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Topic: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight (Read 6 times) previous topic - next topic
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Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Yahoo Message Number: 144914
Hi All,

What has been your experience staying at a mega-gas station truck stop like Loves, Pilot, TA Travel Center, Petro, etc.

I know not to park near a refrigerated truck because of the all night noise.

I've never stayed in one these places and was wondering, what wonderful things I've been missing???

Thanks for your comments, Bob
2000 MB
Re: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144916
Iv'e stayed in a lot of these places and will stay again. Yes the noise at times can be bad. And it is not just the refigurator units that are a problem. The truckers leave the engine running also. One trick if I cann't find a place to keep away from them I will park in the other direction so the front of the camper is away from there front. This helps a lot. Some people carry ear plugs but I have not found it to be that big a problem but I do carry them.
Re: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144917
Most travel centers (former truck stops) like Pilot, Flying J, etc .nowadays have separate parking areas for cars and R.V's and away from the trucks. We use these quite frequently just for overnight stays. If you like your vehicle reasonably dark you have to be careful to park away from a light pole.

Aad

__
2001 MB
Re: [LD] Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144920
We tried it once.  Never again...too noisy for us.  But, then, we are not parking lot overnighters.

Linda Hylton

From: rkarrow@...

Sent: ‎Thursday‎, ‎February‎ ‎6‎, ‎2014 ‎1‎:‎38‎ ‎PM
To: lifewithalazydazerv@yahoogroups.com

Hi All,

What has been your experience staying at a mega-gas station truck stop like Loves, Pilot, TA Travel Center, Petro, etc.
Linda Hylton
Re: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144921
I have to agree with Linda.
 We do stay at Wal-Mart parking lots on occasion, but the one time we spent  the night at a truck stop, it was too noisy and smelly from big trucks leaving  their diesel engines and refrigerators running.
 Some of the truck stops do segregate the RVs & trucks, but not by very  much space.

Barry

From:
Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2014 3:46 PM To:lifewithalazydazerv@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [LD] Loves, Pilot Truck Stop  Overnight

We tried it once.  Never again...too noisy for us.  But, then, we  are not parking lot  overnighters.
Re: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144922
With the Lazy things are so much easier but when I was dragging a trailer (far more stress per mile), finding a Flying J (my favorite) was like hearing the angels singing the Hallelujah chorus. Very decent buffet, excellent store and a place to stop without being a fish out of water.
 The regular concerns apply like to Walmart camping - avoid bad neighborhoods, bring earplugs and expect nonstop talking, refrigerator trucks, etc. We've only resorted to this a couple times but with common sense and low expectations of comfort (noise, light, etc) it was enjoyable.

Wonderful things you've been missing: * Questionable people who loiter - you find out why loitering is against the law.
* Trucks coming in and out - parked next to the fridge truck or not - you hear every single  one.
* People who yell or are generally boisterous coming in and out constantly.
* What's that flashing blue and red light? Oh - it's the Sheriff taking a deranged lunatic into custody.

From: "rkarrow@..." To: lifewithalazydazerv@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, February 6, 2014 12:38 PM Subject: [LD] Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight

Hi All,

What has been your experience staying at a mega-gas station truck stop like Loves, Pilot, TA Travel Center, Petro, etc.

I know not to park near a refrigerated truck because of the all night noise.

I've never stayed in one these places and was wondering, what wonderful things I've been missing???

Thanks for your comments, Bob
Re: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144923
There are several things that I love about these places

They are free.
 You can check in the out any time you like and the price is still the same
 To make the most of a camp sight and get your moneys worth you need to check  in by 5 pm.
 If you weight to long you may have a hard time finding one with an open space.
 If noise bother you that much then pay the $50.00+ and have a quite sleep. But the price is what makes my ears ring. To me it is not much different than falling asleep in a chair with the TV blasting away in you ears.
 When I have the chance which is most of the time I park with the MH at the back of the 18 wheeler rather than next to his cab. This helps cut down on a good bit of the noise.
Re: [LD] RE: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144924
You seem to think that parking lots, whether at a truck stop or places like Wal-Mart, are the only places where one can stay for free overnight.  They aren't.  We rarely stay at RV parks (and certainly would NEVER pay $50 to do so!), we don't stay in parking lots (except sometimes perhaps a casino parking lot), yet we rarely ever pay to camp.

Linda Hylton

From: spambox41@...

Sent: ‎Thursday‎, ‎February‎ ‎6‎, ‎2014 ‎3‎:‎21‎ ‎PM
To: lifewithalazydazerv@yahoogroups.com

To make the most of a camp sight and get your moneys worth you need to check  in by 5 pm.
 If you weight to long you may have a hard time finding one with an open space.
 If noise bother you that much then pay the $50.00+ and have a quite sleep.
Linda Hylton
Re: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144925
It is either truck noise from one of these stops or train noise from an RV park which all seem to be located next to the tracks.  Not much difference to me.

Joe Hamm
Re: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144928
Linda, Would you feel safe boondocking where you do if you were traveling alone as a woman?

Nancy
Re: [LD] RE: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144931
Yes, actually.  We've never stayed any place where we felt unsafe...if we did, we'd leave.  The only time we've felt unsafe somewhere and did, in fact, turn around and leave was at an RV park!

Linda Hylton

From: Nancy

Sent: ‎Thursday‎, ‎February‎ ‎6‎, ‎2014 ‎5‎:‎27‎ ‎PM
To: lifewithalazydazerv@yahoogroups.com

Linda, Would you feel safe boondocking where you do if you were traveling alone as a woman? Nancy
Linda Hylton
Re: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #13 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144932
Thank you to everyone that replied to my truck stop question.  There were lots of good and varied opinions on the subject.

Bob
2000 MB
Re: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #14 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144933
In most of the newer stations there are separate parking lots for trucks and cars and the "car lots" often have "RV spaces" that will accommodate a motorhome with a toad.  May of the older stations, don't have "RV spaces" and you must go to the truck lot to park.  Unfortunately with older stations many truck lots were built only with "back-in" spaces which 18-wheelers can handle.  However, they don't work for motorhomes with a 4-down toad.  I've notice any number of these at older Flying J's.  Have stayed in a couple of truck stops, but really  prefer some place else.

Doug Baker
Re: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #15 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144934
"What has been your experience staying at a mega-gas station truck stop like Loves, Pilot, TA Travel Center, Petro, etc."

Tried it once at the Tucson Truck Terminal. Noisy as hell. Got very little sleep. Haven't done it since then.

Andy Baird
http://www.andybaird.com/travels
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #16 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144935
We often overnight at Walmart or truck stops--we especially like Flying J--and have not had any bad experiences---so far.

George
Re: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #17 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144936
Again there is a difference between a truck stop and a travel center. For overnight stays at several travel centers in California as well as on I-80 in Utah we parked in areas designated for cars etc. and well away of trucks. Our preference is Flying "J".

Aad

__
2001 MB
Re: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #18 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144941
So is there a way to know before you get to these places if they are travel centers or just plain truck stops?
Re: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #20 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144946
I started out on our full-timing adventures seven years ago using Walmarts and some truck stops.  We soon realized however, they weren't our cup of tea due to the noise, and not so friendly visitors at Walmart.  We now exclusively use Casinos and BLM land.  Never had any problems as we plan out our stops in advance.  We also travel fewer miles now and stay at a location for a longer time, part of the RV journey evolution I suspect.

I love all of the possible choices that RVing has to offer.

David

On  Thursday, February 6, 2014 5:26 PM, Nancy  wrote:
Re: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #21 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144949
If there are signs at a Walmart prohibiting overnight parking (rare where we travel), we'll ask at the customer service desk (no need to bother the manager). Most of the time it's "we don't care, it's the city's sign, and they don't do anything about it", and we'll go back out and park with the other RVs there. A few times, they've told us the city is adamant and will knock on our door, so we'll leave for another place.
Once, the WM security guy told us that, then directed us to a nearby Walmart in another town, where parking was OK.

Eric Greenwell

Adrianus Rommelse wrote, On 2/7/2014 10:26 AM:
2005 Jayco 24SS
Re: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #22 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144954
I have used small town hospital parking lots for a short snooze.   Very quite.  No gunshot or stabbing victims.  ER generally has no activity.

Paul

Paul A. Dixon, PC

Certified Public Accountant 2609 South Quebec Street, #11 Denver, CO 80231-6040

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Re: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #23 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144955
Linda Hylton... you said you dry camp most of the time. I do that also but sometimes it's an adventure finding a safe place to stay the night. Since you appear to spend a lot of time on the road I wonder if you'd be willing to share with us (me) some of the best ways you've found to find free and safe overnight stops. I tried to send this via private email but in the new Yahoo! I couldn't figure out how to do that. If you'd like to respond privately my email address is chuckx6@....

Thank you Linda......... Chuck in Bellevue
Re: [LD] RE: Loves, Pilot Truck Stop Overnight
Reply #24 –
Yahoo Message Number: 144956
Our most used resource for finding places is the Escapees' Day's End listings.  There are some websites that list free and inexpensive places that I use occasionally and would be a good resource for those who don't belong to the Escapees RV Club.
 http://freecampsites.net/usa/ http://www.freecampgrounds.com/

There's also Don Wright's "Guide to Free Campgrounds:"
 http://rvbookstore.com/shop/detail.aspx?m=2&p=1483

If you google "free campgrounds," you'll come up with other resources, too.

Linda Hylton

From: Chuckx6@...

Sent: ‎Saturday‎, ‎February‎ ‎8‎, ‎2014 ‎8‎:‎41‎ ‎AM
To: lifewithalazydazerv@yahoogroups.com

Linda Hylton... you said you dry camp most of the time. I do that also but sometimes it's an adventure finding a safe place to stay the night. Since you appear to spend a lot of time on the road I wonder if you'd be willing to share with us (me) some of the best ways you've found to find free and safe overnight stops. I tried to send this via private email but in the new Yahoo! I couldn't figure out how to do that. If you'd like to respond privately my email address is chuckx6@....

Thank you Linda......... Chuck in Bellevue
Linda Hylton