Driver Lifestyles

Small Town Parking: Where’s the Best Place to Go?

Generally speaking, parking is something of a standard concern for folks in the trucking industry across the board.  To call it a concern, however, might be going a bit too far, especially when you’re talking about well-established towns and/or areas right off the highway.  It’s fairly easy to find a place to park in these types of places; a truck stop, rest area, and the occasional Wal-Mart (or similar big box store) will usually do the trick for most drivers.  

If you’re in a small town that might not have a truck stop or a rest area in close proximity, however, you might be relegated to the local Wal-Mart.  There are some folks who’ll say that some Wal-Marts are less welcoming than others.  It’s entirely possible that you might have to put in a bit of a search to find a good place to sleep.  

Naturally, I put the question to the EO forum, and as per usual, the folks there helped out with some really great suggestions.  

The first of these suggestions was one I didn’t necessarily expect, and it was seconded by a couple of other forum members: Casinos.  The initial suggestion was made by Moose .  Jefferson3000 expounds upon that : “Moose is right. Casinos are usually truck friendly. Any kind of shopping plaza that has things you will want in the morning, ie. Starbucks or other good sources for coffee, breakfast and supplies.”

Dotcommark, however, tells a cautionary tale about casino parking : “The last time I parked in a casino parking lot they charged me 200 bucks. I had to go inside and keep cramming $20 bills into a machine till I was sick and tired, then went back to the van and slept, sure that it was all just a bad dream and when I woke up I would have all those 20s in my pocket still.”

Another solid suggestion forwarded by a number of forum members was campgrounds, especially KOAs.  From Wimpy007 : “At different times my wife and I have laid over at a State Campgrounds; most are free or a small charge. Most have restrooms and showers and everyone talks to you.”

MissKat combines the casino/campgrounds idea and adds a tip about beach pullouts on the side of the roads in the Pacific Northwest: “We second the casinos - some have campgrounds with showers, laundry, etc. $24 at Joliet for example. Also state parks - $20 at Lake Castaic, CA by the Pilot for example. Some KOAs like us too. There is so much abandoned commercial real estate that we see a lot of tractor-trailers parked in those areas now like old car lots. On the Oregon Coast you can sleep at most pull outs on the beach without problems.”

Geo chimes in on the campgrounds variations, as well, with a tip for military veterans or retirees : “When I ran the road, I stayed at military campgrounds, as being retired military, one of the  benefits is that you can stay there or at military lodges or Senior NCO quarters.  $8.00 per day is not bad...”

Cheri notes that there’s an entirely different option that may be close to a failsafe: grocery stores .  “Even the smallest small towns usually have a grocery store.”

14Wheeler agrees : “How true. No one's probably going to scrutinize you as delivery trucks are a common occurrence. Ive done that a couple of times, just making certain i bailed before opening hours.”  

There were two other suggestions that came up on behalf of Moose (again) and Xiggi: Churches and Hospitals.  Xiggi says , “I have used hospital parking lots in small towns with success before.”

Bryanvolsfan agrees, saying , “Every town usually has a hospital. Its a great place to park and sleep because they have restrooms and a cafeteria. I usually ask the business Im dropping off if I can sleep in their parking lot.”

Perhaps my favorite suggestion, though, comes from Ntimevan.  The approach would force you to, you know, talk to people, but you’re probably less likely to come into a problem using this method : “I would first check out the locals a little first.  Then i would talk to local police 4 any suggestions (quiet place 2 sleep ,good food, available showers). I would just as soon talk to them at a decent hour, as have them banging on the van at 2:30 am.”

Of course, if you’re unsure of where you’re going to stay while out on the road, a pretty good idea would be to stop by the EO forums to ask about the specific place you’ll be--because you can bet that someone’s been there before, and they’ll probably even be able to give you directions to the best place to catch a few z’s.