Truck stop lot full

When you get experience you will know which truck stops are guaranteed to be full at certain times during the weekday.

 

that is what trip planning is all about
looking for a truckstop before your day ends and having
a couple of back up plans
I start my day about 3 am whenever possible
to get into TS early before they fill up
I google search my shippers and receivers to see if they have parking etc

 

If your 11 is up and you aren't near a truck stop, you should have stopped sooner. I start hunting a place to stop around the 9.5-10 hr mark.

Ideally I try not to work more than 8.75hrs a day and have 2 or 3 places in mind before I start.

 

If the truckstop is full, then you go to the next safe area..... this is a HUGE dispute between drivers, DOT and companies. DOT and Companies will say that you should have planned accordingly and stopped earlier and got a parking spot. This also goes for driving till your 11hrs is up....... but in the real world, plans fail and crap happens. But the DOT and most companies don't care, because at the end of their shift, they go home no matter what's going on, usually 9-5

Welcome to trucking

 

Or you could just do this.
http://fox13now.com/2013/06/09/airport-parking-garage-blocked-after-semi-gets-stuck/

 

This is exactly how I try to plan as well. Of course it does not always work out the way I would like.

 

Being from Utah....I don't even want to know.....

 

It's England. What do you expect?

 

Ive been on the road for 2 weeks now, and ive found it easier at times to look for a quiet little hole in the wall truck stop and stay there overnight, then get into a bigger one in the am if need be, the reefer trucks tend to start rolling at 2-3 am since alot of grocery stores/restaurants get their deliveries at 4-5am