RVs?

LARGE RVs are fine. I really hate to see a pickup with a boat trailer in a truck space. Or bobtails taking a whole space. Parking is scarce out here...

 

HI. I am new to the board and wanted to add a few words. I have a unique outlook, having worked at a truck stop, and being an RV'er. I know there is much frusteration between RV's and Truckers. Though I am not a trucker, I respect them. Being I used to work for Pilot, have heard some doozies! My favorite one was when I was employed at Pilot. An old couple came in about midnight, as mad as a hornet. They were in a space in our lot and wanted ME to go out and tell ALL the truckers to turn their engines and generators off, because it was disturbing their sleep. I actually waited for them to say "HA HA just kidding", or "April Fools". . Could you truckers see being woken up & told to quiet down? Can someone say PRETZEL MANAGER?!


RE: costs at parks. I too travel on my off season (from ND) in a 40 foot RV with a trailer doing shows and fairs and such. Sometimes a person has to get off the road for safety. In agreement with Redcoat wife- Spending 25 to 60 dollars every 12-14 hours to "wait out a storm" or "get some sleep" or "call it a night at 3:30 PM" is just not practical when you have thousands of miles to go. Now, as a rule, I take as small a space as I can get, try to stay out of the way, and DON'T make myself all cozy and comfy with slides, awnings, party lights & BBQ grills spread out. I usually make it a point to be sure that I have fueled up at the location, and patronized the travel center. I get some sleep or dinner, and get out of there.

RE: Diesel islands. When fueling at the diesel islands at travel centers, after I'm done, I pull forward into the "staging area" and THEN go in and get the change, credit card, coffee, etc. (That is the 60 or so feet in front of the island). That way if I get stuck in a massive line, I haven't ticked off a trucker waiting to get his rig fueled..... Likewise, I've had to intercom truckers who have gone so far as to pull into the island, get out and ~go take a shower~ while others sat and waited to use the island.
As a side note. Pilot charges 6 cent higher prices for credit cards on diesel on the TRUCKERS side. You can pay with a credit card on the auto side and you get the cash price. But you can't use a pilot rewards card on the auto side and sometimes you just can't maneuver the auto side... Sneaky, huh?!?! When you've sucked your tank down 50 gallons to get that free shower, it is angering when they say "Too bad!"
Anyhow, Thanks for listening!
Colleen

 

I drove Class A RVs commercially for nearly a year. Some truckers did not like it and some threatened me. 911 still works on my phone, and some people found out that the Law was on my side.

 

Aren't you aware of camping club memberships that cost less than $50 a year and give you 50% or more off costs of sites at campgrounds ?
But I agree that truck stops are disappearing , being replaced by travel centers and Rv'ers have every bit as much right to parking spaces as truckers . A fatigued RV'er is as much a danger on the highways as a fatigued truckr .

 

HI Rick. Sure. I am a member of the 50% off site( & Good Sam and AAA) and have saved quite allot that way! Many do have limitations and restrictions you have to make sure of first... IE days, dates, times, availability. When all you want to do is stop a few hours, and continue down the road, this is still an expensive stop. Some will trick you once you are there. Tow car $2.00, Extra person, $2.00 each, 50 amp $2.00, Pet $2.00, pull through $2.00...... and so on.
There is a concern that larger RV'ers have, even within campgrounds. Many grounds are old and small, and you CAN NOT get turned around in them. Or you get down some side street and get boxed in, (or ticketed!) I've taken off my roof vent going down a VERY well traveled street in KS by a low lying branch, getting to an RV park off I-70. The whole next day was spent getting the stupid thing fixed before the rain poured in.
Just a note to the truckers. MANY of us RV'ers are disgusted and ashamed with the attitudes that have been displayed by a few "higher than thou" travelers. I've had to continue another 30-70 miles trying to find ANOTHER rest stop, just to use the on board facilities, as the last few large stalls have been taken by pick ups, U-Hauls or CARS. Many Wal Marts are becoming stricter because of Rv'ers that have gone so far as to stay weeks on end, and even dump their tanks in the parking lot. Those that believe that it is owed to them, have ruined it for those that are appreciative of the stop in the road. So, thanks.... & know that we aren't all jerks!

 

Collierx6 nailed it as far as some of the challenges I was trying to describe. I, too, belong to Passport America and Good Sam. Good Sam for the most part will only get you 10% off the daily rate. Not every campground belongs to Passport America and like Colleen says, they have so many stipulations and additional charges that sometimes the savings are minimal.

A little over a week ago, I had to take my rig 60 miles to a Camping World to get the hydraulics fixed on one of my slides and by the time they got done and I got back to Birmingham it was well after dark. I went to the Flying J on I-65 to fuel up and decided to spend the night.

The campground where I was staying had VERY narrow roads with a couple sharp turns that I can manage just fine in the daytime but I really didn't want to try to navigate around all the trees, etc. in the dark. Since the Flying J is RV friendly I decided it would be safer to just spend the night there and return to the campground in the morning.

The Flying J in Birmingham has six parking spots for RV's. Four of the six were taken up by trucks. One was a dump truck, one was a box truck and the other two were bobtails. All four of these vehicles could have fit into any of the many 4-wheeler spots that were available along the edge of the parking lot. I know this because a couple bobtails were backed into the parking spaces. Since the other two RV spots were being used by bonafide RV's I backed my rig into an area along the corner of the lot to be out of the way. Just then one of the RV's left so I went ahead and made the loop around and took that empty spot.

So it just goes to show you that sometimes truckers take advantage of RV amenities too.

 

In the past it was common to see expedite straight trucks in RV areas of the Flying J . They didn't want to take a full truck space in the truck parking area . Lately I have seen signs at Flying J's prohibiting them from parking in the RV area . If straight trucks park in the truck area they should do so in the center area of the lot if possible so another straight truck can park in the space behind them . This isn't always possible though .

 

I have seen Full 18's parked in the J's RV lots along with many Bobtails. The most amazing thing to see is a car parked in it.

 

The car belongs to the 18 driver's girlfriend .

 

You might be right.

I was thinking that these were new style cars that did not have a reverse and that is why they parked there.