FREE RV Overnighters: Avoid The Sketchy Spots [RV Lifestyle Tips]

It's been over two years since we hit the road full time in our RV and if you're new around here, I'm Victoria. I'm Craig and today we're going to tell you about some spots you can park your RV overnight for free. And more importantly, how to not end up in sketchy locations and what rules you need to follow while parking overnight at these spots. We're actually breaking two of our own rules right now at the spot we're staying at. But we're going to get back to that in just a little bit when we show you around this place. But for now, you're coming with us to Tim Hortons because it's within walking distance. We've got to give it another try because the first time we didn't really like it so much, but everybody raves about it. Anyways, we'll be talking about some of the other overnight spots along the way. So we're starting with the obvious just to get it out the way. But we got some extra info for you. Walmart. Yes, the classic RVer's overnight spot. But did you know that other big box stores like Home Depot, Lowe's, Cabela's, Costco, pretty much any spot with a big parking lot is a potential option for you. So you just wanna make sure that none of these parking lots have any no overnight signs in them. And then it's a really good idea to call the department store, talk to the manager, make sure it's fine to stay there. And just be mindful that a lot of these places, a lot of times are not in the best neighborhood of that town. We actually pulled into a Walmart in the outskirts of Atlanta. Do you remember that? And then we immediately left. Yeah. Because it was too sketchy. It was too sketchy. There was just a lot of like trash and clearly people living in the woods right beside where we were parking. And so just be aware. I recommend Walmarts or Home Depots or whatever that are in small towns along the interstate that are not like big cities. Those much better. Well, apparently the Tim Hortons was supposed to be right there. Somewhere. I don't know. It's not. Google Maps has led us astray. I don't really think we're supposed to be where we're at either. It's a nice little park area but we definitely walked around a fence to get here so I don't know. Maybe we did end up in a sketchy overnight place after all. When it comes to Walmarts and other big box stores, the best thing you can do is read reviews, check for signs of people kind of like living in the woods, and just trust your gut. Walmarts off the interstate in small towns though have served us well though. Besides the one time we stayed at this one that would have been nice and quiet, except for we were parked by a bank that had a recording going off all night long. I think that was... Worst night of sleep ever. There's like a bank next door and they have some kind of alarm. And when anybody gets too close, it goes, This is private property. Please leave the premises or call us with your password. It's this robot voice, very loud. It did it. All night long. End of flashback. And when it comes to finding these big box stores, I'll check Campendium for overnight parking, but also just get on Google Maps and look for like Home Depots and stuff because they're not always listed on the apps. So the next free spot is either going to be BLM Land or National Forest Land where you can park for free overnight. You guys know that we boondock all the time on land for like this and usually for weeks at a time. So BLM Land is not our favorite for just an overnight. Stay because you can technically stay up for like 14 nights or days in a row, but there are a lot of times hard to access So it just a lot of times makes it not worth it for a single overnight And if you do find a spot that's not down a long bumpy dirt road and it's right off the highway Near a city that is another potentially sketchy spot You're just gonna want to take a look around and see if it looks like people have been living there for you know months at a time or something like that and if so Maybe skip that one. Also, check reviews. Reviews are great at telling if a spot is sketchy or not. And at the end of this video, I'm going to go through some of our favorite websites and apps where we do find these spots, read reviews and all that stuff. So stick around. And if it's not obvious, we're in the truck now on the way to get Tim Hortons at an open Tim Hortons, hopefully. Fingers crossed, because I guess we could strike out again. Yeah, that one didn't exist, I don't think. It just wasn't there. I don't know. Google Maps. Okay, it looks like this one exists. Thank goodness. Lucky day. Lucky day. So one you may not be familiar with is county or city parks. Sometimes they'll have parking spots for RVs. You may have to pay but they are really nice for like a single overnight because a lot of times you can only stay up to like three days lots of times they even have hookups and sometimes the hookups are free too so you just have to you just have to check great option though for an overnight we actually stayed several nights at a county park in Texas one time you remember where you froze to death and you had to redo the underbelly on the old RV oh that was miserable but the spot itself It was actually really nice. We were right on the water, and it was totally free, and all we had to do was call the county parks person, they emailed us a permit, and it was super easy. The freezing cold and our RV falling apart tainted the experience slightly, but... But the spot was really pretty. Yes. Cheers! Second. Time's the charm. Tastes much better. Much better. Much better. The double-double, I think, helped. That was very sweet, though. Yeah, it was very sweet. Now, about those city parks, though. The one we stayed at in Texas was way off the beaten path in a small town. If you're in a city park in a large city, check your surroundings. Look for encampments. Look to see if it's clean or not. That's how you're going to avoid... Staying in a sketchy spot. I don't know if you see this or not yet, but there is a correlation between sketchiness and big cities. That's why Craig doesn't like going to big cities. Well, since we're out, we're gonna stop by a hardware store as well. I need to get a couple of Y-pipe hose things, the shut-off valves. Every time I unscrew our water hose, it sprays water all over me. So with the Y-pipe, I can turn off the water and open the other side and then shoot it down. And release the pressure in the hose. Start shooting it right at Craig's face. Yeah, it's getting cold. I don't want to be wet and cold. Okay, this next one does require a paid yearly membership, but it's free once you have the membership. Boondockers Welcome and Harvest Hosts. This is really a fantastic option for overnights, and you can get a discount if you use the link in our description if you don't already have a membership. You don't really ever have to worry about these locations being sketchy because the hosts have agreed to have campers on their property and are welcoming of you being there. Actually, we've met some really nice hosts doing this. So if you don't know what Boone Doctors Welcome is, or Harvest Host, it's a membership where you get to stay at thousands of locations across the country for free, minus the membership cost, of course. It's a great way to stay from one to five nights at locations that you know you're not going to be long at. But we've used it a few times and it's been awesome. These are places like anywhere from people's houses to farms, wineries, museums, or things like that. Home for the night, a casino parking lot. We've stayed at casinos a handful of times and they've always made for pleasant stays for us. And you don't really have to worry about them being sketchy because they have like security on staff for the casino. It's usually a pretty safe seeming place. Sometimes casinos actually have paid RV spots with hookups that you can stay at, but other times and the places we've stayed, it's just been a huge parking lot with plenty of space for RV. And we just check in with the security guard and make sure that they don't mind and they And it works out great. So this place is kind of a two-for-one because it is the county fairgrounds and a casino. Oh no, that's weird, it's the first time I've seen that. I didn't even know the fairgrounds could have a casino, but it's working out great. It also has restaurants and stuff inside, so that's also nice. So county fairgrounds are often a good overnight spot with free parking. Sometimes they even have hookups, sometimes it's paid, but just check around. County Fairgrounds are one of our kind of like The secret ways to stay in popular locations for cheap. We stayed at the county fairground in Del Mar in California. Yeah, that was nice. You were right down the road from the beach. You had a dog beach right next to you and you could walk to everything. You could walk to restaurant shops, everything. It was only $45 a night for full hookups basically on the beach in California. You ain't finding that anywhere else. I was literally like a quarter of a mile from really good surf all week. It was awesome. Loved it. One of my favorite spots because of the surf. Next up are truck stops. We don't really like staying at truck stops and they're probably some of the sketchiest places we've stayed at, but they will work in a pinch. I'd just say to make sure you lock up your doors at night and don't count on them being very close. There was that one rest stop where we got really good Indian food. Truck stop. Yes. Yeah. Truck stop. Not rest stop. Truck stop. Yes. That's true. It was good Indian food. I think it was one of a kind, but also there is rest areas which are really good in a pinch, Definitely check to make sure that you can stay overnight. Check signs or look for reviews of that rest area just to make sure it's fine. Or you might be getting a knock on the door in the middle of the night. However, if it's not good to stay the entire night, you can most likely still get a few hours of sleep before moving on. Yeah, a lot of them will have like a max four hours, so it's enough to get a little shut eye. All right, we've saved everybody's favorite for last, Cracker Barrels. Somehow in our two plus years of RVing, we've never stayed overnight at a Cracker Barrel. And I think it's because the Cracker Barrel from the town we used to live in had a very small parking lot that was always full. And so it just makes us think that Cracker Barrels are not going to have enough room for us in our big rig. But anyways, the best thing about Cracker Barrel is obviously that you get to eat breakfast after you sleep there at night. And it can be a great option if you find one along the way. So what kind of rules and etiquette are there when you park your RV at one of these nine spots? Try to park in the back of the parking lot away from anywhere that might be in the way and also Don't try and take up as much room as possible like if you don't have to put out your slides don't do it it just takes up extra room especially like cracker barrels there are a lot of times just kind of tight. Or truck stops remember you've got other trucks coming in and out yeah you're not going to want those slides out getting knocked off. Yeah so sometimes a bedroom slide sometimes there's enough room. Yeah and a lot of RVs you have to put the bedroom slide out they They say not to put any weight on it if it's not out. But they're also your smallest slide normally. You'll also want to try to leave your truck hooked up if possible. Don't get your camping chairs out, your grill, basically you don't want to look like you're living there. You're just there parked for the night. And if it is like a restaurant or some type of business. It's a good idea to go in, maybe buy something, eat there or whatever, you know? Of course. We have broken two of our own rules because we've got two slides out right now and we unhooked the truck. But this parking lot is huge. There's like there's like nobody here. There is nobody here. We're all we still are in the back of the parking lot. Like there's really no reason for anybody to come back here. Yeah. When it's like this, I mean, you know, use common sense. Yeah, use common sense. If it's like this and you've checked with them and they don't mind you being here, then it's okay. Don't be a nuisance. All right. Now, what are our favorite apps for finding these types of spots. My favorite is probably always going to be Campendium. They will show you overnight parking spots as well as boondocking places where you can camp for free. I also will check iOverlander. Remember iOverlander is more geared towards smaller rigs, so make sure you read those reviews. Allstays Pro is another one that I will use to find campsites. Freecampsites.net is another good one to check. And then of course, when looking for stores and big parking lots, Google Maps is gonna be my go-to app. I will look ahead at the city that we're wanting to stop at, zoom in, look for big parking lots, see what kind of store it is, give them a call, see if it's okay for us to stay, and then we're good to go. And of course, Harvest Hosts and Boondockers Welcome, I use that app as well to find our host locations. And that wraps up our nine free RV overnight and how not to stay at a sketchy overnight location. I really hope this was helpful for you guys. Let us know in the comments if it was and we will see you next week.