Choosing the right parking arrangements for your rig is a crucial aspect of every route for any truck driver. You want to rest easy, knowing that you’ve got a parking space booked and waiting for you as you get out on the road.
In recent years, booking a truck parking spot for an entire month has gained quite a bit of popularity, especially among over-the-road (OTR) truckers. Is it really that much of an upgrade over simple daily reservations? Well, that depends on who you ask. In this article, we’ll go over both truck parking options and help you decide which one is right for you.
Monthly and Daily Truck Parking At a Glance
The key difference between monthly and daily truck parking is, of course, the duration of your reservation. The latter allows you to book a spot just for the next 24 hours. The former, on the other hand, lets you keep a parking space for an entire month, giving you the freedom to stop your rig there whenever you want over the next four weeks.
So, which option is better? There is no definitive answer to this question. It all depends on the type of trucker you are, your typical routes, as well as your budget. Below, we’ve outlined some of the main advantages of both choices. They should give you a surface-level idea of what to expect.
Benefits of Daily Truck Parking
- Flexibility: When you book daily truck parking spots, you are not tied to a single location. You can freely change up your rest stops depending on your current needs. Sometimes, you might want to opt for the cheapest facility, with just a parking space and a bathroom. During longer routes, you might decide to stop at a place that also offers a wider choice of food options, a store, gas station, and other facilities.
- Lower upfront costs: With prices starting at roughly $10 per day, daily truck parking reservations are great if you don’t want to spend too much money upfront.
- Great option for local and regional truckers: As a local or regional trucker, your routes are significantly shorter, you frequently make a few deliveries per day, and often have a brief rest stop at the end of each one. Most local truckers sleep at home every night, and simply have no need for lengthy stays at a truck stop. Regional drivers do spend a fair bit of time away from home, but not as much as to warrant booking a parking space for an entire month. That’s why daily truck parking is a great choice if you’re never on the road for weeks at a time.
Benefits of Monthly Truck Parking
- Long-term savings: While you’ll have to shell out a few hundred dollars upfront for your monthly truck parking reservation, the actual price per day is much, much cheaper than what you’d pay if you were to book the same parking spot for 24 hours each time you needed it. Even if you don’t use it every day (let’s face it: you most likely won’t), you’ll save a fair bit of money.
- Route optimization: Knowing that you have a pre-booked parking spot for the entire month allows you or your dispatcher to plan your route ahead of time so that you’ll drive past the truck stop on your way to the final destination. It will save a lot of time that you’d otherwise have to spend to get to a new parking space every time you get out on the road.
- Fantastic value for OTR truckers: As an over-the-road trucker, you spend days on end driving your rig across multiple states or even making coast-to-coast deliveries. These long hauls can get exhausting. Having a steady place to stop along your route can go a long way in ensuring that you’re well-rested and ready to take on the remainder of your route.
Daily vs. Monthly Truck Parking Cost Analysis
The benefits we just listed above are all quite important aspects of deciding whether to go for a long- or short-term truck parking solution. However, most of them will go right out of the window if the choice doesn’t make financial sense for you.
To help you assess the costs of daily and monthly truck parking, we’ve put together this real-life example of parking space available at Truck Parking Club. Use this analysis as a template for your future decisions – it will help you gauge whether or not to go for monthly or daily truck parking at other facilities.
Hazelwood, Missouri Truck Parking Example
One of the many Missouri properties listed in our service offers daily and monthly truck parking at a large lot in Hazelwood. The daily price is $25, whereas if you want to rent it out for a full month, it will cost you $200.
To choose the most financially reasonable option, you’ll need to ask yourself the following question: how many times do I expect to need this space in the coming month?
Let’s say that you expect to need a pit stop in this part of Missouri at least 9 times in the next 30 days. Let’s do the math:
- 9 x $25 (the daily rate) = $225
This is $25 more than the price of a monthly truck parking reservation at this Hazelwood, MO property. Therefore, in this particular scenario, the answer is simple: go for the monthly arrangement. That way, you’ll pay less for the nine times you expect to use this stop. On top of that, you’ll have plenty of additional stays for the same price, should you end up needing them!
Always estimate roughly how many times in a month you’ll need a parking space in a particular area before making the final decision. This is the single biggest factor that will help you decide on the arrangement you should make. And if, by any chance, you’re in need of truck parking in Missouri, check out the listing we’ve based this cost analysis on by clicking here.
Truck Parking Club: Your Long- and Short-Term Truck Parking Solution
Whether you’re looking for daily, weekly, or monthly truck parking solutions, Truck Parking Club has got you covered! We operate in most states in the US, and our already long list of available parking spaces is being constantly updated with new facilities.
Our mission is to provide safe, affordable, and convenient parking for hard-working American truckers, all the while helping landlords monetize their vacant properties. Download our app today and find out for yourself how easy it can be to find a parking space with Truck Parking Club!
The information published herein is for general informational purposes only. Truck Parking Club does not make any representations or warranties about the completeness, reliability, legality, and accuracy of this information. Any reliance placed on such material is strictly at the user’s own risk. Truck Parking Club shall not be responsible for any losses or damages incurred in connection with the information published herein.
