Hotels... How Often Do You Stay In Them?

I'm relatively new to the industry. I got my CDL in November of 2022 and took a kind of bottom of the barrel LTL job delivering wholesale building products to lumberyards. After 6 month of doing that, I was able to hook up with a small outfit which is dedicated primarily to one account. Now I run from central Minnesota to Gas City, IN. From there I go to Nashville, unload the rest of my load, pick up a load of rough cut lumber about an hour southwest of Nashville and bring it back to Minnesota.

Shortly after I started this run I noticed a Days Inn in Kuttawa, KY that had a large gravel parking lot right next to it which happens to be right in the range of where I have about 45 minutes of drive time left for the day. $80/night. Damn is that worth it! The older I get, the more I have started to appreciate the simple things in life like being able to soak in a hot tub, stretch out in a real bed, and watch a full sized TV. Very good little diner right across the parking lot, too!

Thanks for pointing out that hotel! I found it right away when I looked it up on google maps.

I just started doing OTR again a couple months ago and so far I’ve stayed in a hotel for the weekend once for a 34. I think I might do it about once a month. It is nice to get out of the truck every so often

When I drove for Schneider I never had to pay for a hotel room. The trucks I had broke down so much, the company paid for a room PLUS I got a whopping $54 per day breakdown pay!

Now, my truck is super reliable so I lost that previous perk. And I’m too cheap to pay for a room. I’ve been accused of being so tight that when I fart, only dogs can hear it.

When I take my rare hometime, there is a nice motel about 4 miles from where I park. It has a water park that I can use all day with a huge hot tub and swimming pool. A day pass costs only $10. Showers and towels provided. But I prefer to sleep in my bunk. I’ve gotten so used to it, that I sleep better there than anywhere else.

$80 is $80, lol

For 6 years i lived on my truck. I got rooms a couple times a month. I kept a google maps list of hotels with truck parking. All la quinta, best western plus, and holiday inn express.

When I'm out for extended periods of time, I'll take a couple days off, fly the Mrs out to where I'm at and do hotels. It's way easier and keeps me tolling instead of having to route home time.

Knight also is really good about covering hotels if I need one during truck repairs or doing a recovery for them.