Staying overnight at Pilot Flying J?

I would look elsewhere. Those places are always very busy, very noisy, and quite often smelly.

As long as you follow the basic rules of boondocking its fine. Flying J openly welcomes RVs

http://www.pilotflyingj.com/rv-amenities

2oldman wrote:
I would look elsewhere. Those places are always very busy, very noisy, and quite often smelly.

Totally agree. I did this once, and it was a nightmare. now, I find a CG along the way, make reservations for one night, and sleep in peace and AC.

Give it a try once if you like. Sure people do it, but if you really want to, then do so, just to find out if it your cup of tea. Good luck.

Try Boonedocking.com

yrusoslo wrote:
Try Boonedocking.com

as in Daniel Boone.

are you on a schedule?
The Flying J as you enter Texas on I10 is a piece of ****. You probably will not get a spot at flying J that late at night
However in Beaumont Texas there is a walmart in a huge mall Where your slideouts should not present a problem. I have stayed there
Take exit 853A East Texas freeway to 4145 Dowlen Rd maybe 3 miles max from I10.
Google Earth it and see if it suits you
Enjoy the German food in Fredericksburg. and tell us which restaurant you think best.

2012Coleman wrote:
I did this once, and it was a nightmare. now, I find a CG along the way, make reservations for one night, and sleep in peace and AC.

How was it a nightmare? You can have AC just fine while boon docking. Just run your generator. It acts as white noise as well. I will agree that Flying Js would be noisy, but there are other options such as Walmart. I find the hassle of checking into a campground late at night to not be worth it personally, and would rather boon dock for just that reason. I only need to stop and sleep for 5 or 6 hours when traveling and don't want to deal with reservations and finding a spot when others are trying to sleep. To each his own though. Flying J would be better than dealing with a campground IMHO.

On a recent trip from Ohio to Nebraska, we stayed at a couple Love's truck stops. I would assume any other truck stop would be the same. They are noisy, trucks are constantly coming and going, idling all night to keep the refers cold, etc.

Unless you are fortunate enough to find an area adjacent to some grass, deploying a slide could be risky as the typical lanes (the ones dedicated to the big rigs) are just wide enough for a truck. If a driver (tired) did not see a slide deployed that hung into what looks to be an open lane, a very serious incident could occur.

We were lucky. At one stop we were able to pull up against a far curb, next to a field. At another, we found a lane in the corner that had a grassy area next to it.

HOWEVER, it was my friend and I going to a shooting match. I would absolutely not want my wife walking across the truck stop parking lot, nor try to walk a dog there.

The truck stops smelled like burnt cow urine due to the DEF fluid being provided at the pumps.

Even rest areas are noisy unless the state you are in happens to have dedicated RV areas, away from commercial trucks. The couple rest stops we ended up staying at had parking end to end which quieted it down a bit, but once again, deploying a slide was a no no.

I took the back bedroom door out of our travel trailer so that my friend could get into there without opening the slide. Our bathroom is not accessible yet (going to put in a folding door next year to alleviate that issue).

If you are traveling with your family (four legged family members included) taking the time to book a campground and time your trip accordingly will make it a lot less stressful.

If you really want to be comfortable at a truck stop, pick one away from a city, like a remote fuel station along a freeway. The bigger the better.

When you get to Frederickburg don't miss Luckenbach