Free Parking

Yep, you guessed it, number one listed place to park for free is truck stops for RV’ers.  There are truck stops that have parking for RV’s in front of the convenience store but the article did not mention where the free parking should take place. 

We have seen some bad deals where RV’s have taken parking spots in the back of truck stops and one that went so far as to use their slide outs and take up another spot.  One side at least was next to the curb.  Another time we were getting our restart and noticed a camper with a prime spot under some trees and they were using it as what appeared to be there base camp as they had a small car they were running around in.  When we left, they were still comfortably parked in their free shaded parking spot.

It would have been great if the author of the article would have mentioned not to park in the back with the trucks and why they should not park there.  No mention was made of the fact that trucks usually do not have many choices when it comes to parking or that we are required to take a ten-hour break.

I appreciate the truck stops that have signs for the back area that say no RV parking and I like truck stops that say straight trucks park in the front. Too often when we park in front as a straight truck we get a knock on the door saying you cannot park here, usually late at night. Another problem with parking in the front of the truck stop convenience store is one chain is famous for playing music 24 hours a day and loudly.  That constant noise is not conducive to getting a restful night’s sleep. The RV’ers are on a different time schedule then we are and do not have the regulations we have to regulate their drive times. 

I wish the author would have taken the time to research and report on the free parking at Truck Stops and being responsible RV’ers, know where to park and that if they do have slide outs and want to use them go to a camp ground that caters to this.

Here is a link to the article that got me fuming:

RV Travel Guide