RESEARCH - Truck Parking Facility

I am considering construction of a truck parking lot at Exit 58, Interstate 55 in Southeast Missouri.

The facility will be located adjacent to Love's, will be lighted and secured by chain link fence and will offer IdleAire.

A building will be at the property that will have bathrooms, a lounge, and a Country Music USA store.

I'm trying to determine if a facility such as this is of interest to anyone.

If you are interested, please respond with suggestions.

Thanks - David Bird

. . for parking if a driver chooses not to use idleair?

I think IA is a little bit ahead of it's time. Until more states adopt anti-idling laws, there really is no benefit and then, the real benefit is only necessary in extremely cold or hot weather.

My #1 consideration when choosing a place to park, other than access to the parking facility itself, is internet access. If you're going to be near a Love's, the access should already be there. In fact, if I owned land near a truckstop, the first thing I would do is put up a (competing)hotspot and work out a deal with COMDATA to process payments.

bigtimbah,
I've talked to a few truckers since I posted my message and they seem to think the same about IA.....may rethink that one...

As respects the hotspot to process Comcheck...would that be to pay for the parking?

Thanks - David Bird

. . the internet access and, now that you've mentioned it, the parking, too.

I'm the type that will not use a credit card online . . too many unsrupulous employees out there. On the other hand, COMDATA is pretty much a closed system and of little interest to anyone outside the world of trucking.

We can always use another truckstop.

Idle Air is OK, but be sure and offer reasonably priced quality fuel and clean facilities.

Also forget about charging to park. Your competion at that exit will kill you since they don't charge.

Thanks but we're building a parking lot, not a truck stop...parking spots at the truck stops at this exit are full by 6 - 8:00 p.m. Trucks are parking on ramps, an adjacent city street, and a vacant lot that is soon to be closed...

With truck parking getting more and more scarse a place to park that is secure and clean is always good to come upon.From what i have seen idle air is more of an obstical at truck stops and in most places forces the driver to back out into the traffic lane at the truck stop.If you have room on your lot and freight shipments in your area warrent the need you may want to consider adding a scale. I understand cat scales will install and maintain their scales and pay you for their operation.Offer drivers a fair price for parking and you should do well.

Make it a membership deal :

Then physically attack all the rat bags who tresspass without a membership card.

Angle the lot so you can flood all the garbage (and human waste) to one side of it and sweep it up with a street sweeper.,, DAILY

Build a soundwall in front of the reefer only area.

Cattle trucks park near the washout pit!

. . answer a question for me. Why don't truck stops offer a shuttle? I would think a flate rate, fixed route and regular schedule would be a winner.

Liability can be rated out. I know they would prefer to keep the money on the property but let's face it, 34 hours at a truck stop isn't exactly my idea of a good time. Cabs can be prohibitively unreliable and expensive and I don't know of too many truck stops that are convenient to a bus line.

I wouldn't pay to park anywhere. Just my two cents for what it's worth.

I will drive 20 miles out of the way to avoid paying $5.00 for a place to park. I am not cheap by any means, but in my opinion, it's crazy, especially when I want to park somewhere and go in and spend MY money for a shower, food, supplies, etc. If you want to attract drivers, then build a restaurant and up the prices of the food in lieu of driver's paying to park. Do something, other than charge a fee cause I know MANY DRIVERS will see the fee and keep on going to the next exit.

I would continue to park wherever I could find a safe spot. Besides, I've been known to head off the beaten path anyway in search of a nice place to park my rig and have found QUITE a few nice little mom and pop places and little cubby holes here and there.

Uh-uh...not me. You may find some willing to do so, but I'll work around it in any way shape or form and I know A LOT of drivers who feel the same way.

GG