At the travel plazas on the Ohio Turnpike they have nice facilities for truckers. There are 4 suites, each with a shower, restroom and vanity. Plus coin-op laundry facilities and a bunch of chairs. Some ersatz couches. The area is open to the main part of the building. Can anyone use them? Is there some secret code amongst truckers to recognize an “outsider”? “Hey, grandpa - back to the tourist section!”
I imagine driving in a big truck helps. And I’d bet that those drivers do have a network of sorts.
How many people are going to want to shower or wash their cloths at a truckstop on a highway they must pay to use? I doubt that workers at the rest areas are checking for CDL licenses, but they could be.
Even back in the 70s, truck stops had spaces reserved “for truckers”. I never could tell how they knew, but, given the times, you probably needed the uniform: wallet held by a chain, big Texan boots and a trucker cap.
Today you can tell the drivers by their baggy shorts/sweat pants and flip flops.
I think anyone can reserve a shower, you don’t have to be a trucker, but your motel also has one, why would you want to? As for laundry, I’m sure anyone with quarters can use them, but mostly there is no need. Whatever town you’re heading to has laundromats that are easy to get to if you’re not pulling a 53 foot trailer.
I’ve seen RV folks talk about using truck stop showers - even if their RV has one, it saves on water tank usage and the truck stop shower is likely bigger.
Brian
Plenty of itinerant highway hobos / homeless van lifers squatting at rest stops and truck stops will want to use the facilities. As long as they move along after a few hours they won’t be bothered.
Traveling south on the interstates It’s not uncommon to see people looking like theyv e camped or broke down in rest stops. But one odd sight on I-96 in MI was one super skinny dude in his beat to shit compact with a plastic bin tied down on his roof that had the message scrawled across it-
Kentucky
Rednecky
Caver
Where was he headed too?what was in the bin? He tried to approach to panhandle no doubt I waved him off.