Episode 170: Are Walmart Parking Lots Safe for RVers?

In this episode, we talk about Walmart parking lots, one of the favorite overnight camping spots used by RVers when they need a quick place to spend the night. Over the past couple of years, Walmart parking lots have been linked to story after story about crimes committed there. Many RVers, in fact, now are worried, or simlpy stay away from them as overnight spots. Is the anxiety justified? We’ll answer a call from a worried listener and do our best to clarify the concerns and let you know our thoughts abut this. Plus more of your questions, a great off the beaten path report, tips on saving money this shopping season and an interview with Mary Jane Curry on the top gadgets you need in your RV kitchen. Click the player below to Listen Now or scroll down through the show note details. When you see a time code hyperlink, you can click it to jump directly to that segment of the podcast. [spp-player] Show Notes for Episode #170 December 13, 2017 of Roadtreking - The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK [spp-timestamp time="2:22"] Mike and Jennifer are both recovering from severe head colds. But the show must go on… We discuss a major change in direction for the Family Motorcoach Association - FMCA votes to allow owners of all self-contained RVs in This portion of the Podcast is brought to you by Campers Inn, the RVer’s trusted resource for over 50 years, the nation’s largest family-operated RV dealership with 19 locations and growing JENNIFER'S TIP OF THE WEEK [spp-timestamp time="9:20"] RVers love their pets! In fact, surveys show that one of the main reasons people buy an RV is so they can travel with their pets. At a recent RV show in Louisville, we ran into our friends Mark and Dawn Polk, of RV Education 101. They travel with not one, not two but three dogs. How do they do it? We whipped out the recorder and asked Dawn for some tips… Good advice from the Polks! And be sure to send me your tips and suggestions about any aspect of the RV lifestyle. You can use the “Leave Voicemail” link at Roadtreking.com. Just click it and then use the built-in microphone on your computer or mobile devise to record a message to me. You can do it over as many times as you want, until you are satisfied. And then you just click a button and it comes right to my email inbox. I love hearing from you! Jennifer's tip of the week is brought to you by RadPower Bikes ,an electric bike manufacturer offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes. Now with free shipping LISTENER QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK [spp-timestamp time="14:17"] Hal is a new Pleasureway owner. He shares his travel plans. He likes the blog post we had some time back from Campskunk on staying in 70 degree weather and moving with the season all year. Peggy has a 2004 Chevy 190 from Roadtrek and needs to replace some of her old plumbing. She also asks for input on a composting toilet. And despite some distortion on the call, Teri has a problem with swaying with her Serenity RV from Leisure Travel Vans. She’s looking for advice. And a caller questioned a recent guest’s worry about crime in Walmart parking lots. Walmart has traditionally been very welcoming to RVers and, in municipalities that allow it, generally allow RVs to park there overnight. Our caller is looking for advice on straying there when needed. [spp-timestamp time="27:36"] Here are some recent headlines a quick Google search returns from over the last year or so: From Bloomberg - Walmart's Out-of-Control Crime Problem Is Driving Police Crazy From NPR - Wal-Mart's Crime Problem Overwhelms Police Across From JR Security - Wal-Mart Parking Lots Are Virtual Magnet For Crime From the publication This Week - Why criminals flock to Walmart From the NY Daily News - Violent crimes at Walmart top 200 this year as cops slam retailer Let me read this from a 2016 story in Time Magazine: “Across the U.S., Walmarts have become a regular stop for law enforcement responding to calls. In Camden, The State reported in July that 187 of the police department’s 1,372 calls from January to June this year occurred at Walmart. The Tampa Bay Times found 16,800 calls to police for Walmarts in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando counties in just one year—four times the number of calls to Targets in the area—and amounting to the equivalent of two calls an hour. In Louisville, WDRB reported more than 9,200 calls for police at area Walmarts since 2012, by far the most of any location in the city. In April 2015, a Portsmouth, Va., Walmart was the scene of a fatal encounter between a white police officer and a black unarmed man accused of shoplifting. Police in Amherst, N.Y., recently discovered a meth lab inside a drainage pipe underneath a Walmart parking lot. And earlier this month, criminal charges were brought against three employees of a Florida Walmart Supercenter accused of fatally injuring a shoplifter who was trying to steal $380 worth of DVDs.” An