No overnight parking at rest area?

[NY_Dutch]

Sure, but why even stay there at all if you're not going to use much of anything? If all you need is electricity, get a larger battery so you can run everything for a night or two. Like I did with both of my RVs.

-Don- Marianna, FL

For overnight RV park stops en route to our destination, we rarely hook up more than the power cord and run out our super slide in a pull-thru site. Cell service pretty much takes care of our Internet and streaming TV entertainment, so no need to set up our satellite dish. In cold weather, we may not even run out the slide since everything we need is fully accessible with it in and it's less volume to heat. It would take too large a battery bank to insure my wife's medical equipment would run all night, so we either need an electric hookup or the generator running all night, making RV parks our preference.

 

[DonTom]

I have stayed overnight in Florida resr stops at least 50 times over the years and never had any problem whatsoever. I believe a lot of these comments are just exagerations!

That's good to hear! Perhaps it is only enforced when the cops have nothing better to do--or if the city needs more money.

But I assume it depends on your luck.

I noticed most of the rest stops around here say they provide security.

I remember many years ago, reading about the very serious crimes at Florida rest stops. Murders during robberies and such. I guess they fixed these issues.

-Don- Marianna, FL

 

[Alontheway]

are u people really discussing back n forth reasons to stop at a campground or at a rest stop?
Which belt buckle hole do you prefer and why? Name 5 reasons you choose one buckle hole over the other and give supporting evidence. I think that would be a more interesting discussion.

 

[LarsMac]

About what are to odds of it being enforced against a motorhome there for 8 hours or so?

-Don- Marianna, FL

I have stopped to sleep at rest areas in about fifteen states in the last few years, and only once was ever even contacted by the State Police. That was in PA, at 4 AM, where the officer advised us that there were some escaped prisoners suspected of being in the area and asked if he could verify our IDs and then suggested that we move on soon and not pick up any hitchhikers.

 

[cully]

are u people really discussing back n forth reasons to stop at a campground or at a rest stop?
Which belt buckle hole do you prefer and why? Name 5 reasons you choose one buckle hole over the other and give supporting evidence. I think that would be a more interesting discussion.

Well, that's you. If you don't see what you like it's easy, move on. I find this thread informing and interesting

 

[LarsMac]

That's good to hear! Perhaps it is only enforced when the cops have nothing better to do--or if the city needs more money.

But I assume it depends on your luck.

I noticed most of the rest stops around here say they provide security.

I remember many years ago, reading about the very serious crimes at Florida rest stops. Murders during robberies and such. I guess they fixed these issues.

-Don- Marianna, FL

Yep. There was one event in '93 at I-10 Rest stop near Tallahassee where a family from Britain (I think) had stopped to catch a nap, and were shot to death. That one changed how Florida managed their rest stops.

 

[DonTom]

That was in PA, at 4 AM, where the officer advised us that there were some escaped prisoners suspected of being in the area and asked if he could verify our IDs and then suggested that we move on soon and not pick up any hitchhikers.

Tom & I was once boondocked in a Class B, many years ago, ( late 1970's?) in the desert off the freeway, perhaps 50 miles west of Las Vegas, NV. We didn't realize we could be seen from the freeway. In fact, I am not sure how they found us. Perhaps via aircraft? It was still daylight.

But a cop showed up and checked out our IDs and then told us people (perhaps from Las Vegas) have been dumping murdered bodies out there in the area we were at. That was enough to get us out of that area!

He never asked us to leave. He didn't have to!

-Don- Marianna, FL

 

[DonTom]

I think that would be a more interesting discussion.

I don't read the threads here that I find that are not interesting to me. Why do you?

-Don- Marianna, FL

 

[DonTom]

There was one event in '93 at I-10 Rest stop near Tallahassee where a family from Britain (I think) had stopped to catch a nap, and were shot to death. That one changed how Florida managed their rest stops.

You must be thinking about this one. That was the one that made it time for Florida to do something.

But I more clearly remember this one, involving a German tourist. There have been several murders in Florida back then, enough to stop people from coming to Florida to spend their money. But not all of them at rest stops, but they were all tourists who had money to spend, to make the news back in CA (where Tom & I lived at the time).

-Don- Marianna, FL

 

[Oldgator73]

Which belt buckle hole do you prefer and why? Name 5 reasons you choose one buckle hole over the other and give supporting evidence. I think that would be a more interesting discussion.

If my jeans have just been washed I usually use maybe the second hole. As the weeks go by, I don’t like my jeans washed too much, the belt hole moves until wash time hits again, maybe 3-4 weeks.
another reason to move the belt hole is the meal just finished. Actually I would rather not eat while wearing jeans, I prefer something like gym shorts or maybe boxer shorts. If the temp is above 40 I usually wear shorts and the belt hole used is around the number 4.

 

[DonTom]

The rest stop here has a three hour limit.

BTW, anybody know how those signs work here on the FL freeways that mentions how many truck spaces are free to use?

-Don- Middle of Nowhere, N Florida.

 

[DonTom]

The rest stop near here not only had a three hour limit, it had NO free spaces with trucks and RVs waiting. So I decided to just drive on and I am now at an RV park. In Gary's country.

Even if only for one night.

I discovered as I go south, there is more and more traffic. Marianna is more my type of place.

-Don- Ocala North RV Resort

 

[Isaac-1]

Once you turn south onto the Florida Peninsula that is where the traffic gets much worse, real fast, one way in and one way out for those millions of people that live in south Florida, all on just a couple of major highways. 21 million people in Florida and less than 10% of them live in the panhandle.

 

[DonTom]

Once you turn south onto the Florida Peninsula that is where the traffic gets much worse, real fast, one way in and one way out for those millions of people that live in south Florida, all on just a couple of major highways. 21 million people in Florida and less than 10% of them live in the panhandle.

I love the panhandle area! I would move to the Marianna area in a second if it wasn't such a big hassle for me to move two houses full of junk and 15 motor vehicles.

Florida now has more people than NY state. I can see why, but what is the big attraction to the southern part? I guess that is where all the jobs are at.

-Don- Ocala North RV Resort, FL

 

[TheBar]

The main reason there are overnight limits at rest stops in the south is people who live in their car head south for the winter. Those who have money stay at state and federal parks. I don't worry about them. The ones who have no money are the ones I worry about.

 

[Oldgator73]

The main reason there are overnight limits at rest stops in the south is people who live in their car head south for the winter. Those who have money stay at state and federal parks. I don't worry about them. The ones who have no money are the ones I worry about.

Replace worry with empathy and we might get somewhere.

 

[DonTom]

The main reason there are overnight limits at rest stops in the south is people who live in their car head south for the winter.

After I saw how packed the rest area near here was, I was wondering if that was the reason for the 3 hour time limits. People waiting for the spots! But these were all RV and truck parking spots, so that had nothing to do with cars. I didn't check the car section to see if they were full also.

But what do those people who live in their cars do now?

-Don- Ocala North RV Resort, FL

 

[TheBar]

There was a 79 yo woman staying at our campgrounds in her SUV a couple of weeks ago. I know the gatekeeper so I asked him about her. He said there are lots of senior aged people that have no family and enjoy that lifestyle. They aren't the problem so they let them in. It is the younger crowd and illegals that pay for one night and a couple days later they have to call the police to get them out. Many campgrounds now won't let anybody check in unless they have an RV with them. Even people with RVs sometimes won't leave.

 

[Isaac-1]

Mostly it is old people that go as far south as they can to stay warm, the panhandle gets a few nights of freezing weather most years, and even the occasional dusting of snow some years. By contrast the Orlando area may get night that barely drop below freezing about once every 3-4 years, and by the time you get as far south as Fort Lauderdale, freezing weather becomes a thing of myth.

p.s. Don, one of the things that always amazes me when traveling to south Florida is the number of elderly people working in service jobs (fast food, waiters, etc.). By elderly I mean people well past typical retirement ages, and in their 70's perhaps even 80's. I just don't see that anywhere else in the country.

 

[Oldgator73]

p.s. Don, one of the things that always amazes me when traveling to south Florida is the number of elderly people working in service jobs (fast food, waiters, etc.). By elderly I mean people well past typical retirement ages, and in their 70's perhaps even 80's. I just don't see that anywhere else in the country.

It’s because Florida is so boring they need some stimulation.