Best way to maximize drive time and find safe place to stop

by Road Doll
(NC)

Just came acroos the site thank you!! I was looking for info/tips on the best way to maximize your drive hours while being able to find a safe haven at the end of the day...

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Aug 13, 2015
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by: TimeTorn

Parking generally starts filling up at around 5pm local time and starts to empty right before sunrise. If you are a long haul Trucker, or you're dealing with 24 hour shipping facilities, do your driving at night. I start at around 6-8pm and park for my sleeper 5-10 am depending on my location, and how much of my time was burned at load/unload.

If you are driving west, start right after sunset because you will be chasing it while it's glaring in your face for hours if you leave too early. Unless it's cloudy. Sunrise isn't so bad if you're driving east, it's generally over quickly, but it wouldn't overpass)leave earlier so you can avoid the morning glare. The sunshine does help to get that 2nd wind if you're feeling pretty beat down.

Drivers tend to favor truck stops on the right side of the road, and they generally stop at the first truck stop they see when coming into town. So if you missed the 5pm parking window, look for stops on the left as you're coming into a town, stops on the right as you're leaving town. Rest stops and truck parking areas that are accessible to only 1 direction of traffic (no overpass) right as you leave a city with multiple truck stops are the most reliable places to find easy parking after the 5pm window.

If you see trucks on the ramps, you probably won't find any easy legal parking. Best to not even bother. Pulling into an over-parked truck stop when it's dark is a bad idea. Beware of illegally parked trucks, desperate/lazy drivers park where they shouldn't be, making it a hazard for other drivers trying to navigate through the parking lot. watch your trailer constantly, cut your corners as wide as possible. If you need to stop for food/restroom, pull through the fuel isle, stop as if you are fueling, run in, do your thing, and move on to safer parking.

Check with your pick up/drop off locations to find out if overnight parking is available. If you're working for a big company, look for company terminals around the end of your shift. These are all safe, reliable places to park if you miss the 5pm window.

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