17 RV Overnighters Better than Walmart - BIG 2023 Changes! (RV Life)

So you're checking out this video because you want to know some really great RV overnight camp spots. Now Dave and I we have been to a little over 30 states in the last year and during that time we've stayed at a lot of overnighters. Yes, we've had a lot of long drives and we're having those long days. You want to roll into a really great spot to overnight in. Yeah and some of the easiest spots that we all think that used to be favorites is Walmart but put the brakes on that because they have been putting a stop to all of us RVers camping at those spots. So today we're going to share with you 17 RV overnighters that are way, double W, way better than Walmart. Now some of these are going to be free and some are part of membership programs. Yeah and this one in particular you may know or you may not know this is going to be your first adventure in your RV. Harvest Host. We love Harvest Host. Yes, Harvest Hosts are great. Now it is a membership program cost about $99 a year but it gives you access to thousands of like wineries, breweries, even a racetrack. Oh yeah. Bison farms, alpaca farms. We've had some amazing experiences at Harvest Host this past year. Yeah now I will say with one thing with Harvest Host, you know they do expect you a harvest. They're hosting you. They may have gifts. Be kind to them. They are allowing you, they're opening up their spot for you to enjoy. So maybe buy something like we did at the Alpaca Farm. I bought a little alpaca that had baby alpaca fur and he was so cute. That wasn't a real alpaca. No, no, no. A stuffed animal. Yeah but he was cute and cuddly. Now this next one is related to Harvest Host now. It's Boondockers Welcome. It's owned by Harvest Host so it's naturally upsell in their program but it gives you access to 3,000 typically other RVers that welcome you into their kind of parking lot. We can kind of come in there and park for the night and it's actually really cool. You can meet some really great people as well. Walking on this dusty yet beautiful park path. I have to tell you it reminds us of a really great spot that we enjoy camping for free overnight and that's BLM Land which is Bureau of Land Management. Now a lot of this is dispersed free camping is located in the western part of the U.S. and we really do enjoy it. You can stay overnight. You can even stay up to 14 days which is plenty of time to get your camping on. Let me tell you something. Watch out for those roads. You know some rigs it might not be a good idea to go down some of those choppy roads so if you're going to go into BLM Land even if it's for overnight make sure you know exactly what to expect when you're riding to those lands. Another great overnight spot that we really enjoy are National Forests and we're not talking about National Parks so we're talking about National Forests and you can actually camp for free in most National Forests and just be careful though similar to the BLM Roads the roads into the National Forest some of those can be really tough so just be very careful when you're looking at those roads before you head on in and drive into the National Forest. Now we have noticed some no camping signs popping up in some National Forest locations where we've previously camped and we think that's really because they're allowing some of the areas to recover because of overuse since the pandemic. Now speaking of parks you can't forget to check out the city and county parks especially out toward the Midwest area. You know Dave and I we really do enjoy checking out these sort of free overnight camping spots in Now even some of these campgrounds they may have power but you would only have to pay five ten bucks to use that. We actually had a great example of that out in Forest City, Iowa when we bought our RV Desert Snow. Now I will tell you this because of the surge in RVs that have been kind of hitting the roads lately you might want to just double check with the city and the state and their local ordinances to make sure it's still allowed to park in some of these places because you don't want to find yourself in a little bit of trouble. We should probably talk about where they can find some of these cool places to camp. Yeah no that that's a good idea and there's actually several apps that we really find very useful when we search for these spots. One is the Allstays app, another is actually the RV Life Trip Wizard and then also Campendium is very useful too for reviews as well like what do people say about the spot, is it safe, things like that. Yeah very very good point. This next spot is a goodie and we really do enjoy Cracker Barrel. I mean they're great for overnight camping. You can have some breakfast, go back to your RV, you can have some lunch, go back to your RV, have some dinner, go back to your RV, go use the bathroom, go back to your RV. It's like one of our favorite restaurants now because we've been RVing. It's so true, Cracker Barrel. You can stay at most Cracker Barrels but we do recommend when you get to a Cracker Barrel just talk to the manager inside, just make sure it's okay, make sure there's no city ordinance or something that might actually restrict it. Absolutely and if they're not available when you get there, look for signs. A lot of times they'll have a sign outside that may say no overnight camping even if it's Cracker Barrel you guys because you know not everyone is welcoming so it's smart to do your diligence. Hey really quick in regards to overnight camping at Cracker Barrel and other places similar to this, you know be respectful. You're really not supposed to and you should not pull out your awning, pull out a fire pit, pull out chairs. Really respect the grounds that you're on and if you have to pull out your slide for whatever reason to get into the refrigerator, maybe even get into the bathroom, well go inside and talk with the management. Let them know that you're going to do this and then park in a way that you're not going to literally be on top of your neighbor. Another great RV overnighter are these big bulk stores like Costco, BJ's, Sam's Club. You know they have really big parking lots and they usually have nice overhang lighting in the evening which is nice. I like to be in places that are well lit. Now Costco generally is pretty friendly to RV overnighting but again go inside, check with the management to make sure that particular Costco does allow it and if it is allowed just be respectful. Respect the etiquette because again you're there to RV overnight not to set up camp. Oh look at that babe. That's a pretty cool rig. That is very cool. Hello we'll bring the wine. Can I see what it looks like inside? Maybe we'll just try that maybe. What do you think? Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's have been very popular RV overnight spots over the years. We've enjoyed them too. You know it's great big parking lots. It's fun going to the stores as well. Now we have noticed recently, I just want to say this, that some of the Cabela's in particular have not been allowing RV overnighters so definitely if you're going there talk to management and make sure it's okay to stay overnight. You know truck stops are a great place for RV overnight camping especially ones that have designated spots for RVers because you don't want to take up a spot that is designed for a trucker. Those guys let me tell you they're driving hours upon hours at a time to get you your stuff on time so let them have their spots. Exactly. I think it's getting harder and harder for them too to even find a spot it sounds like. But fortunately a lot of these places now have designated RV spots right. We stayed at Iowa 80. Oh my god that was so much fun. Which has an RV spot and it was awesome like we loved it. But then you have like Love's now have designated spots as well in many of the places as well as Flying J's. Yeah. So there's definitely options out there. Now speaking of pilot Flying J's and Love's, they're now really starting to cater more to the RV community. They're even offering spaces for just RVers that allow hookups for an extra fee. Some are offering shower facilities, laundromats and even places for your pets. We've also been noticing that RV spots even for about 20 bucks a night we can stay overnight in a rest area. Yeah and if you're going to stay in a rest area maybe try using the RV Life Wizard app to check out what reviews have to say about that particular rest stop just to make sure it's safe and sound when you get there. So let's talk about churches and shopping malls. Okay well those go together like peas in a pod. Yes they do. You know after church I like to do a little shopping after church. Those are really great spots for overnight camping. Large churches in particular. Again contact the church to make sure that particular church allows you to overnight camp as well as the shopping malls. But shopping malls are pretty friendly with RV overnight camping. County fairgrounds can also be a really good spot too. Oh yeah. Right. No fairs going on. There's often a lot of space available and they may have hookups too for a small fee. So definitely check that out. Oh yeah. They're definitely a big open space. Wide open spaces. So we should probably talk about casinos because you know that's a very popular thing nowadays. I mean we're in Vegas right now and casinos are pretty popular. Exactly. Now we will say in Vegas in terms of overnighting and casino parking lot you really can't do it by city ordinance. Now you can stay in an RV park at some of the casinos. That's very different though. We aren't talking about that. No. See even the little doggie over there he doesn't like the fact that he can't RV park in the casino. Exactly. Now we do know across the country casinos vary from location to location so check. You can definitely park overnight at some casino locations but not all. Yeah and a lot of them they'll have a campground right next door to it for a fee. It might even be a small fee if you get a player's card or something to that effect to draw you into the casino. So there's different options when it comes to that but like Dave is right just check to make sure they have availability. If you didn't guess it from Tanya taking on that dangerous slope we actually really enjoy overnighting at ski areas. Many ski areas allow RVs to overnight for free both in the winter months and in the summer months. Those are absolutely beautiful spots so definitely if you're going to be in the mountains near ski areas check that out give them a call and see if you can park overnight for free at ski areas. All right ladies and gentlemen this is it Dave has a chance to take the trophy. Can he do it? Now many public golf course parking lots are available for overnight parking for RVers during the off-season. Now during the season Harvest Host has over 450 golf course sites available for overnight parking to premium members. Now we stayed at a beautiful golf course in Wyoming and it was absolutely gorgeous. Now if you're not following us on Instagram you definitely should because we share a ton of moments you don't want to miss. Many home improvement stores like Home Depot, Lowe's and Tractor Supply often allow RV parking overnight as well. Just one tip on that we recommend getting in at 8 p.m and later when customer parking really dies down so they aren't like taking up customer parking spaces. And just really quick you know times are always changing the more RVers on the road the more the rules have changed so we would highly recommend just checking with that manager to make sure you can actually overnight park there because you don't want to get a middle of the night knock or wake up to a boot on your rig. Oh so we thought we'd bring it out of the heat right now because I did not put a sunblock on. I don't think you did. No, no I did not. But it's a perfect opportunity since we just had some protein bars and water to share a couple extra bonuses. And these ones are quite more unusual right and one thing we've noticed is that some county and city visitor centers some of those are actually offering RV overnight parking spots as well so definitely take a look maybe you'll get lucky with that as well. Now if you're driving the mountains in the summer months another spot to consider are actually the chain pullout areas actually put chains on your tires well obviously you don't need to do that in the summer months and many times you can stay there overnight during the summer. Now a lot of van lifers and smaller RVers love using fitness centers for showering not just working out I mean showers where you have enough space where you can twirl and twist and get to all those good parts without running into walls. But it's not just for that a lot of us love to use fitness centers as overnight camping spots in particular Anytime Fitness as well as Planet Fitness. We've seen RVers and vans parking overnight in some of those so those are great options. Now Elk Lodges are another great spot too as well now you do need to have a membership but if you have an Elk Lodge membership you can park in their designated parking spots for RVers around the country. And one of our favorite I'm kind of knocking these out y'all because I'm peeling up one of our favorites and coolest and we actually had a birthday celebration. Oh wait I know this one. You do. This is a great one. It's great and you may know it it's the famous wall drug you know the five cent coffee signs are all the way down the highway you just can't miss it. Well they do have great spots for RV parking and then you can go and enjoy some of the amenities see the kind of crazy wild attractions they have there but just be rewarmed it is right up on a train track so it might get a little honk honk honk honk but it's free you can't beat it. And colleges and universities also can offer overnight parking as well. If you think about the football season you have a lot of times these large parking lots kind of for tailgating and things like that and so if it's in the off season check with those places maybe you'll be able to stay there overnight as well. And then also don't forget about state parks there's some amazingly beautiful state parks. Now some you'll need to stay in campgrounds within those there'll be a small fee for that but they can be beautiful and well worth checking out like Valley of Fire is a place we really love. One of our favorite spots Valley of Fire is it's fire. If there are some RV overnight spots that we haven't mentioned that you enjoy staying at please let us know in the comments below. Absolutely we really do enjoy reading your comments and on that note we'll see you in the next one.