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Old 06-27-2017, 08:16 PM   #1
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A Walmart parking lot unfriendly to RVs

Like a lot of RV'ers, I will stop at Walmarts to buy supplies when I'm towing my trailer. The stores have an RV section, and the parking lots are big asphalt lots with no obstructions. The parking spaces are big and marked so that facing spaces are end-to-end. My truck/trailer combination takes up two spaces more or less, so no problems.

The Walmart Supercenter in Moscow, Idaho is different. Instead of two rows of spaces fitted together, there is a long planter (for lack of a better word) in between the rows filled with mulch and trees. You can't pull through with a trailer. Additionally, there isn't enough room between the planters to make a U-turn with a trailer. Instead of taking up two spaces, the only alternative is to park parallel to the planter and take up several spaces, then hope some doofus doesn't block you in by parking just in front or behind you.

Don't get me wrong-- the parking lot looks nice, but it's really unfriendly to RVs. I'm guessing this design was due to a local ordinance and hopefully not some trend. I didn't take a photo, but you can see what I mean on Google Earth if you type in "Walmart, Moscow, Idaho". It even shows a motorhome trapped by surrounding cars. He was there for a while, I bet.
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Old 06-27-2017, 08:43 PM   #2
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Yes - there are some impressive landscaping requirements for parking lots in Moscow.
As a nearby resident, I have very much appreciated the counter balance to asphalt, and increased shaded parking. Ha! - As an upcoming travel trailer tower, I know I will be looking at the world through a different set of lenses!
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Old 06-27-2017, 08:50 PM   #3
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I suspect that there was no unfriendleness intended by Walmart. You're probably right, it's details put in more and more in parking lots to make them look less like a field of asphalt. I find them a nuisance for even plain parking at home.

I find a similar situation exists in the parking lots of many fast food outlets etc. I used to worry a bit if I couldn't park "properly". Now, if there aren't any pull through spots I park across several spots. I'm always aware to the possibility of getting boxed in. I usually, if possible, pull up to an end and leave just enough space so that I can cut the wheel and pull out.

I'm in a great Walmart tonight. On a plateau, nice view and very quiet. Much better then some campsites that I've paid a lot for.

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Old 06-27-2017, 09:03 PM   #4
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I usually park in a "V" formation if I have to park across a bunch of spaces. Not only am I angled to pull straight out, I can also back up a little bit (tighter jack knife) if I've misjudged my forward clearances. I also now carry a wheel for the trailer jack after a rather embarrassing hour stuck behind a Taco Bell in California
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Old 06-27-2017, 09:06 PM   #5
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The parking spots for Capilano Mall, where the Walmart is located here in North Vancouver, are so tight that one has difficulty opening the door and getting in or out of the car.
No tears from me when it's demolished, along with the Walmart and replaced with condos.
Street parking alongside the mall has been signed "four hours max" to convince the 'Breaking Bad' motor homes to move along.
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Old 06-27-2017, 09:09 PM   #6
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Someone once thought that I would follow them into a Taco Bell lot when pulling the trailer. No chance. I want something much bigger. Will park down the street or across where there is much more space, to go to any places such as Taco Bell.
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Old 06-27-2017, 09:11 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by davescape View Post
I usually park in a "V" formation if I have to park across a bunch of spaces. Not only am I angled to pull straight out, I can also back up a little bit (tighter jack knife) if I've misjudged my forward clearances.
Good idea, thanks.
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Old 06-27-2017, 09:17 PM   #8
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I'm in a great Walmart tonight. On a plateau, nice view and very quiet. Much better then some campsites that I've paid a lot for.

Ron
Now this I'm sure is intentional. I've seen many Walmarts, including the one in Moscow, ID, built on the tops of hills near a major road. You can't see the store itself from the street. Is that the reason, or is it something else?
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Old 06-27-2017, 09:24 PM   #9
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I've heard the one in Pullman is nice.
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Old 06-27-2017, 10:22 PM   #10
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On our way to pick up our Escape there were no motel rooms available in Lewiston and none in Clarkston so we had no choice, drove north that evening to Moscow through the most beautiful rolling landscape I ever saw. Found a room there.

Several weeks later our credit card statement posted a $350 charge that was bogus, that we never made. (Early hack?-- )
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Old 06-28-2017, 12:00 AM   #11
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drove north that evening to Moscow through the most beautiful rolling landscape I ever saw.
Myron's absolutely right-- all of you should consider driving through The Palouse region at least once. Photographs (well, at least my photographs) don't do it justice; you have to see it. I don't think there is a landscape like this anywhere else in America.
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Old 06-28-2017, 12:22 AM   #12
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May/June for outrageous greens, and late July/early August for golden fields. Amazing terrain. Snowy winter for whites on whites.... The browns of fall and early Spring can be a tad dismal.
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Old 06-28-2017, 05:35 AM   #13
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I don't really see an issue with parking there. Lots of space to manoeuvre, though you would need to park alongside a curb taking up a few spots, but if the lot is not packed that would not be a problem.

I actually appreciate having nice green space around in parking lots I am stopping at. Not necessary at all, just nice.

Mind you, I am used to parking in tighter places than that a few times every day pulling one of my work trailers. This has given me the confidence to pull into almost any parking lot, many with only one way in and out.
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Old 06-28-2017, 05:48 AM   #14
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We were in one like that in New Jersey. It was very difficult to get into, around, and out of. I had already made the turn in before I realized.
There was only really one road in and out for large vehicles to come and go. The parking lot was not meant for a vehicle and trailer.
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Old 06-28-2017, 06:58 AM   #15
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Street parking alongside the mall has been signed "four hours max" to convince the 'Breaking Bad' motor homes to move along.
I'm surprised that it took them so long to do that. It's been a tent city on 4 wheels for a long time. Most weren't travellers just overnighting.

Mike, last ran into you just before Jasper when we were outbound. Thousands of miles later you remain the only Escape we've seen. Very unusal, we ususally see at least a few.

One French Canadian summed up Walmart camping "if I have a choice to keep my money, I keep it".

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Old 06-28-2017, 11:12 AM   #16
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There is a sign as you enter the Walmart parking lot in Terrace, BC that says NO OVERNIGHT PARKING ALLOWED. Same thing at our Canadian Tire parking lot. Apparently, it's a city ordinance and the stores had no say in it.
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Old 06-28-2017, 11:25 AM   #17
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The Palouse is gorgeous, and when I was there in mid-May more so as it was so green this year. Many years ago National Geographic did a photo essay on it and my sister's picture was in it, rowing on the WSU women's crew team. She didn't know until someone approached her identical twin and asked when she rowed on the Palouse.
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Old 06-28-2017, 12:29 PM   #18
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Mike, last ran into you just before Jasper when we were outbound. Thousands of miles later you remain the only Escape we've seen. Very unusal, we ususally see at least a few.
Ron
Well, let's see, so far...

- At a gas station in Cortez, Colorado I was approached by a couple who told me they owned an Escape 21; they were camped nearby. They wanted to know about the antennas on the rear of my trailer.

- In Billings, Montana I came out of a store to see a young family parked near my trailer, looking at it. They told me they owned an Escape 19 and asked to see the inside of my trailer, so I showed them.

- I saw the brand new Escape 17 at the Banff campground; they left before I could bother them.

- I saw Ron and his wife headed to Jasper.

- On Rte. 5 going south from Jasper to Osoyoos I saw two Escape 19's headed the wrong direction, north.

- I saw an Escape 21 headed east on I-90 through Spokane.

That's it, ignoring the rally, of course. I've been in only three isolated locations since the rally, so it's not surprising I haven't seen an Escape lately.
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Old 06-28-2017, 04:22 PM   #19
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There is a sign as you enter the Walmart parking lot in Terrace, BC that says NO OVERNIGHT PARKING ALLOWED. Same thing at our Canadian Tire parking lot. Apparently, it's a city ordinance and the stores had no say in it.
Not all Walmarts allow parking so have to ask first. If there is an ordinance, the sign should cite it. Cannot expect to just go park at any Walmart. Their managers have a say, I believe.
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Old 06-28-2017, 05:00 PM   #20
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Don't even believe the signs. The local WM has no overnighting signs out but folks stay there all the tome. Many of the camping apps, like RV Parky, shows WM's and includes a phone number.
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