TA just raised shower prices really?

I dont think its California. TA and Petro just sucks (with few exceptions) in terms of perks. The Country Pride and Iron Skillet can stay in business though. The fuel islands and convenient stores should just be converted to parking.

 

I dont know man, I kind of like Barkeyville. Good food there, but the Speedway on that exit has become the first choice for food on that exit

 

TA/Petro released their revised rules this month. It’s true. It’s now based on a calendar day (EST time). Also, the positive change I’m seeing is that now you can earn up to 2 credits per calendar day. Before it was just one. They did add an accumulation limit of 10 credits, but it’s no big deal, at least for me.

 

NASTC does show you the fuel prices for all their fuel stops, and typically some time in the afternoon they post the prices for the next day.

In my comment (#46), I was talking about the results I got from comparing scenarios of common routes I travel on and, along these routes, the cheapest TA/Petro fuel stops versus the cheapest fuel stops (commonly independent truck stops). By the way, NASTC does not have Love’s or Pilot/FJ in their network. So I didn’t include them in this comparison, but did compare Pilot/FJ (with OOIDA fuel card) versus TA/Petro (with NASTC).

 

I’ve comtemplated switching to Love’s or Pilot/FJ because of their superior rewards program, in particular the showers and refills, but they have their drawbacks.

Love’s

• Mostly small parking lots and usually full earlier than P/FJ & TA/Petro
• Usually long shower wait time (except 10pm-5am)
• Inability to reserve shower
• Usually wait time at the fuel pumps
• Fuel cost higher than TA/Petro

Pilot/FJ

• Some shower wait time
• Some wait time at the fuel pumps
• Fuel cost higher than TA/Petro
• Only one point earned per gal
• No free refills (but discounts with Philmor)

TA/Petro

• Not all parking spaces are free (but level 4 & 5 members can use a credit)
• Fewer locations nationwide (but larger parking lots on average)
• No daily shower program (but with the recent change on earning credits it now appears possible).
• No free refills (except for platinum members and on purchases over 75 gal)

 

Can we talk about the real problem here? Why the guys who clean the showers seem to go "on break" from 7pm to 11am?

You ever see NO names on the shower board then you put your card in and it JUMPS to :20 minute estimated wait time?

And as a Vampire Squadron overnight driver, what good is it to clean ALL the coffee pots AFTER midnight?! Can't you do that 12 hours earlier?

 

I’ve had that shower problem happen to me 2-3 times at the TA in (south) Dallas, TX. Nobody seems to be cleaning the showers. I figure it’s either they are too lazy or they are short-staffed, and one person needs to clean the showers, restrooms, and who knows what else. Most TA/Petro locations always have showers available almost anytime of the day. Busy TA/Petro locations in big cities may be the exception. The reason there usually isn’t wait time is because nobody has showers there and they have 10-20 showers.

It happens because while there isn’t anyone waiting for a shower, there are currently no clean showers available. If you use the TA/Petro app, it will tell you the current wait time and also how many clean showers are available. The current wait time is displayed when you reserve a shower on the app. The shower availibility is displayed when you select a truck stop in the “Sites” lower tab. They should have both data in the same place.

 

Yeah, I get that. The point is some places they don't have anyone cleaning the showers at certain times of the night. Especially at smaller places.

158 I-80 Pa, Binghamton NY, couple of spots in Ohio. One place in KY.

(Granted, I drive local at least 80% of the time, so I don't experience having to deal with this EVERY time. And maybe I'm just unlucky.)

 

I stopped using TA/Petro completely last year. I'm not going to spend $40-50k a year on fuel plus all the other miscellaneous stuff I buy and then have to pay to park in a reserved spot every time I show up after 4pm cause all the free spots are taken.