RV parks and many public campgrounds are getting more crowded all the time. It can be difficult to get a space without a reservation — days, weeks, even a year ahead. For some, an overnight stop in a Walmart works for grabbing a night of sleep. But what if a truck stop were to offer a dedicated site with an electric hookup for $15 a night? Would you stay?
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I would pay $15 a nite at a truck stop when all other options have been exhausted. Reason, most truck stops are noisy, some can be very noisy. I wouldn’t want to pay for a bad nite’s sleep unless it was my last option. BTW I avoid truck stops except for fueling up both my RV and my body….
I always have reservations. But if I needed a spot to sleep $15. is cheap. Also it’s great for midnight munchies.
How about $1 / hour? $1 / 40 minutes in cold or hot weather?
We just came cross country … CA to FL. We needed to get to FL in a hurry and spent nights in truck stops and rest areas. Can’t see paying $50 for a KOA or other campground when I’m only going to be there from 9 pm to 6 am. I wouldn’t mind paying $15 if I was guaranteed a spot. We can get fuel, grab a bite to eat, get a few hours of sleep and get moving early.
If this comes to fruition 1-Allow the end users to reserve spaces on-line 2-Utlize a little bit of the start up $$ to advertise that these spots are for weary RV travelers (if we use it..they will build more)
Absolutely NOT! Truck stops are setup for trucks with a lot of back-in spots plus they are the noisiest places to stop and get some sleep. I will only stop at one if there are no other choices within 50 miles or an hours drive. It has been years since last stopping at a truck stop to sleep.
They exist on the turnpikes in Ohio & Pennsylvania. Some of the turnpike service areas have separate sections for rvers, away from the main truck parking areas, but the sites are too short for many rvs. They’re only about 35-40 ft deep, not deep enough for a truck towing a fifth wheel over 30 ft. & they cost $20/night for 20/30/50 amp hook-up. The ones we saw had very few rvs in them. Most rvers were staying in the truck parking areas for free.
MAYBE!!! But, the space would have to be big enough to at least put out the Bedroom Slide! Otherwise, NO WAY! Plus, you would have to have some kind of security, which MOST Truck stops Don’t have!
I said probably but rarely: only if there was a dire emergency for me or my dog.
We overnight at truck stops only if we cannot find a Walmart we can get our 44’ into/out of or a nice, secure rest area. Truck stops are noisy and often really congested.
I found out that the OHIO Turnpike has some over night RV stops for $20 a night with electic, water and a dump station. They don’t take up much real estate on the property. Probably not a big money maker but the one I stopped at was full by morning. This might be the solution to the number of RV’s being sold versus the lack of places to stop overnight while in route.
Too noisy for me.
would stay one night traveling between campgrounds.
Since we both use CPAP machines yes, I’d gladly pay $15 for overnight electric.
I would stay,if it was a dedicated spot AWAY FROM TRUCKS.In my past life,I always said I had to smell burning diesel fuel to get a good night’s sleep.
Those days are gone! running trucks and reefers are not enjoyable at all any more.
I think any site that will let you hook up for the note is worth paying for
Yes they can be noisy but sure are convenient at times. While traveling in the west we stayed at Flying Js. Can get fuel propane food shower water. So yes I would pay to get power at times. But we dry camp 75 % of the time
We prefer nice quiet campgrounds, but sometimes they are not available. We don’t mind staying in Walmart parking lots, but we can’t put out our slides, and it’s really cramped with them pulled in. We would gladly pay $15 for a level spot where we could extend our slides for a night.
There is no reason not to extend your slides for a one-night setup, even at Wal-Mart. Don’t put the grill or awning out though and make sure you don’t put your leveled down if it’s hot.
The point of plugging in is to not have to run your generator. If I’d have to hear generators and smell diesel fumes all night, $20 is too steep, $10 maybe. If the RV area is far enough away from the trucks to avoid generators and fumes, then possibly.
Don’t know where I got $20. Better go refill my coffee cup.
for sure but must be away from the noisy trucks
I’m happy using Walmarts, as long as they exist. I make sure to spend some $$ there as a thank you – either the night or the goods are effectively free.
I can’t believe anyone would say yes to this. I mean with all the noise and many inconsiderate truck drivers, it is foolish to even consider it. I have traveled cross country trips and won’t consider anything else but Wal Marts, Cracker Barrel, Sam’s, Cabela’s, Bass, etc.
I would definitely use this type of service if I needed power, rather than running the generator all night for air conditioning. When we are on longer direct runs (we did Hartford to Phoenix via Jacksonville after Thanksgiving a two years ago), we like a two day on, two nights off approach. Two 6-8 hour driving days with a boondock between, then two nights in a campground of some sort. When power is needed, this $15 option would be very welcome. If we couldn’t reserve in advance, we’d just plan to run the generator as that’s what it’s for.
Over the years, we’ve noticed that some truck stop chains have done similar things for truckers. Many TA stops have bays with air conditioning ducts drivers can stick in a cab window to avoid running the engine all night. Pilot/J has begun allowing drivers to reserve spots with their app. Doing similar things for RVs is a logical next step.
On this summer’s journey, we noticed that the Pilot in Stanfield, Oregon, actually has an RV Park “out back”, but it’s more of a full-service campground than an overnight stop. Same for the casino in Corning, California.
We have a Class B motorhome and fit in a regular car parking spot. No slides. Stop over in truck stops all the time. Usually park at the outside of the restaurant parking lot at truck stops. Have only been a few times where it was hot enough to fire up the gennie. Would have been glad to pay the $15 those nights.
Only if they had water and a dump station available
Yes would be very helpful
We has stayed several times on the Ohio Turnpike in their RV spots for $15 a night.
As I have but its $20 a night. And the rest area has Panera Bread!!
If it’s level and quiet, with a marked RV ONLY space wide enough that I can open my door to leave the rig, then yes. But too many Truck Stop “RV Spaces” aren’t level. too many are filled with autos and trucks, and some are so narrow that when 2 RVs are parked in adjacent spaces, there isn’t room to even open the door to exit the RV.
Most of the larger truck stops are very noisy. The big rigs keep on rolling all night long. Not to mention the reefer drivers keeping their genny’s running to keep their cargoes cool. Not me. I would rather stay in a Walmart or other spot if only for a night.
You must be joking! We stayed at a truck stop once and never will again. It was so noisy with trucks coming and going all night.
Yes if not by truck and noise. We usually leave the rest and truck stops for the trucks. We stayed at a rest stop in Nebraska between two trucks one night when the wind was blowing like crazy and had to get off the road.
Too noisy
We’ve spent many nights in truck stops. I would only be willing to pay if it was extremely hot and we needed to run air conditioner for cooling.
I agree with a lot of the comments that the average truck stop is just too noisy. BUT, there are exceptions as we have one close to our home base that has plenty of room on the auto/rv side to install this type of system.
Now somebody should suggest this to Walmart and that would be a win-win!
In my working years, the sound of a reefer next to me was like “white noise”.
Now that I’m retired – not so much, but I can still sleep with the noise, and wifey doesn’t mind it. We have a favorite spot at a truck stop in Wells, NV. Truck noise, and right next to the RR tracks. Ya can’t beat it – HA.
But, I’m not up for paying. We look for (and remember) the free spots.
We are very familiar with the Truck Stop in Wells … probably 20 nites over many trips between Gardnerville, NV and Butte. Would stop there again anytime! Sounds like a lot of people are giving up Rving for a motel on wheels! And yes, some WalMarts say ‘NO’ to slides extended.
The reason not to put slides out at Walmart is that it increases the probability that the store will close to RVers
I would be happy to pay $10, but not $15. $10 for a legal place to park with electricity is reasonable, and I would put up with the noise for an inexpensive place to sleep for the night as I’m on my way to a destination. I can often find Passport America parks in the $16-$20 range with full hookups, so I’m not likely to spend $15 at a truck stop. It’s a novel idea, though!
One thing to factor in is that if you’re using even 10,000 watts of electricity for your RV (a 50-amp RV outlet can supply up to 12,000 watts) and the price of electricity is $0.10 (10 cents) per kWh, that’s at least $1 per hour. So a 10-hour stay could cost the truck stop $10 in electricity to power your RV. And nobody wants to pay for metering, so there’s a lot of misuse and waste of electrical power.
I’ll use my generator for $5 a night, but it’s a good idea though. We plan for Cabelas, truck stops are our last resort, due to noise and “lurkers”.
My lady friend is a truck driver. I asked her if truck stops were safe and she said yes they are. The state police do patrol along with the local pd. She told me of an app called trucker path that gives us an idea of where truck stops are if we want to stop for the nite. I was told for 15 bucks you can take a shower but never heard of 15 to plug in. But would pay that over having to pay 2 x that amount for a campground. We plan to do Colorado next summer and want to just stop along the road and then continue on the next day. I remember doing that at rest stops to Florida years ago. I have the app on my phone and she did tell me that along I 80 is a truck museum. Not sure where but it is along that route. Something to think about when traveling the open road. Now that Michigan is entering colder temps I am looking towards June and warm camping weather. Happy camping folks.
Truck Stops appreciate your business, but trucks keep them in business. Truck Stops cater to trucks because trucks can spend $1,000 or more to fill their tanks [300 gals at $3+ per gallon]. Only some Class A’s are in that league. Of course neither fills up every stop. Range is ~300 gals x 6-8 mpg. Unlike RVers, truckers hours of service are highly regulated by the clock. I have yet to see a semi that insists on extending a slide out.
Probably the noise would be a show stopper. But then again I have a generator which produces comparable or less noise and will run all night for around $5. So what do you think? $15 + noise or $5 + noise. Still. another resource. That is always welcomed.
Yes i would love to be able to have electric i can get a/c in my van in florida for grandkids and me…i wish every truck stop and rest area allowed it to for min. 6 hrs. Id pay 15 bucks nightly when traveling.
Too much traffic and noise.
If some *** trucker wouldn’t wreck my RV, just because he figured I was in HIS SPACE.
Truck Stops to noisy for me. Use PassPort America, $15-25 night for FHU and quiet.
I would only stay at a truck stop if I was desperate. Like, extremely bad weather, or extremely tired. On the other hand, I’m not sure I would be able to relax there and sleep. I, or my dog, would hear every little noise outside. So sleeping would be difficult.
It would have to designated spots wide enough to open slides and away from the truckers. As a retired trucking executive, drivers are not what they use to be, and I would not like to sleep with one eye open afraid someone would back into our rig.
Hit and run claims from truck stops was one of our biggest expense.
If this was the case, I would be the first to pull in for an overnight stop. Big truck stops are safe and the drivers are hard working honest folks.
I spent the first night in my RV in a truck stop while driving it back home after picking it up. I awoke at 1am to the sound of my CO2 alarm going off due to the amount of fumes from surrounding trucks. So be cautious where you park.
No, We would not stay for a fee, even if it’s FREE we only stay if nothing else is available.
Too noisy, Trucks running all night long and lots of traffic coming and going through Truck Stops. Also depending on your parking spot lots of light pollution from headlights and parking lot lighting.
Some Truckers with bad attitudes are sometimes a problem.
Yes, if it’s a secure location and on my route (without too far of a detour.)
RVers are a strange bunch. People spend over $100K for a rig and then complain about $15 a night and would rather look for a free parking spot in Walmart and run their generator all night. They complain about noise at a truck stop and every generator I’ve heard is much louder than a semi truck idling.
I prefer truck stops and would pay $15 for a hookup any day. If you are anywhere south of the mason-dixon line you will need a/c and I don’t like sleeping with the generator on. I will do that only as a last resort. It’s not the noise but I don’t want to die from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Totally… absolutely …why not… they have a business to run .. maybe they would like to own a 5th wheel and a 350 truck too.
I would pay $5.
we stayed at a truck stop in Wyoming once. Once was enough.
I’d pay more if it included a free dump station.
I was an Owner Operator trucking for a long time, there are a few truck stops I might consider staying in but not many. There is entirely too much going on after dark and a lot of it is not good, After reading many of these comments I am surprised so many folks don’t know about many State Laws in regards to Idling of engines, many States have a five minute law, this includes generators in RV’s. Personally I find it rude to park near anyone and run a generator all night. If you have need for electricity at night and your inverter cannot handle the load then you need to park somewhere you can plug in and pay the fee, if you can’t afford that then maybe you should find another way to travel or park somewhere you don’t disturb others.
We paid $15 for a reserved site at a Flying J near Chicago. We looked funny to all the big truckers, but we were able to visit a granddaughter and were lulled to sleep by the refrigerator truck next to us.
A big factor would be if we need A/C (or heat). The smaller loads aren’t an issue.
We would, and we have! We stayed overnight at a Love’s in their new full hookup RV sites. It was safe, well-lit, convenient to our route and had a great dog park. The RV sites were away from the truck pumps & parking. We would definitely do it again.