What are the safest and most dangerous truckstops??

personal favorite is the Lee-Hi truckstop around mile mrkr 200 off I-81 in VA. Plenty of parking, good restuarant, lots of working laundry machines, friendly atmosphere, ect. You can't see it from the interstate, because its about a mile west of I-81. Great place.

The worst . . . man that's hard to say because there's soooooo many bad ones.

TA in Jessup, MD sucks.

There's a Pilot in Dallas (its got a some Werner terminal behind it and "dangit" if Werner trucks don't use up the parking spaces in the truckstop!).

Many Florida truckstops tend to get interesting in the winter when homeless ####birds migrage south. Wildwood is decent, but in the winter time expect to be constantly bothered by rip-off artists.


Personally, I sometimes like stopping at the weird places.

 

I agree with the comments on the Lee-Hi. Very nice truckstop. IIRC, they were in the middle of remodeling when I last visited.

 

I second that. Had to visit there many times while delivering to that grocery warehouse district close by there.

 

The worst one I went to was the Pilot in Drums PA. Best one was on I-20 I think in California, was on top of one of the hills had a nice casino in it middle of nowhere. Best thing was I walked in, put 2 bucks in a poker machine won 20 bucks the first hand, cashed out and ate for free.

 

We use Jakes, because it feeds our childlike urge to hear a cool noise. Same reason we ride motorcycles and drive fast cars, its a guy thing, a MAN thing, if you dont understand, I dont know how to explain it.......

 

There is only one fuel stop I consciously avoid and that is the Wilco in St. Mathews, SC. Twice in a row (3 years apart) I was 'stalked' into the building after parking my truck and verbally assaulted by [some gay people] who had been sitting outside in their trucks seeking to entertain themselves at others' expense. I had seen it happen to others at this same location (police were called to the premises) but didn't quite realize what was going on until it happened to me.

A factor that may have played into this situation was the company and location posted on the truck was well known in the [gay] community for its 'diversity', meaning it was nearly all 'black' but managed and dominated by white 'gay' males. I couldn't drive down the road without being 'flashed' by [gay people] driving by or solicited by same over the cb. This was a job I performed for nearly two years through a driver 'temp service'; more on this in another thread.

The first time I was 'assaulted' I pulled onto the property with a set of doubles and parked in the usual spot used by doubles and oversized vehicles. While inside a rather large fellow approached me and asked if I was driving the trucks in question and I answered in the affirmative. His next comment was "there is more to this than you realize". After enduring a barrage of questioning regarding my skills and qualifications I got back into my truck and left, taking my now cold meal with me - a bit unnerved at this point. Nothing on the CB during my arrival indicated what was in store for me; it was in the late afternoon and the parking lot was nearly full as normal for the time of day.

Three years later I decide to take another chance on this location in the early evening (dusk); same situation as before but a different employer (yep, another 'black- gay' (diversity) employer through the same driver temp service). Alot of cursing over the CB coming from this location to passersby on I-26 - had heard it all before. I turn volume down, pull onto lot and park truck in designated area - parking lot is alittle more than half full - no issues.

I am approached again inside the facility by a very agitated individual who asks if I'm driving the truck in question, I answer in the affirmative. He loudly states that 'my truck is blocking his truck' ( I had parked next to his truck - was not blocking his truck or any other truck in any manner). I state my truck is parked correctly and would not argue with him about this. He proceeds to loudly curse me for everything - a bit unnerved as expected, take my meal out to the truck and leave for another location where I could eat in peace and calm down.

It didn't take him long to get back out to his truck and get back on the radio; I realized this was the same fellow who was 'cursing' over the radio when I arrived. At this point he was 'boasting' over the airwaves how he had 'sent another white trash southerner on his way'. I haven't been back as I feel that if carrying a weapon is necessary for me to go into a truck-fuel stop safely then I will avoid it.

A similar situation happened at the T/A Truck Stop near Burlington, NC not long afterwards (broad daylight and near empty lot) but I haven't been back that way in quite awhile and there are plenty of other choices in that 'neck of the woods'. I've noticed on a number of other occasions where drivers from 'up north' will 'look for trouble' and 'manufacture trouble' when no one responds to their 'garbage' - talk about 'getting a life'. I've been driving for a living for nearly 40 years and have seen alot but I'm generally sociable and congenial to a fault.

In 40 years these are the only situations worth mentioning other than an employee at the Pilot in Wildwood, FL many years ago who loudly proclaimed inside the facility she would 'orally service the entire parking lot' once her shift had ended - her usual practice according to other drivers I spoke to afterwards ( a substantial parking lot that stayed nearly full too!). I found her 'brashness' a bit unnerving unfortunately. Yes, I'm well aware of what goes on out 'on the road' and do manage to avoid much of it when possible.

While many may find this type of behavior 'exciting' it generally attracts a very disreputable element with 'trouble' following closely behind. Why am I stating this? Many of us don't fall into the stereotypical categories truckers are often 'dropped' into. I love trucking and will probably retire from the trucking industry at some point hopefully.

 

While I hate to trash an entire area, unless you need fuel (and I recommend the Pilot in that case during daylight) I would avoid any truckstop of any kind in the Youngstown, Ohio area. That seems to be one of the worst areas I have ever had the pleasure of staying at. I did it one night, and it was the only time in my life that I have felt uncomfortable with my surroundings. Unfortunately, it wasn;t my first choice as a stopping location, but as the day progressed I could see that it was where the hours were going to run out, and I needed to get as far as possible to make the next day work.

 

That reminds me of an incident that happened to me at the Walcott, IA T/A. Usually a very nice place to stop IMO. I pulled into a space listening to two "supertruckers" yack on the CB. Just as I pulled in I heard [edited] Stevens pulled in right in front of me, now I can't see [anything]. The other supertrucker came on the radio "Yeah, those Stevens drivers should park in the far lot with the rest of the [gay people]. I basically rolled my eyes, shut down the rig and went in to get something to eat. By the time I came out, the supertruckers were gone.

That reminds me of a line from the movie "Clerks".

*quote removed due to sexual content*

Give me a ********************* break, how is what I wrote any more graphic that what the person I quoted wrote?

 

I don't know that Youngstown is a high crime area, but it is kind of a decaying Steel mill area sort of place, and all of the truck stops there seem to have much more than their share of ladies of the night, parking lot huslters, and other assorted riffraff. It's okay to pop in and get fuel, but I haven't been impressed or truly felt safe there when I have had to overnight. granted, that's only happened twice, but both times it raised the hair on my neck. And I routinely sleep in a relatively poor south side neighborhood of Chicago with my windows down, so I tend to be somwehat fearless.