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  1. Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    Germantown Wisconsin
    Posts
    1,290
    #21
    I've done this a few times. Parked in a hotel parking lot. No one was the wiser.

  2. Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Paducah, KY and Palm Bay, FL
    Posts
    7,187
    #22
    Quote Originally Posted by CatFan View Post
    Steer clear of an air mattress. If it’s cool, you’ll freeze. Memory foam gets hard when cold and can freeze. Self inflating camping mattresses are warmer than most other portable options..
    This is not to start an argument but to pass on some experience. Another guy and I spent more than a few nights on the cold frozen Kansas ground in a a US Army pup tent courtesy of Uncle Sam. This was back in the late sixties and we were issued air mattresses and down mummy bags. When the air mattress stayed inflated, we slept quite comfortably in between interruptions for guard duty . However, if the mattress sprung a leak and your butt ended up on the ground it got cold in a hurry.

  3. Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Dayton Ohio
    Posts
    4,816
    #23
    Many nights in Walmart parking lots and still going strong never had any problems. I would go in when they opened and get my daily snacks and drinks.

  4. Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    ponchatoula la
    Posts
    1,490
    #24
    Camp out of my suburban and pull my ranger all the time. Usually get a camper spot where we can keep the boat in the water. Have stayed at Walmart on long trips. Bring a tent when we stay longer

  5. Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2021
    Location
    Grover NC
    Posts
    701
    #25
    I spent many nights in my truck back when I first started racing. Then I bought a motorhome.

    For fishing I'm lucky. There's a bunch of good lakes within an hour or 2.

  6. Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    CO
    Posts
    549
    #26
    Quote Originally Posted by djb750 View Post
    I had mastered the art of "dirtbag" and back then it was easy to pull off the "in late, out early" approach to free camping.
    I love that... art of dirtbag! Ha.

    That reminds me of a story. We were doing a bonsai hunting trip in the Eastern Sierra in CA. We called the local private campsite that we had camped at with our trailer in the past. Told them we planned to roll in about 10 PM and would be gone before sunrise. I asked how we could pay... he says to not even worry about it! Sweet! Got great sleep in a tent and probably got skunked hunting.

  7. Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Location
    South Point OH
    Posts
    5,365
    #27
    Stay at a campground, far cheaper and less chance of theft than a hotel, there is plenty of them close to just about any lake, you can get a site with electric to plug the boat in and they have bathroom and shower houses, you can still sleep in your vehicle instead of a tent.

  8. Member illinifish's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    ofallon, IL
    Posts
    3,967
    #28
    Quote Originally Posted by WisconsinF View Post
    I've done this a few times. Parked in a hotel parking lot. No one was the wiser.
    Of all the suggestions so far I think this is the best option or pony up for a campsite. You have access to bathrooms. No way I would spend the night at a Walmart lot. Seeing what goes into them during the day I can’t imagine what Walmart after dark is.
    Enjoying life in Southern Illinois

  9. Member
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Johns Creek
    Posts
    334
    #29
    I have a 4Runner and always try to launch by the crack of 10:00am. I always get plenty of sleep at home, a healthy breakfast, and am well rested for the entire day of fishing.

  10. Member
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    KS
    Posts
    124
    #30
    I follow the same strategy as OnTRAK with my 4Runner. There are some great threads in the 4Runner forums on sleeping in the back. Some of the guys have some pretty elaborate setups that look comfortable.

  11. Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    PA
    Posts
    1,728
    #31
    I have slept plenty of times in my camper shell, i have a super duty and a xxl cot. Use a sleeping bag and down blanket if cold. Have a extentions cord for phone charger /alarm and fan running under the tailgate. I just take a milk jug or Gatorade bottle to take a leak. My biggest problem is blocking external lighting from my windows. I usually hang a pieces of curtains I've cut to fit my windows. Also I've generally parked in hotels with other boats

  12. Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Insomnia, near Seaford Delaware
    Posts
    35,511
    #32
    Quote Originally Posted by JJohnSind View Post
    For just the reason of having a clean, private bathroom, hotels for me.
    I can do without sleep but not a dump. That's the most critical factor in the travel to and from local (about 3 hour travel time) tournaments for me.

  13. Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Kings Mtn., Kentucky
    Posts
    8,819
    #33
    Whatever you do if driving & staying in your vehicle at night make sure it’s in the heat of summer so just in case you have a buddy like mine that you can make him sleep on the boat deck. The snoring sounding like a wild hog getting in an electric fence & the absolute worst smelling farts you’ve ever smelled in your life will make you want to kill him & you’ll have one hell of an argument too because of how you’re cussing him. Don’t ask me how I know this.

  14. Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Mercer County Illinois
    Posts
    5,032
    #34
    Leave at five be there by eight. Sleep in your own bed. They'll bite when you get there.

  15. Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Ashburn/Virginia
    Posts
    1,630
    #35
    Not that I have or would do it, but it is one that a buddy of mine did regularly and Rick Clunn did with his son recently in the news, is get there, launch your boat, go anchor in a cove and sleep on the deck. They make chitter buckets with seats now if you are worried about that. White gas coffee maker...good to go....now leaving your truck and trailer in some boat ramps might be sketchy, but around where I fish, they are camera controlled and one even has a lake front motel (my choice), so there are plenty of people around to keep things safe.
    2017 Triton TRX Patriot w/250 ProXS Optimax

  16. Member basscat21's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Falmouth, Ma
    Posts
    43,668
    #36
    I have done quite a bit of it, I have slept under the cover of my boat on a Camping mattress in a truck stop...... running diesels are like white noise machines.... Slept on the bench seat of my truck (not comfortable), I had a buddy in the 80s with a suburban with a small AC unit he fit in the drivers window, air mattress in the back. I do sleep in my Excursion now. sleeping under the boat cover on the front deck is actually not to bad, put a fan back by the motor to circulate air in under the cover.

  17. Member BILL LO's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    SC / MA
    Posts
    4,626
    #37
    have done it a lot, slept at truck stops, rest areas , at campgrounds (ask for a pull thru site that way pull in then pull straight out)
    Spent many a night at Walmart Parking lots, I usually call 1st to make sure it is allowed (not all Walmart's allow it) was actually kick out of 1 in VA a few years back
    Cabela's and Bass Pro allow overnight parking

    2009 ELITE 210

  18. Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Lilburn, GA
    Posts
    9,438
    #38
    Campground and sleep in the back of my SUV, or a parking lot/rest area close to the ramp if one is available, last option is a hotel.

  19. Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Location
    South Point OH
    Posts
    5,365
    #39
    Quote Originally Posted by billnorman1 View Post
    I can do without sleep but not a dump. That's the most critical factor in the travel to and from local (about 3 hour travel time) tournaments for me.
    You can take a dump anywhere.

  20. Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2020
    Location
    Taswell, IN
    Posts
    4,433
    #40
    I use to pull the boat with a full size van. Put the cover on the boat and parked right at the ramp under the light. I find it very peaceful and slept like a baby. I use to just use some egg crate and lots of blankets and pillows. Brings back some good memories.

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