What are other parking options....

if your covenants prohibit vehicles over a certain weight in the community this also applies to your driveway also they may define and prohibit vehicle over a certain weight/size as commercial. same holds if the city has a weight restriction for streets in residential areas, which btw the HOA can enforce and does not have to show you where in your covenants it's located. My local municipality prohibits vehicles over 10,000 lbs from being parked on residential streets except to load/unload and even then it's 24 hrs, they also prohibit by zoning semi's (tractor or combination) from being parked in residential neighborhoods. Anything more than that and you have to get permission. Our HOA covenants are specific in defining a commercial vehicle as anything over 3/4 ton. We revised it to fall in-line with the City and define/prohibit anything over 10,000 lbs empty weight. It's not about being anti-truck, there are at least 10 of us in the development who are truck drivers (BTW I'm the Board President), it's about street maintanence and repairs.

 

Heck, if it was about that it'd say bobtail only. Pretty sure a loaded garbage truck or school bus weighs more than a bobtail.

I'll never buy a house anywhere there's an HOA.

 

I park my truck in the yard next to my house. The local Volvo dealership lets me park my trailer there. It doesn't cost anything and it's locked in at night.

 

They have entire exclusive communities for people with planes or boats... I should build one for people with trucks XD

 

There is an exclusive community for people with 18 wheelers, located near Flagstaff, if I can find the brochure I'll post more about it..

 

If you pay for parking...keep the receipts! tax deduct it!

 

I'm glad i live way out in the country, and if I so wanted could park two trucks + 53 foot trailers in my driveway if I so wanted, and still have room for us to park our vehicles. I don't know how some of you city folk can stand all the regulation.

 

They stand it because its a part of life. Some rules about parking I can understand but some places are downright ridiculous. A nearby township won't even let residents park an RV in the driveway. Zoning run amok! I think the best bet if you can't find a place nearby to park consider working for someone who has a terminal nearby. Probably not always an option, especially if the only nearby employers are Swift, Werner, JB, Schneider etc...otherwise a nearby customer is a good bet, too.

 

Ask around, keep your eyes open for empty areas, and see where other trucks park. Spend an afternoon home driving around looking for a good spot. Get permission, if there is any question if its not ok for you to be there. You'd be surprised at how understanding some folks can be.

My truck/trailer wont fit in my driveway. Personally, I drop the trailer only on weekends, and just bring the truck home then. Since I am home every night of the week, I desperately had to find a work around. Here is what I figured out.

My last choice: Nice industrial area within a 1/2 mile of my house, with a week-stay type of hotel. I can park out on the street near that hotel, but not so close as to be a burden on their business. I do NOT block their signage, or their driveway. There is very good lighting near the hotel, and a major highway within a stones throw provides even more night time lighting. Since I have to leave my automobile there every morning (that draws attention) I use this as my last option, but it is closest to my home. Best for when I get home late at night, but need to leave really early morning.

Better choice for me: Good sized truck stop less than 5 miles from my house. I fuel there at least once a week, if not twice. They have never said a word about me leaving my truck/trailer there on the weekend. If they ever complain, I will ask to speak to the mgt. and use my weekly fuel bill as a negotiation tool. If you have this sort of option, go visit mid-evening a few times to see what the day cab (home every night) drivers are doing. If you see a whole slew of them parking there at night, odds are one more might not hurt. Fueling there wont hurt a darn thing either.

My best deal: Again, about 5 miles from my house. A shop that had done some work on my truck has a large mostly vacant gravel lot next door. I enquired to the owner of this business what it would take for him to let me park there. Expecting to hear a "hell no", instead I got an "ok, we will try it out". I offered to pay, but the owner said he wasn't worried about it. When I came back to pick up the truck, I dropped off a check for $100 to the owners wife. I figured $1 a day was fair, and that would cover the next three months of me parking there. On my way out, the owner stopped me, he thanked me for the check, and told me that business had been really slow for them because of the economy and that money was greatly appreciated. I think, that little $$ went a long way in that guys book. Pretty sure I made a friend that day, and may have earned a parking spot for years to come.