Shutting down for the night: a challenge

I know it and those mom and pops have the best food.

 

One good thing about me living in the northeast I know all the places i can park. I lived in NJ for 12 years and PA for over 25 years. Not sure why all truckers just mention Walmart all the time. There are plenty of large shopping centers without a walmart in it where you can park.

 

I know this is old but wow u got serious issues in your life

 

When driving to an unfamiliar area with an upcoming 10, I always stop for a 15 minute break a couple hours short of my final stop to start planning where I will take a 10. In addition to the truck/rest stop guide I also have my Rand McNally GPS, which has almost every mom and pop truck stop as well as picnic areas. If those don't yield good results or if I'm off the beaten path I look at Google Satellite and Street View in the vicinity of my likely stop.

Any place wide enough to safely park is good enough for me. This helps maximize miles, and stopping at places where there is no other trucks running reefers or idling with a loud air tank cutout makes for a better night's sleep.

I've discovered some amazing places to take a 10 with a little imagination and untethering myself from truck stops, rest areas, or Walmarts. Another thing I do is talk to the management of a store if I park in their lot, or the security guard. If you show yourself to be polite, professional, and a good citizen even those "No Truck Parking" signs aren't an impediment.

Leave the place in better condition than when you arrived.

 

Regarding the issue of RV's taking truck parking. Personally I find it annoying, but would rather a tired driver stop than continue driving if they are tired. They should NOT be allowed to park at truck stops, unless there is a specific area for RV's.

The worst case of an RV in a truck stop was an RV that took up TWO parking spaces so they could extend their awning and set up for a barbecue. After they got reamed out by the third tired driver trying to find a spot late in the day I mosied over to explain to them the concept of limited parking options for big rigs and HOS. They appreciated the information, they didn't have a clue and moved out of the spot to park behind a bobtail shortly after that.

 

Get the Trucker's Path app. It shows parking availability for truck stops and rest areas.

 

RV's are the worst, bro.

 

I am generally an easy going guy but there was one evening in Mississippi that I went off on an idiot at a rest area that parked his car in the already full truck parking. I feel bad about it today but I did ream that guy out. He had missed the proper turn and just stopped there. The biggest thing that peeved me off was there were exits both before and after this rest area he could have went in that wont allow a CMV.

 

Thank God we don't live back in the day then.

 

Back when he was in it it wasn't the seals yet. He made a clever joke about swimming like a seal and that's where the name came from. Of course back then he had to walk to school, 50 miles, up hill both ways, in the snow, during 120f heat wave. You whipper snapper have it easy. /s