What about the "other" truck stops

[holstein13]

Driving along the highway today, I noticed a "Petro" truck stop AKA Travel Centers of America along the highway. This got me to wondering, why do we always talk about Pilot / Flying J and Loves? What about these other truck stops? Are they any good? Are there any advantages to other chains or even local mom and pop stations? Are you a creature of habit and only go to your favorite chain, or do you like to try all the options?

[Laman]

The only time I have had to wade through fuel at a truck stop was when the DP ahead of me spilled a couple of gallons of diesel and then made no attempt to wash it down or inform the Flying J personnel. He was in such a hurry to leave that he did not even stop to remove his shoes and I know he got fuel all over his feet because I saw it splash all over him.

[William_B]

I pick Pilot/Flying J because of the discount through Good Sam, pay and pump at the truck pumps, fresh fuel, and I know easy to get into and out. I have used the others when I have had to, but I know Pilot/Flying J welcomes RV's, and usually it is easy to find one that coordinates with needing fuel.

[prstlk]

We are FT and I must adress the issue of truck lane fueling. The MH holds 100 gal of fuel. The velocity of fuel you get in the truck lanes is many times higher then the car/rv pumps. We can fuel from both sides so this is not an issue for lanes or pumps.
However in all our FT experience the truck lane bays are a mixture of fuel water and "don't" know.
Why someone can't throw some Tide on top and pressure wash these lanes once a week is beyond me.
Our coach is our home and I can't imagine any trucker wading through this******to get a tank of fuel.
Yes I know fuel margins are close, but 75 gallons at .05 profit is better than zilch.
Clean your place up, so we can give you our money.
Imho
jw

[Dutch_12078]

holstein13 wrote:

Dutch_12078 wrote:
Pilot/Flying J gets more mentions because they cater more to RV'ers and there's just plain more of them. P/FJ has over 550 locations, Love's has 300 plus, and TCA/Petro has 249 at last count.

Roady's Truck Stops has 350 stops, but we never hear about them. They are larger than Loves.

Roady's is sort of the KOA of truck stops. Each location is independently owned and operates under its own name, but belongs to the Roady's marketing group to leverage the combined buying and marketing power. Roady's has only existed since 2007, with most locations in the midwest and west, and only a handful on the east coast. The independent location names likely means many of us don't even realize it's a Roady's location when we stop at one. We may be familiar with "Eddie's Travel Center" in Mascoutah, IL for example, but how many of us would stop there because it's a Roady's member?

[dons2346]

Truck stops have the freshest fuel so I use the one with the cheapest price. My last fuel up in CA last week, I hit the Sinclair stop on Indio Blvd and paid 2.85/gal credit. The FJ and Pilot down the road were 2.97

[mdamerell]

When I started driving back in 1995 there were more truck stop brands. Union 76 had some that were pretty nice and then you had Burns Brothers (both bought by T/A). Barstow BB was a 50's diner with a soda jerk and all. T/A mucked it up. Bossleman in ND use to be good. Later Pilot would buy out Flying J. The old Flying J's were known to clean and had a decent salad bar now many are Denny's or Huddle House. Then T/A went from Truck Stops of America to Travel Centers of America and fast food took over. Trying to catch business from the general public, the restaurants started switching to be recognizable brands. With the consolidation, the menus have pretty much become the same thing across the country and the local flavor is lost. Flying J made an effort to provide some RV parking and T/A followed suit to a lesser extent. Pilot likes their corporate fuel accounts and so they court the major carriers with a cost plus "dispensing fee" type account. Companies like Schneider National who burn a million gallons a day are drawn to the deal Pilot offers them. Pilot makes similar discount deals with Good Sam for their RV fuel card. The truck stops don't cater to the OTR driver like they use too. There are truck stops and fuel stops. Pilot was a fuel stop, small lots, get your fuel, grab a bag of burgers and move on. Flying J T/A and Petro were trucks stops with a nice "trucker country" but with the overhead they've all gone down hill.

[holstein13]

Dutch_12078 wrote:
Pilot/Flying J gets more mentions because they cater more to RV'ers and there's just plain more of them. P/FJ has over 550 locations, Love's has 300 plus, and TCA/Petro has 249 at last count.

Roady's Truck Stops has 350 stops, but we never hear about them. They are larger than Loves.

[DutchmenSport]

No, Pilot / Flying J is not the "hot topic" on these forums so much because they are RV friendly, they are "hot topics" because Good Sam has an affiliation with Pilot / Flying J. In other words, Camping World, Motor Home Magazine, Trailer Life, RV.net, Good Sam, Coast-to-Coast .... all belong to the same parent company. Pilot / Flying J also have an affiliation, thus the reason for the Good Sam discounts at the pumps. I think that's the REAL reason Pilot / Flying J are discussed so much on these forums.

I don't do truck stops, and not just Pilot / Flying J. But smetimes, occasionally, am in a position to use one. I still don't like them. But when I have used them, the car pumps have always been convenient for RV's and not near as dirty and grimy as the big rig truck pump bays.

Now, there is only 1 truck stop that my wife insists on stopping at whenever we pass there. If we don't stop, get out, and visit the shops inside, I NEVER hear the end of it. We do usually plan on getting diesel there, and we do use the car pumps, and that's the Iowa I-80 truck stop (click here). This really is a pretty interesting truck stop. It's more than just a truck stop, it's a complete truck-stop, shopping mall and a museum all rolled into one!

[kalynzoo]

I find truck stops are often gathered together like ducks on a lake. If that is the case I pick the one with the easiest MH access and egress.

[Dutch_12078]

Pilot/Flying J gets more mentions because they cater more to RV'ers and there's just plain more of them. P/FJ has over 550 locations, Love's has 300 plus, and TCA/Petro has 249 at last count.

[Mr_Mark1]

Right before I put our motorhome in storage in California, I stop and fill up at the T/A station at Dillion road and the I-10 in Indio, CA. It's not the cheapest but the most convenient.

I usually look for Flying J's/Pilots when en route. The 'Prevost' group have a deal with Love's to get a nice discount on fuel. I'm just not excited about giving them my checking acct. number. You know how hackers can get personal information now-a-days, I just want to be careful.

We normally avoid Love's as they always seem to be dirtier than the others.

MM.

[Terryallan]

holstein13 wrote:
Driving along the highway today, I noticed a "Petro" truck stop AKA Travel Centers of America along the highway. This got me to wondering, why do we always talk about Pilot / Flying J and Loves? What about these other truck stops? Are they any good? Are there any advantages to other chains or even local mom and pop stations? Are you a creature of habit and only go to your favorite chain, or do you like to try all the options?

At one time the Petro Truck Stops set the standard for all others to try to follow. Of course they were only in Texas at the time. They had a GREAT restaurant (Drivers only section), Individual rooms for showers, Cleaned after each use. A truckers lounge, A huge truckers store, and many of them had a Brokers house in them. To help drivers get loads home. The one in McAllen, Parked over a thousand trucks.

[rk911]

holstein13 wrote:
Driving along the highway today, I noticed a "Petro" truck stop AKA Travel Centers of America along the highway. This got me to wondering, why do we always talk about Pilot / Flying J and Loves? What about these other truck stops? Are they any good? Are there any advantages to other chains or even local mom and pop stations? Are you a creature of habit and only go to your favorite chain, or do you like to try all the options?

they're all good. it's just that Flying J and some Pilot stops have dedicated RV lanes making it easier...generally...to fuel.