Driver Lifestyles
My Favorite Layover Places
By Jeff Jensen, Editor
Mar 12, 2007 - 5:51:00 PM

"My favorite layover places". That could take in a number of cities, but for most expediters it means the area out of which they find the most loads.  And, for most expediters, a favorite city will be the one where they are pre-dispatched and have a load waiting for them before they even hit the city limits.

But, as we all know, those cities are somewhat of a rarity, and there's usually some waiting time involved.  This gives the expediter(s) some time to wander and visit the area they're in.

This results in that city becoming a favorite area for reasons other than freight frequency, in fact, it then becomes a destination location that the expediter visits just for the experience.

In this survey of favorite cities, the expediters questioned where asked to rate those places in two categories:

1.  Favorite layover cities based on frequency of outbound freight;

2.  Favorite layover cities based on atmosphere, ambience or "other" reasons - drivers enjoyed an area because it was particularly scenic, good shops, tourist activities, museums, good truck stops;  in short, any reason at all that endeared that city to the respondent.

Larry Day - straight truck driver, solo operation

Freight

*Chicago
*Indy
*Georgetown, KY
*Charlotte, NC
*Detroit, MI

"Other"

*Denver, CO
*Laredo, TX - "I love Laredo"
*Georgetown, KY - "I like the area, it's easy to get around there"
*Nashua, NH - "Near the mountains"
*Northeast Maryland

Gene Dunlap - straight truck owner-operator
solo operation

Freight

*El Paso - "Many times, I've gotten a load out of El Paso that's going to the Midwest - good mileage runs."
*Cleveland, OH
*Columbus, OH
*Dayton, OH
*North Carolina
*The East Coast - "Good for a solo driver because there's so much freight coming back to the Midwest with 400-500 mile runs."

"Other"

*Oklahoma City, OK
*Dallas, TX - "They have nice truckstops"
*W. Memphis, AR - "Good selection of truckstops"
*Lodi, OH - "Good truck repair shop"
*Haw River, NC

Ben and Melanie Easters - tractor-trailer owner-operators
team operation

Freight

*Atlanta, GA
*Houston, TX
*Seattle, WA -  "We find a lot of head-hauls out of that area." 
*Los Angeles, CA
*Detroit, MI

"Other"
*Portland, OR
*Seattle, WA - "We enjoy going there because there's so much to see."
*Key West, FL - "Because of the diving opportunities"
*Sierra Vista, Arizona
*White Sands, NM
*Ohio
*Indiana
*Illinois
*Washington, DC - "I want to visit all the history museums around DC.  I'm a space buff and I enjoy anything that has to do with space or aircraft."

Bob and Linda Caffee, straight truck owner-operators, team operation

Freight
*St. Louis, MO
*Ft. Worth, TX
*Harrisburg, PA - "Besides Florida, this is about as far east as we like to go."
*Springfield, MO
*Chicago, IL
*Richmond, VA

"Other

*Tampa, FL
*Walcott, IA - "Bob likes the Chrome Shop at the I-80 truckstop."

*California - Bay Area
*Phoenix, AZ
*Portland, OR

Kim Neumann - cargo van owner-operator
solo operation

Freight

*Chicago, IL
*Columbia, SC and the Carolinas
*Philadelphia, PA
*Toronto, ON

"Other"

*Toronto, ON
*Albuquerque, NM - "I like it for the scenery."
*El Paso, TX - "Scenery"

Greg Geronsin - cargo van owner-operator, solo operation

Freight

*Chicago, IL
*Indianapolis, IN

"Other"
*Yellowstone area of Wyoming and Montana
*Rocky Mountain area - "Depending on the weather, I like driving

in the mountains.  There's less traffic, beautiful scenery, but of course, there's less freight.  It's a trade-off."
*Pacific Northwest, Seattle, WA

Leo Bricker - straight truck owner-operator
solo operation        

Freight

*Olive Branch, MS          
*Chattanooga, TN             
*Romulus, MI                 
*Columbia, SC               
*Charlotte, NC
                                                   
"Other"

*Canton, OH - The Pro Football Hall of Fame
*Indianapolis, IN - Indianapolis Speedway Museum
*Dayton - The Air Force Museum
*Hamilton, OH; Columbus, OH; Dayton, OH -  Ham radio shops

David and Patty Jo Jaynes, straight truck owner-operators
team operation

Freight

*Louisville, KY - "We've always had good luck there."
*Dallas, TX - "There's always freight moving out of there and out of Atlanta, but you have to pick and choose your loads. There's always a ton of trucks, too."
*The Northeast - "We always have good luck out of Boston, New Haven, New Jersey; anywhere near NYC if you don't mind being in that area."
*Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Chambersburg, PA  
*Detroit, MI - "The only problem is that there are a lot of small loads going into Canada."
*Columbus, Cleveland, Akron, Cincinnati, OH -  "Any of the areas in Ohio are pretty good."
*Nashville, TN
*Huntsville, AL - "You're looking at high-tech loads out of there."
*Memphis, TN
*Salt Lake City, UT - "When I mention that town as being a good city for freight, people tell me I'm crazy.  We always get good loads out of there."
*California - "We find good freight out of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Diego; anywhere up and down the coast."

"Other"

*Nevada - "Anywhere in Nevada.  Reno, Las Vegas and that's because of the casinos.  There's always places to park and it's lots of fun."
*Shreveport, LA - "Good food, casinos."
*Dallas, TX - "There are good restaurants, good food, good shopping."
*Southern Alabama
*Tampa, FL
*Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Northern Arizona - "Great scenery but not a lot of freight."
*Northern Maine - "Two miles from Nova Scotia; gorgeous sceneery and the people are wonderful."    
"We haven't gone anywhere across the United States where the people haven't been great."

Tom and Tina Evans, straight truck owner-operators, team operation

Freight

*Greenville, SC - "This would have to be our number one city."
*Laredo and McAllen, TX
*Pimlico Sound, NC area - "We do pretty well out of there."          

"Other"

*Phoenix - "We really like that area!"
*Los Angeles and Bakersfield, CA 
Pimlico, NC area - "Scenery, smaller towns, Southern atmosphere
"We love the ride from Jacksonville along A1A to St. Augustine.  We love the drive along the coast."
*New Mexico - "We're particularly fond of Albuquerque.  It has a real Southwest feel.  There's lots of pottery along the interstate.
*South Carolina