# Beginners question



## timbo (Apr 29, 2005)

Hi
 My wife and I are hoping to visit Ontario in August from the UK. We hope to hire an RV in Toronto and tour around the Great Lakes. 

If we rent an RV do we have to stay at recognised campsites or is it
permitted to stop overnight at any suitable location ?  

We are also hoping to visit friends in Michigan, are there
any restrictions in taking a rented motor home from Canada to the USA.

Does anyone know of a good source for maps showing all approved RV campsites in the Ontario and MIchigan areas ?

Any other information you think might be useful would be appreciated.
  Thanks for your help.


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## ARCHER (Apr 29, 2005)

Beginners question


timbo,
check contract with rental company for any restrictions (call them ahead of tme is best).  My guess is you can stay whereever you want.
Inspections from Canada to USA and return....don't carry weapons.  Try AAA (AUTO CLUB) for maps.  Enjoy


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## svo (Apr 29, 2005)

Beginners question

Something I just found out about, is that most Walmart and Sam's Club stores allow overnight parking in their parking lots.  If you're self-contained, and you just wanna crash for the night, there's a Walmart in almost every decent sized town.  Most are open 24 hours a day, and if it's a Super Walmart, you can stock-up on food items while you're there.  I'd just make sure I parked far away from the store, so you don't get blocked in the morning.


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## Poppa (Apr 30, 2005)

Beginners question

99% of the time they say yes


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## Kirk (May 1, 2005)

Beginners question

"are there any restrictions in taking a rented motor home from Canada to the USA."


I know of none but if you visit http://www.cruiseamerica.com/ you can easily find out for sure.

"is it permitted to stop overnight at any suitable location ? "

Yes there are areas where one may spend the night along the roadways of the USA but not everywhere. There are guides to free places to camp around the country. If you are not sure, just ask. Many businesses will allow you to spend the night, like the discount stores and the truck service stops. But most cities do not allow you to park on the street for the night. Most of our National Forests and other public lands do allow such stops and others have campgrounds where you can stay, usually for a fee. 

"Does anyone know of a good source for maps showing all approved RV campsites in the Ontario and MIchigan areas ?"

There are several good campground guides that do show most RV campgrounds in them, but not all. Probably the best is the one from Trailer Life. Woodall's is OK, and Wheeler's is better in some respects but weak in others. There are also guides to camping with the Bureau of Land Managment and some to free sites. But I don't know of any guide that will cover everything. The USA & Canada are so large that such a guide would require several volumes and might be difficult to use.

If you visit our website from my signature, you will find a page under Fulltime RVing that was written by a fellow UK citizen about what it took for him to do pretty much what you are considering, except that he purchased his RV and plans to stay long term.


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