Why do so many truckers pack themselves into rest areas?

That's just how the TA in Terrell, TX is. My father in law once tried to park there and assumed it was packed due to all the trucks in the driveway and double parked on the county road to the East. I told him that was due to lazy driveritis and that the 2 rows in the back are always open.

 

Some truckstops you dont need to ask if they are full, you just know. The truckstops in Dallas, for example.

 

i hate rest stops.
my first driving job im driving and my trainers asleep. i gotta pee like a son of a #####. but im in such i big vehicle i hate pulling on shoulders. so i pull into a rest stop at night. i dont intend to park. i knew i would never be able to. i knew better from the stories i had heard. just wanted to pee in the parking lot. but no. i turn in and i see something horrible. its so packed i dont think i could have got my car through it. but i had to. so i go through it. 5 mph at first but i worked up to 8 lol. once i saw that i would be relatively ok. tight as hell though. but i get to the end of the line. theres a curve and this dick is parked there. and its not a parking spot. i swing wide. i go into grass. i almost do it. im sooo happy. its a huge acomplishment to me. too soon to celebrate. the last ten feet of my reefer make contact. all superficial and wasted three hours on paperwork. my trainer said i should have kept going after looking it over since nothing was really damaged and the guy was an idiot.
moral of the story? gatorade bottles are always your friend. learn to pee and drive.

 

never did perfect the drive and "P" technique.

try a ramp and the bottle or the tire, next time.

 

I try not to ever rely on CB information. I don't ask for any information myself because too many drivers out there lie for fun. You ask if there is parking and some jack off tells you there is plenty, you get there and there is no parking. Ask if the coops are open and they lie or just rant on about running legal. Way too many liars.
The honor and respect that was around when I was a kid in my dad's truck is mostly gone. That itself is a shame.

 

i've got no problem staying in rest areas, only stopping @ truck stops for fuel and showers. usually a lot quiete, lol even though i feel like my truck is a reefer magnet at times.

but then again, as bad as my companies yard is in Laredo, i typically stay there than the J or pilot when i'm there.

 

That is a really good idea.

 

Kentucky is awesome that way on interstates. Scale 24hr rest havens too with an out building for drivers to use with restrooms and vending.

 

It comes down to a lack of planning. Before I start my day I usually know where I plan to stop for the night. I usually have a primary and secondary spot in case the first place is full. Trip planning isn't rocket science.

 

more like 12 years driving and knowing which places usually have spots.