On the road quick stop or overnight with power, Report

[Wolf Alaska]

This is a first hand account of using a Shorepower facility at a truck stop. Shorepower provided a 65' level parking space with 120VAC 30 Amp power.

I stopped at the Tenneseean Truck Stop at Exit 22, I-65. I backed the Coach House Type B to within 30' of a Shorepower pedestal. Then went into the office/store and was directed to the Shorepower kiosk. I didn't have a member account, but that was no problem. I pushed the "guest" soft button and quickly stepped through the screens and paid $8 via Credit Card; $1 set up fee + $7 for 7 hours of parking & power. It took about 3 minutes.

Hint: you should note the number of the pedestal you select and which of the 4 power ports you want to use. The screen will ask you for that info.

I used: Pedestal #4, and port C. When I was back at the motor coach, I plugged the RV 30 Amp power cord into a correctly configured RV 30 Amp power receptacle and pushed the rocker switch to ON. Power came on instantly.

The power pedestal also had 2 positions that provided dual 20 Amp 120VAC receptacles. Either of those ports would have been adequate for my use.

Go to the Shorepower site Shorepower - Plug In and Save and you can find a map and a listing of every site the co. has in the US.

I found this to be just the service I was wanting. I drove out of Nashville at midnight Friday and arrived at the Tennessean about 1 AM. The truck stop was well lighted and the office was staffed with 3 helpful guys. No problems at all. I didn't need any hookups except electricity and that's what I got. Powered up electrical heat, lights, refer, water pump, microwave, and coffeemaker + kept the coach battery charged. Didn't use the TV.

If you think this service would be of interest to you, please try it. Maybe you will find this thread later and give us a report on how the Shorepower service worked for you.

I'm not sure this service is going to available for long, so I'm going to use it whenever I can find an installation on my travel route(s).

Here's why I think Shorepower may not be able to make a go of it.

1. Trucks park in the slots and don't hook up to power. So, no money to Shorepower.
2. Most of the truckers parked in the slots continue to idle the truck's main engine. There are a lot of signs indicating it is a NO IDLE zone.
3. Some of the office staff don't know the Shorepower slots are for trucks to park and not idle. So, there is absolutely no attempt to keep the Shorepower slots reserved for Shorepower customers.
4. On Friday night/Saturday morning I was the only customer. The 7 Class 8 trucks parked in the 16 Shorepower slots were not hooked up and were idling their engines.
5. Electricity does nothing for a Class 8 truck. Maybe run an electric heater in the winter or power a computer, but the trucker will have to run a 50' extension cord & nose in to park. Truckers don't like to do that.
6. The Shorepower concept is great for RVers but isn't promoted to RVers. So, the co. is missing out on its biggest customer base.
7. 1 each of a pedestal's 4 ports offers 220VAC for refrigerated trailers, but I haven't seen any trucks using that power.

[Lily&Me]

I still think it is a viable concept.

Sounds like some " reserved" and/or "no truck parking" signs are in order.


Maggie

[AWCHIEF]

I tried one time to get a nap at a truck stop. It would have to be a dire emergency before I would attempt it again. The stink and noise were over powering. I do not expect professional truck drivers to change their ways for my comfort. So I will leave the "truck stops" to them.

[handn]

We usually spend the night at a full service campground and stop before dark. We are on vacation and not in a hurry. We have a chance for cocktails and a regular dinner routine. Compared to a motel, the cost is nominal.
We have driven late into the night on rare occasions and park at highway rest stops. They have proved safe and quiet down after 12 a.m. The lack of power is not an issue.
A truck stop even with power would be down on our list. They are noisy and sometimes dirty.

[bmark]

just bookmarked the page thanks for the info

[lindaebrewer]

I don't even like having to pull into rest stops & being forced to share the same spaces used by big rigs - oil, diesel, urine - all sticky on the surface. Gross.

[NC Camper]

Thanks for the info. Options for stopping are always nice to have. I checked out the site and it says to call the truck stop's Customer Service if trucks are parked in the slots but not using the service at Pilot Flying J or TA/Petro. I'm not sure what they can really do, but at least they are aware that this is a possible issue. Change can be hard for us all!

[Knuff]

Very informative !


Sent from my iPad using Airstream Forums

[KrisE MN]

I won't stop at night. I had some perv run up to my car trying to open the door. My doors were locked thank god.

[InterBlog]

Thanks for the info. I've often wondered what my husband and I could do while traveling hard (we are not retired, so in some scenarios we must resort to tight schedules with extremely long driving days, short overnight stops with no time to fuss with regular campgrounds) but needing overnight A/C. Wallydocking is just not going to cut it in the summer in our area (deep south). The generator is too loud to be used in many scenarios, so the only options left are a commercial alternative akin to Shorepower, or some kind of an Uber-style consumer network of private residences where they will leave you an extension cord in their driveway for ten or twenty bucks transacted over the internet. And I don't think the latter option exists yet, although with the rise of the sharing economy, I hope it comes.

[InterBlog]

Oh, this is cool - I just took another look at the Shorepower list of existing facilities and noted that Dysart's is on there! It's a truck stop with one of the best restaurants in the state of Maine. Now that one I WOULD try.

[horseylady]

Thanks for posting the information. In an ideal situation, we stop in plenty of time to set up camp as we are retired and usually not in a hurry, but this is not an ideal World and stuff happens, as any long-time travelers know, so having alternatives is great. Thank you.

[HowieE]

Has anyone figured out the legion on the map? What is the difference between the Red and Green numbers on the map?

There must be another service of this type because the truck stop in Paulsboro NJ has had this type of service for years and does not show on the map.

[Wolf Alaska]

Originally Posted by HowieE

Has anyone figured out the legion on the map? What is the difference between the Red and Green numbers on the map?

There must be another service of this type because the truck stop in Paulsboro NJ has had this type of service for years and does not show on the map.

Howie, I think the red and green #s mean something to Shorepower. Maybe which government grant paid for the installation?

Anyway, kidding aside, the matrix gives info about each installation. I use both the map and the matrix to locate a facility.

The site previously had a legend for the map, but it's not there now. The map also showed marina Shorepower installations, but I don't see that now.

Shorepower is not the only provider of electrical service in truck stops. It seems to offer the highest technology in regards to paying and setup.

Some truck stops have offered limited electrical service for many years. I think most of this power was used to either heat the diesel engine or keep the refer box cold. Most Class 8 trucks can't do much with 120VAC power. Some new tractors have an option for electricity, but I don't have any details.

The Tennessean Truck stop is not a Flying J or Pilot. It is clean and actually nice. The lot has some level parking slots and a Cat scale. The stop has a restaurant and a buffet breakfast, possibly a lunch and dinner buffet, too. The northbound ramps are right there by the truck stop, very convenient. There's a clean, new McDonald's right across the 2 lane road from the Tennessean.

Thanks for the reply.

[Wolf Alaska]

I meant to mention this earlier.

On a screen on the Shorepower web site, there is a technique offered where a user can activate the power pedestal port via the Internet. You select the site where you are, specify the pedestal and port that you want to use and then pay for it via a CC or perhaps PayPal.

This may work better if you set up an account with Shorepower in advance. I may do that, but don't yet have an account with Shorepower.

If you've a smart phone with Internet data, then you can activate a Shorepower pedestal without having to go into the truck stop store. I may try this on my next stop at a Shorepower facility.

For first time usage, I opted to pay via the kiosk inside the truck stop. Since I didn't have a member account, I selected "Guest" and completed the authorization/pay screens with no problems.

Regardless of how many hours you pre-pay, the Shorepower software won't actually charge your CC until you use power. If you stay for the entire time that you specified, it will cut off the pedestal when the time has elapsed. If you leave early, your CC will be charged for the time used, per the co.'s policy regarding partial hours. In effect, if you initially set up for too many hours, you won't be charged for what you don't use. That's my understanding.