Hi Everyone. Well, after 15 years the RV-Dreams Community Forum is coming to an end. Since it began in August 2005, we've had 58 Million page views, 124,000 posts, and we've spent about $15,000 to keep this valuable resource for RVers free and open. But since we are now off the road and have settled down for the next chapter of our lives, we are taking the Forum down effective June 30, 2021. It has been a tough decision, but it is now time.
We want to thank all of our members for their participation and input over the years, and we want to especially thank those that have acted as Moderators for us during our amazing journey living and traveling in our RV and growing the RV-Dreams Family. We will be forever proud to have been founders of this Forum and to have been supported by such a wonderful community. Thank you all!!
Just a heads up for the Walmart located in Bakersfield, CA on Rosedale Hwy. We've enjoyed our overnight stays here several times before and as usual asked for parking permission first at customer service. Getting the okay we got settled in then walked over to a restaurant for dinner and drinks. On our return a security guard said we had to leave. We told him we had permission. He said Walmart sold the parking lot and the new owner no longer allows overnight parking as of March 21st, 2018. I told him not knowing about the new rules, no new signage indicating "No Overnight Parking" and having gotten permission, we had been drinking and were not able to drive so weren't leaving. He said if we were still there when he returns at 11 pm we would be ticketed. We immediately went back into Walmart to speak to the manager. He wasn't available but we were advised about the new rules by another department head with authority. He said to stay if we had been drinking and the ticket is only a warning and carries no fine. So why does management know about the parking situation but not customer service employees...geez! At 9:30 pm we heard pounding on our door. This time there were two security guards, and the female one took charge and told me in no uncertain terms if we didn't leave they were calling the cops and we would be charged with trespassing. I said call them! We eventually got the knock on the door from the cops who were quite apologetic, and also felt the new rules were ridiculous as RV'er's have overnighted here for years. (I even offered to take a breathalyzer test to prove my point) but was told that wasn't necessary. They said I made the right decision not to drive, to have a good night and safe travels. Cool!! With such recent changes in the parking ruIes I think the security guards could have handled this better, and should have a grace period in place for unsuspecting RV'ers like us in the same situation. The next morning there were two cars parked next to us with people sleeping, and I had a ticket on my windshield...hope that made them feel better.
Parking at Walmart is not a right. It’s a privilege and despite years of offering RV parking, Walmart has the right to limit access to its private property.
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Winnebago TT 2101DS & 2020 Silverado LTZ Z71. 300 watts WindyNation solar w/MPPT, 2 Trojan T-125s. TALL flag pole. Prefer USFS, COE, BLM, USF&WS, NPS, TVA, state/county camps. 14 year Army vet-11B40 then 11A - old MOS 1542 & 1560.
LarryW21: It wasn't Walmart that limited the parking, it was the parking lot owner. In many cases the parking lot is owned by someone else and Walmart leases the space. A former coworker's parents made good money leasing their land for a Walmart parking lot and Walmart even put in the lights, paved it and maintains everything.
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Bill Joyce, 40' 2004 Dutch Star DP towing an AWD 2020 Ford Escape Hybrid Journal at http://www.sacnoth.com Full-timing since July 2003