Unfortunately, on our wat to work the Sugar Beet Harvest every year in Crookston, Minnesota, we have to travel for a few days without our Thousand Trails or RPI campgrounds.  Because staying at campgrounds can become expensive, we always end up boondocking in parking lots for a few days.  I will be honest, we are not great boondockers.  We can handle a couple of days hunting for a spot to land for the night, leaving the slide in, and running the generator.  But, we start to get grumpy after a couple of days.

Boondocking In Parking Lots – Our Experience

When we talk about boondocking, we include dispersed camping in the definition.  However, dispersed camping, to us, signifies finding a designated campground on public land or a park where we can sit for a few days in our own spot.  We can run the generator and put the slide out when we disperse camp.  Although we still prefer campgrounds with full-hookups, we have dispersed camped in one area for a week or two.

But boondocking in parking lots is completely different.   Yes, you can boondock in lots of different parking lots!  We have stayed at Casinos, Walmarts, Cabelas, Cracker Barrels, Truck Stops, and Rest Stops.  After four years of RVing full-time we definitely have our favorite parking lots for crashing for  a night.

Some of Our Favorite Parking Lots are Casinos!

The only parking lots we stay longer than one night in is Casinos.  The couple of casinos we boondocked at were awesome.  One even provided free electric!  Casinos are usually the best parking lots to stay in.  However, we did bypass The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Sioux City, IA.  It was downtown.  We didn’t like the parking lot and area.  So, we continued on to the Flying J Truck Center in Sioux Falls.

Most casinos have a designated area for RVs to park for the night.  Some charge a low fee.  Sometimes you get free electricity.  Usually the casinos have large parking lots where you can have a bit of privacy from the customer parking lots.  Before parking our vehicle, we always enter the casino and speak to an employee.  We ask if overnight parking is okay and where we need to park.  We also do this for other parking lots.

If you are traveling and need to crash for an evening, we recommend trying a casino.  Again, the only casino we didn’t stay at was the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Sioux City, IA.

Boondocking Overnight in Stores and Restaurants Parking Lots

Let’s be honest, Walmart parking lots are our most frequented parking lots.  Not all Walmarts allow overnight parking and we don’t like all Walmart parking lots for boondocking.  If we arrive before the store closes and do not see any other RVs, we will go inside and ask if overnight parking is allowed.  Sometimes, you don’t even have to go inside.  They will have signs posted all over the parking lot saying no overnight parking!

Before we arrived at the Flying J Travel Center, we visited the Walmart Parking Lot in Sioux Falls.  Per Campendium, it allowed overnight parking.  However, when we arrived, the parking lot was filled with “No Overnight Parking” signs.  And, we wouldn’t have boondocked there anyway.  The parking lot was small!  It was way, way too small for all the traffic to the Walmart and Sam’s Club right beside it.

We have sat overnight in some really nice Walmart parking lots.  They were away from the highway and much quieter than you would expect.  We always try to park the farthest away from the store entrance and sometimes you will see RVs sitting in a back parking lot.

However, we have also left Walmart parking lots.  Once we were traveling through a city and had decided to stay at a Walmart overnight.  I don’t remember the exact location of this city, but I believe it was in Montana.  We pulled into the parking lot, parking as far away from the building as possible.  When we looked around more closely, we noticed a lot of older RVs that appeared to be living there.

The final large warning light to us that we didn’t want to stay at this Walmart occurred while we were fixing supper.  A car with a couple and some children pulled in near us.  The children left the vehicle to stand on the corner of the street right above us, panhandling.  That was enough for us.  We packed up the camper and headed to the Cracker Barrel.

The Cracker Barrels that we have stayed at have a few nice, long RV spots.  They are usually around the back.  However, you should always go in and ask if overnight parking is allowed.  You will not have as much room to put stairs down and work out in a Cracker Barrel parking lot.  However, they are usually pretty quiet except for street noise.

Cabelas is a fabulous parking lot to sit for a night.  Usually you have a lot of room, with no other RVs near you.  We have seen a huge bus with a long trailer pull into a Cabelas to set up.  Although we usually only sit for one night (who wants to sit in a parking lot longer?), we did sit at one Cabelas for three days.  We were traveling west at the time.  For some reason, we needed to sit for a couple of days.  We went inside and talked to the staff in Cabelas.  They were very friendly and told us no problem to stay a couple of nights.

We were not the only RV staying for a few days in that particular Cabelas parking lot.  However, usually, Cabelas allows one night overnight parking.  They are usually very quiet spots, away from the downtown area, and are perfect for a good nights rest.

Because our stairs are the heavy type that you have to drop down, we usually try to park on the last passenger side slot.  We don’t want to block anyone else from parking.  Also, we don’t want someone to take out our stairs.  Whether it be in store parking lots, truck stops, or rest stops, we always try to park early enough to grab the last parking space on the right hand side.

Boondocking in Truck Stop Parking Lots – Always An Option

My husband drove for the oil field and over the road.  He has more experience with truck stops than I do.  When he first suggested that we pull over for the night in a truck stop from Texas to Missouri , I was hesitant.  That first experience was not our most comfortabl in a truck stop.

We had to pull the truck and camper into a middle spot.  Because we had no experience with our camper or stairs at that point, we didn’t park early to grab the far most parking spot on the right.

So, we were in a middle spot.  The first truck that pulled in beside us was super nice.  They gave us plenty of room to put our stairs down.  However, when he left, the next truck pulled in right beside us.  Jumping out of the camper, over the stairs, is not the most fun way to wake up.

We have learned a lot since that first experience at a truck stop.  On our way up to the beet harvest this year, we decided to stay overnight at a Flying J Travel Center.  We backed up the truck and camper into a truck spot way in the back.  Windell parked the camper perfectly next to an unhooked trailer.  When we pulled the stairs down, they landed right on the line.  It was the best night sleep we had in two days, parked between two tractor trailers!

If you do not arrive too late and you plan how you are going to park, truck stops are a fabulous overnight parking option.  We loved the Flying J back parking area.  The tractor trailers were still running.  But the camper was behind most of the noise and we slept like logs.  It was way better than the Walmart parking lots we popped a squat on for the previous two nights.

Be Careful of  Boondocking Overnight at Rest Stops

We have stayed at lots of rest stops.  You can’t beat Florida for the quality of its rest stops.  Usually they have water to fill your tank and sewer dumps.  Some are away from highway noise.  You can stay overnight at rest stops in Florida, with no issues.

We know when we travel through Florida, we will be staying at rest stops.  They are easy pulloffs from the main highways and interstates.  They usually have 24 hour security and we have never had any issues at Florida rest stops.  In fact, Florida rest stops are our favorite overnight boondocking parking lot!.

However, not all states allow overnight parking in their rest stops.  Some states allow twelve hour parking.  Some limit it to ten hour and others may only allow you to sit at a rest stop for four hours.

When we travel to a state and are looking for a parking lot for a night, we mainly use our Campendium app.  If you click on a rest stop parking and scroll to the bottom of the description, the app tells you how many hours you can legally stay at the rest stop.

We know some people break the rules.  While traveling on Interstate 29 North, we saw a Class C with two flat tires sitting at a rest stop that only allows ten hours.  If you read the comments in Campendium, people will say they stayed longer in a rest stop parking lot than what was allowed with no issues.

However, we don’t want to be those people.  We don’t want to risk having a knock in the middle of the night, startling us.  So, we avoid rest stops that do not allow overnight parking.

If they have signs of “No Camping”, we don’t stop for the night.  If the rest area states ten hours maximum, we don’t stop for the night.  When we travel and look for boondocking parking lots, we want to sleep and sit for at least twelve hours.  We are not speedy travelers.

So, if you are thinking about boondocking at rest stops, know the rules and beaware that they change from state to state.  No matter where we do pull into a parking lot for the night, whether a store, restaurant, truck stop, or rest stop, we do not run our generator overnight.  Although it probably would not bother tractor trailer drivers, it is just a habit we have to shut the generator off.

The Campendium App is a great resource to find parking lot and other boondocking sites.  Be aware, though, that you should scroll down the screen to see how many hours you can legally stay in the parking lot.  Also, ordinances change.  So, we always try to go into the store or restaurant or call ahead to ensure it is okay to park overnight.  Some of the spots we have found in previous years are no longer available for overnight parking.

Are We There Yet?

The hunting and pecking for boondocking parking lots is our least favorite way of traveling.  We enjoy knowing we have a campsite at our next location.  However, we have boondocked at various parking lots.  Casinos and rest stops are our favorite overnight parking spots.  Yet we have had some peaceful nights at Walmarts, and yes, even at truck stops.  But we miss our campgrounds when we boondock.  We love full-hookups and programmed coffee.

Although our full-time RV memberships provide us many options for campsites, some areas just are too expensive for us to stay in campgrounds.  So, we boondock in parking lots in these areas simply to travel through them quickly.  Sometimes you are just trying to get to greener grass.

Because we don’t want to be awaken or visited by the law, we try to make sure we know the stay limits in parking lots and talk with store staff to ensure overnight parking is allowed.   When we finally reach our next campground, we both let out a sigh of relief.  No more parking lot boondocking, no more driving around with a camper to find a spot for the night, and no more walking Walmart for exercise.  Finally, full-hookups and regularly scheduled programs!

Our RV Memberships

We have been full-time RVing for over four years now.  Over that period, we have joined a few RV Memberships for campgrounds and workamping.  The only memberships we use for campgrounds are Thousand Trails , the Trails Collection with Thousand Trails, RPI, and Passport America .  We also joined Workamper News  for fun workamping jobs.

Thousand Trails

The first membership we purchased was a used Thousand Trails Elite membership from Campground Membership Outlet .  We purchased this membership before we had even sold our house.  Our used Elite membership cost less than $5000.  We can book four months in advance for our Thousand Trails campgrounds, and we can stay up to three weeks.  We pay approximately $1000 in membership dues every year for our Elite membership and our second membership – the Trails Collection.  The Trails Collection, or Encore campgrounds, are additional campgrounds with Thousand Trails sites.  These may cost $20 per night, but most are also free after the annual membership.  We can book these two months in advance and stay for up to two weeks.  There are two Encore sites in the Florida Keys!

When we purchased our Thousand Trails membership, we had the chance to also purchase an RPI annual membership.  This membership costs less than $200 per year.  There are many RPI campgrounds in areas that do not have Thousand Trails.  Most of the campsites in RPI cost us $10 per night.  We used these campgrounds a lot the first year when we were traveling between Thousand Trails campgrounds.

Passport America

However, even with these two memberships, sometimes we still do not have cheap campgrounds in some areas.  This is where our Passport America membership comes into play.    We used this membership for the first time at Glacier National Park.  Our campground was six miles from the West Glacier entrance.  It was amazing.  So, during Christmas a couple of years ago, when Passport America ran a sale for a lifetime membership for under $300, we purchased it.  This membership helped us out a lot in Michigan and Wisconsin, where we did not have many Thousand Trail campgrounds.  We have already used it this year also.  Right in the middle of our planned trip, we decided to change our trip and go north for cooler weather.  We landed a campground close to our area for half the price with Passport America.

The Passport America membership can be a little more confusing because the campgrounds within this program are still individually owned.  Most of the time you get half off the nightly rate.  However, depending on the campground, there may be limitations.  For example, some do not give discounts on weekends.  So, you do have read the details on the campground.  We really like to call the campground personally and talk to someone there.

Workamper News

The only other membership we have purchased after four years of traveling is Workamper News.  We like learning new hobbies and we like buying toys for our hobbies.  But we retired early and must watch our spending.  So, after two couples we met while traveling recommended Workamper News.com to us for workamping jobs, we signed up to try it.  Again, around Christmas, Workamper News offered us a discounted membership term, so we jumped on it.  We have found both of our RVing jobs on Workamper News.  One was the Beet Harvest in Minnesota that we worked a couple of weeks.  However, our favorite is houskeeping in Florida at a beautiful resort for five months over the winter.   We had a blast kayaking and snorkeling on our days off!  To us, the Workamper News membership is an opportunity to overwinter without moving, make new friends, learn new skills, and pay for our toys.  We have had a great time at both of our workamping jobs and are glad we tried them.

We love our memberships.  All of them have helped us save money on our RVing Adventuring and maintain our budget.  We plan on continuing to use these for the rest of our RVing life.