Truck stops

[Rev.Vassago]

Long live COSTCO or a Walmart Supercenter.

Your size button seemed broken, so I fixed it for you. You're welcome. :P

[bigtimba]

This lifestyle is a funny business. I mean this job is a . .

I'm in a hotel in Springfield, MO, so I don't have my logs but I was in Sidney, NE, a few days or weeks ago . .

. . and stayed at the Walmart SC. I bought a pillow and two pillow cases. I like the pillow. The pillow cases are so coarse, they've chafed through my skin and soft tissue, so now my ear canal and jaw are exposed. And I drools a bit. There was no thread count or grit on the package.

Am I at risk of infection? Is there a $4 prescription that will heal this condition?

[JeffTheTerrible]

I always liked the 49er in Kentucky. The food may not have been the best ever, and the facilities were certainly lacking, but I liked the people and the atmosphere there, and the fact that they offered free showers.
There were a few small truck stops I liked, but, to be honest, I really don't remember too many of them. I can recall that there was one I really liked somewhere along US 20, which I'd always stop at whenever I had a load which wasn't permitted on the toll road. And the truck stop at the bottom of the Colorado Gap near Vale was another one I really liked.
For the most part, though, I just prepared my own meals, which, considering my lack of culinary skills, typically consisted of nothing more than sandwiches, or perhaps some canned food on occasion. I made it a point to stop for a sit-down meal at least once a week, and, out of the large chains, TA would usually be my choice for this. There was one chain in Ontario, but the name of it eludes me. Driving along the Queen Elizabeth on my way from London or somewhere in that area as I was proceeding towards Buffalo, it was along there somewhere. They made a hamburger which I really liked.. it was topped with some sort of bacon, and it always suited me just fine. I really don't remember the name of the place, though. Maybe it was Husky, but I don't think it was.
Come to think of it, why the hell am I talking about truck stops? I eat at the home 20 every night now. Screw those places! :P

[Flashmann]

If you want a good "home cooked" style meal you need to find the smaller independent truckstops.

It is a shame the chain franchises are taking over. Most of the oasis rest areas are all McDonalds or some fast food franchise. I miss the days of the diner restaurant. It's a lot like what happened to milk shakes. I love a good milk shake. Diners waitress would scoop ice cream into the metal glass. They would add milk. As the blender spinned the outside of the metal glass would get icy. The waitress would then pour the milk shake from the metal glass into a real glass and leave the extra milk shake they made at the table. Then comes some real whipped cream on top. Compare that to McDonalds milkshake which is water and high fructose corn syrup and coloring and flavoring. McDonalds milkshake is everything except milk and ice cream.


There's a little cafe next to Allsups Truck stop on US 87 in Texline Texas,that makes that kind of shake or malt....$2.00......I just had one thursday night.....



versus...



I guess I should pack a ham sandwhich and stop looking for good home cooked meals.

[Flashmann]

I can't complain about truck stops. When I need a place to park and I don't have the time or energy to search for an alternative, a truck stop is a pretty good default.

As for truck stop quality and prices? What's the parking spot worth? What's the convenience worth? What's the truck specific engineering worth? If I deduct the value of the parking spot from the cost of anything I buy, pretty much every truck stop is a good value. The less I buy, the better the value.

I'm 100% reimbursed for showers, even if I use one just to avoid a filthy mensroom. I rarely buy packaged food unless my onboard inventory is low and it's a brand I know and trust. Hot food is always a crapshoot (literally and figuratively), breakfast is the safest bet . . but not the buffet. I love coffee and I have no idea why. On the rare days I can't get it, I don't really miss it but if I'm near a Pilot, I'll run over Grandma to get it.

The worst thing about an F-ing J is the hot (blech) food case. I can't fuel at a J, so whatever I'm there for, I'm trying to make it quick and the one thing that's sure to slow me down is the freakin' cashier trying to sell that crap to everyone in line.

I bought an aircard for my laptop. I should have done it long ago. $150 for the card and $60/month for the service . . I no longer need a truck stop to get online to search for things I don't want to buy at a truck stop. Long live COSTCO or a Walmart Supercenter.

Breakfast buffet at FJ is $7.00......They'll make you fresh eggs from the kitchen if you don't want the scrambled from the horse trough......Same with pancakes and toast....I try to get a booth near the coffee station so I can get my own refills......Self service=no tip....

[Windwalker]

$9.09 for the buffet breakfast at FJ. Plus tip and you gotta beg for coffee.
$5.99 at a restuarant buys a better meal, coffee refills and clean dishes.

$9 bucks is on the expensive side for breakfast. How much does an egg and toast cost? I've had breakfast at Dennys for $5 and the waitresses are good with refills. Denny's has good hash browns covered in gravy and they custom cook eggs to each order. I have a friend who loves sunny side up and runny so he can dip his toast in the egg yolks, and Denny's makes it right. Add bacon and sausage, and a plate of pancakes and it's a good start to the day. My only complaint is sometimes the amount of food is low. The pancakes are small. They only give 2 strips of bacon. But it's good.

For those of you that get to follow I-94 in WI, try stopping in at one of the "KWIK TRIP" truck stops, like at Tomah, WI, and enjoy the $3.99 breakfast buffet. Otherwise, you'll have to find some of the independant little "Mom and Pop" truck stops... Like WILDERNESS CROSSING, or ABBEYLAND TRUCK STOP, or "51 TRUCK STOP" in the central Wisconsin area. No, I won't say they are inexpensive anymore, but the food is actually prepared on-site.

Cheap meals became a thing of the past when fuel prices went up... Cost of delivery.

[belpre122]

Long live COSTCO or a Walmart Supercenter.

Your size button seemed broken, so I fixed it for you. You're welcome. :P

As long as we have each others' back, it's all good Rev! :twisted:

[belpre122]

Has anybody tried one of those big hot dog wrapped in dough things at a flying j? They look awful.

Ranks right up there with the "hot dog shaped Cheeseburger" rolling on the grill at Pilot. If you can get past the fact that it looks like a fresh turd, it is actually fairly tasty when smothered in about 1/2 gallon of ketchup.

I think that it may well be the Baby Ruth bar from the Caddyshack pool. Back to haunt us again.

[Jumbo]

Has anybody tried one of those big hot dog wrapped in dough things at a flying j? They look awful.

Ranks right up there with the "hot dog shaped Cheeseburger" rolling on the grill at Pilot. If you can get past the fact that it looks like a fresh turd, it is actually fairly tasty when smothered in about 1/2 gallon of ketchup.

I think that it may well be the Baby Ruth bar from the Caddyshack pool. Back to haunt us again.

They just don't look very tasty in the hot case. I have seen some drivers eating them but those guys just looked hungry.

[belpre122]

The worst thing about an F-ing J is the hot (blech) food case. I can't fuel at a J, so whatever I'm there for, I'm trying to make it quick and the one thing that's sure to slow me down is the freakin' cashier trying to sell that crap to everyone in line.

Ever wonder how many of those guys you see retching over the guardrail, or
squatting between drive tires are recent victims of the Flying J "hot food case." I bet that a book could be started on the subject. Yuch!!!

[wimpy]

I bought me one of those big old hot dogs wrapped in bagel or whatever it is one day cuz I was HUNGRY. First off I couldnt finish the dam thing and then it was so salty I almost threw up, there was probably enough salt for a couple packs of hot dogs in that thing. So now I stick to their regular sized corn dogs at the J, you know the ones that sit there all day.

[Phreddo]

Honestly, the I've had good luck with TA resturaunts.
The TA isn't much to look at, but the food has been good every time I've been.

[geeshock]

the Shenandoah truck stop I-70 in ohio, get a decent meal big enough for 2 ppl for a cheap price
uncle petes in lebenon, tn decent food and an intereting coffee cup colection.
tr's exit 412 I beleave? 1-40 tn, steak isn't like super good but 20 oz for 9 bucks, well, what can I say

[GMAN]

I didn't realize that they had reopened the Shenandoah Truck Stop. It was closed for some time. It is good to hear that someone opened it again.

[geeshock]

yeh, they reopened it in 08 I think, I was there in like june of 08, the bbq was awsome, had to get a to go bag and finish the next day

[klleetrucking]

Tiger Truckstop, Grosse Tete,La., Exit # 139 I 10. AWSOME Cajun food plus "regular food", boudain + redbeans & rice, "make yo' tongue slap yo' brains out", kinda pricey but worth it, you'll not be disappointed. Ample parking, hot as chit in the summer.
Had to pass it due to time constraints and almost cried.

[jonp]

I can't complain about truck stops. When I need a place to park and I don't have the time or energy to search for an alternative, a truck stop is a pretty good default.

As for truck stop quality and prices? What's the parking spot worth? What's the convenience worth? What's the truck specific engineering worth? If I deduct the value of the parking spot from the cost of anything I buy, pretty much every truck stop is a good value. The less I buy, the better the value.

I'm 100% reimbursed for showers, even if I use one just to avoid a filthy mensroom. I rarely buy packaged food unless my onboard inventory is low and it's a brand I know and trust. Hot food is always a crapshoot (literally and figuratively), breakfast is the safest bet . . but not the buffet. I love coffee and I have no idea why. On the rare days I can't get it, I don't really miss it but if I'm near a Pilot, I'll run over Grandma to get it.

The worst thing about an F-ing J is the hot (blech) food case. I can't fuel at a J, so whatever I'm there for, I'm trying to make it quick and the one thing that's sure to slow me down is the freakin' cashier trying to sell that crap to everyone in line.

I bought an aircard for my laptop. I should have done it long ago. $150 for the card and $60/month for the service . . I no longer need a truck stop to get online to search for things I don't want to buy at a truck stop. Long live COSTCO or a Walmart Supercenter.

I got an aircard for my laptop through my cell company several years ago. about $100 and my service was $75/month but it was unlimited data and booted off everyone elses towers. Worked fantastic. I used it many times when given a dispatch to mapquest where I was going and later to google earth the address to see where I needed to turn, if I missed it where I could turn around down the road, where the docks were etc...

[homer]

I'll be right over, make mine strawberry please.. no... banana... wait.. oh just surprise me

wonder how she got so curvy workin at the diabetes deli

[1catfish]

anybody been in the ta in seymour in. exit 50 off of interstate 65, man that place has gone to the dogs, all the locks on the bathroom stalls were broke, so if you had to do your buisness, you had to hold the door shut. i just walked across the street to the mcdonalds, cheaper breakfast too. on the way back to the truck, i noticed they still wanted that big price for the glorius bufffet! no thanks!

[jburd]

Except fot fuel stops I always tried to find the mom and pop truck stops.
The triple T in Tuscon was one I hit when running I-10.There's another east of Bueamont also and the Spaceway in MS.
I can't eat Wendy's anymore....