Towed From A Truck Stop

So my truck got towed after taking a 34. I was supposed to go home for home time, but my company could not find me a load home. My girlfriend drove to Chicago, Illinois, to spend the weekend with me. After we went back to see my truck, it was gone. I learned today that if you need to park your truck for 34 hours and are in a big city, you need to park it outside the city. This is a lesson that is going to cost me over $1600 in towing fees. It'll probably cost me more than that since I don't have $1600. The company I work for mentioned they can't advance me that much on a weekend to get the truck and trailer out of the impound. So here I sit in a hotel thinking about what I learned. All I can say is that it sucks to get your truck and trailer towed. I'm unsure what my paychecks will look like with all the deductions already coming out and having to pay the company back with interest. After talking with the clerk at the truck stop where I was towed, I learned that even if I were to walk to a Walmart and leave my truck there, it still would've been towed. He said the sign was posted, and I read the sign. The sign said all unauthorized vehicles would be towed. I'm not sure what an unauthorized vehicle is, but I qualified. Don't leave your truck if you have to park at a city truck stop.

TA truck stops used to charge $18 per day parking(may have went up like everything else) Not sure if that would be say for like 3 days(weekend?) option. At least it'd been cheaper than a tow. Never had seen a truck towed because of that. And there were a few times, we sat in a truck stop for days sometimes, due to weather or no load over a weekend......

Sorry you had to experience this, and it all works out in the end !!

Which truck stop in Chicago was this? Sounds like one of the smaller (10-15 spaces) ones. You should be okay at the larger brands, Pilot/Flying J, Love’s, T/A, Petro… but in Chicago those are mostly located on the outskirts… and when they have restrictions on parking, they usually display them very prominently. Really sorry this happened to you, that’s a real gut punch. I suggest downloading the Trucker Path app… Whenever I have questions about parking at a particular truckstop, I locate it in that app, and read the reviews… They’ll usually tell you if parking is free or paid, if there are restrictions on parking, etc. The free version provides all this.

First I feel for your situation and I know it is a bummer.

I have read through your post a few times. You don’t say a few things that are very important.

First where was your truck parked?

Second why are you responsible for the tow bill?

After reading this I’m going to guess you were parked on private property somewhere without the proper permission to do so. Truck stops are considered private property. Most major truck stops would most likely not even noticied anything weird in that short amount of time. Small ones notice alot more quickly just because they are small.

When a sign says unauthorized take that to mean you need permission to be on the property.

I’m also guessing you are leasing a truck since you say you have to pay for the tow. I’m not trying to beat you up, but from your bio info you don’t appear to have anywhere enough experience to be leasing, and you don’t have necessary capital to work with.

What would you have done with a breakdown??

Companies often tell people they will help them with repairs. They use that as a selling point. In reality, they evaluate any request for an advance like that on a case by case basis. In no way is it a guarantee. It usually comes down to the amount and how good a driver is.

These are general comments I don’t know your exact situation.

You have learned some lessons the hard way and will take you some time to climb out of this hole.

I wish you the best.