Florida Turnpike rest stops

catmancando wrote:
as a former otr trucker it made me mad to pull into a truck stop and see a camper parked if you can't afford a campground you can't afford a camper I won't go in a truckstop with my camping rig because a pro. driver who has been driving all day and night may need a place to park and sleep most shopping centers won't allow trucks in them but will gladly let a camper park over night.You and I are traveling with our family the trucker may not have seen his or her family in weeks as far as owning the road they pay more taxes than we do for fuel and highway use I drove for 41 years and remember when a car or camper was not allowed to buy gas or eat at a true truckstop flying j and pilot are not truckstops they are fuel stops for all to use with limited parking think of the trucker that is by law required to drive only 10 hrs aday and can't find a place to park you are not bound by the law:M

If the forum had a 'like' button, I would have pushed it. If it weren't for the trucking industry, we would be a third world country. And no, I have no affiliation with nor have ever worked in the trucking industry.

as a former otr trucker it made me mad to pull into a truck stop and see a camper parked if you can't afford a campground you can't afford a camper I won't go in a truckstop with my camping rig because a pro. driver who has been driving all day and night may need a place to park and sleep most shopping centers won't allow trucks in them but will gladly let a camper park over night.You and I are traveling with our family the trucker may not have seen his or her family in weeks as far as owning the road they pay more taxes than we do for fuel and highway use I drove for 41 years and remember when a car or camper was not allowed to buy gas or eat at a true truckstop flying j and pilot are not truckstops they are fuel stops for all to use with limited parking think of the trucker that is by law required to drive only 10 hrs aday and can't find a place to park you are not bound by the law:M

Made some driving time changes and will stop at a state Park close to 95. I do not mind paying 27.00.

I've never seen anybody marking tires and timing it. A lot of trucks pull in late at night and stay until its time to make deliveries in the morning. One of the reasons I got a fw with access to bed, and so forth without pulling slides out is that you pull the slides out, it looks like your camping.

my 15 sec from turnpike site I see no hours but 3 will work just fine

There are eight service plazas on the Turnpike mainline, located approximately every 45 miles, which provide nighttime, armed security. Due to limited parking spaces, overnight parking is prohibited and vehicles may be towed at the owner’s expense.

The service plazas on Florida's Turnpike are open 24-hours a day and typically offer a variety of fast food dining options, gift shops, ATMs, Florida Lottery, public telephones, 24-hour news broadcasts, travel information, picnic areas, dog walks, and other amenities. Both men's and women's restrooms have changing tables and each plaza also has a family-style restroom.

Wireless Internet (WiFi) is currently available at the following service plazas: Okahumpka, Turkey Lake, Canoe Creek, Fort Drum, Port St. Lucie/Fort Pierce, West Palm Beach and Pompano Beach.

At all Turnpike Service Plazas, convenience stores with fuel are open 24 hours per day. In addition to regular gasoline grades and diesel, the following stations offer E85 ethanol for flex-fuel approved vehicles: Turkey Lake (Milepost 263), Ft. Drum (Milepost 184), Canoe Creek (Milepost 229), Port St. Lucie/Fort Pierce (Milepost 144), West Palm Beach (Milepost 94), Pompano Beach (Milepost 65) and Snapper Creek (Milepost 19).

You may contact the service plazas at the numbers below, call 1-866-820-1178 and leave a voicemail, or send an email to guestservice@areasmail.com.

fla-gypsy wrote:
3 hours in Florida

Unless they have passed a law in the last 2 years, the 3 hours is nothing more than an FDOT rule with no legal basis for enforcement. What the LE community calls a tool to use on the unwary, but will need to apply something else to actual cite a person.

3 hours in Florida

The Turnpike rest areas are the ONLY rest areas in Florida that have FHP troopers assigned to patrol inside the rest area on a 24/7 basis. This should give you an idea of what to expect at the rest areas on the turnpike. All other rest areas that have armed security are security guards, NOT armed law enforcement. We have no problem resting at any rest area in Florida, EXCEPT the turnpike.

A 15 SECOND search using GOOGLE with the OP's question gave me this information from the Florida's website..READ the last sentence...:S....Dennis

"Each facility is protected by security personnel during evening and nighttime hours. Most of the rest areas provide family restrooms for travelers who may need companion assistance to make use of the facilities. The facilities in our Welcome Centers and Interstate Rest Areas are open and maintained 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for your comfort and convenience. The State of Florida's Welcome Centers, Rest Areas and Turnpike Service Plazas are generally equipped with public pay phones for use by travelers; facilities that do not offer pay phone services are equipped with call boxes to be used in case of emergency. Overnight camping is not permitted, but visitors may stay for up to three hours.

old guy wrote:
last time I stopped in a Fl rest area, they had armed guards posted. Are they still there, I haven't been back since then. I thought this is an environment I really need to stay away from.

All Florida rest stops, unless marked otherwise, have armed guards at night. They started 24/7 in 1993 after a British tourist was murdered in an I-10 rest area. They were cut back to night time hours in 1995. Source? I bid on the job.