Dear Dr. R.V. Shrink:
We have just started living the RV lifestyle and immediately the price of camping caused sticker shock. My husband now wants to do what he calls “stealth camping.” He likes to park in crazy places when we are traveling that cost little or nothing. I know many people spend nights at Walmart and other retailers who seem fine with short term camping, but my husband is now starting to look at hospital, church and VFW Hall parking lots as his personal KOA’s. He claims “we pay our taxes” and pulls off into fields that he thinks are government run public lands. I am as nervous as a squirrel in a bird feeder most of the time. I can’t relax when we are parking in suspect spots. Maybe I watched too many horror films when I was young. Every time I hear a noise I think it’s Eddie Scissorhands at the door asking us to leave. I swore, one night in Texas, I heard a chainsaw outside our rig. I keep telling him, “If we can’t afford to stay in RV parks we shouldn’t be traveling.” Please give me some ammunition to argue my point. Often times I don’t think we are safe.
--Sleepless in Seattle
Dear Sleepless:
Stealth Camping, Boon-Docking, or whatever else you want to call it, is fine to a point. It sounds like your husband might have an addiction to free camping. Safety should be your first priority. Walmart is a great pit stop when making time and looking for a safe harbor for the night. Most have security and welcome RV’ers for overnight parking. If your husband is insisting on staying in areas you feel are not safe, and it makes you feel uncomfortable, you need to let him know that you are not going to continue this practice. My suggestion would be to become efficiently involved in finding reasonably priced RV sites. Use freecampgrounds.com, various campground books, start a database of nice places you find and places other campers tell you about. Most are not actually free, but very reasonable. Invest in discount camping services, get your senior camping pass from the government if you are seniors and US citizens. Some states, for example New Mexico, sell reasonable annual passes for state park camping. There is a whole host of ways to save money and camp in amazingly beautiful, safe places if you work at it. There is a difference between frugal and free. There is safety in numbers and usually if it’s a good idea, some other RV’er has already figured it out and will be there camped alongside of you. If you are nervous about being asked to leave in the middle of the night, ask in advance. Many Walmarts will not allow overnight parking because of a City Ordinance. You have to help your husband understand that there is a difference between an RV’er and a person who is homeless. Don’t let your husband sleep soundly while you are up all night worried about every little sound you hear. Wake him up and say, “Did you hear that?” He didn’t, of course, because he was sleeping and there was no noise. After you do this a dozen times a night he will think twice about parking in places where you can’t sleep.
--Keep Smilin’, Dr. R. V. Shrink
##RVT786
##RVT786
6 comments:
Also a great way to save money is to join Passport America, where you can camp for 1/2 price! There are lots of great parks listed all across the country. It only takes a couple of nights of Passport America usage to pay for your yearly membership!
We bought a book on this website listing free campgrounds (or very low cost) and have used it often.
You might consider purchasing a Thousand Trails or similar membership on the secondary market. Since you don't pay each time you camp, it might make your husband more comfortable and you would be safe.
When we are traveling back roads, we usually find a parking spot by a church or other business closed for the night-and always stay in a corner out of the way. We are up and gone before business hours so have no qualms about being there alone or being asked to leave. I think the wife is being a bit paranoid in this case.
If you are a member in good standing of a veterans or fraternal group they will usually welcome you and allow you to spend a night or two in their parking lot. Many veteran's posts even have a couple of RV spaces.Be sure to ask permission though.
Frankly, I think what your husband describes as "stealth camping" is really more like "trespassing" or "squatting." And what are you doing for fresh water? Stealing it from the church or business whose lot you're parked in? And what about emptying your collection tanks. Gray water is one thing, but you don't want me catching you dumping your black tank anywhere but a proper facility. Utilize resources like Dr. RV Shrink suggests. Join Passport America. Save money where you can, but what you're doing is just inviting trouble and gives the rest of us a bad name. And I am SO TIRED of hearing that whole "we pay our taxes" line. News bulletin: We're ALL paying them. It does not give you the right to trespass on private or what he "assumes" is public property. If you can't afford to spend a few dollars on a legitimate campground, sell your RV and do something else. You have the right idea, so insist on better behavior from your husband. He's just cheap. And sooner or later, it will bite you somewhere...
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