Annoyance At Truck Stops

So I'm at a loves in Pa for a 34 and several times as I'm about to fall asleep I have been abruptly rattled awake by two different "cool" old long hoods with straight pipes that felt a need to jakebrake to slow down, one for a turn to the fuel island and the other...well who knows why. Both times it was so loud, like a train in my cab with me. So my question, are those that do that just A-hole super truckers or is it just the way their trucks work cause they are older so no mufflers? Seems to be mighty inconsiderate to me, kinda like the guy who upgrades his stereo and wants you to feel his bass too.

Solution: Don't park at truck stops!

We should have a discussion about alternatives to truck stop parking for those of us who like to avoid truck stops if possible. Gotta fill up there, but I try to find somewhere more peaceful for my 34.

Try ear plugs. I sleep at Truck stops every night. I like my morning routine and shower before I start my clock. Our trucks are well insulted and I don't hear much outside.

These folks are using their loud pipes the same way the kids use their annoyingly loud car stereos: “Look how cool I am! Pay attention to ME!” Park as far away from the building and fuel pumps as possible, thus avoiding most of the noisy traffic. Jake brakes throughout the parking lots at under 10 mph are never necessary. I typically only use mine on the interstate. I tried to be parked for the day by 1400, asleep by 1600, and doing the next day’s pre-trip NLT 0200. Early to bed and early to rise allows me to miss the biggest rush hours at the truck stops, which are from dawn to 0800, then from 1600 to 1800.

I sleep with a fan on so I dont usually hear much either but the abrupt rumblings of noise you can FEEL as well as hear are what gets me. Even refers dont bother me. It is a fairly rare occurrence that it happens but like I mentioned, twice in one break. When I hit this loves and shutdown I had 19 minutes on my 70 so no choice as to where to shut down, however I do prefer truckstops as they have food, shower, restroom, laundry and other people. Bruce, what kinds of places do you seek out for peaceful 34s?

Rest areas, weigh stations, casinos, walmarts, even adult toy stores. old smaller truck stops. Most people go to chains for showers and food. take care of that stuff along the way then find a small place with lots of parking but a dinky store. Even restaurants with truck parking.

I have slept in the back of various truck stops only to find a train track running along side the place.

weigh stations in FL, MD, IN, GA are great. No one wants to go in cause they fear DOT. Do your job and you have no need to worry.

When you are talking Northeast, those places can be hard to find.

Jake braking in the parking lot is considered "cool," but only by a small minority. By small I mean about as many drivers as shut down for the much anticipated "Black Smoke Matters" nation-wide shut down - that's still debatable, but it was somewhere between 8 and 15 truckers.

Michael, I'm influenced by my instructors and trainers, like most new drivers. It's the teacher/pupil thing. My road trainer and another instructor that I really admired, avoided truck stops if they could, even for the 10 hr. DOT. My trainer didn't mind the noise or hustle/bustle of truck stops, he was focused on the fact that so many accidents happen at truck stops. PackRat mentioned going to truck stops at their slow times, and that was part of his strategy also. At Schneider, we have many OC locations and drop lots, so we are encouraged to take advantage of that considerable asset in our trip planning.

I like to seek out industrial parks, large parking lots of big retailers, rest areas, weigh station parking lots (just avoid the impound/out of service sections, lol). Someone may correct me on this, but large strip malls with large, truck friendly parking lots are great places because nobody has ever questioned me or asked me to move, and there are lots of places to go for whatever shopping or eating you need. Some McDonalds have truck parking.

Every driver has his or her own preferences. I like to park in the more quieter places because I prepare ahead of time and have little need of outside amenities. I basically have bathroom facilities with me in the truck and can take sponge type baths, always eat in the truck, have my books, phone, 12V cooler. So I can park in the boonies somewhere and be perfectly content. It just takes a little creative searching and in most locations I drive in, there are numerous alternatives to truck stops.

Also invest in earplugs. When I was teaming it was a a daily retuial putting them in for sleep. As a solo driver you try to park in quiet areas but for a 34... I'm parking some place with showers. So I'll either be wearing earplugs or I'll put on YouTube "sleep music" videos playing through Bluetooth on the truck stereo. Seriously try it once.

I sleep like a rock usually and prefer the sounds of other trucks, so it doesn't bother me. When I her home, I usually sleep bad. Maybe I should play some idling truck sounds when I'm sleeping.