WAL-MART DISCRIMINATION AGAINST RVers in HOMESTEAD FLORIDA

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Can anyone confirm?  I've heard WM allows overnight RV parking (provided local laws don't prohibit, or there isn't some special-case like FL City seems to be).  Is this an actual policy, or an unwritten "mostly dependable" policy?  We've just starting our and hope to stay at WMs between destinations where there are no state/ fed parks nearby.  Nothing against KOAs/ Sam Goody's, but they are getting as spendy as motels...
 
We have a large lot at our repair shop and used to let trucks park overnight along with campers. We have never had any major problems until recently. We have had several people clean out their garbage and toss it on the ground. One trucker left a trailer here for 2 weeks!  We had a couple who let their dog potty and not clean up the mess right in front of our main door. So as the story goes a few bad apples spoil the whole bushel.
 
chrishibbard7 said:
Can anyone confirm?  I've heard WM allows overnight RV parking (provided local laws don't prohibit, or there isn't some special-case like FL City seems to be).  Is this an actual policy, or an unwritten "mostly dependable" policy?  We've just starting our and hope to stay at WMs between destinations where there are no state/ fed parks nearby.  Nothing against KOAs/ Sam Goody's, but they are getting as spendy as motels...

"Q Can I park my RV at a Walmart store?"

"A While we do not offer electrical service or accommodations typically necessary for RV customers, Walmart values RV travelers and considers them among our best customers. Consequently, we do permit RV parking on our store lots as we are able. Permission to park is extended by individual store managers, based on availability of parking space and local laws. Please contact management in each store to ensure accommodations before parking your RV."

http://walmartstores.com/317.aspx#Park_RV

Only about 15% of the nearly 4,000 Walmart stores do not allow overnight RV parking, usually due to local ordinances, zoning requirements, or parking lot ownership issues. A very few disallow it due to a local store management decision, usually due to a small or oddly shaped parking lot.
 
It's a policy, as outlined by NY Dutch. Individual store managers implement the policy as they see fit for their locality. There are various websites that try to list which Walmarts & Sams allow parking, and there is an excellent (but not free) directory of free overnight parking locations at Overnight RV  Parking
 
Alaskansnowbirds said:
I've never understood why some people always blame Wal-Mart for the overnight parking regulations.

There are some locations where Wal-Mart doesn't own the land so they have to comply with the land owners regulations.

Other locations Wal-Mart has to comply with city or county ordinances. They don't have a choice whether to allow overnight parking or not.

I think that if it were left up to Wal-Mart you could park overnight at all their locations.

Exactly right.  Walmart's corporate policy is that they allow Overnight RV Parking "where we are able." There are very few Walmarts where a Store Policy of "No Overnight RV Parking" has been set by the manager when it isn't required by local laws or the property owner from whom Walmart leases the building and/or the parking lot.

In those few cases, the store manager has made the decision based on RVer behavior, from parking overnight without store permission (required by corporate policy), to parking too close to the building, to staying more than one night, to setting up a campsite (BBQ, lawn chairs, etc), to dumping waste tanks in the storm drains.

As with many things, it's the irresponsible few who ruin it for everyone.
Edit: Moved link to signature line.
 
Good post Jim, thanks.

Please check your PMs for a message from me.
 
utahclaimjumper said:
It may also have nothing to do with the city,, and everthing to do with whomever owns the property.>>>Dan
Exactly the case here in the Binghamton, NY area. The PROPERTY OWNER made it illegal to park in the lot by placing signs at every entrance. The reason is because the lot in Vestal was built on a swamp and it is sinking.
It was decided (right or wrong) that heavy vehicles would not be allowed to overnight.

In the Poconos, there are town and county regulations restricting such accommodations because of the race track. There are a few spots between the towns that get used, but it isn't safe to conclude that you are OK to sleep and just might get a knock on the door at 3am from the gentlemen with the flashing lights on their cars. I can tell you first hand they have no compassion or humor in the matter.

For the record, I have always asked the manager in charge before setting up camp regardless of where we stop now.

Joe
 
I have often spent more than 3 hours in Walmart. Between grocery shopping, clothes shopping, camping supplies, eating and automotive wares one can spend that amount of time in the store.
The original poster arrived at 10:30AM which is a little early to get off the superslab in my estimation so it would seem that he was there to shop.
I don't think I would be very happy to have a "time frame" placed on me either if I'm going to spend money in their store.
And to the poster who reminded us that Walmart isn't camping I would like to say that I don't camp, I RV.


Happy motoring,  Mike                                                  :)
 
NY_Dutch said:
It seems like your real complaint is not with the store or the three hour rule, which is entirely reasonable for a location that attracts many RV'ers hoping to stay overnight, but simply with a security guard that apparently flunked Public Relations 101. I don't think it justifies bashing the store across multiple groups just because one minimum wage rent-a-cop irritated you.

I believe you may be right, but it is more than just one security guard at the particular Walmart in question.  We stopped at this same location to do some shopping back in June on our way down to the Keys as well.  DW went in to get sundry items, and in the time that she was in the store we were pestered by two different security guards multiple times.  They kept coming by and knocking on our door just to ensure that we weren't sleeping.  Honestly I was hoping to take a nap while DW shopped, but that plan was successfully foiled by their tactics.  We were there for about 45 minutes and in that time I had to answer the door and talk to the guards 5 different times to explain that we were NOT staying overnight.

My experience was that both of the guards did come across as rude, but perhaps that is because they have become accustomed to dealing with pushy, sleepy, grouchy people who feel put-out at not being able to boondock at Wal-mart like they are accustomed to doing in other places.  Perhaps the language barrier made the situation worse (neither of them was a native English-speaker, and though I know a little bit of Spanish I could not even tell what the native tongue of one of them was.)  In any case, I did call the manager of this Wal-mart to let him know that the security guards need a bit more PR training.

I would hesitate to call it RV discrimination, but I think there could be a more functional solution to their problem if RV-ers are causing congestion in their parking lot.  Having the goons harass a substantial portion of their customers is just bad for PR.  Perhaps they could give their security guards photocopied pages with information on where RV-ers could park in the area.  It would get the point across, and be helpful at the same time.
 
Many city ordinances against RV's in parking lots are initiated by the RV park owners group. They lobby the city that they are losing $$$$$ of revenue because of all the RV's parking overnight in lots. And I suppose from their perspective, they are kind of right. We just don't like it very much.
 
Gerall said:
Many city ordinances against RV's in parking lots are initiated by the RV park owners group. They lobby the city that they are losing $$$$$ of revenue because of all the RV's parking overnight in lots. And I suppose from their perspective, they are kind of right. We just don't like it very much.

They're really not losing money because the folks who stay overnight in WM parking lots are not going to stay in campgrounds. They'll just go on to the next town where they CAN park in the WM parking lot. Since they don't stay in the city with the ordinance, they don't spend $$ at WM or restaurants or anywhere else in the city and the city loses improtant tax money.

Wendy
 
First, the title of this post is wrong...There is not a Walmart in Homestead, it is in Florida City. Fla City enacted an ordinance in regards to RV parking which Walmart as well as the local police have been tasked to enforce. It is not Walmart's policy. Yes we have a big problem with minimum wage employees in this area not being able to speak English properly. Like the old saying, you get what you pay for. I have spent the night in Walmarts' several times when I could not find a campground having driven later in the day than when I normally stop. I appreciate the hospitality when it is allowed.

This area being mostly farming during winter months attracts a lot of people because of our weather. With  the NASCAR Track nearby, we get lots of tourism in Nov along with our normal influx of "Snowbirds" causing a very crowded period of time around the race. In the past, RV's were taking up a lot of the parking area along with RV's even encroaching on private property. Even during the daytime, you would see RV's with their awnings out and their lawn chairs doing their camping thing. It was not surprising that Florida City enacted the law as RVers had gotten out of hand in their eyes. I do not go to the Florida City Walmart unless the DW drags me (kicking and screaming)  there. It is the busiest Walmart in the US. When I do go there, it is early like 6am in the morning. Even the staff in this Walmart are rude. I really enjoy going to Walmarts in other parts of the country when we are traveling.

BTW, there are 2 RV parks within a mile of this store. One of the RV parks is owned and operated by the city of Florida City which may explain the ordinance.
 
gwcowgill said:
First, the title of this post is wrong...There is not a Walmart in Homestead, it is in Florida City.
...
BTW, there are 2 RV parks within a mile of this store. One of the RV parks is owned and operated by the city of Florida City which may explain the ordinance.
Yes, that is the one I was referring to as well; Florida City, not Homestead.  And that may indeed explain the ordinance, although I expect most touristy areas are more likely to have the same ordinances.  The Walmart in Kissimee (near Disneyworld) has the same policy, although I don't know if it is a city ordinance there or not.
 
Who else watched 60 Minutes last night?
The answer was there. They did an article about the homeless families in FL, living out of cars or trucks or whatever they could find. There are more homeless families there than anywhere in the US, by a large margin. I'm sure Walmart's response was based on problems that they have with folks who really have nowhere else to go.
One family was a dad, his 15 year old daughter and 12 year old son, living in a 1 ton delivery he had converted. He was  carpenter by trade.
They moved around a lot, washed up in gas station bathrooms, attended public school. In an effort to keep life 'normal', they participated in a community theater, spent time in libraries, anything they could do on what little money that could be had. Dad was camera shy but his beautiful daughter more than made up for that.
She was beyond charming, a wonderful young lady in a tough situation.
Another jobless father sat all night on a cooler outside the family car, watching over his family.
It was quite a touching story, and made us all the more thankful for our situation.
 
SkyKing1 is on the mark...I didn't see that show but do know of several people who would, & might be considered, homeless except for their RV. I've seen on another forum posters who routinely relocate every 3 days to avoid breaking the city parking ordinance. That sometimes gives me pause to remember just how lucky I am. If I lost my pension or if SS takes a dump what little savings I have wouldn't save my old...self...owning a RV would be a real lifesaver. The fact that I can sleep knowing it is paid for is a blessing.
 
We who are still working or comfortably retired are very fortunate and the homeless nowadays are not quite like the homeless in the past and it is very sad for sure.
 
If Walmart allowed overnight parking at the last Walmart before the keys, then the parking lot would become a literal stopping point for RV's heading into or out of the keys. I have been there, and it was busy at that time.
We pulled in and I saw the security guard going from RV to RV, so we left. Being as late as it was, we headed into the Everglades, and spent the night in the empty visitor center parking lot. Being as late as it was, we figured if we got more than 3 hours sleep we were better off. I do know that several times a car pulled through the parking lot (security I hope), but we were left undisturbed and got ourselves up early. I think maybe the license plates from a state 1400-1500 miles away might have helped.
 
NY_Dutch said:
It seems like your real complaint is not with the store or the three hour rule, which is entirely reasonable for a location that attracts many RV'ers hoping to stay overnight, but simply with a security guard that apparently flunked Public Relations 101. I don't think it justifies bashing the store across multiple groups just because one minimum wage rent-a-cop irritated you.

Awesome response.


I am not a fan of WalMart but I see that many stores let RVs park for free and I think that is great of them, but if the stores limits parking, just shop somewhere else.

 
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