Best place to sleep, Truck stop? Rest Area? Advice please.

Don't they have a continental breakfast there?

 

That is a great question. As a new driver one of the biggest challenges you will face is finding a place to stop once your drive clock expires. I am fortunate enough to have a dedicated route and so I always have a good idea of when I will deliver go empty and move to my next pick up. So I have trip planned where I will do my first weigh and fuel, thirty minute break and then shut down for the day. I like to stay on the inter state system and so I will usually spend my break at Pilot or FJ. That is where I am allowed to fuel so I stay there and use my points. I have found the ones I like and will go there routinely. I don't like rest areas. I will do a thirty minute break in a rest area or take a nap but rarely if ever will I do a ten in a ra. For me they are to tight and hard to get in and out of. There are some that are big enough to accommodate a large amount of rigs such as the ra on I 70 east of Indianapolis but for the most part I find them to confining. As you get experience you will find what works for you. However keep in mind the later the day gets the more difficult it becomes to find a safe place to stop. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you cannot find a place to park do not be afraid to pay for a parking spot. Your company will or should reimburse you. Don't try to squeeze into a parking spot at 2am at the TA next to a long nose Peterbilt. It will be bad. I can't stress enough to trip plan. Get the trucker path app on your smart phone. Look at the stops along your route. It's a steep learning curve and hopefully you get a good trainer who will teach you these things. Good luck and be patient and safe.

 

Truck stops for longer term, rest area or store lot ( with permission ) for short term.

 

That's what they call one thing yes.

 

Same here; truck stops.

 

i would choose an exit in the middle of nowhere, nothing but darkness and park on the entering ramp

 

Break out the sleeping bag on the flatbed

 

I prefer rest areas, i drive mostly nights so when I pull into the rest area in the morning it's basically empty. Find a spot in which you can't be blocked in. I avoid truck stops like the plague if I can, usually too much noise and I'm a light sleeper. Very seldomly I sleep in truck stops. I only go for fuel/showers. After a while you will find your own preference. You will also find your own mom and pop truck stops that you will go to when you're in the area. Depending on how full your fridge is, you will find yourself sleeping in them more often.

 

US 322 near Juniata River West of Duncannon PA US 15 is one of a handful of rest areas specifically to pull off short term. Nothing on them except a good solid pavement to set a mite. (Sit a minute)

One of the better qualities about that area is that there are ridging everywhere you look. You are not going to get a developer into that area anytime soon. So it's a pretty good spot, provided you are not in a high traffic period where everyone and their mother wants across there now.

You can safely say I have developed a number of quiet spots without either a truckstop or rest area. If it is quiet enough long enough, you can get some sleep. The ultimate would be near Camp David region in the Raven Rock terriotory, it's really difficult to get a big truck in there within 10 miles but there are a spot or two that comes in handy when no one else has any spot at all in the midatlantic.

This time of year I take it with a gran of salt. Carnivals have been known to be built around me and running at sunrise (Deliberately leaving just enough for me to get out on which is nice of them but something I never want to call the boss and tell him. Apoplexy would be a big problem for him at that age.

 

Rest areas are a spot the dot inspectors like to set up sometimes and will try to wake you in the middle of a break, get good at ignoring and seeing who is knocking on the door so your break does not get interrupted. They also tend to be a bit noisy with traffic pulling in and out and it becomes like a bus station with many wandering around looking for the easy mark. But then some truck stops are getting that bad now, they get the homeless hanging out trying to stay warm.