"Parking" Or "Camping" — How do you tell?

Here’s a photo of an RV.  This one happens to be a Class A Motorhome, but a picture of any other motor home, trailer, fifth wheel or pickup camper would serve as well. There’s no background showing, so there’s no way to tell where this picture was taken.  All we know is that the RV isn’t moving and isn’t on a road. It’s stopped, somewhere or other.

So … is the RV in this picture camping? Or is it just parked? How can you tell?

Well, there are some tell-tale things that easily let us distinguish between an RV that’s parking and one that’s camping.  If there is a BBQ grill or lawn furniture outside the RV, that’s camping. If there’s a satellite dish on a tripod, set up outside the RV, that’s camping. If awnings are extended, that’s camping. If a “pop-up” tent trailer is “popped up,” then it’s set for camping and not just parked. 

There are some other visual aspects of camping vs. parking that aren’t quite so clear-cut. What if an RV has the bat-wing TV antenna up? What if it’s a roof-mounted satellite dish? Or suppose that a travel trailer, fifth wheel or motor home has levelers extended?  What if one or more slide-outs are extended? Is that RV parking, or camping?

And why does it matter, anyway?

Here’s why. Many Wal-Marts and other retail stores, restaurants and truck stops issue an open invitation to RVers to park overnight in their parking lots, to sleep, while on a multi-day journey to a distant destination. The entire concept is an outgrowth of Sam Walton’s invitation to long-haul truckers, years ago, to park in Wal-Mart parking lots to get their legally required sleeping and non-driving hours. Wal-Mart later extended this invitation to RVers to park overnight – but NOT to camp – in their parking lots as well.

There is at least one legally enforced definition of “parking” overnight in an RV, that clearly delineates the difference between “parking” and “camping.”  The State of Wyoming allows RVs to park overnight in highway rest areas, but does not allow camping. The Wyoming Highway Patrol differentiates between “parking” and “camping” this way: An RV that is parked is in ready-to-drive condition.  All you need to do is turn the key and drive away.  A vehicle that requires more preparation in order to drive away — retracting slide-outs, raising levelers, hooking a trailer to its tow vehicle, etc. — isn’t parked, it’s camping, and is subject to receiving a citation.

There are many different kinds of Overnight RV Parking locations, and each one has its own set of “dos” and “don’ts.” The Wyoming Highway Patrol standard applies in Wyoming rest areas, but is more stringent than is practical for the dry camping area at a casino, for example. Over the next few weeks we’ll discuss some general practices that apply in a variety of different kinds of Overnight RV Parking locations, and some that are unique to specific store chains or localities.

Safe travels to you!

Jim O’Briant
Gilroy, CA
Moderator, OvernightRVParking Yahoo Group