Fee's for Truck parking...who pays/who doesn't?

I refuse to pay on the principle of the thing. They know we need to spend the night and I consider it extortion. Don't say it's because they need the revenue they have a 220% markup on retail and they make millions in fuels sales every month.

Besides if it's $20 to spend the night at a T/A with $13 Popeye's Chicken that isn't even open 24 hours or risk getting a $90 for parking behind a CarpetMart with an Applebee's and a Bob Evans within walking distance? Well even if I get ticketed once out of every four times I come out ahead!

 

It's not for the privilege of parking. It's for the space to be held available for you to arrive when the lot would otherwise be overflowing. Why is that so hard to grasp for some? Unless those are the ones who can't grasp the concept of trip planning and just assume they'll park like a mindless idiot when they do get there late.

Now, certain truck stops who charge everyone who stays past 2 hours or doesn't buy 50 gallons of fuel. Those are another discussion but I don't think that's what's being discussed in this thread.

 

Yes you pay.

Unless you get a tanks of fuel etc. Or bought a certain amount in the old 76 in my time. North Brandford CT comes to mind. Phillpsburg NJ off 7 on 78 was another. Since I usually fueled there and spend a bunch of money each time it's free to me. I don't know the gaurd from adam who worked there but the last time I stayed there 4 days straight waiting on a snarled dispatcher load. He told me I found a home there. And so I did.

Remind me to tell you about the time I had that rig in no parking across the street with 5 local police waiting on me to come out after a 2 hour dinner to write a 75 dollar ticket. (Which was promptly paid and that was it for that town... because as it happened, it was literally my last stop there as loads go in the remaining time on my OTR running.

Sometimes you cannot have parking for love or money in several states at all, so there you are running out of your logs deliberately racking up violations and yelling from your company people before you did find a spot finally. The benefit was you already did the next days driving in the night looking for a spot so you are now a day early on delivery.

 

I didn't realize entitlement was a principle.

 

Id rather park at walmart..my money goes alot farther.
But...I run mainly the southwest,where every truck stop has 150 free spaces.

 

I don't usually have a problem parking. I have spent maybe $15 on paid parking last year and that is California I think. I have a disability and have a handicap placard and this has saved my hide in parking past 7 pm multiple times. I use the trucker path app and find the less congested truck stops (non TA, Loves, Pilot) a prime example is Train's Midway Diner on 78 in Penn. Always a parking spot there and only 2 hours or so from NJ. I also use the trucker path app to find walmarts occasionally that allow truck parking always reading the reviews to see if other drivers have called and gotten permissions to park. I also plan my trip paying attention to what cities I will be driving through during rush hour (morning/evening) and what times I will be passing through those cities. I adjust my starting time accordingly to make sure as much as I can that I will have relatively unrestricted travel. That 14 hour clock doesnt stop once it starts. The same with stopping for lunch... I can take a shorter or longer lunch to time my travel through cities that I know have congestion issues or weather related problems.

 

Why would anyone pay to park at a truck stop. It boggles the mind. This is just another way of taking money out of the drivers pockets. The prices inside a truck stop are already sky high, the quality of food or food choices suck, most do not supply security in the parking lot. If they did, they are rent-a-cops who are unarmed, and as useful as a dirty diaper. Back in the early 92, the old 76 (now T/A west) had unarmed security, and they had no problem running away from confrontation. With this being stated, are there any security measures in place for driver safety with pay to park? I would find the worse dirt hole empty lot to park surrounded by nasty lot lizards, and homeless people, before paying a truck stop to park in their lot.

 

Look smart guy, until they legalize whatever drugs they need me to take to run that thing 24/7, without the need to eat or defacate, and mandate that out of every 21 hours I sit somewhere for 10 then I'm going to need somewhere to sit.

Blame congress.

Entitled my (expletive redacted!)

(Not that I would work under such hellish conditions.)

 

Sure, but it's not the responsibility of a private business to provide for your needs.

I need food to eat, fuel to burn...