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| Boon Docking Courtesy | Inside our renovated camper. #NelsonInTheWild |
From time to time, anyone can find themselves looking for a place to park for the night. Whether you are a nomad wandering, a road tripper needing a nap, or a camping family who hasn't quite made it to their destination, you are almost always welcomed at Walmart, Bass Pro Shops, Cabelas and sometimes even a Costco.
*Edited to add: Walmart has recently changed their minds at *some* locations about overnight parking. But overall, it is still permitted, ask inside with an employee before settling in for the night.
Since we have become nomads, we have seen a variety of people stay at in parking lot with us, from stealth campers, converted school buses, to regular trailers and campers! If you are unsure if you can park at a specific business, look for other campers or ask Customer Service! And since we have been at a few of the businesses to park over night, we wanted to share some courtesy guidelines hubs and I have put together.
Since we have become nomads, we have seen a variety of people stay at in parking lot with us, from stealth campers, converted school buses, to regular trailers and campers! If you are unsure if you can park at a specific business, look for other campers or ask Customer Service! And since we have been at a few of the businesses to park over night, we wanted to share some courtesy guidelines hubs and I have put together.
'Generators, just generators.. Enough Said'
Please don't run your generator all night, especially if you are parked close to others. It's loud and we are all just trying to sleep. If you must run your generator, run it during the day, before the sunsets and the store closes or find an area of the parking lot where you can run your generator without waking every one else up!
And if you are late to the sleep over and will need to run your generator to get yourself settled for the night, others may already be sleeping. It's just a matter of being considerate of others around you!
Leave room...
When pulling into the parking lot and looking for the stall you'll call home for the night, don't park too close to other parking lot campers. Leave a couple spots between you and the next guy to allow everyone a little privacy at bedtime and early in the morning.
We have had a young couple with abroad accents park. right. beside. us. And it was weird because Nelson is very wide, barely fitting in a stall and I'm not sure how they we are able to open their doors to get out! So close. The young man walked around to our side door and knocked if this was ok because it was their first time parking overnight and they felt unsafe. We reassured them and let it slide as there is safety in numbers but they would have been just as safe, one more parking stall away.
Pick up your trash...
This is common sense for anytime, any place. If you have trash, throw it out. These big box stores are too kind to allow us all to camp overnight in their parking lot, be kind. |
| Book Docking Courtesy | Don't be nosey! #NelsonInTheWild |
Don't be nosey..
This is my personal biggest pet peeve when we are parked anywhere. Don't look in my windows! This is my home, my private and safe place, I don't need a bunch of strangers peering in the windows.
It's not ok. Even though Nelson is super cool and fun and brightens your day, don't be a peeper lol!
Shop at the store..
This is so hard for us... Well, not really because we are there anyway, but hard because we try our hardest to #SHOPLOCALHUBCITY!
But, these stores are so kind to allow a bunch of free loaders to park in their parking lot for the night, so please, support the business. You are there anyway, you might as well get a snack or get your groceries there!
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| Boon Docking Courtesy | Grey water should stay in your tanks! #NelsonInTheWild |
Grey water should stay in your tanks!
Some may not agree, grey water is just your dirty dish water. But if we all did this all the time, the parking lot would begin to smell, I imagine. Leaving your grey water valve closed and emptying it appropriately is your responsibility to the environment as well.
We have seen campers parked and in the early morning a river of soapy and foamy water would be running away from their morning showers. It's not attractive for these businesses that allow up to stay over night.
Keep it down..
I know it sounds like I'm complaining, but I'm really not hah! Generally, it's just neighbourly to keep the noise to a minimum after the business closes rather than shopping cart surfing.It's not actually camping..
Although we have been known to pull out our telescope, #roadschool, the parking lot is not a campground. Don't get too comfortable and pull out your outdoor carpet, lounge chairs, and BBQ! They are trying to run a legit business here hah!Don't take priority parking!
Even if you are a stealth camper, we certainly are not, parking lot campers should be parking far from the entrance to allow the actual customers with room! You may still run into the business to pick up a few things but chance are, you are there for hours, and if you parking in the close parking stalls, there could be a dozen other customers that have to park further away.
Basically, we want to be considerate of the other parking lot campers but also of the businesses that allow us to sleep there overnight so they continue to allow us to park there!
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| Digital Nomad Living | Parking Lot Camping or Boon Docking Courtesy |
