One thousand, eight hundred and twenty hours…
That’s the approximate length of time the average trucker spends overnight parking at truck stops, rest areas, or other parking spots while on breaks. Every year.
Given that truck stops are such a huge part of our lives, we thought it might be helpful to run through a few suggestions on how to make the best use of this time.
So here it is. Fifteen suggestions for how to pass the time when overnight truck parking. There are some good practical tips here, along with one or two that might be described as a little ‘out there.’
Either way, we hope they help make overnight parking a little more…. bearable. We just hope you brought a shovel…
1. Browse YouTube
Starting with the most obvious, YouTube has come a long way from its early years of “cats falling off things” and is now a vast entertainment platform covering everything from series and documentaries to movies, vlogs, and music. An essential tool for overnight truck parking.
2. Watch Big Rig
For those who haven’t seen it, ‘Big Rig’ is a thoroughly entertaining documentary about the life of truckers, currently streaming on YouTube. It’s one hour and thirty-five minutes of highly relatable stories with some lovable characters and a pretty awesome soundtrack.
3. Get Smarter
Alternatively, don’t waste precious time watching YouTube. Instead, learn something new. Read a book or start an online course and maybe pick up a new skill. That’s assuming you aren’t mentally exhausted from the 8-hour, 400-mile journey you have just completed in torrential rain and biting wind, that is.
4. Pretend to Be Somewhere Else
Release yourself from the truck stop by closing your eyes and pretending you’re on a beach in the Maldives. See if any other truckers are imagining the same by winding down the window and shouting, quite loudly, “Anyone down for a dip?”
5. Nintendo Switch
Nintendo Switch and Sony’s PSP are compact handheld gaming devices, perfect for those enjoyable late-night gaming sessions while overnight truck parking. Because zapping away at zombies while lying on your bunk at 1 am is way more fun than you might imagine.
6. Learn an Instrument
You always wanted to learn the guitar, so now’s your chance. Seriously, why not? If you practice for just one hour per evening while overnight truck parking, you will be nailing down a pretty decent rendition of “On the Road Again” in just three months.
7. Knitting or Crochet
Stitch yourself a lovely crochet Maldives beach scene with windswept palm trees and cute wooden huts, then stare at it and pretend you are there. You might think it’s a strange idea, but do you realize how many truckers are secretly cozied up in their cabs right now, crocheting? None, probably, but don’t let that stop you.
8. Basic Maintenance
Another obvious one while overnight truck parking is to run out a few basic checks like tire pressure, oil levels, and… Well, you’re an experienced trucker. You don’t need us to tell you how to kick a tire.
9. Clean the Cab
Joyfully whistle the Convoy theme tune while moving a damp cloth in a circular motion.
10. Cockpit Dreams
Pretend your current dwelling is not a Freightliner Cascadia or Peterbilt 579 but is instead the cockpit of your very own private jet, and you are expertly piloting it to the Maldives with your orangutan co-pilot, Clive. That isn’t a trailer behind you, loaded with canned asparagus. Nope. It’s the luxurious cabin of a G6, with leopard print upholstery and a water bed.
11. Build a Model Kit
This is a brilliant suggestion from one of our Truck Parking Club members. Brands like Airfix and Revell have some amazing little kits available, from trucks and cars to fighter jets and tanks. Zone out and enter a zen-like state as you focus on the intricate build.
12. Go For a Walk
Kill two birds with one stone when overnight truck parking by giving your legs a stretch. Firstly, it’s good exercise. Secondly, you can actually pick up a few nasty afflictions from sitting down all day. Truckers, just like office workers, are in a higher percentile for leg-related issues, so go out and get those pins moving.
13. Podcasts and Audiobooks
For anyone who has been living in a cave, a podcast is a digital audio show available for streaming or downloading through a smartphone or tablet. Popular shows among truckers include Joe Rogan, Jocko Willink, Big Rig Banter, and This American Life.
14. Catch up on Emails
Use some of your downtime replying to emails or social media messages. Still haven’t replied to that 3000-word mega-email your Great Aunt Sue sent weeks ago? Now’s your chance.
14. Get Digging
Grab a shovel and start digging exactly 132.57 degrees south. Assuming you can manage one cubic meter per hour, you should pop up in the Maldives around 8,629 years from now, give or take a few decades. It depends how stubborn that tough iron-rich inner core is, obviously.
15. Plan Your Route
Let’s round things up with a boring but necessary tip: Take some time to plan your route, check for traffic updates, and monitor weather conditions for the road ahead. Another painfully obvious one but we are running out of ideas, and fifteen is a nice round number.
Embrace the Experience!
Alternatively, just kick back, do nothing, and enjoy being at the truck stop.
Most truck stops are busy and overcrowded, with trailers parked inches from each other and a constant churn of frustrated drivers circling the lot looking for spaces that are always taken.
But you really can find less hectic overnight parking for trucks that are better looked after and generally roomier than your typical cramped, busy, noisy environments. It doesn’t even take any effort to find them – if you know how to look, that is.
But we’ve got you. Just browse our massive list of private truck parking spaces and find something far more convenient. You can book a truck parking space at the last minute or up to one month ahead. It’s simple, affordable, and takes seconds to register for Truck Parking Club.
It’s seriously going to make your life a whole lot easier. Trucking is a stressful job. You shouldn’t have to worry about parking. And at Truck Parking Club, you never need to, ever again.
With private truck parking spaces all over America, there is room for everyone…
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.
