Only parking at truck stops and Walmarts?

If a pretty girl knocks on my door she is either an undercover vice cop or a Jehovah's witness and I have no time for either one of them.

 

Dude, I was up in the mountains in kauai of all places on vacation. A Jehovah’s Witness sees me in my car and starts storming my way. HAMMER DOWN!

 

WM is becoming less of an option, most of the newer ones are being truck proofed, you can thank your fellow drivers for that.

 

@Lepton1 has it figured out.

I've always tried to avoid the major chain truck stops cuz of all the fuel-island-blocking, no-backing, 30-mph-thru-the-lot steering wheel holders.

I thought I was safe to pull into one a couple years ago for a quick nap in the afternoon. Jarrell, TX, Flyin' Hook, middle of the afternoon (just tryin to give traffic time to die down so I can scoot on thru Fort Worth construction to deliver in OKC). Surely it's safe in the daytime, right?

I just got settled in and drifted off to sleep when I heard that terrible sound of metal scraping metal. Jumped up, looked out, a step deck with two suicide coils on board was ATTEMPTING to back in on my drivers side. Got into my step and didn't even know it. I got him out of that truck but of course he couldn't speak English. He stood and watched as I pried my step back in place (it never was quite right, but was more bent now than before).

I got the heck out of there and won't park in a major truck stop again if I have my say. It's just too dangerous. There's usually a hidey hole somewhere.

 

If I were a Wal-Mart store manager, and my employees were complaining about the sort of crap (sometimes literal crap) that nasty-### truck drivers were leaving behind, I would stop letting trucks park there too. Piles of cigarette butts and truck stop / fast food trash, piss puddles or bottles, even literal crap. Some drivers really #### things up for the rest of us.

 

To answer the original question though, there are lots of different options.

Other than truck stops and Wal-Marts, there are shippers and receivers. Dead end roads. Rest areas. Weigh stations. Casinos. Farmer's markets. Restaurants. XXX stores by interstates (but most major companies will be annoyed with you if you park their truck there.)

In some more rural states, there is parking room next to frontage roads by many interstate exits. Some on and off ramps are clearly intended for truck parking.

Some industrial parks allow roadside parking on the main roads.

One thing I was specifically warned NOT to do by one of my trainers...

Never park in a church lot. Most paved church lots are thin, cheap pavement because they are provided free or at reduced cost, and are simply not intended for trucks. You get a loaded truck on thin, cheap pavement, and your company just funded a new parking lot for the church. Only way I would park on a church lot is if it was gravel. Even then, I would hesitate.

 

Lol no I don't touch the nasty, I have been out here a long time and you right nice clean girls are a dead give away, he used the girl to see if you are in your truck, which I look out the side window on my prostar, but he could not see me in the dark guess been black as midnight makes it hard to see me lol, the girl is just a test run, the crazy thing is when I got up and they realize someone is the truck they leave and came back, he must have been on emty I guess

 

Your chances to outlaw it and park outside a truck stop or rest area are diminishing every year.

Walmarts are keeping trucks out, almost all cities and townships are enacting ordnance for parking. Industrial areas are even working to keep truck parking to a minimum. Too many truck drivers and RVs have worn out the welcome for the rest of us.

Truck stops are not the best environment, but they aren't that bad either. You can get a shower on your 10.

Your just going to need a lot more route planning to get in them now days. After the ELD, well????

 

I have rarely ever had difficulty finding parking. I go by just a few rules:

Shut down before 1500 in LA, Denver, SanFran, or any large metro area in the Northeast.

All other large metro areas shut down before 1600 if possible, 1700 at the latest. Atlanta. Chicago. Houston.

If between 50 and 100 miles of a large metro area, or anywhere North and East of Pennsylvania, shut down before 2000.

Pretty much anywhere outside the Northeast, and more than 100 miles from a major metro area, You can find parking at pretty much any time, though it might be a bit tight.

I prefer to roll overnight, and shut down before noon. When I can do that, I can always find parking anywhere except that ####ty Pilot in Roanoak, VA that has 10 truck parking spaces that are always full, no matter what time of day it is.