When we’re on the road and need a place to park, we say we need 40 Acres. This is based on the old trucker song by the Willis Brothers called “Give me 40 Acres.” (Link to the song can be found at the bottom of this blog post). I can’t remember exactly how we stumbled on this song, but I’m pretty sure my dad had something to do with it. The gist of the song is, the trucker needs 40 acres to turn his rig around. While, you may not really need 40 acres to turn your RV or trailer around or to park it, but you need a lot of room! One of the more stressful things about RVing is parking it in places not designed for RV’s. Here are a couple of anecdotes to get you thinking and some tips for finding your 40 acres.
One of the best inventions since we started RVing 15 years ago has been phone apps like Google Maps. My husband will say he wants to stop in the next town for lunch. He’ll, then, ask me to find a place to eat with 40 acres of parking. I get extra points if I find an In N Out Burger. So, I proceed to look for places to stop in the next town (or wherever we think we’re going to be). Then, I’ll click on the restaurant on the map and zoom in so that I can see what’s around it to see if there will be a good place to park. We usually can’t park at the restaurant and have to do some walking, but that’s a welcome thing on a long road trip. We usually try to find someplace like a closed bank or the hinterlands of a mall parking lot and take up about 5 parking places. Sometimes, we can parallel park against a fence or something like that.
One time, in Provo, Utah, we found an In N Out Burger and parked in the hinterlands of a nearby strip mall. Then while we were eating our burgers, we thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could find a piece of chocolate and a Starbucks for the road?” He got on his phone and found a See’s and a Starbucks a couple blocks up! We got in a nice walk and got a burger, chocolate, and coffee fix all in one stop! It was a great stop! Again. Google Maps for the win! It’s a huge help if you want to park or if you just want to find a piece of chocolate.
Another time, he mentioned we were getting low on gas. I was super sleepy as we had hit the road fairly early in the morning. I needed a leg stretch and caffeine. I suggested that it would be great if we could find a stop with a rest stop, gas station, and Starbucks all close together and then, promptly fell asleep. Next thing I know, he’s poking my arm while exiting the highway saying, “Look what I found!” It was a stop with a rest stop, gas station, and Starbucks all in one place! It was a miracle!!!
Here are some other things we’ve learned along the way:
Rest stops are almost always a sure thing– We have yet to find a rest stop without RV parking. When the kids were little, we would stop at rest stops and make breakfast or lunch on the road. It saved money and a bunch of stress.
Walmarts often have 40 acres– As much as I hate Walmart shopping normally, it can be a huge help on the road. Usually, we can find enough room to park. Many Walmarts have grocery sections, 1 ply toilet paper, RV supplies, and other things you might need on the road. Some Walmarts will let you camp overnight in their parking lots. I don’t know the ins and outs of that but know it’s a thing.
Truck Stops are fabulous!–We love a Flying J! You get a little discount on your gas if you’re a Good Sam member, there are usually really clean restrooms, and usually, a wide variety of snacks to choose from. We didn’t discover these until my son was a teenager. At our first Flying J stop, we took forever because he was so busy looking around.
Not all gas stations are RV Friendly– we have driven past many a gas station because they look too tight for getting the rig through. Get used to the size of your rig and the amount of space you need to maneuver.
Always know how you’re going to get out of where you’ve stopped– Be sure to think ahead and find a way out of your spot. Try to scope it out before stopping. If it doesn’t look good, drive on. 27-point turns are no fun!
Knowing your route is a big help –if you’re going someplace you’ve been before, you can plan ahead. If you’re going to be repeating your route, keep notes about good stops and stops you’ll never use again. For instance, we will never stop in Grants Pass, Oregon ever again! We had a horrible time getting around on their streets, finding parking, and another time, had a disgusting experience at a fast food joint there. Forget it! Two Strikes and Grant’s Pass is out! We have deemed it inhospitable to RVs!
Read the blue signs– Many roads have blue signs that advertise food and gas stops. Some say
“RV Parking.” Sometimes at highway junctions, there are places that are almost like food and gas “courts” that are easier for parking. There is one such place at Tejon Pass in California.
Keep “ditch food” handy– Sometimes your best efforts are just going to not work. You might end up in an inhospitable Grant’s Pass type experience. You may need to break into your ditch food so you’re not overly hungry and crabby. “Ditch Food” is what we call the snacks you keep handy in case of an emergency (like ending up in a ditch). This was funny growing up in Southern California where it was pretty hard to get stuck in a ditch. Now that we’ve moved to Washington, the term isn’t as funny because there are so many ditches to get stuck in! Nevertheless, we still call our emergency snacks “ditch food.” Ditch food has saved our bacon on more than one occasion.
When the garbage man says “don’t go on that loop,” don’t! – You might remember from the blog about how we learned that the awning was the most expensive part on the trailer from getting it stuck in a tree. That was because we didn’t heed the warning from the garbage man. Taking the advice from people in the know is a good idea.
Teamwork is a big help – When my son was a teenager and taking trips with us, it was his job to find the lunch spots and the 40 acres. He also was in charge of navigation with his iPhone. He did a great job and it gave him something to do in the car. Now, I find things on my phone and plug them into the navigation on the truck as I have been fired from navigating (see previous blog post about the last nerve).
I hope you’ve been entertained and helped a little bit. Here’s the link to our fun little trucker song. It was one of the first songs we put on our Road Trip Playlist! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDxVJ471hyg
Next Trailer Girl Blog Post: Setting up your trailer – making it yours while maximizing comfort and space.
Trailer Girl's Guide to Happy Camping 