Can You Find Overnight RV Parking in 2022? | RV Miles Podcast 232
Is free overnight parking no longer an option? On this episode, we discuss the websites, apps and resources we use to find overnight parking as we travel.
Plus, a rainy weather tip from the RV Miles Facebook group, and why are some RV tank deodorizers banned in California and who is responsible for the policy? The answers might surprise you.
Apps we use:
Campendium
Harvest Hosts:
Boondockers Welcome:
Overnight RV Parking (Part of the Togo/Roadpass Pro membership):
FreeCampsites.Net
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When my wife was 8, she shattered a femur in horseriding accident in Utah, and ended up in a full body cast. Her uncle drove her from UT to Independence, MO, where she rode in his truck camper the entire way (it was the only feasible way for her to travel since she could not sit up, and her folks only had a car to fit a family of four). She says it was just fine, as good as riding in the cab.
I just had a thought on Abby's Black Tank: I think social media are consumed by a disportionately large number of people with high disagreeableness. People with high agreeableness can find find real people to talk to much more easily. The poisonous combo is someone who is extroverted and high is disagreeableness because there is that social void that is not met because of their personality. Most of the folks who watch long form and don't comment are probably agreeable and introverts (which I imagine Jason's tribe to be).
What do you mean, you’re not the expert? I’m going to quit watching! LOL! Just kidding!
So mostly, this was a discussion of overnight spaces that are not free. Boondockers, HH, Togo Pro and so forth. Appreciated the suggestion to use state welcome stations, something we have not thought to do.
We watch YouTube videos on our TV and the "shorts" are not enjoyable in that medium. The amount of time to select the video and view the required ads are often longer duration than the actual video. In most cases the shorts are simply more trouble than they are worth. We don't like them and wish that YouTube wouldn't encourge them. We look forward to your very interesting and informative posts. Great "video bomb" by your son!👋 Safe travels!
We all are in control of what mediums we use, I won't do short form. I'm sorry if you are counting on revenue from me in that regard. There again I quit Facebook in 2017 so I'm not normal.
BW is actually our favorite. Sometimes, I just need some space on a farm. BW will allow, more often than not, more than 1 night stay. It's nice to get away and breathe. 😊
As a kid my mom and dad rode in the single cab pickup. I rode in the truck camper with my two brothers. We would lay on the bed on the overhang looking out the big front window. Absolutely loved riding in the truck camper.
there will always l be haters, It's to bad that some people are so nasty. just let everyone live the live the life that they want.
Star Link has such great promise. I don’t travel full time, but as a solo camper the thought of better service is a plus. Unfortunately I would need to get on a waiting list for my home location. RV Miles, any other options since I travel?
Municipal codes related to homeless populations are impacting overnight parking lot stays as well, including Wal-Mart and Cracker Barrel. This really has little to do with impacts from true RVrs, yet it does impact all RVrs.
We have noticed the truck parking section in rest areas are getting even more disgusting to stop at. We have seen drivers just standing on their step of their truck urinating or pouring their urine out of a bottle on the ground. I could not imagine stay at a designated truck stop overnight for just that reason.
Has a tech equipment question for you….what type of headset/microphone set up are you using? I am interested in being able to take my internet music show on the road but dont want to drag my audio board, boom mics and such when I do…thanks in advance and safe travels….
Last Spring we found a rest area in Texas that had specific RV spots and a couple of those were marked for handicap (my buddy grabbed on of those).
PS Loved the head and arm above the cabinetry.
I'm usually never been disappointed with a quiet overnight at Cracker Barrels, plus grab a late dinner since they close at 9:00 PM and reopen at 7:00 AM for a quick, hot breakfast before getting back on the road.
Wonderful episode. I usually watch at 1 am and I am always happy that I did.
We used to ride in the overhead bed all the time as kids when we traveled across the country in our truck camper. It was great and I would help navigate from the maps i had spread out in front of me! We were a family of 6 at the time and could not all ride in the cab. (That ended once we got the dual cab truck, but it was the mid seventies and gas prices soared. So other things killed our camping back then.)
Our 12 year old daughter mentioned Family of Nomads to us and I noticed how much negativity there was in their comments. I thought that must have been toxic followers from other platforms because I have never seen such negative comments in other Youtube channels! So sorry to see that!
riding in a truck camper is fun for most kids. you saying it's unsafe is not completely true. you talked about negative comments in your pod cast and telling viewers it's unsafe is also negative. however I know people with large famies and the truck camper worked well for them.. I guess you are only as safe as you make it. everyone has their cost limits and are not sponsored by a trailer company. I do love your show. I'm not upset just a different point of view
Why don't the manufacturers use a flush system which uses grey water to flush the black water tank?
Protect the slide toppers edges by using a stiff board with clips to stabilize the edge.
I rode in the back of a truck, with my brother and sister, from Michigan to California. Dad had made his own "camper." I do remember flying around back there several times on the trip, when he had to slam on the brakes or turned too fast. Otherwise, back in the early seventies, we didn't think anything about it!
As for the black tank pods, I am a big fan of he bio/geo method. Borax and Dawn. Does not get simpler. A cup of Borax and a few tablespoons of Dawn in with about 5 gallons of water. No worries, no stink!
We used to own a truck camper. We took a trip to Mt Rushmore, with my sister, and her family. Parking at Mt Rushmore is expensive. So we called the state police, and asked if you can put people in the camper, to travel. He said YES! AS LONG AS ALL SEATBELTS HAVE BEEN TAKEN IN THE TRUCK. So that’s what we did. All the kids were in seatbelts inside the truck, and the adults were in the camper. Having adult beverages, and telling dirty jokes, you can’t tell around the kids. It was a little weird, but with the windows you don’t get too motion sick.
Last winter traveling throughout the South from ice cold Northern Michigan I never had a problem finding a FREE overnight parking spot…just me…ya gotta be creative AND you gotta be courteous to your surroundings
Another great post! My parents had a "pop up" camper, so it wasn't an issue for us. As for those criticizing how that family is raising their children, I agree "keep the kids out of this". There are no perfect parents out there, so leave them alone.
Keep up the great work.!!
I'll add that to my 101 reasons to avoid CA. Great state, great views but there doing everything they can do to drive out businesses, making it imposable for under employed people to live there. Cross the border and the price of gas goes up at least $1.00 a gal. WTH!
We stayed at a Cracker Barrel in Alabama recently and had called prior to the trip to insure they allowed overnight parking. When we arrived we saw a sign posted no overnight parking. So, we went in, asked to see the manager to insure it was ok for us to stay and had names just in case. We had dinner there as well. While there we did some clean up of trash and dog droppings left behind by previous visitors, such a sad way to thank businesses for their hospitality.
Watching you two always make me feel better. Even when the subject isn't joyous, I always find something of value. You are not a fluffy, over the top rainbow and unicorn show but a show that has real and meaningful VALUE. THANK YOU for all you do and may "the force" always be with you.
I am so sick and tired of todays world of all the rules and regulations the 5000 page booklets you have to read there rules that I cannot understand. I prey the when the people get my age they cannot understand their own rules and wish they did not make them. Its a real thing as you get older. It's frustrating I'm just trying to live a quiet simpler life.
Why can't people just be nice to others? As my Mother always said, "If you don't have anything nice to say…Don't say anything" When you plan a trip, do you plan a stop for every night BEFORE you leave? If so, do you plan the Rest Stop? Heading out full-time this summer and still trying to figure out trip planning.
Back 55 years ago when I was a kid that is how we got to a campground. We layed on the bed and looked out the front window. We had one for 35 years when our kids were growing up. They Never road in it.
Very good content,thanks
Pilot and flying J are great truck stops separated truck and rv sections…. good Sam card gives .05 off gas .
A lot of things aren’t allowed to be shipped to California. Most of them make some sense, some of them make me scratch my head. I buy compostable bags for putting in my little home collection bin to be transferred to the green bin at our condo. For some reason the bags that I used to buy can no longer be sent to California. I don’t understand why. They are compostable. They are not the kind that break down into a gazillion little pieces of plastic. They are bio bags. So I picked a different bag that looks just the same, seems to be the same stuff, and it was shipping to California with no problems. Go figure.
Used to ride in a fifth wheel heading to northern Michigan with a 4 place open snowmobile trailer hooked to the fifth wheel with four-wheelers. Towed with a 6.4 powerstroke when they first came out going 85 mph up I75
My slide toppers have survived 70+ mph winds with no problems. I say put em on.