This might sound like a silly question, but all the class 1 jobs iv’e looked at usually require nights out and i was wonderin what you guys do, is it the norm to get to a truck park or do you just pull up off road somewhere 
Also if it is better to get to a truck park,how do you find out where they all are 
Cheers…Scan.
There is no right and wrong way to park. Some prefer truck parks, some prefers lay-by’s. It’s a personal choice.
There’s a thread with places to park under ‘useful info’ forum or something along those lines.
Cheers.
Cheers Rob,
I’ve found that thread now mate. 
i avoid laybys
cos their always by main roads …no sleep, dangerous, no security, no toilets ,no food ,no way
truckstops…nr to 24 hour supermarkets…customers open 24 hr etc etc…if you do find a layby with a loo is usually occupied by queers…
a proper lorry park anytime,but you have to look for them.
hitch:
i avoid laybys
cos their always by main roads …no sleep, dangerous, no security, no toilets ,no food ,no way
truckstops…nr to 24 hour supermarkets…customers open 24 hr etc etc…if you do find a layby with a loo is usually occupied by queers…
What a load of rubbish.
Truck-stops :
‘No sleep and on main road’ - constant door-knocking ’ do you want business lovey?’ instead.
‘Dangerous’ - waking up to find curtains slashed and diesel gone.
‘No security’ - ditto above.
‘No toilets’ - just make sure you ‘relieve’ yourself before you park up.
‘No food’ - food from the 24hr supermarket I’m parked outside is a tenth of the price of your truckstop thanks.
Your argument totally doesn’t hold water.
If you bothered to open your eyes and look there are more than enough quiet places to park with facilities nearby (usually a 24hr garage or supermarket) and in all the time I’ve been trucking I’ve never had diesel stolen or a load tampered with when parked not in a proper truck-stop or MSA. You get far more problems parking at so-called proper truck-stops and MSA’s.
Cheers.
Rob K:
You get far more problems parking at so-called proper truck-stops and MSA’s.
i’ll say.
whilst driving around, look out for good, quiet layby’s, preferably off the main roads. i always open my back doors, loaded or empty. never had anything taken. or look for council run lorry parks. only £2-3 to park, always in town centres and usually covered by cctv.
will only use msa if customer insists.
think like a thief would. if u want to steal diesel or goods from a truck, you would go where there are lots of trucks. msa, truckstops, industrial estates and laybys on trunk roads. they wont spend the night driving around minor roads hoping to find a truck when there are dozens in one place
taken from the news forum:
TOILETRIES worth £12,000 have been stolen from a lorry parked in an A14 lay-by.
The HGV was targeted while its Polish driver was asleep inside the vehicle.
It is thought the thieves may have pulled a van alongside the Polish-registered lorry before slashing the curtain sides and stealing the goods.
The theft happened between 9pm last night and 6am on Wednesday on the eastbound A14 layby near Cambridge Crematorium.
Sergeant Andy Gallichan, of Cambridge police’s crime management unit, said: "On this particular lorry the side was cut and 12 crates of Avon products were stolen to the value of £12,000.
“Our intelligence suggests that in previous incidents a van has pulled up alongside the lorry and they would certainly need a van to transport the stolen items.”
The theft comes as Cambridgeshire police continue a high-profile campaign aimed at reducing vehicle crime and freight theft on the county’s trunk roads.
Between April 1 and August 1 police recorded 148 offences involving lorries and trailers, including theft, criminal damage and vehicle tampering, costing businesses more than £200,000.
Police have put up signs at laybys on the A14 and A142 warning that thieves operate in the area while a 35ft lorry emblazoned with a warning slogan has been out on the county’s roads.
Sgt Gallichan said: “This theft highlights the reasons we want to get the message across to drivers and warn them of these incidents.”
Anyone with any information about the incident can contact Detective Constable Mark Barker, of Cambridgeshire police, on (01223) 358966, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
this is a busy trunk road so how come no one seen nothing 
give me a msa anyday 
jon
Yeah, 1 incident that you happened across Jon.
What about all the thousands of thefts, curtain slashings, diesel thefts at MSA’s and so-called proper truck-stops
You’re not painting the full picture.
I’m not claiming that one is safer than the other, but so far it’s all be biased saying that parking anywhere other than an MSA or proper truck-stop is bad news and that’s not how it is at all.
Cheers.
Truckstop, lay-by or MSA I don’t have a preference, just what ever is handy when it’s time to stop. If I know in advance it is likely to be a lay-by I will stop in a services or truckstop earlier and have a shower etc before running the day out and parking.
Got to agree with Rob re curtain slashings etc happening on MSAs as well as lay-bys, there was a post on here recently about someone having their curtains slashed in a MSA.
This week it was: Sunday lay-by, Monday lay-by, Tuesday services, Wednesday lay-by. On Monday and Wednesday. I chose the lay-bys over services as they would be much quieter, Sunday was because I was right on the 4.5 when the lay-by was there.
scan,i must admit i use lay by`s MSA and truck stops. it all depends were i am and obviously how much driving time i have left.
getting your curtains slashed and the goods nicked can happen any were,it`s just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
as regards finding truck stops,you will see them from time to time and remember them for future and also try this link,i got one and it`s £4.30p well spent mate
Organised thieves know what truck they are looking for and they will target them wherever they are. You also get the opertunised (maybe some truck drivers) who ■■■■■ curtians to look and see. I mostly park in Laybys and cook up in the cab, very cheap. (but that’s me 
Cheap). You need to get a feel for where you park, and if doesn’t feel write don’t park there.
I refuse to pay for parking!! So its lay bys for me in this country!
This week … Sun: outside Frigo’s in Grimsby Mon: Transmarck outside Calais Tues: outside the drop in Wunnenberg, Germany Wed: a layby on the A2 near Canterbury (how far I had to go before finding a space) Thurs: HOME :O))))))))
Funnily enough… I reloaded in Hamm, Germany yesterday and as we was doing the CMR etc, the Goods Out staff gave me a sheet of A4 which I had to sign to say I had received… it was a list of truckstops THEY considered secure in the UK and at which I had to park!!! I wet myself at the list and by the time I had finished, I had told them there was just ONE that I considered ‘secure’! As an example, one of the Stops on this list was BP, ALCONBURY■■? another was the truckstop in Beckton, East London!! They were a bit upset when I informed them that I considered NONE of these places sufficiently secure and would not be parking at any of them. The other thing was NONE of them were on my route!!
A place I sometimes load from in Germany has a map on the wall showing areas in Europe where they don’t want you parking while carrying one of their loads. The restricted places are shaded red and there are a couple of motorway stretches in France, the whole of Belgium and the whole of England. They have a list of places you can park in the UK but it is mainly at transport companies they have an agreement with or at the customer’s premises. No MSAs on the list at all. It doesn’t cause me too many problems as I park on the German border and then the next day sees me back to the yard so it just means parking earlier in the day then starting really early the next morning.
England is getting quite a reputation for truck crime through out Europe, we’ll overtake the Italians at this rate.
I have noticed that when we are carrying the stuff similar to yours, Coffee, nearly ALL the firms let us park up in their yards even if we are not an early tip the next day. You possibly know the place at Wunnenberg where we tip… there, we can drop the trailer in the yard. Acerbtic I think it is called… in a small place called Haaren. Mind you, I could understand that companies concern where I loaded. It turned out the load was worth rather a lot of money!!!
I usualy park on industrial estates, find that after abuot 8ish at night there mostly quiet. Many off these out town supermarkets are on the edge of industrial estates, handy when low on provisions{i also cook up in cab most of the time}and for toilet facilities.
Couple off year ago loaded in Gateshead in the afternoon, had to start at horrendous oclock in the morning to get to port{must be on the morning boat drive !!}stopped at a well known old type transport cafe about 3.30 hrs down the A1 wont name it ,but many off you will be able to work out were i mean. 06 00 hrs went in for brekky it was still dark outside, came out after necasary time and sustainance, quick walk round motor to check tyres etc curtain holed in 3 places, mainly drums onboard didnt look like nothing missing.but it still hacks you off ,because i had been in the senders secure premises overnight and didnt stop until then, im sure that a driver just starting saw me park go in and knew i wouldnt be out for a little while. Makes you cross that they can do it to thier own when they know what hassle that can cause.
Anyway after a while you build up your own list of favourite overnight parking places. It aint all doom and gloom.
TheBear:
another was the truckstop in Beckton, East London!!
I think you’ll find that this is the site of a very large B & Q store and retail park now
A recent article in commercial motor quoted the police statitics as M.S.A’s having 43% of all lorry crime
I only park on an M.S.A if it has a Kentucky and only if it is on my route otherwise it’s layby’s outside cutomers premises (but only if I know it is possible in advance as there is an increasing tren to ban lorries from industrial estates overnight 
) or in the one of the yards occupied by the company I subbie for.
I did park in the Orwell truckstop for a while but not anymore since I had 80 gallons of diesel syphoned off.The security cameras just happend to be pionting in the wrong direction to catch who did it 
And now their prices on food have rocketed (by an average of 30%) I wont be eating there anymore either.
I avoid the lay-bys that are used by queers, that means most of Belgium 
and a pub with a layby nearby is hard to find. so pub yards can come in handy!
We are not allowed to park on an MSA or an industrial estate with targetable goods. but we have agreements with customers to drop trailers in the depots or we stay in the dock and deliver it in the same shift
Wheel Nut:
I avoid the lay-bys that are used by queers, that means most of Belgium
Those lay-bys in Belgium are among some of the safest to park in. Just park and shut your cab curtains, those using the lay-by for ■■■■■■ purposes leave you alone but because they are there, and are there most of the night, it is too busy for someone to tamper with your trailer. They also don’t want anything happening that could attract the attention of the police so it is like having a private gay security force.
Those lay-bys in Belgium are among some of the safest to park in. Just park and shut your cab curtains, those using the lay-by for ■■■■■■ purposes leave you alone but because they are there, and are there most of the night, it is too busy for someone to tamper with your trailer. They also don’t want anything happening that could attract the attention of the police so it is like having a private gay security force.
The man, methinks he doth protest too much
Probably good advice though!