Truck Stops and the Knights of the Road

Truck Stops and the Knights of the Road

The pictures that accompany news reports of this year's early winter storms that are blasting their way from east to west across America bring back a story I heard in the 1960s when my husband and I were driving to Grand Forks, North Dakota one summer.

We had been driving non-stop for at least 24 hours on the second day of our journey from the Los Angeles area when we crossed into Wyoming headed east on what is now I-80. We were ready for a rest. On those high rolling plains there were few indications of civilization except for occasional roadside signs. One sign that appeared about every five miles urged travelers to stay at a truck stop called Little America, and we decided we would get a room there to get a good night's sleep.

Little America proved to be a good sized truck stop for those times, but when we stopped we found out there were no vacancies. I picked up a free brochure and I read it to my husband as we got under way again. As I remember it, since I couldn't confirm the story on the Internet, a man had once been stranded in the area during a blizzard and he came close to death before he was rescued. He vowed to return and establish a refuge there for travelers. He named it Little America after the place of the same name in Antarctica.

This past weekend Vic and Louanne, a couple with whom I have become friends, showed up with their horses to spend a couple of days riding and enjoying the solitude of this wilderness area. Vic is a truck driver so I picked his brains a little about his experience making long hauls across country, and in particular about Little America. He had been there but said facilities there were nothing compared to another truck stop farther east that had hookups for over 800 rigs at a time. He couldn't remember just where that was.

When I got back to my trailer, I keyed into my computer; 'large truck stops' and immediately 'Iowa80' came up on the screen. It is located just west of the Mississippi River and north of the town of Walcott, Iowa. It advertises itself as the largest truck stop in the world, and after I read the articles about it, I have no doubt it is. Here is what a weary trucker can find at his disposal if he stops at Iowa80:

800 spots with hookups

15 fuel pumps, with option to fill two tanks at a time. Each tank holds 120 gallons

7-bay service center offering diagnostics, minor repairs, oil changes, tire rotation

Truck-washing facilities

Vehicle scales

A complete restaurant that seats 350 people and serves 90 tons of meat annually

Five fast-food stores including, Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell

Convenience store

Two-story truck parts store, with a complete rig on display for sale

Laundry

23 bath rooms and showers

60-seat movie theater

A barbershop

A dentist after 2 p.m.

The Driver's Den with electronic games, leather chairs, TV and a fireplace

An office to prepare trip reports, fax messages, and computers to send e-mail etc.

Last, but not least are religious services on the Sabbath

Iowa80 was established by a Standard Oil manager named Bill Moon in 1964. It started as a small white building surrounded by cornfields, It had one lube bay and a trucker's store. Through the years it grew to over 200 acres; four times the size of Disneyland.

Bill Moon left Standard Oil in 1984 to become the sole owner and operator of Iowa80 until he died 1992. Then the surviving family joined the franchise business Travel Center of America, but they still own and operate it themselves.

Most modern-day truckers don't need a sleeping room because they usually have very good accomodations in their rigs. There can be room to sleep three people, as well as cooking facilities, and a TV. Some also have air-conditioning separate from the driver's area.

          More points that I learned about trucking from both Vic and the Internet are:

          Trucks have to be kept running all the time to supply air-conditioning for the load

          Average fuel consumption is 7 mpg.

         Outside power while parked can be supplied from the hookup at the spot rented.

         A team of two drivers earns more by requiring less time resting.

         Driver's annual income is as low as $32,000. Owner/ operators make a little more

          Drivers are on the road two or three weeks at a time with short layovers at home.

          There are over 1,000 loads every day not moving because of a lack of drivers.

          There are more than 9 million people employed in the trucking industry.

          There are 3.3 million truck drivers operating 15.5 available trucks.

          One in ten truckers owns and drives his own rig as an independent operator.

          Trucking revenue is 255.5 billion a year - 97.9 billion more than airfreight.

          Trucking companies make only 4.8 cents on the dollar.

Reading about the trucking industry brings up comparisons of trucking compared to moving freight by railroad, or the combination of both by piggybacking containers on railroad freight cars. That could be a subject for a future article.

An observation of my own is how helpful truck drivers I have known have been to me. Whenever I have broken down, it has usually been a truck driver who stopped to help me. They are also very helpful to each other. When I lived in the desert I often listened at night to a radio program that was dedicated to truckers. Weather reports were frequent and there was a lot of talking back and forth between truckers and the DJ who played their musical requests. I became very impressed with these great guys who were doing a lonely and dangerous job to supply the freighting needs of this country. I think they could use a few extra prayers while they drive through this year's dangerous ice and snow storms.