Travel Question

[timr]

Heading to Fla in Dec from Ohio. May try to stay overnight somewhere. Can anyone tell me if a Triple J type truck stop will allow RVers to hook up overnight?

[fhenn]

They will allow you to stay there but there are no hook ups

[FW28z]

A few Flying J locations do have free overnight parking for RVs. You can download a Flying J RV guide from their website which lists the facilities each one has.

And as mentioned, there are no hookups, so it is "boondocking" only.

There are two guides though - so I am not sure which one is the most accurate. The webpage below has a .pdf, while the top drop down menu of the Flying J website allows you to download a spreadsheet. I am not sure if there is a difference between the two versions or not.

Pilot Flying J

The ones that say "Yes" to "RV Parking" are the ones that offer overnight parking. Other amenities that some Flying J's have are dump stations and RV-only fuel lines.

Last spring we took a trip in our car to Florida and back with our car. We went to visit our son (lives in Florida) and took a cruise. Anyway, we had just bought our RV so we looked for such places. So we reconnoitered a route for a future RV trip when we drove to Florida from Michigan.

We found several Camping World locations that had free overnight parking, but they only had a few spots. One place, near Pooler, GA only had electrical hookups, but only 4 spots and they were already occupied at noon.

If you go to the Camping World website and look up the various store locations, it will tell you if there is free overnighting or not.

We only stopped at one Flying J; near Ft. Pierce, to look it over; and it looked pretty nice.

We also looked at other alternatives; such as reversing our schedule (drive at night and sleep in the day) and sleep at rest stops (which should be a lot safer in the daytime). But some states have restrictions on how long you can park there - even in the day time. North Carolina I think has a 2 hour restriction.

Of course there is WalMart where you can stay (generally called Wallydocking - a synonym for boondocking), but what we found is there are plenty of RV parks right off the highway, so the safest and easiest method for us is going to be to stay at those places; especially if you are a discount club member, such as Passport America, etc.

Other locations, such as St. John's County in Florida have a county-wide ordinance on wallydocking.

[JamieGeek]

You may also want to browse through the I-75 exit guide:
Everything for the I-75 Traveler | The I-75 Exit Guide
For other places to stop & stay overnight.

(One I've heard of is Cracker Barrel restaurants. If you call them on your way and ask to park in their lot overnight many will allow you to do so. It still is boondocking but you can get a nice hot breakfast in the morning.)

[blw2]

Originally Posted by FW28z

Other locations, such as St. John's County in Florida have a county-wide ordinance on wallydocking.

How did you come to know this? Just curious, as I live in that county..... never heard of the rule, but it doesn't surprise me....

[FW28z]

Originally Posted by blw2

How did you come to know this? Just curious, as I live in that county..... never heard of the rule, but it doesn't surprise me....

We stopped into the Camping World near St. Augustine on our reconnoiter trip, and they told us that. Have not independently verified whether or not it is true, so I am going on their word.

[blw2]

That store used to have 10 or 12 pull through sites in the back. I never really knew their real purpose. I assumed for overnights and also for folks in for maintenance....

Recently, it looked like the car dealership that's next door to them is using it to store cars on..... but I didn't look very close. I'll have to take a closer look some day.

Honestly, I can't imagine that you'd garner much attention there, if someone were to park there in the evening and out early..... they always have RV's parked in their front lot..... maintenance drop offs, etc....
But I suppose they have to say know if that's the law. What a shame.

[FW28z]

Unless they were trying to discourage me from overnighting there.

[timr]

Thanks everyone for your quick response!! I appreciate that,and the info will be very helpful.
Tim