How to Find Free Places to Sleep in Your RV

Written by Richard in Places to Stay

We’re planning to be snowbirds this coming winter and we are on a budget. We’ve heard that there are places you can park for free but we didn’t know where. So I did some research and this is what I found.

You can use apps or websites to find free places to sleep in your RV. They will help you find truck stops, parking lots, and public land where you can park and sleep for free. Friends and family might provide free places too. There are also memberships that can help you find free places to stay.

Continue reading to learn more about how to find free places to sleep in your RV using memberships, popular apps and websites, and apps that work with no cellular data.

Apps and Websites To Find Free RV Spots

When I started looking at free places to stay, I found apps and websites to help you find places. I was struck by the variety of options. There were too many to review them all.

I tried to think of what would be most useful to share with you.

I found three groups that seem to stand out for me.

Some of them stood out because they were mentioned several times.

Others stood out because they could be used without Internet access. This will be important if you are Boondocking in remote areas that don’t have a good mobile data service.

We also found some memberships that help members find free RV spots.

Review of Pages About Apps and Websites for Free RV Spots

We found eight different pages that gave lists of apps and websites to find free places to stay:

They mentioned between five and sixteen different apps or websites.

I reviewed the pages to find the most mentioned apps and websites so I could share the most popular ones with you.

Most Mentioned Free RV Parking Apps and Websites

Of the 8 pages I looked at, there were more than 23 different apps and websites mentioned. Not all of them were about free spots to park but I included those that seemed to have features that would help you find free spots.

Six of them were mentioned on three or more pages each:

App/Website#IOSAndroidWebComments
iOverlander6yy.comInternational
Campendium5yy.com
FreeCampsites4nn.netReported by members
AllStays4yy.comSeveral apps
FreeRoam3yy.com
The Dyrt3yy.comRustic

Unconnected Apps for Finding Free RV Spots

I noticed three apps that didn’t require you to be connected to the internet to use them.

Obviously, you need to be connected when you download the app, but according to my reading, you could use them on your device with no connection.

The USFS & BLM Campgrounds app shows “United States Forest Service (USFS) and Land Management (BLM) campgrounds throughout the US,” according to its App Store preview. It seems to be only available on IOS.

The US Public Lands app shows all US land borders. It doesn’t show actual campgrounds though. It is available on IOS or Android

The Boondocking app shows free camping (aka boondocking) locations, mostly in the US. The number of locations increases as app users submit information about them.

Memberships for Finding Free RV Spots

These membership Websites aren’t free. Instead, you pay a small membership fee to get access to RV sites that are free.

Boondockers Welcome says “The $79 yearly membership gives members unlimited access to stay at any one of the 3390+ Host locations. That’s about the cost of a single night at a campground.” You can stay on the hosts’ private property for free. Some hosts might provide electricity or water, for a fee. The website gives a map so you can plan your route and pick Boondockers Welcome free campsites along the way.

Harvest Hosts say “Welcome to Harvest Hosts. RV Camping at 4368+ Wineries, Breweries, Farms & Attractions That Invite RVers to Stay Overnight”! At the time of writing, their annual fee is less than $100 US.

Where Can You Park Your RV for Free

Truck stops let truckers sleep in their vehicles. They will often extend this to RVers. Make sure you ask before you park and sleep.

You can often park in the parking lots of various businesses. They are hoping you will do business with them before or after you sleep there. Make sure you ask before you park and sleep.

Public land is available for everyone to use. Find out what the rules are, and follow them.

Friends and family might allow you to park on their land and may even allow you to use their power and water. Some people call this Moochdocking. Don’t overstay your welcome.

Now we know the kinds of places where you can sleep in your RV for free. How do we find places?

One way is to find them on your own. If you know you are going to want to stop in a particular city, for example, you can call businesses in that city to see whether they allow it. There’s a list of likely places later in this post.

Businesses Can Allow RVers To Stay Overnight

Some businesses allow RVers to stay overnight in their parking lots.

But you need to ask permission at each location.

Walmart has a policy favourable to allowing RVers to stay, but that doesn’t mean it’s allowed in every Walmart parking lot. There may be factors that prevent the particular store from allowing you to stay. There might be local laws or it might be that Walmart doesn’t own the store or the parking lot.

The same applies to the other places mentioned below. Always ask first.

That said, the following businesses are generally favourable to RVers staying in their parking lots:

  • Walmart
  • Bass Pro shops
  • Cracker Barrel
  • Cabela’s,
  • Denny’s,
  • IHOP,
  • Lowes, and
  • Big box stores.

Recent Posts