What It’s Like to Stay at a Truck Stop in an RV

Can RVers stay at truck stops? We wondered this, as backing into or pulling through a parking spot designed for a semi-truck can feel cramped. We need at least 5 feet on the passenger side of our fifth wheel in order to open our stairs to get inside the rig to sleep. We’ve managed to do that at rest areas, but maybe their spots are wider.

We tend to avoid staying at busy truck stops. We don’t mind the low-pitched bub-bub-bub of the diesel engines, because the noise tends to be constant. But we don’t want to take a spot away from a trucker who might need it. We have great respect for truck drivers and what they put up with to keep our supply chain operational. 

We’ve overnighted at a couple of spacious truck stops, however. At one, we were able to park next to a telephone pole that prevented a truck from getting too close to us — and gave us plenty of space to easily get into and out of our rig. A roomy dirt lot across the street from another truck stop let us spread out and not feel cramped. ​

In both of these instances, we kept our truck connected to our trailer and boondocked. We felt safe, slept peacefully, and experienced nothing out of the ordinary. We were able to fuel our truck, open our dining room slideout to get to our living room, eat a meal, relax in front of the TV, start the next day with hot coffee, and get on the road to our destination in a timely fashion. 
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A New Overnight Truck Stop Option

Wanting to cater to more RVers, Love’s started installing RV sites at its easily accessible truck stops in 2022. They include Wi-Fi, electric and water hookups, and access to a dump station. Today, Love’s has 61 RV stops across the country. All spots are bookable and payable from a mobile device or an on-site kiosk.

We had heard these could be pretty costly, so we didn’t think we’d ever take advantage of this option. But finding ourselves in need of a convenient overnight stop with electricity to power our air conditioners in the humid South, we decided to give a Love’s RV Stop a try while passing through Alabama. 

Many Love’s RV Stops are fenced off, located away from the trucker parking, and somewhat private. The one we tried out included eight RV sites near the auto/RV fuel pumps. Getting into the spots in a setup like this can be tricky if the gas station is busy. Thankfully, we were able to back into our site just fine. It wasn’t level, but it was concrete. 

We fished out one of the boards we carry in the back of our truck. Bob drove forward, and I placed the board into position behind the tires on the low side of the trailer. He backed the rig onto the board and pretty well evened it out side to side. Because this was an overnight stop, we didn’t want to disconnect the truck from the trailer, even though Tagalong was about 3 inches high in the front.

This being a designated camping spot, we felt freer to leave our dining room slideout open, which gave us living space to enjoy while we recuperated from our drive for the day. 

Overall Experience

The building on the premises included restrooms, showers, a store, and a couple of restaurants, which made for quick and easy meals after a busy day of travel. We were able to grab coffee in the morning before hitting the road, preventing us from dirtying dishes and adding water to our gray tank. On our way to moochdock at the home of some friends, we wanted our tanks empty. 

The constant movement of vehicles and people in and out of this location felt a little sketchy for our first foray into Love’s RV Stops. We kept our door locked whether we were inside or outside of our trailer. It helped that we parked directly under a light. Despite these seeming drawbacks, the convenience of the stop made it worthwhile for the $38 we paid. 

En route to our destination the following day, we stopped at another Love’s for fuel. It had a nicer RV setup, protected by a wooden fence and separate from truck parking and fuel pumps — for an additional $10. We had considered staying at it the night before, but that would have meant driving another hour and a half or so. We were grateful to save that time.

We would definitely consider trying another Love’s RV Stop when we need a convenient overnight stay on a long drive. It does offer a lot of pluses.

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