HELP!!!! MIAMI, FL

[BIGDOG]

Flordia likes to receive freight but must want you to get out as soon as you deliver. Very few Trk. STPS. Here. Does anyone know of a decent one in Miami area? We have been to two really bad ones. The one we are at now has chickens and diseased cats running around.
Driver we talked to last night went to step out of his truck and almost stepped on a 6' gator (not a recap). Any help? 40' straight truck.

Thanks - Big Dog

 

[tec1959]

BIGG REDD where you at rite now,Miami only has 1 well 2 truck stops if you can call them that,The 1st service plaza on the turn pike it has a miami subs and something else in it,Is pretty good but its been about 2 yrs since I've there,The truck stop in Hiallia charges like $20 a night to park and its a very unsafe area,The frog city truck stop is on the other side of town out by the westside i can't remember how to get there.If you can go to I75 and the first toll booth your at there's a shell truck stop just past it that maybe where you are if someone almost stepped on a gator its in the glades.When I delivered when i was FedexCC to miami I always came up I95 to the Ft.Pierce truck stops I know thats a long way but you really don't anything else to really do about it.I promise you that you will not get a load out of miami they will bring you up to tampa,Jax or Orlando or into lake city or Ga.I hope your preplanned out of there already though.

 

[RichM]

If I have to spend the night in the Miami area I go out to a service plaza on the Florida turnpike,otherwise forget it.

 

[Lawrence]

Egads! Chickens pecking around and LIVE Gators?

Wise words from Rich - stay on the turnpike!

Lawrence,
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[PalletJack]

It would be interesting to hear about other dangerous cities and where to park safely.
in addition to Miami,Laredo ,the Bronx NY,JFK airport come to mind as well as El Paso.

 

[rob]

GO north on 95 about 60 ml. to boynto beach blvd. go west about 1 ml. there is a BJ and Wal Mart open 24 hrs you can park there. All the food you can eat and safe. rob

 

[truckerbse2]

Disagree with not getting out of Miami. The only good loads we have taken from FL have been out of Miami area. The truckstop problem is still their. We just accept it and make the right preparations. We tend to go to the Seminole out near Weston (incidentally we get loads from Weston) Everyone we know complains about FL, a friend was down their a couple weeks ago and thought he would test our theory and stay in Miami instead of moving up to Ft. Pierce or Orlando or Tampa. He got a load out. Someone said their is another truckstop that is better, but we haven't found any that are a great place to stop. I can tell you the food at the Seminole is ok, not great, but ok. The bathrooms might as well be a port-a-john, in fact that would be an improvement.

 

[ATeam]

With a straight truck, you can go to a shopping mall in the daytime or a library. Notify mall security you are there to shop and not to spend the night. They'll leave you alone. Take in a movie or read a book. Both save you from idling. At night, the travel plazas on the FL Turnpike have worked out well for us.

If you are predispatched and have some time to kill, the Everglades National Park will allow a commercial vehicle in. You can drive all the way down to Flamingo, FL and take a fun boat tour if you are in to that sort of thing. You'll also see air boat rides and gator farm attractions on the way. For full-service truck stops, Fort Pierce is the place to go.

 

[ATeam]

>It would be interesting to hear about other dangerous cities
>and where to park safely.
>in addition to Miami,Laredo ,the Bronx NY,JFK airport come
>to mind as well as El Paso.

Every city has its bad areas which loads can take you into. Some of them are wise to exit just as quick as you can. In bad neighborhoods, we avoid stopping for any reason once our freight business is complete. Indicators of bad neighborhoods include barbed wire fences around businesses, bars in store windows, check cashing stores, debris in the street, abandoned buildings, empty liquor bottles strewn about, pawn shops, and gang graffitti.

In general, Wal-Mart Super Centers that permit trucks are good places to stay. Security cars patrol the parking lots and help keep the riff-raff out. But if gang graffitti is in the bathrooms, it may be wise to move to a different community. If you need sleep and safe truck stops are not near (to the extent that any truck stop is safe), it might be best to bite the bullet and pay for a hotel in an area free of the above indicators.

24 hour grocery stores can also be good places to park if the neighborhood is good and lot well lit. We've never had a manager say no when we asked.

 

[JoeS]

Being from Miami, I can tell you that there are no truckstops worth a dam there. If you need a safe place to park, there is an area called Doral that is just west of the airport between the nw 58 street and nw 25 street exits off of 826. The Metro-Dade police headquarters is located there. Head west on either road and you will find plenty of places to park for the night. There is a huge modern industrial park called International Corporate Park just south of nw 25 street on nw 107 ave that is patrolled at night by security. There is a Fuddruckers, Coldstone and a Starbucks just outside the entrance to the park. They usually will not mess with you if you park back by the docks at any of the buildings. Well lit and safe.

The Miami International Mall is just a few blocks further south on 107 ave. If you want a real treat, head on over to Dolphin Mall ( a few blocks south, follow the signs). Live entertainment, outdoor concerts, etc.

Hope this helps.

Best Regards,
JoeS

 

[dukesadog]

Downtown Miami safe areas:

195 off of I 95 to the beaches which is exit 4 1st exit off of that and second exit ( Biscayne Blvd) have a very heavy FSP and local police presence due to Braham motorcars (Aston Martin/Rolls/ Bentley/BMW...which takes up 5 city blocks. There is a Denny's there at the exit which is a 10 MPH hairpin.

You can park at the Dennys or drive further south to Braham (its like 20th st) and park on one of the side streets ( streets are wide) and you will be protected.

If you are in the area 1/2 mile further south or the ramp to 95 N or 828 west ( airport) you dont want to be in that area overnight.

Oh yeah and if you are doing the posted 55 you will get run over on 95...I stay about 65 or so around in there, If you are going in there on the weekend beware of the cars flying off the overpasses at like the 25 exit ( marina mile rd).

duke

 

[miko]

I was in the Fort Myers area this past weekend and hoped for a load up north. But nothing came out off it, since the stock market closed early because of the extreme heat...Never heard of such a thing before. For me it is hot always. Down there at least. Since I was not dispatched there, but made the trip to move some friends down there, I was able to spend 2 days and had some fun, even took the wife along, since it is a long stretch. On the way down, tons of trucks, on the way up, not one damn truck or van on the road or at some truck stop. Then hitting KY and OH, one expediter after another sitting.

 

[eddunn1]

For what it's worth, I have a TT and when going to miami area I make an appoint to: 1. Get a shower before I get there. 2.Stop at a Wally World and get food. 3. Either pay the toll and get on the alley to the closest rest area to Weston, or the Fl TP. 4. Stay at the Farmers Market on Atlantic Blvd. in Pompano Beach. All are very safe and you can manipulate your picks or drops around the traffic. Hope this helps.

 

[BigBusBob]

Yes, I was just going to suggest that... the Farmers Market on Atlantic Blvd. in Pompano Beach off of I-95... it's on the west side of 95, not even 1/2 a mile. I've layed over there before. Also, there's truck parking at Hypoluxo Road on the west side of 95 in Boyton Beach... just kill your engine. there's plenty of room to park there. large gravel lot and they sell Diesel there too if needed. The place regularly changes names, Shell, Chevron, Marathon, so who knows what the name is now. Realistically, if you don't shut it down past Ft. Pierce/Vero Beach area, you've got Boynton Beach (just south of West Palm/Lake Worth/Lantana) and you've got Pompano Beach Farmer's Market which is just inside of Broward County south of Deerfield. Then whatever they suggested above in Miami.
The Miami Truckstops though are infamous for truck vandalism though and accidents happening in the parking lots.
Now, if you need to get over to the west coast of FL, and your in the West Palm Beach area... there's 2 ways you can go... there's a few but the 2 main ways are: S.R. (State Road) 80, which is also Southern Blvd., straight west. OR... S.R. 60 up in Vero Beach, just west of the T/A up there. Personally I like going SR 80 myself, it's a nicer ride since they're doing construction on parts of SR 60 to widen it now. SR 80 out on the bottom side of the lake has some real nice area's... bring your fishin' rods if you've got some time... plenty of canals to try and get that bass.

 

[cheri1122]

For my money, I'd have to agree with the A Team's suggestion: Walmart. It's often my first choice, because it's: secure, less expensive than truckstops, I've never been hassled about parking there, (even when I drove a semi)' and they sell large mapbooks of the whole USA, with every Wallyworld in every state (and Sam's Club) listed - for $5.00! Especially in places where truckstops are few & far between, Walmart is great. (If they ever add showers, I would only hit the truckstops to drop off Trippaks!) Cheri

 

[dukesadog]

Something to remember about getting freight from Florida North.

There are very few manufacturing companies in the state as it is and the ones (78%) that do manufacture goods to be shipped employ less than 10 people each ( thats per an article recently with the Jax Biz Journal)

There are 4 major ports and 6 major rail yards in the state. So thats where most of the freight heads off to.

dukesadog