Questions to Help Improve a Small Truck Stop

What about Native activities? Are there any activities that the tribe could charge for that take just a few hours to perform? The one thing that came to mind right away was an archery range. I know that I would partake in that. Maybe a story teller that entertains the crowds of drivers.

Maybe that would not be a big money maker but just interests me. Maybe a small museum that has some artifacts and those videos that you can push a button and hear about it. Native history is of an interest to me and may be to others. Little before my time........LOL

Think of the large outdoor stores like Gander Mountain or Bass Pro Shops. Maybe the store itself could be kind of a museum like that. Keeping people in the store will sell more stuff.

Since you are away from all the other amenities maybe you could offer an hourly shuttle service?

You do not need all the chrome but you do need to have the necessities such as lights, mudflaps (and hangers), fuses, crimp splices etc. Kinda like a little hardware section for trucks.

Native art is usually a big seller. Something that you can not get anywhere else. I was in a store one time and found popcorn on the cob. I did not need it but I thought it was neat and took it home to the kids on one of my trips. Brought them home some trout poop on another trip. candy coated sun flower seeds was all it was.

As for the food, how about some native dishes? I have a chili recipe that I make that is going into my restaurant. I also have some dishes that my grandma made that were from Hungary and Austria.

 

I'm not going to quote the whole post but doing what cnsper said would take it from a truck stop I would stop at to one that I would aim to do a 34 at

 

It would be worth your while to learn more about fuel programs. Comdata, FleetOne, and EFS are essentially the "banks" that facilitate the transaction. Very much a debit card on steroids, since it is a cash transaction to the vendor. NASTC QPN, large fleets, and the like, are like wholesale fuel buyers and pass a discount to their members. What I am suggesting is that your client get included as an in-network point of sale for those fleet programs. Since they accept all the major fuel cards, that wouldn't be an obstacle.

Sounds like the kind of place I would plan a stop at, excepting a fuel purchase. The only way I would pay full cash price plus a $2 out of network fee would be if I was going to a shipper that was picky about my reefer tank being full, or if I had planned badly and needed a little truck fuel to make it to the next QPN stop. No stripes on a big, paved lot wouldn't deter me one bit. The main thing being easy navigation and not too bad a surface.

Regarding food nearby, if the place has a good variety of tasty food options, I wouldn't be so worried about proximity to other stuff. More of a convenience thing, but nothing that would make me not stop there. I'm somewhat lazy, and will only leave the truck stop if what they have inside is really bad, or what is next door is something I really want.

I probably would still take her out to the brush. My dog is a pit bull and doesn't play well with others. Even if she did, I still wouldn't use the dog runs. Dog parks and the like are well known to be a good place for your pup to pick up diseases from other users, who may not be as diligent as I am about vaccinations and periodic visits to the vet.

 

My idea that I did not clearly get across when I talked about dog runs were separate pens and not a dog park. I agree that several pet owners do not take enough care of their animal's vaccinations.

 

When I drove OTR sorry been retired Medically for a while. The Carrier may have said get my Fuel here however I stopped to eat at places that had GOOD Sit Down Places. I had an Advantage there was no 14 hour Clock clicking down so if I wanted to stop and eat then go to get my Fuel down the road. Trust me I learned a lot of Great Places to eat on a lot of Roads in my time. I loved to stop at Little America to Eat or Sapp Bros or there was a Great place in NY off of 20 right where I would head for the Thruway. Lets just say I ate a lot of great meals there. Or stopped at the Casinos in NV for a great Cheap Meal.

 

If you sold quality American made merchandise or had a good radio technician working there, I would be compelled to drop in and spend some money.

 

I think the best place would be an old strip mall. Or even build across from one. There is a lot of parking. Most have a gas station already near the road. The mall stores can be leased out to truck related businesses like laundromat and a chain drug store to keep prices low. A restaurant, posibly having a limited but still varied menu during nonpeak operating times. A no frills affordable grocery store like Aldi that only has the basics, not 6 varieties of canned corn or bread. Maybe even a family doctors office that does DOT physicals. Strip club? I like how Petrol's have the small c-store at the deisel feul island. No need to go to the big store for a spare fuse, light bulb, or new log book.

 

All good suggestions. Please also keep in mind your hours of operation. Teams need places to shower, eat and buy from, too. And not all the solo drivers will be running mountain or pacific time clocks. Nothing more frustrating than wanting a bite to eat but the place is closed.

Make sure you have a few places for oversized loads or doubles/triples to park, too.

 

It seems like a no-brained to me but try to install multiple bathrooms around the property. Often, even in the big chains, the only bathroom is in 'the big building' and the closest spaces fill up fast. Then guys stuck in 'the back corner',,, well the plants are better watered over there.

Try to put the big house, shop, & fuel island on opposite sides of the property, if they all have bathrooms it's less likely a driver will toss his trash. But adding a porta john to a distant corner isn't a bad investment. And make sure there are plenty of trash barrels through out the lot.

One fun thing would be to put the dumpster in a position where a driver could stop by on their way out/in. We've got to take our trash out just like any other home owner. Make it conveinent and we're subliminaly less likely to make a mess.