What do you look for in a truck stop?

well lots of truck stops have those reward systems set up, but one thing I realized over the last few weeks is that some truck companies, in their contract, take away the rewards in exchange for a good price. Schneider does this. put in about 130ish gallons every two days and have been using the points reward card at Pilot for a couple of months, only to find that I don't get any points! I earn showers but since im home daily thats rather useless. so I think its hard for the stops to make a profit off of the fuel as well as give you a cash reward AND point reward AND shower...etc.

 

I'm not talking about the rewards programs i am talking about cash back. cold hard cash

 

Yeah I always thought that sucked that Schneider didn't let you earn points. At Watkins and Shep we earn points at all of them, kinda nice actually since we primarily use the major chain trucks stops.

 

Above and beyond all else cleanliness. Remember, more and more women are becoming drivers and/or going on the road with their spouses. We women do not want to go into a shower where there is mold growing on the walls and dirt caked around the edges of the floor, for instance Commerce GA's TA, very dirty, we will go out of our way to another truck stop because it is so dirty at this truck stop. Food, the food should be good. Not the same old menu with the same old nasty buffet. Nice, polite attendants, and a good grocery section so that we can purchase a few things to keep in the truck.
I will agree with the other truckers posting I don't think we have ever parked somewhere we did not at least go in and spend money on dinner and store purchases. But again above all else, please, please CLEANLINESS!

 

WTF, I thought your tractor was black! And here I go passing all the red ones not thinking twice.

 

Last time I checked, I think I had about 360.00 at least in points on my Pilot card. Anyone know how many points you need until you own the entire chain?

As for a stop, my needs are simple. Relatively safe parking, something to eat, whether fast food or not, and that's about it. Id like to have the trash cans out in the lot dumped once in a while, or put a few dumpsters within reach. Wash down the fuel spills at the pumps once in a while so I am not tracking diesel fuel back into the truck. Keep the bathrooms reasonably clean, (and I always tip a couple of dollars for a clean one, which we all should do!) and I am happy enough since I am going to sleep most of the time I am there.

 

That pretty much sums it up for me too. As long as there's quite a bit of parking and it's not real tight, the place is clean, and there's something to eat.....I'm happy. Seeing as how that's all that I'm there for anyway, what else would I want?

 

A organized clean fuel island with fair prices and a points card is always nice . I want to get in and out when I stop for fuel .

Clean and friendly store and employees as well .

Clean showers without a long wait .

Great home cooked food at a fair price .

Safe parking for me and the truck

And a Thank you goes a long way ..........

 

I always go inside, and 99% of the time I will spend something while I'm there.

A clean shower is a must.

Ample parking.

Good food at a reasonable price.

A soft drink "happy hour" would be a great idea!!

A smoke-free TV lounge.

 

Since I run a string of grain hauling trucks, my number one seller for a truckstop is fuel prices. If I have 5 trucks going and they use 120 gallons each day, that's 600 gallons of fuel. So, if I find a truckstop that is just $0.05 cheaper on diesel, that's $30/day. That's $180/week. (6-day weeks, we have Sunday off). That's $9,360 a year in fuel savings if I can hunt down just a nickel cheaper on fuel!

That's a new set of tires all the way around on 2 18-wheelers.
That's an in-frame overhaul for a truck engine.
That's just me being tight & being frugal, I guess.

Being rural, I like to help out the fellow little guy with my tires/fuel. I find myself in smaller franchised truckstops. They're usually safer & quieter. When we get closer to cities, parking is a feature I like. I'll pass on truckstops that I know tend to fill up on a regular basis.