Boondocking question

[bsjs0708]

We'll be driving our RV from Dallas and will need to boondock at or near Pensacola...Any suggestions? Thanks again,you all are awesome! Julie

 

[Corgidad]

When we need to stop for the night we usually stop at a Cracker Barrel, we always stop before they close. We go inside and eat dinner and speak to a manager and ask if its okay to spend the night in the parking lot. In over 20 years of traveling we were never turned away and never had a problem. Plus we always ate breakfast before getting on the road. We always felt by eating dinner and breakfast we were saying thank you for letting us stay.

 

[team bradfield]

When we need to stop for the night we usually stop at a Cracker Barrel, we always stop before they close. We go inside and eat dinner and speak to a manager and ask if its okay to spend the night in the parking lot. In over 20 years of traveling we were never turned away and never had a problem. Plus we always ate breakfast before getting on the road. We always felt by eating dinner and breakfast we were saying thank you for letting us stay.

Corgidad, a big thank you, that's what makes us RV'rs welcome most places, from the biggest rigs, to the smallest pop up campers we are all considerate and kind to others, thanks for your post

 

[jaredjohn4]

If the dog or I need a break and it’s 2:00am, we always look for a Cracker Barrel. Most rest stops are full at that time of night. Cracker Barrel has wide enough entrances and turn around areas. They are also well lit.

 

[mickeyfan0805]

Just a caution on the Cracker Barrel idea...I don't know what the set-up for the OP is, but for us, Cracker Barrel is a no-go. We have a 35' bumper pull, which puts us at about 54' bumper to bumper. Most of the Cracker Barrel lots I have seen are set up for the coach bus length (more like 45'), and do not accommodate our length. We actually gave up on stopping there for meals, as we rarely can find anywhere to park.

 

[team bradfield]

Just a caution on the Cracker Barrel idea...I don't know what the set-up for the OP is, but for us, Cracker Barrel is a no-go. We have a 35' bumper pull, which puts us at about 54' bumper to bumper. Most of the Cracker Barrel lots I have seen are set up for the coach bus length (more like 45'), and do not accommodate our length. We actually gave up on stopping there for meals, as we rarely can find anywhere to park.

I have to agree, we had to give up as well, there was one in Effingham or Bloomington IL that we could get in, but they widened the road leading to it and now its too steep to get in, really miss the breakfast there

 

[snowmedic]

There is a Love's Truck Stop at exit 70 Defuniak Springs, Florida. It has propane and a McDonald's and Subway.

 

[tiggerdad]

Just a caution on the Cracker Barrel idea...I don't know what the set-up for the OP is, but for us, Cracker Barrel is a no-go. We have a 35' bumper pull, which puts us at about 54' bumper to bumper. Most of the Cracker Barrel lots I have seen are set up for the coach bus length (more like 45'), and do not accommodate our length. We actually gave up on stopping there for meals, as we rarely can find anywhere to park.

Even if it would hold the length, my experience is that the spots for longer travelers are usually occupied by small cars and SUVs more times than not.

 

[tylerzmommy]

Download the app "RV Parky" on your phone. After getting mixed reviews about both Cracker Barrel and Wal-Mart being open to overnight parking, I found this app (it's free!) and you can look up different places that will accommodate you along your route. It's crowd-sourced information so you're getting real life experiences from other travelers who have either stayed there successfully or been told that location isn't open to it.

 

[bsjs0708]

Download the app "RV Parky" on your phone. After getting mixed reviews about both Cracker Barrel and Wal-Mart being open to overnight parking, I found this app (it's free!) and you can look up different places that will accommodate you along your route. It's crowd-sourced information so you're getting real life experiences from other travelers who have either stayed there successfully or been told that location isn't open to it.

Oh,thank you so much! I just downloaded it!

 

[michelb]

Just a caution on the Cracker Barrel idea...I don't know what the set-up for the OP is, but for us, Cracker Barrel is a no-go. We have a 35' bumper pull, which puts us at about 54' bumper to bumper. Most of the Cracker Barrel lots I have seen are set up for the coach bus length (more like 45'), and do not accommodate our length. We actually gave up on stopping there for meals, as we rarely can find anywhere to park.

We're in a similar situation; although we have stayed overnight at Cracker Barrels, we tend to stay at Walmarts more often as we find we don't fit well in many Cracker Barrel parking lot (40' mh towing car on dolly so probably a good 60'). Also Walmart often works well for us as we tend to leave with few supplies and this makes it easy to pick up supplies on the road.

 

[MudQueen22]

To those of you overnighting at CB, are most of you in self contained units with onboard generators?
I don’t know if I could sleep in the south without AC unless it’s cold outside. And it’s not always cold in the winter.

 

[michelb]

We do have a generator but I've never run it overnight (although it's actually relatively quiet). If it's hot, we might run the AC until 10PM and we have a 12V fan in the bedroom which we'll leave running all night.

 

[StormyCA]

We've boondocked our way from California to 'points beyond' (WDW, Smokies, Yellowstone, Glacier, Canada etc) and I use a website called 'findfuelstops(dot)com' (not sure it's OK to post links). We always stay in truck stops as we like the lack of isolation and the fact that there are usually people walking around 24/7.

It's geared more to truckers but you put in your departure and arrival cities and it gives you all truck stops, rest areas, Walmarts, etc along the way as well as the miles from your destination and how far off your route they might be. It has always worked really well for us and you can indicate you're driving an RV and click 'RV services' and 'parking' on their amenities list. Sometimes I have to 'fiddle' with it as it takes the most direct route via major interstates and we might want to take the 'scenic route'.

They do seem to be having some type of an 'issue' with Google maps though. You can still see the 'bird's eye view' of the truck stop somewhat, but the 'street view' isn't working. I just look them up on Google Earth to see how much parking there really is and what I think of the area.