Why you should NEVER trust Park4Night

It was 2AM and we were awoken by loud banging on our door. Freezy cold and sleepy, we were violently ripped from our sleep. Why, you ask? Let’s go back to 12 hours before that. 

We were all happy, not aware that that was about to change. We had spent a few days in San Francisco, celebrating the New Year, when it was finally time to go pick up our RV and start our roadtrip through the USA! We were so excited, but we had to wait one more day before our friend would arrive at the airport. We didn’t want to wait in the city and decided to do a little sidequest, so we would not waste any time with our RV. Some browsing on the internet led us to Carmel-by-the-Sea, a charming seaside town with some cute shops and a beautiful beach. So far, so good. We decided to make the trip there, about two hours of driving, so we would have a nice place to stay that night close to the sea instead of in the middle of the city. The internet recommended us to find parking spaces to stay the night via the app, you guessed it, Park4Night. Users can post places where you can park your RV for the night, ranging from official campings to basic parking spaces where you’re allowed to stay one night. Obviously, we went for the free version. With multiple reviews, this parking spot was advertised to us as a quiet spot in a residential area, with an amazing view of the beach and sea. It told us we weren’t allowed to park on the beach, but in this area we’d be totally fine. Because there were so many reviews recommending this place, we did not see what could go wrong. And this is only the start of our mistakes… We decided to take our sweet time, getting groceries for a few days, so we would be all prepared when picking up our friend from the airport. Everything went well and we got used to driving in such a big vehicle. Unfortunately we underestimated how early it would start to get dark. When we arrived in Carmel-by-the-Sea, it was already dusk. When we got to our supposed camping space, it was pitch black. We were driving around the same street for a bit, trying to find the right spot. We were in the right spot according to the GPS dot on the Park4Night app, but there was no sign or anything. Not that we could have seen it in the dark, but even when investigating with our flashlights there was no clear place to park. Tired and hungry, we did the worst thing we could have done. It says this is the spot, so let’s just drive our RV on the side of the road and stay there for the night. We didn’t want to find a whole other place to park, and what is the worst thing that could happen, right? WRONG.

The moment we drove off the road, we knew we were making a mistake. But now we were in too deep. Literally. Because, it turned out, next to the road there was sand. Lots of sand. We only saw the plants covering it when shining our flashlights, assuming there was solid ground underneath, but you know what they say about people who assume. We only drove a little bit, but we were immediately stuck. No doubt about it. After a few minutes of futile attempts to free ourselves from our selfmade chains, we gave up. Maybe a bit too quick, but I will remind you that it was dark and you have to pick your battles. Besides, we had everything we needed for dinner, had our whole house including beds with us and had nowhere else to be for the night. We decided to cook a lovely dinner, go to bed and figure it out in the morning. Except that we would not. 

This brings us to 2AM. Madelief sleepily gets out of bed and puts on pants, while the banging and shouting continues. “OPEN UP, POLICE!”. Noëlle is sleeping in the top bed, and looks down as Madelief opens the door. Half-awake, we sheepishly look at the policewoman in front of our RV door. “Let’s start with the elephant in the room. We can see that you are stuck.” They told us that this place was actually illegal to park at and that we normally would have to leave as soon as possible, but because we were stuck there was actually nothing they could do. Honestly, not the worst case scenario. They gave us a warning and told us to get out of there in the morning, but we didn’t get a fine. They actually just let us go back to sleep and went away. Why they thought it was necessary to wake us up in the first place when they already saw that we were stuck is beyond us. Again, it was a problem we would deal with in the morning and we went back to sleep after reflecting on the insane situation of having police banging on your doors the first night of hiring your RV. 

The next morning, everything unfortunately did not resolve itself by itself. We were still stuck. We called the RV company, which told us that a tow truck would cost 300 US dollars. Obviously we were not paying that if we could do it any other way. So here starts our mission to get unstuck. First, we tried to dig out the front wheels with our hands and cups. Might not be the smartest solution, but you got to work with what you have. Plus, we were desperate. A guy living across the street saw us and came to see if he could help. He did not have a shovel and did not know any way to help, so he left. A while later another guy drove by in his truck. He was dedicated as hell. All American with his cowboy boots and cap on, he was convinced that he could pull our RV with his truck. Immediately, the rope broke. We tried to tell him that he shouldn’t break his stuff for us, but he kept on trying until the whole thing was in pieces. He had to give up because he had to go to work, but he was very nice and left his shovel with us, so now we had actual tools.

Mumbling about how he would have gotten us out if he had been driving his other truck, he left as well. While both these guys were super nice, you know that men are kinda useless and you need a woman to get the job done. And so it happened. While shoveling away sand like our life depended on it, getting nowhere near freedom and closer to giving up, our angel drove be. “Do you need some help?” she asked from her car window. Well obviously we did, but if the truckguy couldn’t help us, how could she? Two words: insurance fraud. For legal reasons, I’m just kidding of course.

One hour later the tow truck showed up, and we were officially free. A rough morning of digging through the sand later, but not one penny lighter thanks to this saint of a woman who saw two struggling girls and decided to help (may she always get what she wants), we drove off into the sunset. Well, into the early afternoon to a parking spot a few streets away where we immediately got another fine for parking in the wrong spot, but still, it felt glorious. 

Moral of the story: never give up, because you never know who will show up and help you to save 300 dollars. And also maybe do not park in an illegal parking spot full of sand.