Home Time Truck Parking Locations/Issues - Input Requested

I spend a lot of time out in the Midland/Odessa area and what I notice is ALL of the truck stops are full much of the time due primarily to all of the "oil field" trucks parked there. I'm not sure if most of them are parked for a 10, or they effectively live in their truck (if it has a sleeper) but there seems to be a lot of potential for -something- in the area related to truck parking, but I'm not sure what.

I know a lot of the guys live in travel trailers and there is not room for a bunch of trucks at those places, but I also know that the oil-field service companies have huge lots to park in, along with parking lots for personal vehicles if that's needed ... so that brings me back to my original point, why are all these trucks parked at truck stops for extended times? I guess I'd need to go out there and talk with some people out there to see if there is any need, want, or opportunity to build a half dozen or so truck lots in the area like I spoke of in the OP. Land is cheap there, but getting the land properly prepared to handle heavy trucks, while reducing mud/dust and pot holes problems will be expensive (not a lot of gravel in the immediate area). Also, construction costs there are very high due to high demand, but there's a lot of money to be made there, too (for the time being until the next oil field crash like has happened before there)

 

So do you bobtail home or someone has to come pick you up? Can you get in/out at 02:00? Have you ever found they were full? I'm just asking to try and get a handle on how the "daily pay" guys do things and what their motivation is and what their preferences would be. I get the money aspect of it ($12 x 3 Vs. $65 x 1) as long as everything else works out like you prefer and you don't need a place for your personal vehicle while you're away.

 

Regarding Daily Parking Space Rentals ...

I suppose there could be 5 slots or so reserved for daily rentals who call ahead. My idea is to control gate card access rights from a central location via internet so one person can manage multiple sites. If a driver could call ahead to verify a slot was available for x days along with payment info (kind of like TA), a temporary access pin-pad code could be granted that expires to insure security integrity.

 

No, I'd still intend on having the dedicated spaces for the local/regional guys who are on a monthly agreement and paid up. But I'd also have 5 spaces held back exclusively for Over-the-road guys who only want to pay the higher daily rate for a few days every month or so.

 

On the daily, due to lack of knowledge of these places, there would not be a lot of drivers jockeying for slot availability. Like you said, the guys who stay out 3-5 weeks a time would not run much risk of ALL wanting to be home during the same time-frame .... except for holiday periods This is why to me, it would make sense to rent by the month/year. And not worry about Christmas and Thanksgiving or superbowl weekend or other holidays where drivers tend to migrate home ... your spot would be guaranteed for those times, as well as the unforeseen times.

I don't know that you won't be back for 2 months, and neither do you. Your wife may get sick and needs you back home 2 weeks after you leave, and I rented that space out then where would you be? In the event all the daily spots were taken, nothing would preclude me from renting you an available long-term slot (if there were any) for a few days to get you out of a jamb.