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Kicked Out Of Moab


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Sort of :)

I've been spending a LOT of time around the town. I read on some free camping site that it's actually legal to camp on the streets of Moab, and you definitely see a ton of RVs in the grocery store parking lot, and streets around downtown. Because of that, I've been spending one or two nights a week there, then heading out into the desert the rest of the time.

I've been around a lot. And my camper sticks out, even in Moab. I tried to get out of town yesterday but all the rain has the dirt roads turned to mud and slick, so I stayed in town.

Got a knock on the side of the camper around 10:30pm from a police officer. "You can't camp here". Where can I camp? "In a campground". Are all the people parked in the grocery store parking lot getting knocks on their doors tonight? "As many as I can - you just worry about yourself, not them". He had a little stumble before saying "as many as I can", and was clearly lying.

Oh well. I'll admit I overstayed my welcome, though I'm quiet, respectful, and don't leave trash. Somebody must have gotten sick of seeing my camper. Probably if I stuck with the grocery store parking lot I'd have been ok, but it's loud, busy and bright, so I was around the corner in a little park/urban trail system parking lot which is dark and quiet, but definitely has people parked at all hours.

So, no more urban camping in Moab for me, at least not this year. I'm sure they know the looks of my camper now, so I probably can't get away with anywhere in town for the time being.

Camped at a pull-out to a dirt road, going just far enough to get off the highway but not get stuck in the mud, then drove back into town early this morning.

The RVs that were in the grocery store parking lot last night were still there, un-harrassed. :)

On the plus side, I've seen a ton of Toyhomes. I met a couple traveling in their 83 Sunrader, another couple in the 92 Warrior, another in a 90-something 4x4 Odyssey, then a bunch of other sightings...early 80's shorty Sunrader, later 80s Sunraders, and a lot of other makes.

Plus plenty of other crazy campers, new and old.

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Good point. Still, I was nice to the cop and I'm sure he was only there because someone called and complained. A guy I met who lives in the house less than a block from where I was parked lived in his van for a while when he first moved to town. He said the only time the police ever bothered him, he was brushing his teeth with his sliding door wide open after getting back from the bar, late-night. And they cop was more concerned with making sure he was the owner of the van, not breaking in, than anything.

So I'll keep on their good side and just hang around town during the day and head out a little ways at night. I'm actually ready to head north anyways, just hanging around town till tomorrow night to meet a friend who will be down here for business. Otherwise I would have just skipped town this morning.

If I'm around next spring, I'll stick to the grocery store and stay out of the neighborhoods when I'm in town.

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  • 2 months later...

Word to the wise, it takes 5 seconds to ASK a property owner for permission to dock. I usually do this while patronizing the establishment. Big box lots are not as easy as truck stops, and liquor stores, as well as ma & pas. Permission is always better than assuming you can; its respectful to the owner and easy. My family stayed in a liquor store lot in KY after I hit it off finishing a line of devil went down to Georgia that she was singing and she looked up and smiled "great song, love when folks chime in and sing" right then I asked if she would mind while I was buying some Newcastle. She said no problem and came out and joined us for a beer and we played the song off of our phone and sang it again.

I know I know I risk the ire of the legal eagles saying this but dag nab it I always have fun booning and never seem to have the trouble i see others in here have.

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I have stayed at quite a few establishments after asking permission. Never been denied if I ask while I am purchasing stuff.

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Yeah the grocery store is no problem. It's the park/trail system parking lot I got kicked out of. I agree though, asking permission is best. If nothing else, you know. Going to bed not knowing if you're going to get a knock on the door in the middle of the night is not cool.

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Your back, so after a summer in your M/H are you ready to move into a "big" 18ft Sunrader??

Hows the refer doing after all the problems??

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Absolutely. I seriously considered the last one someone posted on here (last one I saw, anyway), but I just can't justify spending close to 10K, then spending whatever else I need to make it liveable. Plus a lot of them are V6, or more modern EFI, and I just don't have the skills to work on those. Yet anyway. That means more money for a mechanic instead of fixing it myself. So it seemed like a bad financial idea until I have more consistent work.

Right now I need to keep being super cheap. But yeah, I'd really love to upgrade.

Fridge seems to be doing fine. It's been a cool summer here in Montana and I have housing with this job, so...the one time I've used it since May, the fridge worked great. But mostly the Chinook has sat in a nice field, unused all summer.

post-6535-0-84938200-1437778499_thumb.jp

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I know this is just a picture of a Chinook in a field but... that is some beautiful country, for sure.

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