Wal-Mart is a preferred parking place for many RVers.City/County parks can be great! Be leery of parks that close at dark (if they can’t keep the loonies out, you don’t want to be there). Some boat ramps allow parking (but don’t hog the whole lot). Some motels are OK (not big ones with security force and not dinky mom ‘n pops).Camping World and similar lots can be OK (they’ll assume you’re waiting for an early appointment). RoVer asks how about all the other RVs parked there. Always be discreet! (There’s an old RV story about “permission.” RoVer asks the security guard at the mall if it’s OK to park overnight. In the big ones, just blend in with the crowd. Truck stops, malls, restaurants, etc., can be OK. If you don’t act like riff-raff or a homeless person, you won’t be treated like one. Restrictions are mainly to keep drug dealers, prostitutes, and local riff-raff from setting up shop, homeless people from setting up camp, etc. All say they’ve better things to do than roust RoVers unless there’s something else wrong. I’ve never seen it enforced if RoVers are discreet. Some states encourage overnights and even have special areas set aside for RVs. When just going from point A to B and not playing tourist, Rest Areas can be fine (it helps if you’re partially deaf). Sometimes you need to be sneaky, sometimes not. No awnings, lawn chairs, and such in rest areas and malls. This means, when overnighting, you blend in and don’t call attention to yourself. This is Rule #1 to successful boondocking no matter where you do it. In general, the secret is to do it with Discretion. Long-term independent parking is another. Overnight stops or a few days at a rally are one thing. There’s boondocking and then there’s boondocking. Being prepared to live independently is what it’s all about, then you’re free to do what you want to do. It means that you are prepared to dry camp but, make use of amenities when they’re available. Independent Parking is the preferred term. Dry Camping (parking anywhere without or with limited amenities) is more accurate. Boondocking is not really a good term but has somehow come into common use.
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