My friends and I recently went to a trip to Los Angeles. Along the way, we noted very long stretches of Interstate 5 which were more or less empty, save for the occasional truck stop. Some places were pretty remote, and it got us thinking- where exactly do the people who work at truck stops live? Do they simply drive a 60? mile commute every day to work?
One friend jokingly speculated that they get comped at the nearby Econo Lodge (every truck stop we passed seemed to have one) 
I know that some places, like Gas stations, can have people working for 12+ hour shifts. Personally, if I had a job where I’m working over 12 hours a day several hours from my house, I’d probably just bring a sleeping bag with me and stay there since the commute to/from work is so long, it would only be worth it to go home if I had a day off.
I’m not that familiar with I-5, but most interstate highways give you the impression that you are traveling in a remote area (once outside of a metro area of course) but that is often a misconception. There are often nearby state highways and small towns that are not visible from the interstate. That’s one of the reasons I try to mix my route when traveling to include some 2 lane highways (time allowing of course).
Mr. S used to drive 52 miles (one way) to work and back every day for several years. It’s not an outrageous commute. In rural areas you often have to drive a while to get to a decent job.
And I-5’s not all that rural. I live in a small town a few miles from the highway. You can’t see it from there, but we can sure see you, especially at night. I can’t think of any of the Valley truck stops that don’t have small towns nearby. Try getting off the freeway once in a while and see what else is around!
There is a beat-up truck stop on I-25 in New Mexico, between Socorro and Truth or Consequences. It’s 40-50 miles to the nearest town; not just up and down the Interstate, but east and west, too. It really is out in the middle of nowhere.
There are a couple of mobile homes behind the truck stop, but I can’t imagine all the workers living there. I’ll take a guess that they make the long commute from T or C or San Antonio (the one in New Mexico, not he big city in Texas), or live in isolation.
Driving through some very isolated parts of the Southwest, it wasn’t that incommon to see a mobile home or two in the middle of nowhere – not part of a ranch, either – 40 or 50 miles from the nearest settlement or neighbor.