truck scale, trailer washout
truck scale, trailer washout
TruckTrek has several categories of other data that is included.
Truck Washes - Truck washes, at a minimum, include facilities for interior trailer washes, that being the most critical use for truckers. Many food facilities require that incoming trailers be washed before dropping that trailer to pick up a loaded trailer. Most such facilities also wash truck exteriors, but that is optional for TruckTrek's purposes. Truck washes usually are located near the grounds of truck stops, but not always. When a wash is identified as resident at a truck stop, the wash's icon is always located close to the truck stop's icon, in the lower left quadrant as in the example on the left of a station with both wash and scale; on the right is the same station is zoomed into.
In the case of both scales and washes, there is a small dot displayed, at the lower right in blue for scales, and lower left in red for washes. These dots are visible even when the map is zoomed out to the state or national level, so it is easy to find the next scale along a state route without having to zoom in on each and every station icon. In the picture to the right, note the truck wash facilities near a pair of truck stops near Cottondale, Georgia, along with scales. The inset shows the same truck stops zoomed out; note the dots below the merged truck stop icon which identify the wash and scale facilities at that location.
Scales - Scale services, as explained in the section on weigh stations, are useful to the trucker to make sure that his load is legal and will pass at a state weigh station, where he may be fined and/or put out of service if the weight of any of the truck's axles is too high. Truckers can't adjust the weight of their loads, but they can, to an extent, control how that load balances on the trailer's axles and the truck's drive tires, by moving the trailer's "tandem" axles forward or backward. Newer trailers contain mechanisms to determine the loads without a scale, but most drivers still rely on scaling a load to assure trouble-free weight inspections. Like truck washes, scales are usually, but not always placed at a truck stop, but they also occur at bulk loading facilities and other locations. When a scale is identified as being associated with a truck stop, the scale icon appears closely adjacent to the truck stop icon, at the lower right (see example above). If not associated with a truck stop, the icon is placed on the map at the scale's exact location.
WalMart, WalMart with warning
Walmarts - Walmart stores have tried to promote themselves as the trucker and RV driver's friend, providing space in their parking lots for overnight stays. This has declining of late in some locations due to complaints from the stores' neighbors and local municipal ordnances prohibiting truck parking overnight, as well, it must be said, by the bad habits that some truckers and RVers employ. However, Walmarts still have large parking spaces and many still allow trucks and RVs to park, so it is appropriate to display them on a trucker's map. Besides, that, they sometimes provide really necessary services (such as pharmacy services) combined with space for temporary oversized vehicle parking, at least. Finally, they are conveniently everywhere.
The image at left above shows four WalMart locations around Huntsville, Alabama.
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