Truckstop facilities

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS EURO DRIVING FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
21

Not in the slightest bit bothered about wifi myself. Might use it if it’s available but certainly not high on my list of priorities.
No1 for me good clean showers with somewhere to hang my clothes.

No2 good food.

No3 clean easy parking ( and safe ).

No4 staff who know who the customer is, I hate being treated like
muck when I’m paying for the privilege.

And yes go take a look at some german autohofs they seem to be the best in Europe ! Geiselwind is my personal favourite. Oh and I love to watch live sport on tv so …

22

BobbyH:
Looks like I’m off to Erlangen for a visit then! As a matter of interest what is the tacho time from Calais to Erlangen?

autohof-tennenlohe.de/en/anfahrt.html
Do it on a 10

23

To keep fit,and something to do at the weekend,how about bicycle hire,and a weight lifting room,a portacabin would suffice,not the latest gym equipment,of Bannatyne`s,i used to have some Argos bar bells,and of course,there was always room in the trailer for a bike,if not,the front wheels would come off,and i would place it in the passenger seat.
A tread mill or rower machine for cardio vascular workouts to prevent myocardial infarctions.

24

I have heard of some restaurant owners letting truckers borrow their old banger car for the weekend.
At Brescia truck stop in Italy,they have car hire,to see the lakes,a hotel with hgv discount.

25

toby1234abc:
I have heard of some restaurant owners letting truckers borrow their old banger car for the weekend.
At Brescia truck stop in Italy,they have car hire,to see the lakes,a hotel with hgv discount.

not so much carhire but ludovic the barman at vivonne lends me his car to go into town to use the cashpoint :smiley:

26

toby1234abc:
To keep fit,and something to do at the weekend,how about bicycle hire,and a weight lifting room,a portacabin would suffice,not the latest gym equipment,of Bannatyne`s,i used to have some Argos bar bells,and of course,there was always room in the trailer for a bike,if not,the front wheels would come off,and i would place it in the passenger seat.
A tread mill or rower machine for cardio vascular workouts to prevent myocardial infarctions.

Reminds me of Carisio bout 15 years ago. :unamused: :laughing: :laughing:

27

if you want to keep fit and something to do at weekends just make sure you park in a spanish restaurant or hotel with a “club” nearby, although i don’t think its any type of bannatyne run club :laughing: :laughing:

28

I would also recommend visiting a European truckstop in a truck. As Erlangen has been suggested, I’ll agree with that one.

What you’ll find is
You will pay around €10 to park for the night, but you’ll also get a voucher of the same value as the parking charge, used as a discount on your meal or in the shop.
If you have a shower, as you step out of your cubicle the cleaner will be poised to make sure facilities are clean, ready for the next customer. Cost, around €1 - 2.
The toilet facilities will be bright fresh and clean, with no aroma of stale pee, or stained floor.
The cleaner may well be sitting, preparing to quickly clean the toilets again. It’s customary to tip 30 - 50 cents, if the facilities are up to scratch. There will NOT be a count-down timer on display, counting down the time until the supposed cleaner comes along with a plipper to reset it.
(I think that the cleaners are usually from a contract cleaning company, usually on a very small retainer and there wages are made up by their tips. Dirty smelly facilities, no tips; bright clean pleasant facilities, plenty of tips. Guess what. The same on motorway service stations as well btw.)

You can then enjoy a freshly and properly cooked meal, with fresh salad and a drink (beer, wine, large hot drink etc), in a pleasant restaurant for around €10 - 15. This is served to you at your table by a waitress or waiter, often in a uniform, always clean. It is very rare to queue up at a hot lamp cafeteria. Pick and pay for your 3 dried out courses to a sullen faced server who would prefer to chat with a colleague rather than slap your dehydrated choice onto a plate for you. It is usual to tip your waitress, the German way is to tell them to round up your bill to whatever you decide. I normally add €1 and round it up to the next complete €uro. You ask for your bill just before you’re ready to go.

Personally free Wi-Fi isn’t high on my list, although it’s handy when you need it.
I’m also one of those people who walks straight past a pub with a big banner outside it proclaiming “Satellite Sports Channels on our Big Screen TV”. I carry on walking until I find a pub with laughter and chatter coming from the doors and windows. Truckstops with blaring tv’s I try to avoid next time.

This week I shared a table, at a truckstop, with an Italian, a Dutchman and a Frenchman. We all chatted about our country, our particular jobs, anything interesting that had happened recently, the food, etc, in an odd mixture of French, Italian, German and English. There was no tv at all. The wine helped :smiley:

29

Another truckstop you could visit, a bit closer to home, is The Stockyard just off j1 of the M18.
I haven’t been there for several years, but the last time I was there it was one of the best British truckstops I’ve used. Still not that great in comparison to Europes best truckstops (equivalent to lower-mid range), but a really good effort. I hope it hasn’t gone down hill since my last visit, or been wrecked by drivers.

30

A big THANK YOU to all that have taken the time to reply. We started off with (1) Easy parking (2) clean showers and toilets and (3) safe - these seem to top most lists. At the other end (the ‘nice to have list’) we ended up with (a) a gym (b) car hire and (c) sky sports on a massive screen. This is all great stuff for us. I must admit that, using the typical driver stereotypes, I would not have been thinking about health, fitness, culture etc - just goes to show that the modern driver has changed. It’s quite reassuring to know that you guys are human beings and would like to be treated as such.

31

BobbyH:
A big THANK YOU to all that have taken the time to reply. We started off with (1) Easy parking (2) clean showers and toilets and (3) safe - these seem to top most lists. At the other end (the ‘nice to have list’) we ended up with (a) a gym (b) car hire and (c) sky sports on a massive screen. This is all great stuff for us. I must admit that, using the typical driver stereotypes, I would not have been thinking about health, fitness, culture etc - just goes to show that the modern driver has changed. It’s quite reassuring to know that you guys are human beings and would like to be treated as such.

If you’re going to go for big screen tv, make sure there’s a big screen tv free area too please.

32

Lap top or naked ladies dancing would go down well too,you will have one thousand trucks on operattion stack,and the boss wondering why all his/her drivers were always at your place everynight.A blank receipt so the driver can charge his boss what he wants for parking.

33

welshboyinspain:
if you want to keep fit and something to do at weekends just make sure you park in a spanish restaurant or hotel with a “club” nearby, although i don’t think its any type of bannatyne run club :laughing: :laughing:

:wink: :wink: :wink: :wink: :wink: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

34

loved coffeeholics oppinion of brit drivers but unfortunetly i have found it to be true, one of my double man team listened to the story of shadowing an italien truck through the toll booths to avoid paying. got it wrong had the barrier down and all the problems that went with it, and we have a toll paying system in the truck. brits abroad i love em.

35

The Autohof system is the best by far if you charge trucks to enter and the a good part of that is off your meal you cant go wrong,it will keep the flip flop brigade out 'cause they wont pay in the 1st place.Great food will keep drivers coming back.

36

The meals in Germany are amazing,at the Motorway services,you have a full blown buffet break fast,of what you want,fruit juices,yoghurts,cakes,patisseries,hot food,cold,cold food,ham,cheese,eggs,bacon,and so on,no rude staff,(they see a driver walk,and look at you like something they found under their shoes,like they do in the UK.)

37

toby1234abc:
The meals in Germany are amazing,at the Motorway services,you have a full blown buffet break fast,of what you want,fruit juices,yoghurts,cakes,patisseries,hot food,cold,cold food,ham,cheese,eggs,bacon,and so on,no rude staff,(they see a driver walk,and look at you like something they found under their shoes,like they do in the UK.)

The problem with Germany Austria and Swiss is that a driver cannot afford these beautiful displays of essen.

38

I had to take out a mortage to have a venision stew in Austria,they do live well there,but at a premium.

39

If you dont do wifi so we cant look at ■■■■, please can we have decent ladies of the night :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
better make sure my wife dont see this :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: