Where have all the TRUCK STOPS gone???

Perhaps they began going away when the equipment got nicer. The rigs that I drove in the late 70's early 80's were NOTHING like whats available today. for the first couple years I was basically OTR with a daycab Marmon. Used a home made bedboard and slept on the doghouse and pass seat with a milk crate to make it level enough with the doghouse to lay the bedboard over both.

I had no A/C, no Stereo, barely enough heat "cab was no where near air tight" lol!!, no Fridge / Microwave, Cloths closet, Porta Potty etc, Truck did not even have W/S washers. No Captain Chair ergonomic adjustable seating etc. The truck stops HAD to offer basic maint. services because we needed them. And after getting "Back Beaten" to death (Was running a COE) by the time I pulled into a Truck Stop "I NEEDED ONE". I REALLY needed a hot meal that was NOT cardboard fast food, and the drivers lounge was always a hit with me because like others there was no place to relax in the cab and sit down and let my logbook catch up with me etc.

I'm thinking as the equipment got nicer and more self contained combined with electronic communication that I did not have at the time these type services just faded away. Remember the Rows of Pay Phones? That's the only way I could reach dispatch (no cell phones then)

I had an England & Son rig make a delivery to our warehouse a few weeks back and because I have an interest on going OTR again "currently running local" I asked about their program and if he would lef me look at his rig inside. Note this kid was two weeks out solo (just got rid of his trainer wheels) The truck was a brand new Freightliner Conv. and compared to the last truck I drove OTR ( Mack F-700 COE single sleeper) this thing was like a motor home, all sorts of storage a work station upper/lower bunks a Fridge, TV, Nice Audio system and an APU to run it all.

I'm just sayin... if I had all that I might be less interested in the conjestion, noise of what truck stops used to be as well. I think I'd still miss the food though but as was mentioned in this thread.. route yourself off the beaten path (if you're allowed out of route) "a whole other problem I did not have back then" and find the kinda' places you speak of.

Now days a driver can stop at China-Mart pick up supplies and stay OTR as some of this new equipment is nearly self contained.

 

Superliner, you wanta talk about OLD JUNK?? Check out this old Roadway truck I took pics of a few years ago. These things were still operational as recently as 2 years ago. No power steering, no A/C, leaf springs, seat mounted directly to the fender, etc. Talk about a bone-jarring ride.

 

I remember those things, Most were "Gas" powered that I saw. Now THERE is a bonafide 2Mpg Rig.
Have not seen a ROADWAY truck out there since ??? They still around?

 

You would have to have the cash for it too. No bank would loan money against a stacked deck of a single op competing against the chains.

Am sure some of the Mom & Pops did OK back in the day. But would imagine this last 15-20 years were absolutely grueling for them trying to hang on.

 

If I were to win the lottery(lots of millions), I would open an old fashioned truckstop just for something to do. I would also open a small trucking company and show a handfull of good drivers how they should be treated.

On second thought, after drivers trashed it the first night, I would go balistic and close it down. I'd probably shoot somone I caught P*&&ing on the ground, inside or out.......maybe the truckstop idea is a bad one.

 

and if i ever won the lottery and i was just rich beyond belief, id have a chromed out peterbilt as my daily driver

 

I'd take a sleeper-cab Pete 379 sleeper and cab mounted on the chassis for one of them Oshkosh 6x6 cement mixers, and have 'em build a big oversized pickup bed to replace the 5th wheel.

 

ive seen a few similar to that online lately......its a cool idea but they are pretty ugly honestly

 

I lasted a week at wendys! The manager and employees where not following procedures, one employee on many occasions droped meat on the ground he would rinse it off and put it on the bread and give it to the cashier. So after complaining, the manager let me go. This is in Oroville, CA. Stay far away.

 

The Dodge City Alabama stop is one of the few nice and really clean ones out there now. There are other independent ones but this one keeps a level of cleanliness you dont see much now. As far as the water hoses go, they still had them when i started in 2005 but have slowly gone completely away in most places. To many drivers out there trying to wash their whole #### rig. Its the normal case of to many jerks tryiong to take over advantage of something. As stated I started in 2005 so i am still very new compared to a lot of you but I am a very clean, respectful traditional kind of guy in a lot of ways and I dont understand my generation of peers out here on the road either. I didnt live the old days but things have changed even since i have been out here and I hate the changes that have been made. Im with you guys that like to be able to sit down to a good hot meal with a waitress with a nice friendly outgoing personality and get my mind off of the road for a few minutes and have some hot coffee and a little chat between refills. Its even harder to do that as a company driver these days when every company just wants to chain you to Pilot.