Why do so many truckers pack themselves into rest areas?

You always find parking at night? My advice? Play the lottery. Half the time at a truck stop late at night I have to do something risky or just shuffle on down the road to a ramp.

 

that would be exactly it. with the occasional exception of the rest area being close enough to shipper/receiver to be enticing, thats the main reason id end up there. that, or im getting tired and dont care where i stop, just the next available place. in the middle of nowhere, sometimes the rest area is the only option unless you want to go another hour or two. and i agree, you are quite lucky to not have had many experiences with full truck stops. i end up on the entrance ramp sometimes as well. "darn...3rd truck stop is full too? ramp it is!"

 

It IS an interesting question. You often can find a spot but its a midni gh t blind side manuever or leaving yourself vulnerable to a wake up call crash because you are double parked in an aisle. I rarely go to a rest stop. Ill try a truck stop stunt or then if thats impossible.....the nearest ramp with less than an hour left on my clocks

 

Several years ago there were not that many T/S in VA to park and that is all you did see were trucks parked all over the place.

Planning a rest area parking for the evening is playing 50/50 there will be no spot after dark because everyone else had the same idea. And playing with elogs limits the choices now unlike the old days.

It is harder to find parking if you are solo because when the hours run out, they run out. IL use to be another state that was hard to find a t/s, we spent many a night off on a ramp. I don't think that is a good idea in most occasions anymore because of all the idiot drivers and lawsuits.

It would sure be nice if more towns opened up a trucker safe zone in an industrial area at least, esp in some of the bigger towns.

 

It's a tough call sometimes, especially if using Elogs. One thing I NEVER do is park illegally in a truck stop. If you get your mirrors or headlights torn off, the guy that did it does not owe you an apology or anything else; you should not have been parked there. No driver has any right to block the right of way because he's lazy, tired, or inconsiderate.

 

gps has also given more options...if you are out in the middle of nowhere you can always punch in "walmart"...most of them dont mind parking there overnight, even with the sign saying otherwise. not my first choice, but it is another option.

not sure about the answer that said nothing owed if you hit a truck parked incorrectly...though ive almost NEVER done it myself, im just as careful to not hit them as i am anyone else...i assume that illgally parked or not, hitting a stationary object will most likely go down as a preventable accident. i could be wrong, but.......

 

Just got to the Pilot over in Green River, UT, almost 2am and there's plenty of spots left.

I've only parked on one off ramp and three rest areas so far, seems like ill find a spot no matter the time of day/night.