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Old 08-12-2019, 10:42 PM   #8
TurnerFam
Senior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
State: Georgia
Posts: 2,585
THOR #4735
Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Breeze View Post
If you plan to pass through good ol' Alb, don't; plan to stay in a Walmart, HD or Lowes parking lot....
k

well, this is a common concern, and ready misconception... as I don't know of a single one in the country, in all of our 100,000 miles of travel and many, many overnights at many big box stores, and various 'commercial' parking lots, even in major cities, where this 'restriction' is either posted, or enforced.

You might be led to believe something different, because of local ordinances that might require signs to be posted by the owners... but that doesn't mean the store itself, or their security patrol, or the local police, sheriff, or even state troopers, will do anything to discourage it if you are polite, park in an unobtrusive space away from the heavy flow of traffic, and otherwise don't give them any 'reason' to.

The only place I've ever been asked to 'move' from was a MALL parking lot, which was absolutely huge, and very, very few cars, and yet their 'patrol' was in force to make sure that no one felt they could 'park' there - we were approached by them, and we were just parked, in the middle of the day, to actually SHOP there. They were very, very proactive.

I doubt you'll ever find anything like that, though, at any of the stores you mentioned.

I always say:
'make use of the available parking, until someone tells you otherwise'...
and it's always served us well, even as the police and sheriff cars drive by in the middle of the night.


Walmart corporate will even tell you that they, themselves, are certainly not against RVrs using their lots. They will also admit that many stores fall under local ordinances to the contrary, but unless THEY call to ask the authorities to ask you to move, it doesn't happen. Their managers have better things to do than worry about weary travelers, especially those that just shopped there.

I have seen some of these stores with what some call 'height' restriction poles at the entrance, but when you realize that using the truck entrance has no such restrictions, it doesn't keep you from doing business there, if not staying there.

If you park in places that don't readily show your 'overnighting', and stay stealthy, no one really cares whether you are there or not - you can always say that you're leaving for a vacation in the early morning, but want to wait to shop for some cold items until then - though I doubt you'll ever need to use that 'excuse'.

You have 6 wheels, or maybe even more - you can always easily move somewhere else, if the need arises.

One time at the Walmart on the eastern side of Asheville, NC, we pulled in to find a beautiful area and the parking lot right next to a fantastic park, with river running thru it, and walking trails around it. We pulled in, along with the five or so other motorhomes, some with there awnings out, some with slides out, some with all of it out, and parked out-of-the-way for the night.
A security patrol came by several times, but never stopped, or even slowed.
Later, as I was exiting the coach, that same patrol car came pulling by, slowed, stopped near me... the first thing out of the driver's mouth was "...well, Ya'll staying with us Long?" : ) He welcomed us, asked us if we needed anything, and went on his merry way, letting me know that if I wanted to move down a few spots, I might not be so close to the 'truck lane' for the delivery semi's that come during the night... nice.!

The next morning I woke up, we had coffee, and got ready to leave on the balance of our journey - I looked out the passenger window to find that 'sign' clearly posted high up on the light pole right next to us. We had parked right under it all night! : )


No worries, travel, enjoy.... it's part of the fun!
__________________
the Turners...
two Campers, two Electric cars
former diesel pusher traveler
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