Let's go camping......at Wal-Mart!!!!

[Obamarama]

This falls squarely into the category of "If I hadn't read it with my own eyes I wouldn't have beleived it."

Hey Marge, whaddya say we pack up the RV and head over to the Super Wal-Mart for the weekend!?

R.V. Owners Skip Camp and Park at Wal-Mart

By OTTO POHL
Published: September 11, 2005, New York Times

SHERIDAN, Wyo. - Frank Sharpski Jr. surveyed the Wal-Mart parking lot near his R.V. campground on a recent afternoon. "There are six of them today," he said, counting the rigs that he figured would not be spending any time or money at his campground that night. "And that's a slow night."

snip

"The other day I needed a haircut so I went in and got one," she said. "Can't do that at a KOA."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/11/national/11rv.html

[knowbody0]

1. ive been told walmart has always permitted rv parking

for extended periods.
go figure?

[magnolia]

7. They have.

They let RV's camp in their parking lot...always have. And if you need a few items they don't mind you going into the store and spending some cash.

[pitohui]

2. they've been doing this for yrs and it's a kind gesture

don't spoil this benefit by shitting on it, thank you

[Obamarama]

3. I'm not shitting on it as much as I am saying WTF???

I mean, what is the point of hauling yourself and your home on wheels off to an exciting weekend parked in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

They're called RECREATIONAL vehicles.

I don't think there's anything WRONG with it. It just seems so....pointless.

[petronius]

10. I don't think WalMart is the destination

it's just a convenient overnight stop en route somewhere else - like a rest area (which I admit I have slept in to avoid paying for a motel).

[-..__...]

14. People traveling cross-country.

I didn't read anything in that article about packing up the RV and heading to the Wal-Mart parking lot for the weekend.

One advantage that RVs have is that they enable the travelers to save money by not having to spend $$$ by stopping at a motel or campground for the night.

However, I kind'a doubt that this is a genuine good will measure by Wal-Mart. They know damn well that the people camping there are spending
some time and money in their stores.

[pitohui]

16. are you mad, you don't see the point of it

jeebus pleebus

well i know it's a stretch but let's just imagine that a huge old hurricane hit yr area and you have no place to fucking live but yr RV

this could never happen

so let's back off

maybe it's just a tropical storm

maybe it's just a tornado

maybe it's a fire

anyways you got your stuff, you got an RV but oops...

you got no house

is the clue beginning to sink in?

ok, now i'll admit what happens much more commonly, is yr 70 yrs old, you're in yr RV, you think you're gonna drive 200 miles a day, you don't understand yet how tired you get hauling that big thing, so you don't get to the campground or the park

but sam walton was there w. his many outlets and he let you park there

it's a cool thing he did, and it's cool that many walmarts still do it, OK?

it isn't a destination, it's a salvation

most RVers are over 65, many are over 75

it's a resting place

there is no bad man so bad everything he did was bad, even hitler freed the lobsters

[Kerrytravelers]

5. Deleted by me.

KzooDem said it for me.

[goddess40]

11. it's a "if they park in our lot they'll shop in our store" gesture nt

[FlemingsGhost]

4. Yup ... lots of trash in Wal Mart parking lots. (n/t)

Flem.

[KT2000]

6. know a man who lives

in an RV - has $500 SS disability to live on. Permanent parks charge about $300 a month. He goes from Wal-Marts to parks to parking lots - her just keeps moving. He can get thrown out of every place except Wal-Mart, if he doesn't overstay his welcome.

[Obamarama]

9. Well, quite frankly that makes perfect sense....

Sounds like a smart individual.

But reading this article in the Times, it sounds like people make it an actual destination. Sort of bizarre if you ask me, not that there's anything WRONG with it! :-)

[TallahasseeGrannie]

8. Well, it's not quite the great outdoors

but you won't run out of ice and cheesy poofs.

[Lars39]

12. Wait til Walmart has to start towing those big RVs away

because the stranded owner can't afford a fill-up.

[2Design]

13. people live in rv and campgrounds want 35 to 40 a night

take that and multiple times 30 and you have high rent for a month when you still supply your own home, electricity, etc. Campgrounds used to be cheap - you can stay in a motel 6 for that same price and have bed, clean room and indoor shower - so people call it boondoggle - and get some free nights in as they move to the next place to stay - some campgrounds have monthly rent of 400 to 600 a month - still it is a lot

[phusion]

15. Never understood that...

Those same campgrounds charge $15-$20 for a tent camping spot.

Outrageous!

[pitohui]

17. heck those same campgrounds no longer allow tent camping

east of the mississippi tent camping is becoming all but illegal, it's scary, because i do NOT like hauling any type of big vehicle

[Lefty48197]

18. I'll bet I could build a bonfire that would make them rethink their policy

.