Nowhere to park trucks for 10+ hrs anymore......
 

I drive OTR, and most nights I continue to run into the problem of not being able to find a parking spot at a truck stop or Rest Area past 9pm. This is really starting to get frustrating, since you are required by the stupid government regulations to find a safe place to park your rig for 10 straight hours (assuming you aren't doing a split), and your 11 hrs are up or your 14 hour clock is up, but yet every truck stop in the area you're in is filled up after 9pm. Then you try to park on an on-ramp and they will give you a parking ticket. You try to park in a Wal-Mart and they will call the local police to make you move your rig. This is crazy!!! How can they have all these government regulations in place and enforce them when they don't have the infrastructure (enough places to park trucks) for doing so?!?

If you exceed your 11 hrs to continue looking for a spot to park the truck for the night, they will still ticket you for a log violation. We just can't win. This is all total nonsense.

I'm sure all of you guys have been in this position before. My question is, what do you guys usually do once your 11 or 14 is up and you have to park the truck for the night, but there is nowhere to park? What advice can you give me which will not result in a parking ticket or log violation? I'm really out of ideas here and would appreciate any input you can give me.

I blame all these truck parking problems on the stupid 14 hour rule. All the rule does is causes a majority of the trucks to be on the road at the same time and off the road at roughly the same time. Therefore you have 100 trucks vying for 15 available parking spots. DOT just doesn't understand this I guess. If safety is what they are really concerned with, how is it safe to have most of the trucks all on the road and off the road at the same time?!? The 14 hr rule forces more drivers to drive while tired so they can get to where they need to be before their 14 runs out. This leaves them no time to take a nap if they get tired and need one. Instead, they are forced to continue driving through the fatigue so they can stay on schedule and get to their customer on time.

So does anyone have any tips for parking the truck for 10 straight hours when your time is up and you are struggling to find any spots open at truck stops or Rest Areas? What should you do if this is the case? What CAN you do without getting a parking ticket or log violation? Thanks in advance.

Where was that Walmart that called the police to make you move your truck??? Except in NJ/NY/CT.......most every Walmart allows truck parking, as long as the truck is on the perferal areas of the lot. There are quite a few Walmarts that have truck specific parking. The biggest detriment to trucks continuing to be able to park at Walmart.......Is the drivers themselves. The same drivers who can't walk inside a building at Truck-stops to use the restroom, have the same problem at Walmart. They think that the parking lot is their toilet and their garbage dump.

As far as parking the truck at truckstops......You have to plan your day and your route to allow yourself to be able to find "Room at the Inn". The I-95 corridor is always tough to find safe truck parking. So.......stay away from the I-95.

Start your day early and end it early. You say all the trucks are pulling off to park at whatever time then pull in before that and be the first out in the AM, Or just drive at night.

I've been to Wal Marts all over the country that won't let you park on their lot, even to go shopping, let alone for 10hrs. Examples, I66 - Staunton VA, I70 - Indianapolis IN, I70 - Columbus OH. There's 3 examples not on I-95. But, I don't blame them, either. It's their property.

The Wal-Mart that called the police to come and make me move was in Coffeyville, KS.

I always try to start my day early and end it early when possible, but your appointment times and other things usually don't make this possible all the time. I wish they did, but they don't, at least not for me.

How about parking on the on-ramps in rural areas? Has anyone here ever had to do so? If you have, did anyone give you a ticket or make you move? I know on-ramps aren't the safest places to park a truck for the night, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

How about any other places where you have parked for the night? How about a Lowe's, or a Home Depot? They usually have big lots. Has anyone ever parked at one of those places for the night when they had no other options?

Some have signs which don't allow for truck parking. Most places will allow parking as long as you don't interfere with customer parking. I have also see a number of Walmarts that have "NO TRUCK PARKING" signs on the lot. Most don't seem to mind. I hope that those who do park will not leave their garbage or urine on the lots. If a business is nice enough to allow you to park, then don't abuse it by leaving the lot in a mess. If you have garbage or urine, either use their garbage or wait until you can dispose of it without littering.

Like repete said, drive at night or if u are at a customers lot and just got loaded, sat there for 3 hrs already, might aswell make it 10 and start with a fresh clock and plenty of hours. drive into the night. Parking is always available between the hours of say 4am and 4pm... Parking on ramps is nto as dangerous as they say, the further you are from civilization the better, just make sure the state you are in allows it. In GA its a $140 fine.

I think part of the parking situation is too many drivers parking in truck stops and going home. My personal opinion is find a place other than a truck stop to park while at home so drivers needing their break have a place to park. What is up with drivers parking everywhere in a truck stop or rest area except the marked spots. I understand when the lot is full but when it is empty and they park on the end of the scale and go to the bunk its annoying. We have a hard time parking as we pull doubles I want to go take a shower and everybody has taken all the non marked spots and the lot is half empty although I can't get in the spots with doubles. Can guys just not back?

Sorry rant OFF!

A little pocket truck stop guide can come in handy. It has a lot of smaller truck stop locations that always have parking available even late at night. Most prefer Flying J, Pilot, Petro and TA but I have pulled in some of the smaller lots after midnight and found parking.

An exAmple would be Stanton, Tn exit 42 on I 40 eastbound. There is a Pilot there that is a dam sardine can. It fills up by 5pm. Just down the highway 5 miles to the east is another Truck stop at the 47 with PLENTY of parking even late at night. Just look for that truck stop guide and go to smaller no name truck stops.

I agree pull through spots should be reserved for the doubles trucks and trucks should park in designated spots when available... It seems some are lazy, some are rookies too afraid to try and back in.

Some days if all pull throughs and non spots are taken I can park in 4 or 5 back in spots if they are side by side, but I really hate doing that. I have gotten dirty looks, the #1, and cursed at for doing so but what else am I to do. I never understood the difficulties of parking doubles until I pulled them. The west coast is a little better many trucks stops have designated doubles only parking. :)

Happy trucking!

The only thing that place has to offer is parking....unless they cleaned up the building in the last three years. Potholes and dust was all I could stand!!

There are a couple truckstops just west of Stanton, one at the 35 and another at the 38....IIRC.......that usually have parking. One is branded BP....and they have decent food.

that would be my recomendation. If i'm out late at night I look for the independant t/s. Usually they have parking, if I need a shower, I can grab it the next day.

I have one of those exit guides, but what would be really nice is a book that lets you know of the smaller truck stops on US highways. Do they make such a book or website?

They are in the pocket addition and large addition truck stop guide I have. They are on a page after the interstates and listed by city in alphabetical order. It can be harder to find one while rolling because you need to cross reference with a map to figure out where they are since there aren't exit numbers.

That was one good thing about driving a flatbed.Most of the time I could start early and be parked and showered before the rodeo began in the parking lot.Those were the days,sure wish they would call my number I need a shower.Oh wait I am at home.Have a great day.:lol::lol::lol::lol:

It's all in the planning. If you can get where you need to be in time to find parking, great. If you're thinking you might be running a little too late, do a split: drive what you can, take an 8 with good parking, drive what you have left, then do your laundry, take a shower or grab the other 3 at your destination. That works particularly well in the winter months when the solar powered trucks are off the road by 1600.

This might help: TruckStopGuide.com It works. It has 4 or 5 different search options and It brings up a lot of the places that Google, Bing, etc. can't seem to find. If you still have doubts about parking, use Google maps (or whichever) to get a sky shot. That's also a good rule of thumb for Walmart . . look at a sky shot and see if there are any trucks (or truck stains) in the picture.

I picked up a copy of "The Next Exit" for when I was on vacation and it really came in handy. It lists Walmarts/Lowes/Home depotgas stations and truck stops along with food and even lists how far off the interstate.

I look for industrial parks, alot of them allow street parking. If I know I can be gone before the store opens, I've even parked near the loading dock of a store. The couple of times I was awakened in the morning by the ship/recv ppl, I acted like I was at the wrong location and didnt realize it, for example "this isn't 123 Maine Street? d@mn, sorry I'll leave" lol, it works.

Since I run a regional dedicated gig, I have it easy. I know the truck stops in my running area, how big they are, what they offer (food, showers, fuel, scales, etc.), and when the parking circus begins. I also know which truck stops have Dollar General stores near them (that's who I deliver to). Nobody gives me a second look at Troutville, VA when I pull around the side of that DG store to do a 10 hour break. A lot of us will use stores as last-ditch efforts to find a place to park, especially if we're nowhere near a truck stop, or if we run out of hours while delivering at a store. We also can stay at our shop across the street from the distribution center when we're in South Boston.
Needless to say, I didn't have those luxuries when I was OTR.
Oh, and Malaki, weren't you referencing the Wal-Mart in Front Royal, VA on I-66, instead of Staunton?

I just bought mine yesterday and it came in handy right off the bat. I knew what truck stop I was going to stay at but I had no food in my fridge and the book said all they had there was McDonalds and Subway. The book said I'd find good food an exit before the truck stop and it all worked out.

"The Next Exit" +1

I park my truck at the yard and come home every night :p

I use Truck Stops Plus with MS Streets and Trips.

Truck Stops Plus

It's got all the major names and most of the small truck stops. Also, WalMart Super Centers, all the rest areas, Blue Beacon washes, state scales.

I'm not a trucker (yet) but wanted to put in my 2 cents. I have seen some McDonalds with truck parking on the side. There is one in Bradenton, Florida that allows the trucks to stay overnight. There is only about 6 spots but at least it's something. There's a gas station across the street from it with a few more spots for trucks. And a week ago I parked my dump truck in a Walmart parking lot overnight without any problems. There were 2 other tractor/trailers there for the night also. So I guess it just depends on the Walmart. I like the idea of starting early and ending early, that's what I would do.

I've used what Trux did and it usually worked. But, another option is to use google maps and search for gas stations and stores in the local area. You can zoom in and most of the time see if any have truck parking. I foudn that even in the truck stop guide MANY were not listed, but I was able to see what was around on the overhead and found easy parking that way.

Truck parking (for reset breaks) is probably the biggest problem drivers (experienced and not) will deal with ... every day. Especially on the eastern seaboard. There is no simple answer. You will learn to get creative and look for "abnormal" locations. I've pulled off into industrial and warehouse areas at 9pm to lay down for 8-9 hours. Walmarts are not at all consistent. 1/3 are truck friendly, 1/3 are anti-truck, and the other 1/3 are "questionable" and difficult at best. But you can't blame any business for trying to discourage truckers because once you allow ONE truck to park at night, next think you know there are 20 trucks trashing the lot, EVERY night. Walmarts, Lowes, etc (except for a few select locations) should be avoided as a routine sleep-over spot because it is not a matter of if, but a matter of when will you "find yourself in a problem situation". Some early shift workers will park immediately in front of and/or in back of a trucker at 6:00 just to piss them off and f%ck up their day. Then, there are the truckers who can't get themselves to get moving at a reasonable hour and wonder why they can't move from their cramped parking spot at 9:00 am

Planing ahead helps but I always hit my GPS for the next truck stop and take my chances. Sometimes I am good to go and others its crowded beyond belief. I usually find a spot to park, you need to have patients and keep driving around, sooner or later you will find something. If not, I just keep driving till I find a spot. You should not get a ticket under the new rules for driving over your 11 hour rule when you cant find a spot to park, its the same as when bad weather hits you get an additional 2 hours of drive time. As long as you properly document where you tried to park you should be fine.

Also, I have found spots by asking over the cb if anyone is getting ready to leave because I am over my hours, works ever time. I also have found that many many drivers cant park there trucks straight enough to allow for others to back in to tight spots, many rookies out there that just whip it in to a spot without thinking about the next guy, what would it take to pull forward and straighten out your truck in the spot?

After 30 plus years driving, I cant believe what I still see in truck stops, its actually very entertaining at best watching the new guys backing i
n!

I have a perfect example why so many places don't want trucks on the property and why we as drivers have a bad rep.
I went down to the lot where I park my truck and lo&behold there's a couple other trucks parked with one almost blocking me in. At first I wasn't going to say anything but as I did my pretrip I see that one truck had backed up into the fence and bent the poles, I don't want to get blamed so I called the property managment Co and they sent the mngr down.
Turns out he is a she and a very good looking and very small too 5' tops and no more than 100lbs, anyway she checks out the damage and isn't to worried about it but does want the other trucks gone. I'm in my truck doing my log as she tells driver#1 that he had to leave . What happened next I still can't understand, the driver got out of his truck and got right up in her face and started giveing her some lip! This guy (o/o I believe POS truck) looked and smelled like he hadn't seen a shower in at least a week and his teeth looked like a brown picket fence and he's right up in this girls face waving his arms, she backed up with a scared look on her face and he steps closer! He must not have known I was there cause when I came around the front of my truck with thumper he looked surprised. At that point he decided leaveing would be a good idea and when he did he went up over the curb on the grass a good 3-4 feet!What would have happened if I wasn't there?
The other driver never came to the door even tho we saw the curtains move and at that point she decided to let the LOE's handle it.
ANY WONDER WHY WERE NOT WELCOME ? It's crap like this that pizzes me off!