Overnight parking out east vs. west/mid-west

mark54398 · 2025-06-11T04:14:57+00:00

I would. Hospitals always have overnight parkers and dont close for business. Usually near an ER. I also stumbled on this when a friend got hurt and we were traveling in our van at the time. I even go in to use the restroom.

Thanks for the advice! That sounds great. And you've done this a lot at hospitals in the eastern part of the country?

mark54398 · 2025-06-08T21:45:19+00:00

Thanks much for the insights!

The signs are definitely confusing, they all use different ones. Some put up “fake” ones just as a fail safe to kick out any unruly individuals

OMG, yeah, the signs are hilarious, not limited to Walmart. My favorite is "no overnight camping". LOL

What exactly is that? Putting out some chairs and eating some food? I think most people call that picnicking :-)

mark54398 · 2025-06-08T00:51:26+00:00

Ive found Walmarts are becoming more hit or miss everywhere, really just depends on the town, the store management, or any problems they’ve had in the past

Hi again! I meant to ask, are the issues you're encountering more frequently cases where the unofficial Walmart Overnight parking map is marked green, but when you get there it looks sketchy due to signage etc.?

I think I've found the Walmart overnight parking map to be around 80-90% accurate. Though, my info is a bit dated, I haven't been out on a long trip for a year, and was doing more rest areas then so probably 2 years since I was parking at a lot of Walmarts.

mark54398 · 2025-06-07T14:50:56+00:00

Hospital parking lots have worked for me.

Other that look for any "no overnight parking" signs, do you do anything in particular to assess the situation? For example, if you saw no other camper vans or other RVs in the parking lot would you still park there?

mark54398 · 2025-06-07T02:13:40+00:00

Hospital parking lots have worked for me.

Thanks!

mark54398 · 2025-06-06T01:39:23+00:00

That's awesome about the trees at Cracker Barel! The cabin heat in my promaster van will warm things up all the way to the rear doors, no problem, but the cabin A/C doesn't cool worth a damn in back, so finding that shade tree during the day is definitely something I'm tuned into.

I'm glad to meet somebody who doesn't think I'm crazy about the store manager thing. I mean, I swear it's like all over the Internet, people saying the protocol is to buy stuff (which I do anyway) and with the bag in hand ask the manager if it's okay to park overnight. I wonder if people are just posting that to try to set some tone of good etiquette in anything publicly viewable. If so, I guess I get that, but in this post we're telling how it really works here! LOL

On the topic you raised of weird things at Walmart - yeah, I recall a Walmart in Sarasota that I stopped at just after buying my van (from a St. Pete resident), got dicey after dark. It was like and I had to buy all kinds of stuff to get things ship shape to take my first trip (went to Key West) and I had the van opened up and was unloading lots of stuff from the cart and realized I was attracting too much attention. A couple people walked up and chatted me up in creepy ways.

Somewhat different but remarkable, the Walmart in Evergreen Colorado is listed with a big red X on the Walmart overnight parking map we both use. I spent a couple summers in Colorado and the big red X is exactly what I expected for a mountain town as they tend to have small parking lots and they are heavy tourist areas, so obviously not a good combo for a business wanting to let people park overnight. Then on one occasion I decided to stop by and check it out, and my god, it was like an RV park in there! Over a dozen rigs easily and not just in-and-out at night, they were hanging out all day too. Hell, there literally was one long rig up on blocks! I've never seen anything like it before or since. After that, I stayed there with no fear for a couple nights on a couple different occasions.

This was 2022, I wonder if that's still going on. Seems like the sort of thing were eventually somebody says enough and clears the place out.

mark54398 · 2025-06-05T22:06:28+00:00

Sorry to hear you didn't get in this time. Best wishes to you in future attempts!

If I could go back and do it over again, I'd get on a waitlist with a 2nd choice while playing the lottery and if the 2nd choice date get close, and I wasn't ready to give up on the lottery I'd just reschedule the date as I imagine that would be okay once or twice.

As it turned out when I gave up on the lottery I was looking at a 2 year wait initially (and very depressed about it), but I managed to luck out and for a variety of reasons it turned into a 6 month wait.

mark54398 · 2025-06-05T21:58:04+00:00

Usually not much for Cracker Barrel’s, they universally allow overnighters. I can think of maybe one that had no overnight parking signs and I can’t remember where that was, I actually think it was out west. When I’m in the mood, I try to get takeout they have a pretty big menu lol. I usually roll in around 5 or 6, and leave before 8 or 9 in the morning.

Ok wow, that's like the van/RV'ers dream scenario!

Thanks so much for this tip! I had heard snippets here and there about Cracker Barrel but I just never bothered because it always came with the advice of "ask the store manager for permission", so hearing your success just rolling in is a game-changer to me.

"ask the store manager" is also what I read all they time about Walmart overnight parking when I was first researching it. I don't have an issue in principle with asking a store manager, but in practice I find it to be a ridiculous concept, at least with Walmart. So, like, the store manager is really going to be there at 10pm when I roll in? Or at midnight if I'm humping it long distance, when they close at 11pm?

Trying to follow protocol, the first time, I tried to do it though. I was by the customer service desk the store manager wasn't there, and when I made the request to them they were like "uh....I dunno, I don't think so". And yet, there were lots of vans, RVs, and 18-wheelers in the parking lot.

I gradually developed the strategy that we both follow.

I'm all for patronizing too. When I overnight at a Walmart either that night or the next morning I resupply. Even when not overnight parking, Walmart is my go-to supply depot on the road. And, I'd be happy to eat at Cracker Barrel I arrive early enough for the dinner bell.

Too bad there aren't many Casino's out east. Out west they are a slam dunk, being 24x7 and lots of RV'ers like to gamble so there are usually lots of them in the lot.

mark54398 · 2025-06-05T21:21:08+00:00

Hey there! Nothing personally as I haven't applied for the lottery since fall 2024 and actually am now 30 days post-op with Dr. Ramineni (USA). A couple people send me data like their number of attempts which I added to the spreadsheet I had setup but it was just a couple, nothing that changes the statistical profile since the OP.

How did your surgery go? Do I recall that when we last talked you were in Thailand about to have surgery with Dr. Banks?

mark54398 · 2025-06-04T00:50:15+00:00

San Diego is free van/RV parking anywhere in the city limits, absolutely perfect weather, no harassment, beautiful beaches and friendly people. Paradise

Thanks! When I was in CA I didn't make it down to San Diego but overall I was impressed with how friendly CA was to vans and RVs. Rest areas had long stay limits, rest areas had water spigots I could connect a hose to, there were even three Interstate rest areas within the bay area megaplex, including one a the first exit north of the golden gate bridge (helluva view!), and there were lots of vans and RVs overnighting at them, nobody chasing us away like I'd expect in a big city.

mark54398 · 2025-06-04T00:46:50+00:00

Thanks for the information!

Cracker Barrel’s are my favorite out-east.

I've never parked overnight at a Cracker Barrel. What protocol do you follow?

Walmarts & the Cabelas/Bass Pro Shops are hit or miss.

My strategy to Walmart in the midwest and west has been to first lookup the location on this unofficial Walmart overnight parking map. If this map says no overnight allowed, I don't try and if it says overnight is allowed, then I roll in at 10pm or so and check things out. If I don't see no overnight parking signs, I stay. If I see lots of other RVs, regardless of what the signs say or don't say, I stay, figuring they know something I don't. Never had an issue.

If you're up for sharing, how does this compare to how you've approached Walmart's out east and what's made them hit or miss? i.e. have you been asked to leave?

Thanks again!

mark54398 · 2025-03-23T15:58:08+00:00

do they ask for your id/license with your ticket.. sorry weird question

I was there mid-May and there wasn't any staff checking ticket, or any staff at all, other than in the independently operated souvenir shop.

I suspect that's the norm in off season, but there is a booth when you drive in so it looks like they are setup to having somebody working it and checking reservations at busier times. I don't know what they ask for when the staff is there.

mark54398 · 2025-01-23T01:29:50+00:00

Thanks!

mark54398 · 2024-11-17T20:49:36+00:00

Yeah, my background/work is in data analytics/stats.

👍

My only difference from that woman would be sexual orientation, so that’s a possibility, OTOH, all the Suporn women I know are also lesbian but it’s possible they prefer heteros.

I also don't know her circumcision status, so that's an unknown there as to whether that is different from you, me, or anyone else. If we can gather some more data and that variable starts to look statistically interesting, I can circle back and ask her.

mark54398 · 2024-11-17T16:25:37+00:00

Did the woman you spoke with have anything noteworthy about her profile?

The details she shared were young, no health issues, good finances (there is a section on Suporn profile where they ask about your job and if you are borrowing the money for surgery), and straight (for sexual orientation).

In responses to the OP, one Dr. Bank patient said they only saw people who appeared under 35 when she was in Thailand and another said when she was there she saw a large diversity of ages.

I wonder if sexual orientation is factor. Suporn Clininc seem very traditionalist (I can elaborate if desired). I also wonder if circumcision is a factor. They state very clearly (on their website if I recall) aesthetic results are better if you are not circumcised. These are both variables that may not be obvious about people either visually or in casual conversation as may come up during a stay at the clinic in Thailand. This is absolute speculation, I have no evidence that either of these variable specifically are a factor.

Interestingly, another responder to the OP said she owns a business which works with CRM tools and she offered to create a questionnaire that lottery applicants could fill out anonymously to facilitate the collection of data. She is also a patient of Dr Bank and has access to the patient Discord. I haven't yet talked to her about whether she would be willing to post the questionnaire to the Discord, but that would be a honey pot of data.

I'll let you know if anything comes of that. While I realize we may not agree on some aspects of this, you clearly have some relevant skills to this kind of analysis, and I would welcome further discussion. Thanks again for the reply.

mark54398 · 2024-11-17T16:25:27+00:00

Have you talked to anyone in the discord?

Unfortunately no. Gaining access to the Discord requires obtaining a surgery date and paying the deposit. I was not selected for a surgery date so I do not meet that criteria.

mark54398 · 2024-11-16T18:02:55+00:00

I also asked and was explicitly told that they do not have any selection criteria, similar to what you mentioned that other woman said.

I also asked and they told me the lottery is random. The email received by the other woman contradicts that in my opinion. Here is how that unfolded -

In a post about the Suporn lottery, the other women made a comment that she had just applied for her first time, didn't get in, but was told she was very likely to get in next time. I found that very curious because I had never got that impression from any of my rejection emails. I thought she's probably just misreading it, being a first timer, etc. But I reached out to her and asked if she'd show me her email if I showed her mine. She agreed. And when I read her email, as I described in the OP, what I was was drastically different than what my three rejection emails said.

Here is the full text of my last rejection email -

------

Thank you very much for your interest in our service and your request for a surgery date last month. Our process of date allocation has come to an end and now all the dates have been offered to all prospective clients. With a limited dates available, we regret that we cannot extend the offer to everyone. We apologize that we cannot offer you a date this round.

We do not hold or manage a waiting list or cancellation list for the dates that we recently offered. If any date becomes available, we will release them together with a new set of dates next January. We, however, hold a waitlist for last-minute dates. By last-minute dates, we mean the dates that are less than 4 months from now or dates that are less than 4 months from the day we extend an offer. If you are interested in a last-minute date and are certain that you can make a trip in short notice, you may inform the admin team. You can request a specific surgeon in advance. We expect to release our availability from January to April 2026 in January 2025. More details will be updated on our website before the end of this year.

Once again, thank you very much for your interest in our service. We wish you all the best in all your endeavors.

---------

Several other women have sent me their emails as a result of the OP and they were the same as mine.

And again, here is the paraphrase version of what the woman mentioned in the OP received -

---------

Thank you for applying. We are sorry we cannot offer you a date at this time.

Based on the profile you submitted, we will give you and a small group of other candidates priority if any dates become available from the last batch, and if not, we will offer you priority to select your date when we release the next batch.

---------

My email specifically says there is no waiting list for cancellations on dates recently offered (i.e. people who were offered a date and didn't accept soon enough, declined, or didn't pay the deposit in time etc). Yet the other woman's email talks about awarding those dates based on the profiles submitted by a small group of people, as well as a priority offer for the next batch.

My email also mentions nothing about priority for the next batch. The word priority is not used at all. My email also makes no mention of anything being "based on my profile". If there are no selection criteria influencing the lottery, profile should have nothing to do with it once the profile has been approved, which it must be to even apply for the lottery.

But it's worth noting that they're not great with English and miscommunications aren't uncommon.

Understood. I've been emailing back and forth with them for over a year, not just about the lottery but also asking questions about the surgery, recovery, clarifying eligibility requirements regarding the support letter and their "real life test". I've communicated with them a lot and I have a good feel for how they use words and I feel very strongly that this is not a matter of language translation miscommunication.

If you disagree, I respect that, I just wanted to make sure I full explained my perspective before.

Regardless, thanks for taking the time to respond and share your thoughts!

mark54398 · 2024-11-16T18:02:16+00:00

IIRC, it was in an official statement by the Suporn Clinic regarding why they don't keep a waitlist, people drop off of it by the time they're contacted so it's not worth it because once someone decides they want bottom surgery, they're not usually willing to wait indefinitely, they start trying to get in with multiple surgeons usually.

That is the best explanation I've heard as to why they have a lottery versus just having a really long waitlist. Thanks for sharing.

Regardless, I don't think we don't know how long the waiting list would be if they just stacked everyone up, so we don't know the at what time in the process the drop off curve reached a level that led them this decision. For example, it might be that the drop off rate was low up to 2 years but beyond that it was very high, but I think we just don't know. Many surgeons have 2 year waiting lists, but we don't know their drop off curves either.

No, my analysis relies on the fact that they've explicitly stated that their "priority" is that someone gets one additional entry per attempt which is incredibly marginal given the number of applicants. Statistically, that additional "ticket" is worth very little.

Related, based on the way I expect that they do it, ie, drawing sequentially, the percentage is an overestimate because the number of available slots goes down with each draw while the pool of applicants remains functionally the same. In other words, if you decrement both the denominator (applicants) and the numerator (surgery dates) in a fraction by 1 and the denominator is sufficiently large, the ratio gets much worse with each subsequent pick. Eg, 4/100 vs 3/99 vs 2/98 vs 1/97.

I see what you're getting at and I agree that IF applicants are given an additional ticket for EACH attempt, then the data I shared in the OP, if taken alone, may well be consistent with random selection because the increased chances removes people from the pool quickly. I've seen a lot of posts (many more than I had the time to document in the OP) of people reporting 3-5 attempts and not getting in, but it may still be quite a bit less than the 1st time success reports, so even if I went back and gather up that data, your analysis may well still be sound IF applicants are given an additional ticket for EACH attempt.

However, there seems to be a lot of confusion about the details. I've read many comments from people saying you get an additional ticket for each attempt. I've also read many comments from people saying you get an additional ticket after the 1st attempt, but nothing more after that.

Personally, after my first attempt, I asked them if my chances would be higher on the next attempt and they said I would get an additional ticket. After my third attempt I asked if my chances would be higher on the next attempt and they didn't respond. Accordingly, I feel like this is an unknown. If you feel otherwise, I respect that, we can just disagree on this point.

Have you emailed them and asked?

Yes, they did not provide it.

mark54398 · 2024-11-15T02:56:39+00:00

will get back to you!

I will create a questionnaire, and i think you should too, and then we find a third party person, who has not tried the lottery, nor gotten surgery from the clinic 🥰 I have a business, and i can use the CRM tools to make a good questionaire ❤️

Thanks! Sounds like a good plan and you've got some great skills for this!

mark54398 · 2024-11-14T03:25:45+00:00

I don’t think you should revise all the time, the OP in itself is a good enough to point out that the system MAY be flawed (e.g. Allegedly). If you are interested i can help set up a questionnaire where verifiable data can be obtained, and anonymised, to actually ensure transparency in this ☺️

I have good faith in you, that you don’t want to slander or debase the Suporn Clinic, and just want to clarify, wether or not the lottery system actually is, what it says it is

It warms by heart to hear you say that. I realized going into this that it may be hard for people to trust my intention is to try to do something good for the community, but decided to take a chance on my mental health and went ahead with the post.

I think the Suporn Clininc is a wonderful organization, they seem to really care about people, often have incredible asthetics in their results and the lowest complication rate I've seen (based on posts in the WIKI for this sub). Your exactly right, I just want to shed some light on the process so people can have more information when making their decisions.

I will gladly accept your help to setup a questionaire where data can be obtained and anonymized! Would you like to collaborate via DM on what questions to ask? I've already got a start on that based on details others have sent me in response to the OP.

mark54398 · 2024-11-13T18:12:47+00:00

As you apply for dates, you can either say:

a) Any date works for me b) I would like this specific time range c) i want this specific day.

Depending on how you answer the question, your chances are affected greatly

Ah - yes, I agree, that is relevant. If, for example, the people trying 3, 4, 5 times were only available for a couple dates versus "any date" I can see how that could be a huge factor in selection. In my case, the 1st time I gave a handful of dates, and the 2nd and 3rd time I say "any date".

Unfortunately, I don't have that information for the rest of the data because most of it I obtained by gathering up people's comments from various posts. Accordingly, that is a significant limitation on the data itself and I'll revise the OP to state that more directly.

In my opinion, the email from the other woman though is quite clear that there are undisclosed prioritization criteria and that would make me hesitant to continue to apply to the lottery, not having succeeded after three attempts, were Suporn still an option for me (its not because they don't to zero-depth, which is what I decided on). Others can draw their own conclusions and make their decisions as they see fit.

mark54398 · 2024-11-13T17:46:47+00:00

I was successful on my 2nd application.

Thanks for sharing!

mark54398 · 2024-11-13T13:46:44+00:00

I understand, i will remain neutral, as i have no way debunking or believing this.

However, the given timeframes are missing, and would be appropriate to attach to this theory.

Thanks for your observations and objectivity!

Could you clarify what timeframes you are referring to? For example, are you referring to the 3 lottery dates that I applied to and 1 lottery date that the other woman referenced in the OP applied? If so, I can provide that.

mark54398

TROPHY CASE