Truck Trailer Parking & Storage

It depends what area of the country I'm in. Of course, out west there are a lot more possibilities. Lots of "pull-outs" in the deserts and mountains. Along the eastern corridor you simply park wherever you can if you aren't through driving before dark. Industrial areas have street parking a lot of the time. If you're on a turnpike, the service areas are decent. I've got on the turnpike just to get a parking space a couple of times (Orlando).

 

Each hometime, I try to stock up on a months worth of food(the amount of time I stay out), so I have many more choices as to where I can park. Last night I parked on the side of a little access road right outside the shipper. I dont particularly avoid truck stops, but with food and drink on board, I can skip over the cluster farks(Pilot Nitro, WV for ex) and move on.
Also, I try not to park by myself. Id much rather be in a small crowd of trucks. Also, I will go out of my way to avoid parking in big cities. I like the (I never heard of that place) cities/towns.

 

Truckers, I hear all the time from trucker friends about how bad parking is at truck stops and how dangerous is to park at freeway exits, but why is that you don't look for safe parking at a parking lot for truck drivers? What is it that you look for parking only at truck stops?

 

a lot of people wont park at truck stops cause theirs a lot of lazy drivers who wont GOAL - Get Out And look, when backing in a hole, thus hitting the truck on either side of u. 2, truck stops are full of trash, actual trash from drivers, again to lazy to take it to the trash can. parking lots for trucks?? aka truck stops, trucks USED to be ok at other places such as malls, walmarts, k-marts, shopping plazas, and again, drivers being lazy tosss the trash right on the driveway, banning trucks for parking over night or parking period!

 

Hi, thank you for your input soon2betruckin. I worked in a warehouse close to a Pilot truck stop. I can see the truck stop everyday and it is 90% full most of the time, and there is nearby a parking lot just for truck drivers and it is 50% full for most of the time. I know at Pilot you park for free and this parking lot charges $10 a day. What makes you choose one over the other if the two of them are right there almost next to each other? This parking lot has security guards, a huge entrance gate, and it seems very safe.

 

To answer that: 1, it's free; 2, Pilot has a powder room for us guys.

 

Lot of drivers don't want to have to pay to park. Unfortunately in the Northeast most truckstops do charge... The minimum I have seen is 12 dollars for overnight. But the TA in Willington, CT charges a ridculous 20 dollars! I don't think it's right to have to pay to park either.

What's worse is a lot of trucking companies will not reimburse a driver for paying to park there... I have even heard some tell their drivers you didn't take the time to find a free place to park.

 

A lot of towns dont even have a decent truck stop or (travel plaza) to park in, so most of the time you try to find a place to park where it might be safe, example- hayward california area, there are no truck stops or travel plazas within a 100 miles, so where do you park?? in a shipper or receivers yard if possible, or if you can find a decent rest area you can park in, so there is why a lot of drivers park on, on and off ramps or other places.

 

ok guys have you ever heard of TXS Terminal Exchange services? They offer "parking" safe and secure and some locations have truck washes and other services. On the east coast especially New York City well frankly to sit in bumper to bumper traffic on the washington bridge I much rather pay at www.nytruckparking.com they have one in the bronx next to Hunts Point Market and the other in uptown Manhattan right off the triboro Bridge. This is the place to park when you can get there in the middle of the night and beat the traffic and have to deliver in NYC METRO area. Yeah it costs about 40 for 12 hrs and 50 for 24 hrs. some companies reimburse the fee cause this place is licensed.

 

Now to take this thread a little off topic, it's kinda like idleaire. Most companies won't reimburse, sso why pay for it if you as a company driver can idle for free. It costs the company about the same either way. I have a CPAP so I have to have power. Eveb for sitauations such as mine an apu would appear cheaper, not only in the long run, but the short run as well. I have an MBA in finance and accounting and I can't for the life of me understand why comapnies are not doing this. I am very new to the trucking industry, am I missing something?