaning or snow removal efforts (if needed) would not be hampered.  If none of that is going on and there's no reason for anyone to need your RV moved, you'd probably be okay by checking in with the store manager first.