Camping Passes worth the money or waste of time?

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Depending on the town and our "feeling" about such we will stay in a Walmart, one night.

Similarily with Cracker Barrel and if the parking suits my criteria.

Lock and load,
JIM

[phorner]

Paul, When you stay a a strip mall or such do you take extra precautions to make sure you are safe in the area. There are so many people looking for a fast buck. A million dollar coach parked at night seems to be a likely target. For that reason I have been hesitant to park in those places, I have found you can park in some rest area's in some states and they have 24hr security. Gary

We have also enjoyed the hospitality of many a rest area. On a few occasions, we have opted to travel some of the older US highways, many of which don't have many rest areas, if any at all. Those were the times we selected an overnight spot in strip malls. Unfortunately, some of these appeared to be new.... just never occupied. They all "appeared" to be in a decent part of town... although there are never any guarantees.

We try to be well aware of our surroundings and not take any unnecessary chances. I never feared for our personal safety at any of the places we have stopped for the night. I have only been approached once by a stranger, and he was looking for work instead of a handout... at least that was his claim. We try to park in a well-lighted area, with an easy and direct exit path if needed in a hurry. And, if you leave the parking/clearance lights on, no one knows for sure if you're awake, asleep, or getting ready to depart at any moment.

Also, I made the decision many years ago to obtain my concealed carry permit and take some serious firearms training (I trained at Front Sight in Pahrump, Nevada) and I still get to the range at least a couple of times a month. Using a firearm is, of course, a very last resort and carrying firearms is certainly not for everyone.

I worried more about simple vandalism and/or mischief than anything serious. Luckily, since we bought our first motorhome in 1996 we have had only one instance of trouble.

Someone tried to remove our bicycles from the rack on the back of our Safari.... very late at night....in a driving rainstorm. We heard what we thought was a strange noise in the middle of the night but ignored it. Discovered the attempted theft the next morning which was not successful because I had used a bike cable lock to secure them to both the rack and the hitch.

And this did not happen at a rest area, WalMart or strip mall parking lot..... it was within a KOA just off of I-95.

Ya just never know....

[Gary Carmichael]

Good advice Paul, We both have our cc permits and live on a farm here in V.A. and we plink a lot. Like you this is a last resort, hope I am never put in that situation, but feel we are both as prepared as you can be, On a lighter note, we are leaving for Fla on Monday, Pearl Harbor Day. Hope the snow will hold up till then, safe travels, Gar y

[Pete]

All good comments from POG members. I belonged to Coast To Coast and found it to be a joke unless you have a trailer or fifth wheel rig. The CTC parks are normally "out in the boonies", most do not have 50a, and they are miserable at keeping up the directories. I once looked for 2 hours to find a park (which I did not find) only to find out the next morning that the park was no longer in business and had been demolished a couple of years before.
Would not advise any one to join CTC.
Florida has great roadside parks or rest areas, at least along the interstates with security, and you are welcome there.