Zombie Night Shift Survival

They aren't truck stops anymore..they are travel stops. Used to be it was all about drivers now not so much.

 

this is what happens when the sales of many things, cause a shut down. there was a time, when the truck stops were 24/7, and drivers were having breakfast, lunch or supper at all hours.

then slowly, over time, came the drivers prepping thier own foods in the trucks. or stacking thier fridges full of lunch meats, salads, etc, all to beat the high truck stop prices.

never taking into account that the cook(s), waitresses, dishwashers have to be paid as well as the cost of the food served up. it is all factored into the over all cost of any meal.

so now comes the fast food places, taking up residence in many (if not all truck stops). they too have an operating budget, hey........ L/O's, and O/O's and company drivers, have budgets too...right..????

so now, the fast food place shut down as the inside traffic slows to a screeching halt. no sense in having any eatery open 24/7 if there is no support for it.

too much blame to go around on this....truckers wanting lower cost foods, bring their own foods, wages going up, truck stops have to pay the employee's, no inside traffic, maybe not even any tourist busses as well dwindling down...

the blame game on all truck stops not fully operational goes all around.

 

Maybe..but if the stops still catered to the professional drivers maybe they would have kept their good paying customers. The regulars who know the road and want to hit the counter and get decent food and conversation and, for the guys, a little wink from Flo as she brings you that coffee refill.

 

Just before daybreak is brutal. The other morning I stopped at the brake check area on top of Monteagle to take a breather and wait for the sun to come up. Woke up two hours later refreshed, ready to ride, and the fog was so thick I couldn't see my hood mirror. Lol.

 

well, more than a few times, i have been told by the wait staff, that truckers are very cheap tippers, over the bus loads of tourists.

and it's not like the people telling me wanted more from me, i always gave 20% tip. they would thank me for a nice tip like that, and that's when they would say about most truckers being cheap to tip.

the truck stops still cater to truck drivers, but when you have some slovenly fool put his greasy clothes into the washer then drier, mucking them up, it's hard to trust all others for not doing the same.

then comes the LOUD MOUTHS in the dining area, swearing, cursing, when there are families there, is that something that we should be proud of..???

when you have slovenly truckers "make wet" on the floors in the bathrooms, or crap all over the toilet seats and floors, it's hard to trust all others for not doing the same.

look at the rest areas, truck stop parking lots and walmart parking lots, and all other shopping mall parking lots, when you see truckers parked there, so many trash the place, is that what you like to see, if you were going there to shop..???

so think about all the other people as well that have to shop there.

without a doubt, truckers, the slovenly, filthy, disrespectful ones, brought this all on us.

i personally cannot blame the truck stops for cutting back they way they do on thier 24/7 services.

i personally feel that ALL truck stops ought to charge for parking, no matter how much one spends inside, or fuels....the cost of hiring people to clean up after the slovenly fools has to be addressed.

next time, you see a slovenly fool truck driver, THANK HIM for being such........a person to have ruined it for everyone else.

i couldn't be any happier my company gets onsite fuel delivery, and my time at a truck stop is sparse.

i also couldn't be any happier that my time in this industry is coming to an end, and being associated in an industry that really has no respect for itself, nor polices itself, nor any real respect from the general public, and even some politicians..

and drivers wonder why we get stepped on, like the turd that some demonstrate freely to the public.

 

well, you don't need a hood mirror to see thru the fog...roll on driver, roll on...!!!!!!

 

I see a lot of it when a driver is broke down. They're irate, upset, and they ain't shy about it, either. Like for instance you jacked up a tire on your trailer but you didn't bother to tell anybody that you need a tire put on. You just call in say you're broke down, don't mention anything about needing a tire. Then you want to get ticked off when I show up without a tire for your trailer because I'm supposed to read your mind, right?

 

I like to run between 0300> 1700. When I start out I can be doing the speed limit and just be out there getting around the slow truck I might come upon with no issues. Run thru big town areas without backed up/ stopped traffic. Then about 0500 I start seeing a lot of slow trucks starting to see who can get around each other in the longest time. That's when I drop my speed to about 60> 62 Let those slow trucks get into the herd taking both lanes and watch them mosey down the highway.

 

Well....I have always thought Lenny's has been a very much underappreciated service that the J offers. Might not be the greasy spoon diner of the old that we all love but dang, it's there none the less.
Pro tip. I give the new cheesey tater tots appetizer 5 out of 5 stars based on taste, and size for value. Paired with the double cheeseburger it's a pure winner. Those with weight issues or heart problems please disregard this post.

 

I'm a real skinny fella and that made my blood pressure go up, heh.