"Indy Film Documents "Camping" at Wal-Mart"
RV West Journal, January 2004

There's a quirky independent film making the rounds these days, called This is Nowhere. It is about RVers who steer their motorhomes and trailers into Wal-Mart parking lots to "camp" for a night or two.

The film, produced by a Missoula, Montana company called High Plains Films, brings to the forefront an issue that is a really hot potato issue amongst RVers and campground owners alike.

The film documents the fact that just as RVers seek out national parks and historic sites, a growing number of RV travellers have marked Wal-Mart stores and the parking lots of other big-box outlets as travel destinations.

However, overnight stays at Wal-Mart, Costco or truck stops are not sitting well with many campground operators and their associations. Despite this, the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) and the RV Escapees RV Club are on record saying that they believe Wal-Marts and other businesses that allow RVers to park overnight on their lots are providing a valuable service.

"We've probably stayed at 500 Wal-Marts in two years," said Tom Hansen in an interview with Seattle Post Intelligencer newspaper. Hansen is a full-time RVer from Vancouver, B.C. and drives a 40-foot American Eagle. He added, "It's great to know you can drive 20 minutes down the highway, and there's another Wal-Mart."

In the same newspaper article a Wal-Mart spokesman, Tom Williams, is quoted as stating, "We've seen people sitting around the asphalt telling campfire stories. They pull up their camp chairs, pull out their awnings. RVers are really, really good customers, to be honest. We jokingly refer to them as shoppers who take a long time to make up their minds."

Unofficially, Wal-Mart opens its corporate arms to RVers. The corporate retail giant even puts out a special edition of the Rand McNally Road Atlas for its big-wheel visitors that lists the locales and amenities of some 3,500-plus Wal-Marts in all 50 states and Canada.

However, David Gorin, president of the Virginia-based National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds, estimates that overnight stays at "Wally World" siphon off as much as 10 per cent of their nationwide business. He told the Seattle newspaper, " For a lot people, it's become something of game. Let's see how long we can do this...let's see how much money we can save." RV parks, he points out, have to be licensed to host RVers, Wal-Mart doesn't.

In Whitehorse, Yukon, RV park owners urged the city council to intervene, complaining some parks were half-full while the local Wal-Mart parking lot was full. "We can't compete with free," one campground owner said. However lawyers successfully argued that Wal-Mart broke no rules. Spokesman Tom Williams simply stated, "All we offer is a parking slot...Our culture is to treat every customer as a guest." Besides, rumour has it Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton was an avid RVer, perhaps explaining the corporate soft spot for boondocking RVers.

What's the appeal of a Wal-Mart parking lot? One reviewer of the documentary film This is Nowhere stated, "Meet the new breed of traveller who wishes to "camp" in absolute comfort, without the messy dirt, fire, outhouses, trees or animals."

You can order a copy of the documentary, This is Nowhere, by visiting their Web site, www.highplainsfilms.com