Over nighting at Pilot or Flying J

I have seen various comments about over nighting at Pilots or Flying J truck stops.
Has any one done this and can comment on it ?

Do you have to register ?  Are we welcome ? Is there a cost ?, etc

Jack L

We did it years ago, once. No, there is no registration. Just find a place next to all the other trucks and park. Will the business welcome you? Yes. Your money is a good as anyone's. Will the dozens of other trucks parked there too? Depends.  Some truckers feel "territorial" about truck stops, and feel that RV's don't belong there.  Others don't care at all.

Usually the only cost is if you fill with fuel, eat, or shop in the store, which the business hopes you will. The real cost for us was the crummy night's sleep due to the trucks coming and going all night, and some trucks with run their refer units all night, so it will be loud.

I would only stay at truck stop these days if it was an emergency, like being broken down. Just my opinion, others will give you their own.

Flying J usually has RV parking separate from trucks. Much more friendly than truck parking.

SargeW said:

I would only stay at truck stop these days if it was an emergency, like being broken down. Just my opinion, others will give you their own.

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Good points Marty.  I recently stayed at a truck stop under duress - waiting for a wrecker to tow us the last 50 miles when our Allison tranny checked out on us.  This was a small and very old truck stop on a four lane divided highway located pretty much in the middle  of nowhere but it was amazing how many trucks came and went  in the four hours we were there and NONE took on a drop of fuel.  Either a great cafe or a good pill supplier.  Never went inside to check.

As has been noted, the main drawback to parking with the semi's is the noise from their reefer or gennys all night long. The few times we have stopped at a P/FJ we found a spot as far from the trucks as possible. Other than that, the price is right. Between P/FJ, Walmarts, and Cracker Barrels, we did a 2-week trip across country in 2012 and only had to pay to stay three times, and one of those was a three-night stay in SLC for a convention.

I have stayed at Flying J twice in an emergency and one other time because it was convenient to the train station where I had to drop off my traveling friend at 3am. We arrived in the early evening to look over the safety factor of the truck stop, we ended up dining at their Denny's and staying in their lot until ready to depart for the train. Afterwards, I was able to return to the Flying J and sleep until I felt rested enough to drive. The closest campground was an hour away and the truck stop was only 10 minutes away, so it worked for me.

Park in the RV or car lot. Do not take up truck parking. Truckers are limited by strict laws the number of hours they can drive and need those spots for rest. An RV-er falls under no such laws.

On one occasion I believe the truckers became irate at an insensitive soul who pulled in with a 45 foot diesel pusher towing a big jeep. He then parked along the curb perpendicular to the truck spaces which made it quite difficult on the other truckers pulling in and out. The next morning, incredibly, the RV-er had 3 flat tires, 1 on the jeep, 2 on the RV. Such bad luck! The two parking lots were clearly separated by grass medians and well marked with signs. Read and obey.

On another occasion I saw a couple in a big RV ignore the car and RV lot sign, sail passed the truckers only sign, then park in their lot. Two truckers pulled in and each one parked about a foot or less from his rig on both sides. They couldn't even get out their door or see out their side windows. Their mirrors appeared to be an inch from the trucks. It pays to read the signs and obey.

Personally I feel like when I boondock at a business that yes, I should spend money at their establishment as a courtesy. Those parking lots didn't go up for free.

The problem with Flying J was that when I went in their well stocked store, there was the aroma of fresh baked pizza, so doggy and I had pizza for dinner. The next morning I went in for juice and there was fresh baked sausage biscuits so the happy pooch and I had that. They also carry a ton of useful RV parts and just about anything made for 12 volt living. It would have been cheaper for me to pay camp rent, cook at home and not shop their store.  ;D The puppy wanted to stay forever, he liked the good eats.

In one case the weather was disagreeable and I needed to run my generator. For $1 more I could have camped at the state park up the road, so there was no substantial savings.  :

Check ahead, not all Pilots allow parking, though all the Flying J's do. I have been at Pilots that had a plethora of signs warning there was no parking or loitering or over nighting for RV's.

I try to plan my trips to take in campgrounds and slow down, rest, relax and enjoy. I know some folks are forced into driving back to back days because of their chaotic schedules, but whenever you can, take time to enjoy the journey.  8)

If you have chosen to boondock at a truck stop, you can't justify complaints about noisy truckers. It's the nature of the beast. 

Campgrounds have quiet hours, pay for them and enjoy. 

I often stay at truck stops especially if I am meandering south in the fall or back north in the spring. My style of traveling is to often pull off for 4 - 5 hours for a nap time or just to rest and then driving a couple hundred miles more.

I always park in truck stalls, and never park in the auto parking area. I'm always towing and don't understand why any long RV would ever park in the auto area.

It should go without saying that truckers use the facilities of a rest area or truck stop and the parking stalls closest to the facilities should be left unoccupied for them. I usually park immediately upon entering a rest area or in the outback of a truck stop because I don't use their facilities, with the exception of buying gas.

I don't have a problem sleeping with a truck running its refer on both sides of me cuz I always have music playing anyway. Maybe I'm just lucky or maybe it's the fact that my parents owned a small truck stop and I'm more understanding than most.

I have never seen or personally heard of any trucker taking revenge on an RVer for parking next to them. I'm more concerned with the Suburban pulling a TT with a load of tired, bored kids looking for some entertainment. Truckers are just trying to make a living and the driving restrictions placed on them makes that difficult enough without attracting additional police attention.

I often travel I-35 and stage at one of the Plaza rest areas because it is so convenient. I'm sure there are others designed like those in Kansas, but at one end of the Plaza is a huge area that truckers rarely use. The outside of this area has a curb onto a green belt area which is ideal for pulling parallel to and extending slides over the curb and onto the green area. Reasonably quiet too.

We have a few times when we were racing and just needed a place to pull over for a few hours and get some shut eye.  I had a hard time sleeping in some of them as some are definitely more noisy than others.  However, the wife hated it.  I looked at it merely from a money savings and convenience standpoint as it was easier to pull 72' of coach and trailer into a truck stop and back into a parking spot than finding a campground that could accomodate our length on short notice.

We don't do it often now but I wouldn't say we won't ever use one in the future if absolutely necessary and there were no other option.

Mike.

It is a last choice for us, and thus have only had to use one once when stopped by snow

I've done it twice now I think.
Both times in the auto lot, not the truck area.

Following advice read here in other threads, we asked.  Seemed like they had the attitude... "of course you can, why are you asking such a stupid question?  Just park anywhere you like..."

Not my first choice, or my second choice, or third, or.... but I'd do it again if I needed to.

Howdy,

Only once we tried overnighting at a truck stop; it was at the Mad Greek in Baker/CA, and their parking lot was crazily busy .

We simply did not feel OK there, and after about 20 minutes we moved over to the parking lot behind the local USPS office (our reason for sleeping at Baker, as we had a General Delivery parcel waiting for us there) and slept well and no one bothered us.

Cheers,
--
  Vall.

Quillback 424 said:

I always park in truck stalls, and never park in the auto parking area. I'm always towing and don't understand why any long RV would ever park in the auto area.

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An awful lot of the truck parking at truck stops is back-in, which we can't do with a flat-towed car.  So I like it when a place has long pull-thrus in the auto area, and definitely use them.

And I've had 18-wheelers park in those spots next to me, so if an RV parks in the back, it's not necessarily depriving a truck of a space.

Do you have to register ?  Are we welcome ? Is there a cost ?, etc

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We generally go to campgrounds because they are more quiet and relaxing.  On the rare occasion when we need a quick place to stop, we prefer places like Wal-Mart or some other shopping area (unless posted no overnight parking) because truck stops are not very restful.  In addition to being noisy, there can be a lot of diesel fumes if the weather and breezes are just right.  Don't like that at all!

The others have answered your questions, but I'll add mine - No, Yes, Not for parking.  Interestingly, I've never noticed truck stops with signs prohibiting RVs from parking in the truck area.  Maybe that's more common in the east?  I do see signs about not dropping trailers but those are for the truckers.  And we don't stay in rest areas which are designed for very short-term use and often prohibit overnight parking.  We prefer to leave them for the truckers who don't have the luxury of time like we RVers do.

ArdraF

We hurried to get a Pilot Flying J credit card before driving cross-country because it promised .06/gallon discount on diesel.  As we made our way from North Carolina to San Diego, we planned to stop at PFJ's at night and refuel as thanks.  What we discovered was that PFJ's price for diesel was invariably much higher than at other stations, sometimes as much as .26 more, so we never used the card. Why would truckers pay more for gas than they have to -- do they get a commercial rate that is lower than RV's?

As for Walmart parking, at one in Tucumcari NM there were numerous orange signs posted forbidding overnight parking.  We arrived in the afternoon and asked a guy who was already parked what the story was.  He said that the municipality had passed the ordinance and insisted on having the signs posted, but that Walmart willfully ignored it.  Sure enough, by sunset the place was packed with overnighters.  I have heard, however, that not all Walmarts allow overnighting and that it's a good idea to check beforehand.

not all Walmarts allow overnighting and that it's a good idea to check beforehand.

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This is true.  When you see signs posted in WalMart parking lots it's usually because the community objects to overnight parkers and has passed ordinances against the practice.  Some are really tough and you will be rousted in the middle of the night if you disobey the signs.  I wouldn't even ask inside if there are signs.  Some in tourist destinations (California, Florida, Maine) are really strict.  The last time we visited Bar Harbor they wouldn't even allow RV parking in parking lots during the daytime.  It may have changed but we were told there was one parking lot where RV parking was allowed and that NO RV parking was allowed at night in any public or private parking lot inside the city limits.  The person who told us that owned a business there and said he personally had no problem with it but that the police would wake you up and make you move.  We figured that Bar Harbor was so RV-unfriendly that they didn't want our business and left.

ArdraF

In the past we stopped at many truckstops, but our life and travel was different than now.
Since we no longer need to travel long distances in a few days, we probably only used truckstops a few times a year.
In years past truckers were more cordial to RVers. They also were mostly pretty good drivers. I no longer will park in the truck yard for two reasons: 1, too many truckers seem to recent RVers taking "their" spot and 2, some of them are just not great drivers and I don't feel comfortable with their skill to back-in next to me. I've also watched some drivers have a good deal of difficulty backing into our docks at work.

I now only stop at truckstops that have separate RV parking that is long enough to accommodated our 62 ft length. BTW their are Truckstops other than FJ that have RV parking. Example: In Corning, CA there is a Loves with long RV parking spaces (OK it was built as a Flying J, but sold to Loves) and a TA with long RV only spaces.

I do not stay at Walmarts for personal reasons, but we do stop at Casinos and have found some very nice ones - both free dry camp and inexpensive ones with HUs.

ken

We stayed at a Flying J two times when campground / RV parks were sold out and we were in transit thru the state. Both times at the rear parking area od Denny's, parking after 10PM, gone by 6AM. Quiet and no problems. The truck parking areas were full both times.

Reggie

We've found most truck stop parking areas to be noisy and smelly, so not at all attractive for an overnight (except for the price!). Trucks come & go at all hours, people talking loudly, engines/reefers running, etc.  Have also tried Walmarts, Sam's Clubs, a K-Mart, a Home Depot, and several other parking lot venues and often found them to be surprisingly busy all night, with trucks & cars moving in & out at all hours. And sometimes some disreputable looking/acting characters in them.  Have pretty much given up on all of them unless there is some overwhelming reason, e.g. nothing else available in an area.

We've never experienced any grief from the truckers, but have also never taken the last available spot. We always tried to park well away from anybody else, for our own peace as well as their convenience, but that is not always possible.

ArdraF said:

This is true.  When you see signs posted in WalMart parking lots it's usually because the community objects to overnight parkers and has passed ordinances against the practice.  Some are really tough and you will be rousted in the middle of the night if you disobey the signs.  I wouldn't even ask inside if there are signs.

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One time we were traveling thru Oshkosh, WI and it was getting late, so we pulled into the local Walmart. Every light pole had a no overnite parking sign on it. I went inside to inquire if maybe they had spaces available in the back of the store or could recommend someplace we could go. They said not to worry, the signs were strictly to keep students at the nearby U of WI-Oskkosh campus from using the lot for semester long parking. Weren't bothered by anyone all nite long and one or two other RVs pulled in as well.

The best for Wall Mart's is to go inside and ask  the manager if you can spend the nite... 99% will give you a spot to park.