San Antonio - RV Hell

After a little research, I discovered there is not a decent RV park within a zip code of downtown San Antonio so we decided to try our hand at a little "Urban Boondocking".

So last night we find out there isn't any decent parking in or around downtown SA that will accommodate a bus overnight and we end up parked down by the Mercado between Mi Terra and Pico de Gallo almost directly under the I-35 overpass not quite a mile from the Alamo. I finally found three vacant parking meters in a row that I could park next to. They charge from 8am to 6 pm which works out to $25 per day to park. Not too bad other than having to plug the meter every +/- 2 hours.

Lessons learned - You really need to scout out a parking place either way late at night or very early in the morning to make this work if there is a lot going on. And driving a 45'er through a cramped downtown setting that bends around a river pulling a toad in the traffic is not fun either. I think we may need to consider an Urban Boondocking forum where we can coalless all the Jeff Baylee advice and other useful tips so we can refine this down to an art.

Jerry the type of parking you discribe always makes me sweat bullets. I worry the entire time I'm parked some Ass will come by and 'key' the side of the bus or worse.

While that thought has certainly crossed my mind (and some even worse ones) I have watched the folks filing by on the sidewalk and most just point or nudge their friend and gawk or take pictures. Late last night there were few folks on the street here and the UTSA police have been cruising their lot next to us pretty regularly.

I would not do this in Norman with an OSU tag on the bus or any potential rivalry set up that could provoke any college antics.

When we are trying to find a parking spot for the coach in a congested area like downtown San Antonio, we park at a mall or Wal Mart and disconnect the car. Then we use the car for the recon mission, it is just much easier that way. We use the GPS to locate a WalMart.

Or, you could do what Loc does: have the butler take the Bentley out on a scouting mission prior to your arrival.:cool:

San Antonio is one of the most RV unfriendly cities on the planet. Around 1991 they passed legislation forbidding them from parking on the street or in your yard. In the ensuing years they may have modified that posture, but for a while they were known far and wide as anti RV. Ironically FMCA had a convention there as that legislation was being passed.

Pigeon Forge / Sevierville is also unfriendly to RVs, but because owners were literally dry camping for days and weeks at various businesses like WalMart and wore out their welcome by dumping their tanks in the storm sewers.

I try to keep up on which cities to avoid overnighting in because some with restrictive laws also have very heavy fines if you do park overnight.

JDUB has ONE night where he has to dry camp and he's on here whining like a school girl.
Did you Goggle Supercenter, Lowe's or Home Depot?? Tell me you at least ask a local law enforcement official for a suggestion.

I can tell you that Dallas and Austin aren't any better. I can also tell you that if you had stayed in Houston and gone to the Houston RV show with Loc and myself today you would have nothing to whine about. You would have also come away with a greater appreciation of your Prevost Bus Conversion.
Seeing James and Jennifer Stallings at their Xtreme Booth and a chance to stock up on Rescue Tape made this one exciting day.

Santa Barbara isn't any better. Years ago they passed anti RV laws to keep the low income RV ers from parking around town and at the beach. Now, they have to move twice a day, no parking anywhere by the beach between 2 and 5 am for RV's.
Some of the places we Park when evacutating for fires are
High school parking lots, church parking lots, Hospital Parking, Sears parking lots and any large commercial business parking . Most of these are practically empty at night.
Land is so expensive, there is no RV Parks within 30 miles.

Jdub - You forgot your Acme Security System while parked on the street!

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Jerry and others-

I just so happen to have boon docked successfully in two places in San Antonio. One was the parking lot of the AlamoDome which is a short cab ride to Riverwalk (we've never towed a car) and I surprised myself by remembering the name of the hotel to help you find the other one.

Crowne Plaza Hotel
RIVERWALK
111 PECAN STREET EAST
SAN ANTONIO, TX 78205 UNITED STATES

Across the street from one side of this hotel is a paid public parking and I had to pay the guys one time and the next night (weekend I think) nobody came for money. It was only like $25 or $30. It is right on the river and can walk right down the stairs and catch the boat. I looked it up on Crowne Plaza's web site and saw the pictures of the lobby and the outside and that's the place. I forget what happened or what I told security at the Dome. I can't even remember for sure if I stayed there overnight. There was nothing going on there though for them to make much of a fuss.

Regarding worrying about the bus or getting keyed, all I can say is that I never got a scratch or so much as a knock on the door in 9 months in NYC. Got some parking tickets. Easy as pie to RV there. They have lot's of parking reserved for our buses but they're disguised by signs that say "Fire Lane. No Parking" These signs to a great job of keeping those spaces freed up for our buses (or the occasional fire truck). Just keep moving every two days. Day 3 is ticket day.

Gary- True that on Santa Barbara but I did find one of the very few ocean view spots on 101 or at least the road that turns into 101 a few more miles North of this picture. I decided to turn back instead of take 101 but I stayed here for the day but didn't spend the night. There was the "No Parking 2-5am" or similar that you mentioned.

Street parking Tip: Personally, I don't try to feed the meters if I'm staying all day or night because when I try, I let them lapse long enough to get a ticket anyway and the ticket is good for the whole day (usually) so be sure to leave it on the window. If I try to feed the meter and keep up with it, I invariably mis a turn and get a ticket so I'd rather just save my change for paying the ticket. But if I don't put the first nickel in for the meter and just resolve myself to the ticket, then it seems like I get a free pass from the meter maid and they gloss over it. Murphy's Law or something. I ask someone how much the tickets are and then decide. I've actually looked out my window and seen a meter maid look straight at the expired meter, then look at the bus and just pass on by. Like they give a bus an exception or something sometimes. Also, if your parked illegally on the street overnight, I sometimes leave the flashers on all night long and cops pass it over often times thinking your just a passenger bus there temporarily. Usually need to use the built in 24 volt charger in the morning.

Jeff,

My first game plan was exactly that; find a good spot and let the Benjamins do the work. But by the time I got here Friday evening, you couldn't toss a cat and hit an open spot near the Riverwalk. Hence my admonition to get there early for a deal like that.

We are on night #2 at this place and other than the noise from the Interstate, it isn't so bad. Or at least it wasn't until I drove further up the street where I discovered why there were so many homeless folks milling around; a shelter with free food. Ted's picture was on the door, so no doubt he had been there trying to pass himself off as a Country Coach owner. Today he and Loc discovered they have a full set of teeth between them, so their trip to the RV show allowed for some bonding. And not the dental kind.