Let's Go Vertical

Discussion in 'Truck Stops' started by madmoneymike5, Jul 10, 2012.

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  1. Jul 10, 2012 #1
    madmoneymike5

    madmoneymike5 Medium Load Member

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    You know what truck stops need? If we can build thousand-foot skyscrapers, land people on the moon and equipment on Mars, then truck stops should consider building multi-level parking decks. When laterally-challenged truck stops look for solutions to cram every last truck into every square inch of blacktop, they ought to think "up" instead of repainting their parking lines in ways that require blind-side backing...
     
    madmoneymike5, Jul 10, 2012
    madmoneymike5, Jul 10, 2012
    #1
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  3. Jul 10, 2012 #2
    Jorihe84

    Jorihe84 Road Train Member

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    I remember going to a UPS in NJ that had that.

    They are very noisy
     
    Jorihe84, Jul 10, 2012
    Jorihe84, Jul 10, 2012
    #2
  4. Jul 10, 2012 #3
    fortycalglock

    fortycalglock Road Train Member

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    Not only noise, but the footprint it would need would be huge for turning, and it would have to be TALL. All of those things are what the public doesn't want.
    Then we get in to issues of truck weight and support systems, and the sheer cost of it all. Most guys won't spring for a $11 shower, you think they are going to spend $40-50 a night to park in a garage? Good thinking out of the box, but the very places where land is $$$ and truckstops are small are the very places that won't let that garage be built.
     
    fortycalglock, Jul 10, 2012
    fortycalglock, Jul 10, 2012
    #3
    dptrucker Thanks this.
  5. Jul 10, 2012 #4
    Mark Kling

    Mark Kling Technology Contributor

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    And if in NJ you will have to put fake limbs on it so it looks like a tree.
     
    Mark Kling, Jul 10, 2012
    Mark Kling, Jul 10, 2012
    #4
  7. Jul 10, 2012 #5
    scottied67

    scottied67 Road Train Member

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    Post-stressed concrete box girder bridges are designed with a safety factor of 5- meaning you can line up the entire bridge both directions with fully loaded trucks stacked 5 high before failure.

    So the engineering is there for the weight, just in my mind I agree it would be cost-prohibitive. Each level would have to be (guessing) at least 15 feet high on a minimum of 5 acre footprint. You're talking A LOT of concrete lol. The foundation would be driven pilings to bedrock or near depending on soil viscosity.

    Perhaps if someone could invent a way to capture the energy from a parked truck that is idling and put it into the electrical grid you might have a way for hundreds of truckers to park for free or close to it.

    Now just imagine the stench from urine and poop bags on every level except the top which gets washed by rain once in a while. Another annoying feature might be the 'lean' of the parking garage levels that is so typical. Some spots might become premium as others are avoided because they require the driver to sleep upside down almost like a bat.
     
    scottied67, Jul 10, 2012
    scottied67, Jul 10, 2012
    #5
  8. Jul 10, 2012 #6
    SHO-TYME

    SHO-TYME Road Train Member

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    Wait till the first guy backs off the top deck.............
     
    SHO-TYME, Jul 10, 2012
    SHO-TYME, Jul 10, 2012
    #6
  9. Jul 10, 2012 #7
    PackRatTDI

    PackRatTDI Licensed to Ill

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    Or how about the lot lizards

    "Any drivers want some commercial?"

    "Yeah sweetheart where you at?"

    "Im on party row on the top deck"

    "####, I'm on the 2nd level."
     
    PackRatTDI, Jul 10, 2012
    PackRatTDI, Jul 10, 2012
    #7
  10. Jul 10, 2012 #8
    bigjoel

    bigjoel Road Train Member

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    Do you really want to be on the bottom tier, with all the urine draining down on you?
     
    bigjoel, Jul 10, 2012
    bigjoel, Jul 10, 2012
    #8
    scottied67 Thanks this.
  11. Jul 10, 2012 #9
    marmonman

    marmonman Road Train Member

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    After watching some of the drivers backing in a regular truck stop I am sure if it was a multi decker there would be a lot of dead and wounded truck drivers out there !!!!
     
    marmonman, Jul 10, 2012
    marmonman, Jul 10, 2012
    #9
  12. Jul 11, 2012 #10
    madmoneymike5

    madmoneymike5 Medium Load Member

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    I agree there are issues, but some have been over stated here.

    The lean is not an issue because there are parking garages without leans. Instead, to get to the next level, vehicles climb/descend ramps in the middle of the structure.

    There could be bathrooms on each or every-other level next to the elevator to help with that. Would that stop it? Of course not. Who wants to walk 100 yards to a bathroom in the freezing cold in the middle of their break? Perhaps a drainage system built in? Maybe individual stalls behind the trailers? Just thinking out loud. Given enough brainstorming, I think there could be reasonable solutions to the logistical problems.

    Yes, to offset the cost, it would likely be pay-to-park, but I highly doubt it would be any more expensive than it already is. I think the ROI of a parking deck would be enough to keep the price similar to the price it is now to park in places like New York and Jersey.

    As for public eyesore issues, maybe they could compromise on the fact that with such a project, you could build-in systems similar to Idle Air and eliminate noise and environmental pollution?

    Call me a dreamer, but these multi-acre parking lots can't and won't be enough in the coming decades. Real estate is going to become very scarce and the number of trucks on the road needing to stop for a break are only going higher. Unless a massive pandemic wipes out a large percentage of our population, someone invents a way to safely and efficiently carry more freight per truck without increasing that trucks economic, environmental or physical footprint, etc....finding a place to park isn't going to get any easier...
     
    madmoneymike5, Jul 11, 2012
    madmoneymike5, Jul 11, 2012
    #10
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