Sitting In Denver (Truck Stop Nightmare)

Sitting at the Pilot, in Denver waiting for my appointment in the morning. (They couldn't bump my appointment up)

This place.....S#%^ !

I had to make my own line on the ground, because you can't see the paint, and people are parked like jerks. Watching traffic come close to taking the nose of my truck off, (I was in an actual parking spot) I moved to a corner spot and nosed in.

Sitting at the Pilot, in Denver waiting for my appointment in the morning. (They couldn't bump my appointment up)

This place.....S#%^ !

I had to make my own line on the ground, because you can't see the paint, and people are parked like jerks. Watching traffic come close to taking the nose of my truck off, (I was in an actual parking spot) I moved to a corner spot and nosed in.

So they can take the ICC bumper off your trailer?

Guess that might work a little better - at least it doesn't down the tractor...

Rick

Pilots and Flying J's have always been a mess. I mean, did they really have to determine the minimum possible distance a truck needs to get backed into a spot and then build their lots to those specs? My God if they would expand the parking lot by even 50 feet it would feel roomy in there!

Tim Horton's does the same thing. Every time I go through the drive thru with my pickup I feel like a fat kid trying to squeeze into a pair of spandex. Give a brother some room, will ya???? Geesh!

Actually one of the earliest revelations I had when travelling the country early on in my career was how utterly vacant 95% of the land is in this country. People complain about overpopulation. Yeah, in the cities! Have you seen Arizona? Have you seen Utah? Have you driven across the 800+ miles of empty land in Texas? Spread out people! And for the sake of our sanity will you please build your parking lots a little bigger?

So they can take the ICC bumper off your trailer?

Guess that might work a little better - at least it doesn't down the tractor...

Oh that's a lot better option for sure. Ask ChickieMonster. She parked in a corner spot where people had to maneuver around her and someone took off the nose of her truck. That began a nightmare of sitting in hotels, playing musical trucks, getting on flights home for medications, and all sorts of problems.

Yeah, if you're forced to park in a vulnerable spot and you can do it in such a way that protects the tractor you certainly want to do it. The back of those trailers are built like tanks. The tractor bodies and bumpers are mostly fiberglass and plastic.

Denver is parking hell. I can't believe the time I got a straight back spot at ta west at 1800. Talk about luck. Better off reserving a spot or going to the terminal , but our terminal can be hell to get in and out of too, depending on the time of year.

I cringe when I read stuff like this.

Nosing-in always seems a viable option until attempting to back out of the same spot 10 hours later. Observed this several times while fueling.

Although some stops are designed for nosing, those that aren't may be far more difficult to exit the spot by backing out of it later.

I cringe when I read stuff like this.

Nosing-in always seems a viable option until attempting to back out of the same spot 10 hours later. Observed this several times while fueling.

Although some stops are designed for nosing, those that aren't may be far more difficult to exit the spot by backing out of it later.

Trust me, this was not my first plan. I hate nosing in unless it's a straight shot out, and then I only do it if there isn't something better

I cringe when I read stuff like this.

Nosing-in always seems a viable option until attempting to back out of the same spot 10 hours later. Observed this several times while fueling.

Although some stops are designed for nosing, those that aren't may be far more difficult to exit the spot by backing out of it later.

Trust me, this was not my first plan. I hate nosing in unless it's a straight shot out, and then I only do it if there isn't something better

I didn't think so...not your first rodeo.

You guys should drop by our local pilot in Springdale, AR sometime. I've seen a taco Bell with a bigger parking area.

I tell you what. Brett is absolutely right. It was a complete nightmare... And I nosed into spots for quite awhile after that. Call it gun shy I guess.

But I eventually moved on and started backing in again. Although I'll never take an end spot again unless there's nothing else available. And I still get really nervous watching people back in next to me. Like right now. We're in North Carolina and a lot of their rest areas are parallel parking. I've got a sidewall blown on the trailer so I pulled into this one behind a bull hauler at the end of the line. But he just left. And I know someone is gonna try to park in front of me.......