I hate truckstops!

I pulled a reefer for years. I'm old school and when I went to park I would pull into a parking space so the reefer was at the back of other drivers. If not just find a spot off to the side where no one was beside me. Agree it would be nice for the T/S to separate the reefers but I will guarantee you someone will park where they want regardless of the signs,lines,etc. It's really too bad so many of the mom & pop T/S are gone. They were great to park in, kept clean, good food, and if a lot lizard set foot on the lot somebody saw that they didn't stay. I used to like to stay off the interstates and run the US Hwys or two lane even. Found some great truck stops on those roads. Used to run US 78 from Memphis. There was a great little truck stop at Tupelo. An Amoco I think. US 60 at Cabool Mo. US 63 at West Plains, MO. US 280 south of Birmingham AL. Guess most of them are gone now,but they were TRUCK STOPS!!

 

Ya, blackw900, I hear you.

I avoid 'em too.

Maybe if their lots became a little more "EMPTY", they'd get the message.... but, I doubt it.

I think your strategy is the best one.... just avoid them.

 

Agreed... truckstops suck.

Try to park my reefer away from other drivers, but hey, when you pull in at 2300 what are ya supposed to do?

I like the part about reefers in the front row! How about we put the flatbedders by the dumpster?

 

Put you by the dumster... it's you guys I see sweeping trash out on the lot.... Flatbeds are either loaded or empty. You don't see a bunch of clutter in our loads.

 

The truckstops on US60 at Cabool MO and US63 at West Plains MO are still there. I think the one in Tupelo is still there, but I usually stop over in AL on the way down to Birmingham. Windmill T/S up in Lansing MI just shutdown. Westwind T/S in Green River UT is still open, but changed hands recently. Like the Ampride T/S on I24 x16 east of Paducah, nice folks. Te Khi T/S in Battle Creek MI, Newell T/S in Newton KS, Mittens TA in Oakley KS, Dysarts in Bangor ME, Hoods in Bois d' Arc MO, any of the Little America locations on I80, White's T/S in Raphine VA.

Mostly I like to find a quiet rest stop or one of the many places I've found to camp along the road. It's quiet, no BS.

 

Don't talk to me about that! It's those freakin' leach lumpers. Only sweep out when I have to - can't find a washout or no time. Company policy is a washout after every load, and they pay. Clean up the trash afterward. I'll bet the guys you're seeing throw their pee bottles on the parking lot in the pile o' crap too.

 

Wasn't long ago I seen one of you prime drivers sweeping out a bunch of flowers (floral) all over the place. Granted it wasn't cardboard, but there was a lot of broken pallets and dunnage with it.

 

Not to pick on any certain truck but some of you are complaining on reefers,any truck can be loud so my question would be why not park the opposite way the loud truck is and then you wont hear it,thats what we do sometimes and it works just fine,the truckstops we have been to so far have been preety good,only had one experience with a lot lizard and one time with a crack addict...

 

Call 417.866.0001, ask for Stan Auman - make sure you have the trailer no. "Stan the Man" is head of reefer operations at Prime. A little dirt and a few pallet shards is one thing, but leaving a mess is another.

 

Today's reefers are a lot quieter than they were 10+years. Carrier Reefers are the noisest and every ThermoKing I've pulled I can barely hear it in the Sleeper unless it goes to High Defrost.