Wanderlodge Gurus - The Member Funded Wanderlodge Forum

Folks,

As I consider what to do in my quest for a new motorhome, I stumbled
upon a question: Where and how do you large bird owners park when
you're on the road?

It dawned on me the other day while traveling. I stopped in for a bite
to eat at a restaurant and thought, "OK, now if I were in a 40 foot
coach, where on earth would I park?" I've always been able to park my
28' Travco anywhere. She slips right into a pair of parking spots
easily. I was looking real close at the supermarket parking lot by the
restaurant and thinking there was no place I could reasonably park,
even in such a big lot. Only thing I could come up with that wouldn't
interfere with the normal flow of traffic was to drive around back and
park near where their trucks unload and hope there was room for me up
against a curb where I wouldn't be in their way.

So what do you do? I don't intend to pull a tow vehicle everywhere I
go... or is that a necessity with a large coach like this? Maybe the
parking is just something I will naturally figure out once I get
comfortable behind the wheel?

-Ryan

Ryan, parking a coach is one thing- getting out of where you have parked is
another thing. It pays to go slow and train your eyes to look further down the
road. This practice has helped me, as I have only had to unhook once. Good
luck, practice in an empty lot when you get your PT.

Ernie Ekberg
83 PT40
Livingston, Montana



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Ryan: Plan ahead. We are about 62' long with the trailer, and have managed OK.
An empty school parking lot is a good place to practice on weekends.
The really good thing about the bus is bacon, eggs and biscuits and gravy are
approximately 15' behind the pilot seat. No special parking place required. A
rest stop will do.

Gook Luck.

Leroy Eckert
1990 WB-40
Niceville, FL






----- Original Message -----
From: Ryan Wright
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2006 11:59 PM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Parking the PT-40


Folks,

As I consider what to do in my quest for a new motorhome, I stumbled
upon a question: Where and how do you large bird owners park when
you're on the road?

It dawned on me the other day while traveling. I stopped in for a bite
to eat at a restaurant and thought, "OK, now if I were in a 40 foot
coach, where on earth would I park?" I've always been able to park my
28' Travco anywhere. She slips right into a pair of parking spots
easily. I was looking real close at the supermarket parking lot by the
restaurant and thinking there was no place I could reasonably park,
even in such a big lot. Only thing I could come up with that wouldn't
interfere with the normal flow of traffic was to drive around back and
park near where their trucks unload and hope there was room for me up
against a curb where I wouldn't be in their way.

So what do you do? I don't intend to pull a tow vehicle everywhere I
go... or is that a necessity with a large coach like this? Maybe the
parking is just something I will naturally figure out once I get
comfortable behind the wheel?

-Ryan




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Ryan,

Interstates and rest areas are great.
One needs to look ahead, drive ahead, & plan ahead.
When in city driving , look for big parking lots, even if you must
circle around the block, Big Block stores are great,
Some local building codes lay out parking lots and have those front
wheel parking bumpers. This is not a good sign to enter these areas.
Many stores and restaurants have big truck deliveries, Just go
where the big truck rigs turn around or park. Many restaurant are
RV friendly such as Cracker Barrel, Most are not.
You may need to pass up the local fare and the Mom & Pop restaurants.
A toad does not back-up. So do not go into a area blind. Always look
for an Escape Route.
Many fuel (gas) station with the overhang do not mark the height
restrictions.
So always know your height and "LOOK -UP"
Our local Township contracted with a different waste hauler, bigger
trucks, they need 12/13 feet. About the size of a Bird. They ripped
out a number of the over head cable & phone lines in subdivisions.
Fortunately the lower strung cables are usually low voltage.

Bill 88 FC Michigan

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Ryan Wright"
wrote:
>
> Folks,
>
> As I consider what to do in my quest for a new motorhome, I
stumbled
> upon a question: Where and how do you large bird owners park when
> you're on the road?
>
> It dawned on me the other day while traveling. I stopped in for a
bite
> to eat at a restaurant and thought, "OK, now if I were in a 40 foot
> coach, where on earth would I park?" I've always been able to park
my
> 28' Travco anywhere. She slips right into a pair of parking spots
> easily. I was looking real close at the supermarket parking lot by
the
> restaurant and thinking there was no place I could reasonably park,
> even in such a big lot. Only thing I could come up with that
wouldn't
> interfere with the normal flow of traffic was to drive around back
and
> park near where their trucks unload and hope there was room for me
up
> against a curb where I wouldn't be in their way.
>
> So what do you do? I don't intend to pull a tow vehicle everywhere
I
> go... or is that a necessity with a large coach like this? Maybe
the
> parking is just something I will naturally figure out once I get
> comfortable behind the wheel?
>
> -Ryan
>

I just park in any 9 parking spaces I want....

Obviously, the "plan ahead" is the key. I've found that many Walmart
stores have large parking lots ... and you can usually find plenty of
maneuvering room at the far edges. In more congested situations, you
might find a place to park a couple of blocks from your desired
store... but I've rarely had to go so far afield.

Worst problem I have is with gas stations. There are no truck stops
close in to where I live -- diesel is readily available, but many
stations have way too tight turning areas. One station had the diesel
pumps nicely located with plenty of turning room ... but they put
planting beds by the pumps leaving only 9 feet between the curbs.
(The wide body is 8'6".) It was like threading a needle with a
rhinoceros! (The next problem was that the pumps were set with a $75
maximum credit charge -- I had to do 5 transactions to fill the tank
-- then my credit card company went nuts thinking that there was
some kind of fraud going on...)

Pete Masterson
aeonix1@...
'95 Bluebird Wanderlodge WBDA 42'
El Sobrante, CA




On Sep 15, 2006, at 6:17 AM, Leroy Eckert wrote:

> Ryan: Plan ahead. We are about 62' long with the trailer, and have
> managed OK. An empty school parking lot is a good place to
> practice on weekends.
> The really good thing about the bus is bacon, eggs and biscuits
> and gravy are approximately 15' behind the pilot seat. No special
> parking place required. A rest stop will do.
>
> Gook Luck.
>
> Leroy Eckert
> 1990 WB-40
> Niceville, FL
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Ryan Wright
> To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2006 11:59 PM
> Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Parking the PT-40
>
>
> Folks,
>
> As I consider what to do in my quest for a new motorhome, I stumbled
> upon a question: Where and how do you large bird owners park when
> you're on the road?
<snip>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]