What is a good way to approach...

Dress for work, but clean. Make it abundantly clear on the approach you aren't selling anything or begging for money. Talk to drivers whose company you're interested in. And also take plenty of time to park and just watch. Pictures do speak loud.

 

There is no "nice way" to approach someone in a truck stop. they will "see you" a mile away and start conjuring up stories for you.

You really will NOT GET any valuable information from truckers at the truckstop. I can almost 1000% guarantee you that you will get filled with nothing but a bunch of BS.

Just ask us here, because at least here, when you are told a lie, someone WITH intelligence will put that person down. Do you want "misinformation, or the truth"..??

 

A young man came up to the truck once and asked me about the company I drive for. He started out by sayinng he was starting trucking school and was getting information. I was happy to help.

You could always go to the bar at Jubitz or the TA...

 

Some will be glad to talk with you and a few will be "put off". I'd begin in the restaurants of the smaller independent truckstops that have sit-down dining (if you can find any) and kindly ask if they don't mind talking briefly about their job and where they work and they're welcome to say no, and no offense taken. I suspect most would not mind talking with you if approached in a "non-threatening" way.

If you're talking about driving up I-5 the entire way, be advised you will be dealing with a somewhat reduced profile of drivers. The I-5 drivers (many) are a group all to themselves and have their own little peculiarities. Would be nice if you could venture out of California to talk to the "regular drivers" (no offense to the CA drivers)

 

Thats exactly how I would start the convo.

"Hey, how do you get along with (insert company name here) my husband and I are thinking about going with them, and..."

Just dont come off like a salesman or a crack head who is gonna whack me over the head for a dollar.

Jubitz bar is a great idea too. Hang out, go with the flow at the bar. You wont have any trouble getting drivers to talk to you. Try sitting at the front restraunt counter when a group of drivers is drinking coffee. I think youll get a lot more info than hitting a driver up cold in the parking lot. My BS detector is set on high alert in any truck stop parking lot.

 

I was going to do the same thing out where trucks were parked for day, safe area, and didn't think I would appear like a threat but after reading stuff on here realize approaching a guy in his truck working on paperwork out of the blue and getting out to ask him if he would mind sharing some information about his company could have appeared a little weird, possibly thinking I had something to sell and understand why I got the nod no before getting out of my vehicle plus he was probably busy enough doing the paperwork. My bad as they say around here. Perhaps trying a CB first to introduce myself and the question would be better.

 

Offer them a cup of coffee or Pepsi in my case.

 

When I was in school getting my CDL, we drove to the Flying J off of I-20 in Siloam, GA, and that's where we took our lunch break for the day. Some of us started asking other drivers about life on the road, and after hearing all of their stories I had about determined that I had made a terrible mistake getting into the trucking industry.

Although I found that some of the older folk (like 60-70) loved answering questions, and enjoyed telling more positive stories. In fact it was hard to get them to stop talking to us lol.