Ovenight in a Truck Stop

[moisheh]

I have posted on this subject before. I do long distance driving in the summer months. This year finding a place to park has been pure hell. In some areas the Truck Stops fill up before noon. Makes it very hard to find a good spot for the night. We are limited to 11 hours of actual driving. Plus you must take a half hour break before your first 8 hours has passed. Parking is so scarce there was just a National Conference on this subject. The problem is serious enough that the industry is worried it will affect the economy. I 5 in Washington is one of the worst. Even the rest areas are filled very early. Imagine how I felt when I pulled into a TA and there were 2 motorhomes parked in the truck areas. One was an expensive bus conversion and the other a DP. Folks these RV'rs have no good reason to be taking up those spaces. Yes, TA or the J does not care who parks on the lot but common sense and decency tell me it is: Rude, Ignorant, Selfish and just wrong . The truck drivers are trying to make a living and follow the regulations. The RV'rs are supposed to be enjoying themselves. Spend the $$ and go to a CG!!!!!! Or go to a Wal Mart.

Moisheh

[J-Rooster]

I agree with you! Good Post!

[gemert]

Johno02 wrote:
Just remember, don't make the truckers mad. If you have it, it came by truck. be grateful that these guys work hard to bring what YOU want and need to you. If you don't like it, take you big MotorHome and go get it yourself! Can you get a truckload of fresh vegtables coast to coast in three days before it all spoils? They do, EVERY day for YOU!

I would be grateful if they did it for free out of the goodness of their heart. They don't! They choose that job and are generally paid pretty well for it. Be polite to everyone trucker, RVer or 4 wheeler. We all share the road and the Flying Js and ect... If the "truck stops" didn't make as much money from cars and MHs they wouldn't let them in and accommodate them.

[Bill_Satellite]

I am a nice guy. But I am also an RVer who travels for a living. How is anything I do different than what you do? It's better that I leave the Travel Center and die after falling asleep because I did not want to occupy a space that could have been occupied by YOU? Sorry, but I plan my travels for my convenience, using businesses that welcome my business and if this is some kind of an inconvenience for you I really could care less.
Peronally, I think the moderators should have closed/deleted the topic immediately but it you would like to go head to head just keep it coming and we can turn this into one of those 256 page Wal-Mart threads. You are NOT entitled. You just have to play by the rules. If you don't like the rules, get out of the game.

[moisheh]

I was not trolling. When I was in that Washington TA there were truckers driving around in circles looking for a space. But 2 were occupied by RV's. Somw of you do not understand the rules that apply to truckers but not RV's Driving over your 11 hours could get you an out of service violation, points on your driving record, a fine and do this twice tour job could be gone! There are some truck stops that are never even half full. Help your self to a spot, But don't park along I80 in Indiana where they are always almost full. Rights and common decency are 2 different matters. I was glad to see that few posters avoid staying in the truck parking areas. Bill satellite: I was surprised at our attitude. I thought you were a nice guy! And when we RV I do not stay in truck stops. The spots for RV's are very tight and I would never stay in the truck area. We do use Wal Marts. Rest areas often forbid overnight RV parking. I guess I am naïve. I never thought so many RV'rs would be so selfish.

Moisheh

[darsben]

Johno02 wrote:
Just remember, don't make the truckers mad. If you have it, it came by truck. be grateful that these guys work hard to bring what YOU want and need to you. If you don't like it, take you big MotorHome and go get it yourself! Can you get a truckload of fresh vegtables coast to coast in three days before it all spoils? They do, EVERY day for YOU!

They do it because they get paid. Truckers do not give a darn about what is in the trailer.
Your rhetoric is not the truth

[GlennLever]

I drove truck for a living before I retired. I now travel in a motor home. I pull a trailer and am 72 feet long. Where else am I to park? My fuel cost as much as a truck, I fill it up every time I park. If I spend the money for fuel at a truck stop don't I have the right to park there?

[2gypsies1]

I totally agree with the OP. RVers have many more options for overnighting than a semi does.

Now mid-day, we have stopped at a rest area in the truck/RV section to fix a quick lunch and then we're on our way. We don't overnight in those places.

[gbopp]

Dog Folks wrote:

gbopp wrote:
And I think Moisheh is trolling and stirring up the fire. :B

It worked.

And, it worked well. I think Moisheh is ROFL.. 🙂

[tkcas01]

jplante4 wrote:

Cloud Dancer wrote:
I use Walmart parking lots. Truck stops are way too noisy.

And they smell like urine. Really, just walk to the frickin' bathroom, dude.

Even the RV/truck area of rest areas often reek of urine. If they all think like the OP, I guess they are marking what they think is their territory.

[sailor_lou]

I only stay at RV parks and campgrounds and fail to see the attraction of truck stops and public lots for RVers. Add in all the noise/distractions and there is nothing "recreation" about it. If time is that much an issue wouldn't it be better flying than pushing it down the highway with an occasional quick nap in a lot someplace?

Lou
05 Travel Supreme Envoy

[jplante4]

Cloud Dancer wrote:
I use Walmart parking lots. Truck stops are way too noisy.

And they smell like urine. Really, just walk to the frickin' bathroom, dude.

[MrWizard]

#1 my father was a truck driver and i had many driver friends
#2 i'm 68 and i don't park at noon, and i can't believe to many Rv's stop before noon so they can spend the night in a truck stop
#3 i prefer rest area's, and i almost always get surrounded by trucks, in the Rv parking lanes, even when there is open unmarked truck spacing at the end of the driveway, you want to idle your engine all night..go to flying J

Courtesy works both ways, i do my best to stay out of truck stops at night, i even prefer to buy my Diesel fuel at NORMAL gas stations

you may have had a problem in washington state, take it up with them and the truckers associations, not a rant on the RV forum

[scenicgreenrr]

Just completed a Texas to California trip over two weeks ... The rest stops and "truck stops" were all packed by truckers on I-40 and I-10. Very little room to pull an RV into for a quick nap. Moisheh - when you are working; feel free to put money into a hotel room as we had to put money into a camp site - hotels need to make a living too and your sleeping in your truck takes away from them.

[Dog_Folks]

gbopp wrote:
And I think Moisheh is trolling and stirring up the fire. :B

It worked.

[John_S_]

Heck there were so many bob tail rigs in the RV side of the flying J in Bessemer AL I almost could not get out of the lot. I take 200 gallons of fuel am 64 feet long and as big as a truck. I usually stay in rest areas but have stayed in truckstops too. It is for the users not the truckers only. I guess that they will have to open some of the closed rest areas. They did just that on east bound I66 but have no services.