Where do you usually sleep OTR?

Mack, Scarecrow is right. I am new. So usually I will start looking for a place as I get close to my shipper/reciever. Otherwise exactly what he said. We rely heavily on trip planning and finding those company approved fuel stops. Because we lack the experience to know the best routes to take we probable spend more time than necessary on trip planning. But by the time we roll we know when and where to stop. Of course if you get tired during shift thats kind of diff. Then you just find whatever is close so you can get some sleep.

But my point is Scarecrow is correct. Or at least thats what my co-driver and I do. When in doubt we will also get on the CB. After the first 2 or 3 offer up sacarsm and their own version of humor, someone always is willing to let us know where the nearest truck stop is.

 

Now i try to find a good truck stop, but not ruling out the other 2. In reality if you try to stop any of these places they are equally dangerous, you have the Lot Lizards in some of the rest areas also, been approached before in them. And some Shippers /Receivers do not have room for you to park earlier and sleep while waiting for your appointment. Least at the Truck Stop you will have little more services to survive if you should become stranded say due to weather, which we need to be thinking of now since Winter is Coming.

 

The safest, quietest place I can think of is in the shipper's or receiver's yard. Usually I'm welcome to use their employee lounge/restroom in the morning and I have a coffee maker installed in "The Babe" so I can fill my thermos with coffee of strength of my own choosing. Always keep food in the fridge because I never know when I'll be delayed loading or off loading.
Truckstops are my second choice but I have frequently had to move to another spot when some butt-head with a loud reefer unit parks next to me. Also unnecessary idling gets on my nerves.
Never, NEVER park in a rest area overnight area if you can possibly avoid it!
There are all kinds of unsavory characters and thieves hanging around, and you can get propositioned, bothered, or worse.
Parking on an on/off ramp is just plain nuts in my book and the idea smacks of poor trip planning. VERY DANGEROUS.
Mall parking lots can offer some late night refuge, they're well lit and usually patrolled, but just be prepared to leave very early so you don't get parked in. If you see the guard it's good practice to humbly ask permission; even if it's against policy lot's of times they'll let you park anyway.
rx

 

I don't park in rest areas unless nothing else nearby, i try to go to clean, quiet truck stops, that have good coffee.

 

Shipper/Receiver is my favorite choice; however when that's not a good option, I usually look for a Wally World or Meijer (more than enuff parking usually and very few hassles), and if that is not an option then a truckstop. Unless it's time for my monthly shower, in which case the truckstop is the first choice.
And sometimes I plan on sleeping on the get-on ramp; in those cases, I stop a truckstop before getting to my destination so I can use the terlet, and refill my thermos (need that hot Joe in the AM) then trundle off to my sleeping area.

And BTW,I wholeheartedly agree with BMan, the T/S directory IS A MUST!