Rest Area Overnite Parking

[Dreamscape]

Hey Ed, Nice looking coach! Glad you got to stop by RJ, something that is on my bucket list!

Paul

[gus]

The only WM I've been refused parking was in Redding, CA and they are very adamant about it.

I wrote the city a nasty email and they came right back justifying their policy which they attribute to "complaining nearby houses", which I don't believe. I told them I think it is because of local RV parks and they were very indignant about this. We actually over-nighted there once and had one of the managers banging on the door at 7am. We missed seeing the signs when we drove in. He was very nice and gave his well practiced speech and then told us to come back again. We haven't.

City ordinances really don't apply to WM because it is private property but some WM managers don't understand this. I got this cleared up via some emails to the mayor, city council and police dept in Missoula, MT a few years ago and we now park there all the time. The officials couldn't have been nicer about it and the whole sign bit was because of a misunderstanding by the WM manager.

Small town WM lots are magnets for local kids to hang out and some are really noisy. Once in IL I invited some teenagers to a tour of the inside of my bus when they showed interest in it. I often get asked the age of the bus which never fails to impress younger folks.

Actually, most WM lots, especially in small towns, are better than TV "reality" shows. We've seen more than one meeting between the opposite sexes at far corners of those lots!! Never a dull moment!!

[Ed Hackenbruch]

We have stayed in a few rest areas and have never felt uncomfortable.  In fact the only place that bothered me was when we stayed in a wide spot right off of the junction of  Hiway 58 and the road going to California CIty.  Lots of traffic from people going or coming to work at Edwards Air Force Base, but i just had a feeling about it. Nothing happened but i learned a long time ago to listen to my feelings. That is the only place where i made sure that i had something right at hand in case it was needed.

[cody]

One strange place we stayed at was in eastern kentucky back in 2002, we were heading to Summersville west virginia for a bluegrass fest and at about 3am I was tired so we pulled into a strip mall for a couple hours sleep, I just reclined and slept in the drivers seat, one thing I noticed were an unusually high number of police cars cruising by, my thoughts were that they sure do patrol this area and then I went to sleep, as daylight hit I woke up and looked out, we had pulled in beside a police station, in their parking lot lol.  I went in and thanked the desk sargent for the nights parking, he laughed and said it was a first for them and at lineup the captain had told the guys to not rev their engines, let the yankees sleep he said lol.

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Good story Cody!

[happycamperbrat]

The only bad experience I ever had was at a golf course. I spent the night and awoke to the sound of smashing glass at about 3am. I got up and turned on a light and heard a male voice say "someone's in there" and he jumped into a truck and sped off!! It was my bathroom window in my prior s&s. These two kids had been running around that night for about a 5 mile stretch bashing in any parked car or motorhome's window they saw!

[Christyhicks]

I didn't used to worry about rest areas, until the last maybe 10 years, when I started reading more and more about states closing their rest areas because of all the drug dealing that was going on in them.  THAT got my attention, and I realized that seldom were rest areas in a populated area, and that it would not be hard to park in front and behind an RV and possibly block it in. . sure, I guess you COULD ram your way out, but how long would it be before someone got to that "rural" location. 

We decided that for safety's sake, we just feel a little more comfortable where are are more people and businesses close by. . nothing is guaranteed of course, but we try to avoid putting ourselves in a situation where we "have" to defend ourselves. . not that we don't carry the means to do so, but it seems prudent to avoid the situation up front.  The same with paying attention to your surroundings. . . often, you can tell whether you are in a, oh, "seedy" area of town if you just take a look at the streets and sidewalks. . . older and less affluent areas often have numerous road patches, cracked sidewalks, weeds growing up in the parking lots, bars on the store windows, all indicative of the type of neigborhood.  Since we travel to cities where we may not know anyone, we pay attention to these things to, again, avoid putting ourselves in a "situation". 

Anyway, my rambling point is that unless you really know the area well, you likely will not know if the rest area is truly a peaceful place to stop, or if it's know in the underground as a "money-maker" for the wrong type of people.   Christy Hicks

[Dave5Cs]

Ed,

Glad you had a good time with RJ, Someday Hopefully we will get down there to meet and see him also. We will be here probably until December and then we will be full time also but probably in a RV park or at a friends 40 acres in Cool.

Dave

[artvonne]

  I do suppose a place where everything has bars on the windows wouldnt be a good sign, but there are some parts of the country where thats just the area culture. I think you can find trouble anywhere, even in areas that we would normally think are safe, and maybe even more so. Drug dealing is everywhere, I dont think any area is immune, regardless of the "class" of neighborhood. Wealthy people are doing drugs just as much as poor people, they just buy better drugs and more of it.

  I dont generally like desolate rest areas. I think there is safety in numbers. same with anywhere else.
 

[buswarrior]

Depending on the location, I leave the clearance lights on, or otherwise present the coach as definitely occupied.

A TV on up front, sound off, blinds pulled, leaves those outside with the impression someone is present and awake.

If there is some lighting, and there are long haul trucks parked, it's good enough for me.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[artvonne]

Depending on the location, I leave the clearance lights on, or otherwise present the coach as definitely occupied.

buswarrior

  Thats one I hadnt really given much thought. You see trucks parked with clearance lights, never thought of doing it myself.

  Whats the opinion leaving a bus idling while parked? Sounds like a 2 stroke dont really like it all that much.

[Mex-Busnut]

  Thats one I hadnt really given much thought. You see trucks parked with clearance lights, never thought of doing it myself.

The clearance lights might also help keep a truck from backing into you when you are parked at a truckstop.

[buswarrior]

go read the archives about idling.

No need to stir that up here.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[jackhartjr]

Folks, it's 95 plus degrees, I am sleeping in my truck, why would I shut it off!
Clifford, I look where I am parking, I too stay away from trucks with reefers...and I used to drive one!
Christy, the rest areas are closing because the states are running out of money.  Rest areas that are patrolled have very little problems.
And as states are enacting no idle laws for trucks you will see experienced drivers leaving the ranks in droves...which leaves a new crop of rookie drivers that will be killing themselves and others in numbers that will astound you!
Read the laws, most say you can't idle unless the temperature is below freezing or above 90 something.  Now picture yourself trying to get the rest you need to be safe at let's say 90 degrees...or 35 degrees.  But now get this...if you have a pet you can idle at any temperature!  Now that's putting pets over humans!  I for one am fed up with it and pretty close to hanging it up because of the BS!

[luvrbus]

Jack, it probably didn't come outright from me but the idle deal in NV applies to RV generators also we are not allowed to run the generators overnight in a rest area in NV either, that why you drive like like hell to get north of Vegas cools down in a hurry 100 miles north of Vegas.
I do understand the refer but those things do make racket I can live with a truck idling the refer drive me nuts and I do respect the truck driver when running the generator I try to find a spot not close to a truck when running it and 95% of the drivers will return the same courtesy and then you have the other 5% that park in your bedroom windows
I see were El Paso and Phoenix have passed a no idle law they have those things with the air coming in from tube at the truck stops in Phoenix now and heard it cost 20 bucks a night, probably a little lobbying come from that outfit and the ones that make the self contained unit some trucks have who knows


good luck