It's a Team's Life
Pay to Park
There are many debates on paying to park a truck. Last night we stopped at a small truck stop for the night. We had no intention of buying any fuel or food from the truck stop. What we would do is use the restroom and take up a parking spot that someone might have wanted to park that was going to buy fuel and purchase a meal. The cost for our 24-hour parking spot was $10.00 or about .42 cents an hour.
This truck stop had paved parking, was quiet, and near where we wanted to be. The owners of the truck stop have to pay taxes on this prime piece of property and maintain the lot. It was cheaper than a hotel and we had everything we needed in the truck. The price was reasonable and deductible.
We mainly use one truck chain for our fuel and they get most of our money through our purchase of fuel, truck maintenance, some restaurant, laundry, and buying parts. It frustrates me when we are at one of their locations and we have to pay to park as well. In time though I believe paying to park will be common.
The trend is varied with truck stops going from Loves who seems to be building like crazy and catering to the drivers that stop for a 1/2 break or ten hour break and are gone to the full service truck stops. One new truck stop in the Travel Centers of America still under construction will include a bowling ally. One Petro in Virginia has a full size movie theater. For those of us that stay away from home for extended periods these are the truck stops we are looking for and support.
Most of our cooking is done inside the truck and so our needs outside of the truck include, bathrooms, showers, laundry, walking areas, and sometimes maintenance. We have walked many miles to find a theater and look forward to having one near by where we are parked. We are looking forward to trying out the new bowling ally and this truck will be our destination to park if we near the area. We use the full service truck stops on the weekends or when we need a restart. One of our main considerations is the laundry room. We all ready know when we choose our favorite chain of truck stops that the lot will be paved, the lot is well lit, there are showers, and if Bob needs any parts they will be available.
In conclusion when we are looking for a truck stop near where we need to be if a TA/Petro is not available we will use a local truck stop and gladly pay their fee. We appreciate them having and maintaining a location and we do not mind paying our fair share.
