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Old 04-20-2016, 01:50 PM   #41
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I have stayed @ Wal-Marts. I don`t leave home without a firearm . So places like that don`t bother me.
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Old 04-20-2016, 01:52 PM   #42
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A few months ago we pulled into a rest stop. I have two TT's, one with a shallow slide, one with no slide. I'll run the slide out to get access to the bed, but don't mess with stabilizers or anything else. I'm there to rest, not camp. However, at this particular rest stop was a fiver in the first truck pull through slot, with all slides out, stabilizers down, and slinky run to a storm drain.
Apparently people have different ideas of what constitutes "rest"!
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Old 04-20-2016, 03:30 PM   #43
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Worst night of sleep I got was spent in truck stop camp site. Trucks in and out all night.
Find a cg near Interstate, ask for level site, plug in drop sewer line do not unhook, run jack down a bit, have good diner and quick breakfast and shower, on the road clean empty holding tanks, and MY coffee the next morning. A few bucks for an occasional safe stop and good nights sleep is well worth it
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Old 04-20-2016, 05:04 PM   #44
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We also make overnight stops. Being from northern NJ, in the metro NYC area, heading south down 95 can be tricky. A few years back, we tried a new approach to the DC area traffic - We leave home after dinner and after the evening rush dies down, like 8:00pm. We head south and pass through DC around midnight, continue on to into VA... Arrive 3:00am and sleep till 8:30... grab some breakfast and hit the road right after the morning rush...

We overnight almost exclusively at Elks Lodges...one of the benefits of being a member. Many lodges allow overnight stays and most have hookups... not a big deal to roll in after midnight. Sometimes even make last call...

I have planned overnight locations about 5-6 hours in each direction from home... Lets us get the jump on our travels the night before. Especially helpful for holiday weekends like July 4th this year. We are headed south to the Jersey Shore, will leave Thursday night to beat traffic on Friday - overnight 20 minutes from our final destination.
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Old 04-20-2016, 05:39 PM   #45
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I've never done it, but I'm not against it. With a TT, for me it would depend on the weather (heat). But if I needed a place to sleep late at night for a few hours I would consider a WalMart / Cracker Barrel / etc.

I have seen at my local Wal-Mart RVs being parked there at 3 pm, and still there the next day at 9am with slides out, and stabilizers down. There is always those who try to take advantage of a nice offering !
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Old 04-20-2016, 05:44 PM   #46
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We always stay in campgrounds. We do not stay in rest areas, gas stations, Walmarts or Cracker Barrels.
X 2 lot safer. Later RJD
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Old 04-20-2016, 06:04 PM   #47
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There is an app that tells which Wal-Marts usually allow overnight stays. It is good business for them because you will probably do a little shopping while you are parked, right?
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Old 04-20-2016, 06:14 PM   #48
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We always stay in campgrounds. We do not stay in rest areas, gas stations, Walmarts or Cracker Barrels.
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Old 04-20-2016, 07:41 PM   #49
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We have not traveled out of state yet, but in Texas they have picnic areas everywhere. It is legal to pull in and stay the night. I have heard you can stay as long as you like, but I could see my TT growing legs and walking off while gallivanting around the area. This is where we stayed to and from Big Bend. I was only nervous when we stopped just north of Laredo. No problems. Of course my husband and Doberman was with me. When I do travel by myself, I will pull in to a rest stop and sleep. Then I am armed with a Doberman. My dogs always kept people away if they got to close to vehicle. It drives my family crazy when I do this, but call me cheap.
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Old 04-20-2016, 08:06 PM   #50
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We have stayed at Wallmarts. Cracker Barrel and a Flying J, TN. No problems. We always check with the store managers first. The Flying J was noisy and very bright so probably won't do that again.
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Old 04-20-2016, 08:12 PM   #51
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May be a dumb question, but when you pull over for the nite in a rest area...is there any point in dropping down the stabilizer jacks? I'm guessing just keeping it attached to the truck is fine.

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I'll run the landing gear down and put just enough pressure on them to lift the trailer about an inch. That's enough to make it solid so it doesn't move around. That's with the wife along, now, if it's just me, I won't bother with it.
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Old 04-20-2016, 08:31 PM   #52
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We stop overnight all the time at truck stops and J's. Never had an issue, I am a light sleeper and never had an issue with trucks. I have never used a Wally World, they just were never convenient to our stop for the night.

I disconnect the plug from the truck and will drop the front jack just to take some load off the truck.
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Old 04-20-2016, 08:42 PM   #53
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We stop overnight all the time at truck stops and J's. Never had an issue, I am a light sleeper and never had an issue with trucks. I have never used a Wally World, they just were never convenient to our stop for the night.

I disconnect the plug from the truck and will drop the front jack just to take some load off the truck.
doc73, I don't know so I will ask, should I worry about the weight on the truck?
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Old 04-20-2016, 08:44 PM   #54
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In reality probably not, but for me I figure with myself and the DW in bed we are putting another 400 or 500lbs (if I had a big dinner) on the rear of the truck. I figure it gives it a break.
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Old 04-20-2016, 08:52 PM   #55
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In reality probably not, but for me I figure with myself and the DW in bed we are putting another 400 or 500lbs (if I had a big dinner) on the rear of the truck. I figure it gives it a break.
Ok, I thought it might be a preference thing, I have my own and wanted to know about any unknowns.

That is a big dinner.

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Old 04-20-2016, 09:12 PM   #56
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Rest areas, wallyworld, flying j, truckstops. weighstations, cracker barrel, off ramps. Used them all and more over the last 30years. Over the years we have done a lot of long distance traveling and have our 'home' behind the truck. Being around the big rigs has never bothered me. I stay out of their way and don't look for trouble and feel more safe around them, than I do a Wallyworld. The idling of their engines and/or reefers is just back ground noise that puts a tired soul to sleep. We are always aware of what is around us and do not walk around alone or unarmed. I have never had to pull out my fire arm and as I recall was only confronted once at a huge truck stop by a couple of drunken kids in a pickup truck. It was more funny than frightening, as they did not know their butt from a hole in the ground and did not even know how they got in a parking lot full of big semis. When they left my area,they were weaving back and forth dodging big trucks, and I just said to myself, "have a good life... short as it may be".I have felt uncomfortable at a few places that I picked, but the vast majority feel 110% safe and secure. This spring we went to the Mississippi Gulf and traveled from the top of Mississippi to the Gulf on I-55. We stayed at a rest area going down and an other one coming north. Each and every rest area had a security guard house and 24hr. guard at the semi parking area. And each one had a dump station. Going down I-55 and pulling into a rest area for the night, we just went to bed. The next morning I took the puppy out to the yard and when I looked up, there was this guard house and a security guard sitting there and nicely waved...... (glad the dog did not poop in his yard )
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Old 04-20-2016, 09:18 PM   #57
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We stop overnight all the time at truck stops and J's. Never had an issue, I am a light sleeper and never had an issue with trucks. I have never used a Wally World, they just were never convenient to our stop for the night.

I disconnect the plug from the truck and will drop the front jack just to take some load off the truck.
Why would you disconnect. The elect cable and put your jacks down for a quick overnight?
The
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Old 04-20-2016, 09:35 PM   #58
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Why would you disconnect. The elect cable and put your jacks down for a quick overnight?
The
See above for the jack, just the hitch foot, not the stabilizers go down. Plug is so I do not wake up to a dead battery in the truck. My truck is always supplying power through the 7 round. I run off the house battery at night and if it dies the truck keeps charging / powering the trailer. I have two batteries now with the diesel but I do not want to run the risk.

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Old 04-20-2016, 09:58 PM   #59
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We have found that there are few absolutes. Never say never. Sometimes we have a concrete itinerary, sometimes we are headed "that-a-way."
I prefer to stay in campgrounds, in the woods, listening to the crickets. However, we have regularly found ourselves far from such places and in need of sleep. Our rig is "clean," no slides-and we have blackout covers for all of the windows. We also travel ready for a self-contained overnight w/o hookups (Vibe 6501). Rest areas are good (we are OK with the truck noise), fuel centers are OK, Walmarts make for a good restocking stop but I find that few have level parking lots.
We have found a parking lot stop if often more peaceful than a commercial CG..and cheaper.
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Old 04-20-2016, 11:07 PM   #60
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How many here stay overnight at rest areas, truck stops, etc...? How do you plan your trips when an overnight stay is required between your departure and your arrival...what do you look for? I have a travel trailer and not sure how that would differ from an actual RV. Any tips are appreciated.
We usually stay at a Super Walmart because of the 24 hour security. We have a list of which ones allow overnight parking. We also have apps on our phones that do the same. We ALWAYS call the store in advance of our arrival and politely ask if we could spend the night on their lot. They then tell us were they would like us to park. In the many years of doing this we've only been turned down once.

There are unofficial rules you should follow when overnighting at Walmart: Never ask if you can "camp" overnight. Never put out your awning or anything else that makes it look like you are "camping". Never discharge waste or leave trash. Do not run your generator. There are often other rigs there and folks trying to sleep so be polite and respectful.

It sure has saved us a lot of money when we travel and we have the convenience of having the store there for any purchases we need to make.
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