How many nights are spent away from basic services?

I'm curious to know if stopping at a terminal or truck stop or even a rest area is something that can be done on a daily basis. I realize that some nights are spent on the lot of a shipper or receiver or some other location. How often does this happen in a given week or month?

 

I have yet to spend a night at a shipper or receiver. I have spent one or 2 at one of our yards but they usually have a bathroom and a shower if you're brave. I'm pretty much always able to schedule my off time at a TS somewhere or at least a rest stop.

 

I think most of the time you are able to plan ahead of time but there are those occasions. Most of the time weather is a factor of where you shut down. As far as amenities your best bet is to grab a shower during the day and find a nice quiet place to shut down other than a truck stop. Keep your truck stocked up on food and supplies and no matter what you won't get stranded. As far as poo facilities a bucket and two 2x4's are a truckers best friend! Nothing like a nice quiet poop under the stars in the desert! (watch out for critters though!)

 

Good point about shower issue,best time to get a shower at a truck stop is during the day,I say between 11am-4pm.There more people using the showers at even or night time.I always try to get one late morning or early afternoon.

 

I can usually get a shower about six in the morning. Many places don't have overnight staff so it's not unusual for showers to stay dirty from midnight to six. As far as how often you will end up staying at a shipper or receiver depends on the situation. Usually it will happen because your hours and delivery or pickup appointment don't allow for anything else. I just had a load that should have been ready in the afternoon, it wasn't ready until late in the evening. The only way to get the load delivered was to take my break at the shipper. I may not have to stay at a customer for months again or it might be on the next load.

 

I think I'd prefer stay at a rest stop or a shipper for sleep time vs a truckstop. All that coming and going would drive me nuts. Not to mention lizards and panhandlers knocking on your door. I see myself stopping at t/s for fuel only if at all possible. If there's video games to be played I can't stay in the truck and read and just read a book or catch up on paperwork. Not to mention I'm a gadget guy. I know I'd go broke if I didn't stay away.

 

Most of the noise at truckstops comes from parking to close to the front. A lot of us like to park in the back because it's pretty quiet. Lot Lizards and panhandlers are worse in the cities. For instance, the Pilot at East St. Louis can be pretty bad, but go up the road to Troy and I've never had a problem. I know drivers who prefer rest areas because of the pull through parking.

 

For the most part, it just goes back to basic planing. Sure, there will be times that things happen unexpectedly. But the longer you do this, the easier you will find planing to be.

 

If I need to be at shipper./receiver very early and they can accommodate me waiting, I will spend as much time at a TS as I can then only go there when ready to go to sleep...Other than that, I've never had to spend a night without basic services...

 

It is extremely rare that I ever had to spend a night anywhere that I didn't have access to a shower, bathroom and food.

I'd say in the past 3 years it might have happened 4 times so that's less than 1% of nights spent on the road. If it happens it is either because of something unforeseen like a shipper taking 7 hours to load you or a mechanical breakdown that makes you run out of hours before you can drive to a safe haven. If it happens regularly it's likely due to poor planning by the load planner, the fleet manager or the driver.

Of course some drivers prefer to spend the night before a delivery at the receiver so they can conserve their hours/ delay starting their 14 hour day. Me, I like the comforts of a shower and indoor plumbing.