Roady's Truck Stops is a chain of independently-owned truck stops in the United States. It is headquartered in New Plymouth, Idaho. With nearly 350 locations in forty-five states, Roady's is the largest truck stop chain in which all of its stores are independently-owned, and second overall in the sector to Pilot Flying J's 550 locations.

History[link]

Roady's Truck Stops was founded January 1, 2007, when two trucking industry marketing groups merged. Great Savings Network and TruckStops Direct combined, creating the largest truck stop chain in North America.^[1] Great Savings Network was a marketing group that worked with independent truck stops. Truckstops Direct was established in 1994 to strengthen the relationship between truck stops and trucking companies. The Roady's Truck Stop network allows independent truck stop facilities to leverage corporate buying power to get maximum return.

The President of the company is Bob Lee.^[2] Lee replaced Kelly Rhinehart, who moved to the Board of Directors.^[2] Roady's publishes the Roady's Hometown Truck Stop Magazine several times a year.

Humanitarian Bowl[link]

In 2007, Roady's Truck Stops agreed to become the corporate sponsor for the Humanitarian Bowl, which is played in Boise at Bronco Stadium on the Boise State University campus.^[3] They sponsored the game for 3 years until their affiliate company UDrove took over title sponsorship for the 2010 game.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Roady's Truck Stops Official site

v t e Trucking industry in the United States Regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Regulations Commercial driver's license Hours of service Federal Bridge Gross Weight Formula Electronic on-board recorder Motor carrier safety rating Motor Carrier Act of 1980 International Registration Plan National Network Manufacturers Truck manufacturers Autocar Brockway Freightliner Ford Motor Company International Kenworth Mack Peterbilt Sterling Volvo Western Star White General Motors Truck & Coach Division Engine manufacturers Caterpillar Cummins Detroit Diesel Mack MaxxForce Mercedes-Benz PACCAR Volvo Trailer manufacturers Fruehauf Corporation Great Dane Limited Hyundai Translead Lufkin Trailers Trail King Industries Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company Wabash National Monon Trailers Motor carriers Truckload carriers Celadon Covenant England J.B. Hunt PAM Transport Schneider Swift USA Truck Werner Knight FFE Transportation Less than Truckload (LTL) ABF Con-way Pitt Ohio Express FedEx Freight UPS Freight YRCW Third Party Logistic Providers Access America Transport CaseStack C. H. Robinson Worldwide Freightquote.com TheFreightRateCo.com Parcel carriers DHL Express FedEx OnTrac UPS United States Postal Service Moving companies Allied Atlas Bekins Gentle Giant Moving Company Graebel Global Mayflower North American PODS United Shleppers Moving & Storage Truck stops Bosselman Dixie Travel Plaza Iowa 80 Love's Pilot Flying J Road Ranger Roady's T/A & Petro Town Pump People Reginald Denny Jimmy Hoffa Fred Smith John B. Hunt Kelly Reno Iyman Faris Larry Walters Keith Jesperson Organizations Teamsters Union Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Dial-a-truck American Trucking Associations FJ Managenent SmartWay Transport Partnership Glossary Glossary of trucking industry terms in the United States Popular culture Film Black Dog Convoy Duel F.I.S.T. The Gang's All Here Joy Ride Maximum Overdrive Over The Top Smokey and the Bandit (series) They Drive by Night White Line Fever Trucker Television B.J. and the Bear Ice Road Truckers Movin' On Trick My Truck American Loggers American Trucker Music "Convoy" "Papa Loved Mama" "Six Days on the Road" "Teddy Bear" "Phantom 309" "Giddyup Go" "Drive-By Truckers" "The White Knight" "East Bound and Down" "Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)" "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses" "Girl on the Billboard" Radio Road Dog Trucking (Dave Nemo) America's Trucking Network Red Eye (Bill Mack Dale Sommers) Other The Rolling Memorial Citizens' band radio

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

Denos 6 & 85 truck stop, Commerce, Colorado, United States

A truck stop, also known as a transport cafe in the United Kingdom and as a travel center by major chains in the United States, is a commercial facility which provides refuelling, rest (parking), and often ready made food and other services to motorists and truck drivers. Truck stops are usually located on or near a busy road.

Truck stop services[link]

Smaller truck stops may consist of only a parking area, a fueling station, and perhaps a diner restaurant. Larger truck stops may have convenience stores of various sizes, showers, a small video arcade, and a TV/movie theater (usually just a projector with an attached DVD player). The largest truck stops, like Iowa 80 (the largest in the world), may have several independent businesses operating under one roof, catering to a wide range of travelers' needs, and may have several major and minor fast-food chains operating a small food court. Larger truck stops also tend to have full-service maintenance facilities for heavy trucks, as well as vehicle wash services dimensionally large enough to accommodate them. Some truck stops operate motels or have them adjacent. The refueling area almost always offers dual pumps, one on each side, so large trucks can fill both tanks at once. (The second pump is referred to as the "slave pump" or "satellite pump.")

The fuel islands at many truck stops can get very crowded. Most trucking companies have accounts with one or two truck stop chains and, after negotiating a specific price for diesel, require their drivers to fuel exclusively at those. Pilot, T/A, Loves, Wilco, and Flying-J truck stops are selected most often, and thus are the most crowded^{[citation needed]}. Truck stops near a large city, or on the east or west coasts, suffer from the most congestion at their fuel islands.

The retail stores in large truck stops offer a large selection of 12-volt DC products, such as coffee makers, TV/VCR combos, toaster ovens, and frying pans primarily targeted towards truck drivers, who often spend 26 to 27 days on the road. Such shops generally offer a wide selection of maps, road atlases, truck stop and freeway exit guides, truck accessories (such as CB radio equipment and hazmat placards), plus entertainment media such as movies, video games, music, and audio books. Increasingly, as interstate truck drivers have become a large market for satellite radio, these retail stores also sell various satellite radio receivers for both XM and Sirius as well as subscriptions to those services. Kiosks run by cellular phone providers are also common.

Most long-haul tractors have sleeping berths, and to allow for comfortable sleeping many truck drivers have had to keep their diesel engines running for heating or cooling. Since a single diesel idling, let alone several, makes considerable noise and can be visibly polluting, they are often banned from such use near residential areas. Truck stops (along with public rest stops) are the main places where truck drivers may rest peacefully, as required by regulations. Modern innovations, such as truck heaters and auxiliary power units are coming into wide use; and some truck stops are also providing power, air conditioning, and communications through systems like IdleAire. Many truck stops have load board monitors for truck drivers to find real time information on loads, jobs, weather and news.^[1] Most chain truck stops also have WLAN Internet access in their parking areas, though most are not free. Idle reduction — reducing the amount of fuel consumed by truck fleets during idling — is an ongoing economical and environmental effort. [1]

North America[link]

The truck stop originated in the United States in the 1940s, as a reliable source of diesel fuel not commonly available at filling stations.^{[citation needed]} This, coupled with the growth of the Interstate Highway System, led to the creation of the professional haulage and truck stop industries. They generally consist of, at the very least, a diesel grade fueling station with bays wide and tall enough for modern tractor/trailer rigs, plus a large enough parking area to accommodate from five to over a hundred trucks and other heavy vehicles. Truck stops should not be confused with rest areas or motorway service areas which cater mostly to cars and are often run by or leased from a government or tollway corporation.

In the United States in the late 1990s, Truckstops of America (T/A) changed its name to TravelCenters of America to reflect this marketing strategy.^{[citation needed]} There is no exact distinction between "truck stop" and the newer term "travel center", but some differences are size, proximity to interstate highways and major roads, the number of services, accessibility to automotive and RV travelers, and a certain extra emphasis on facility appearance. Many truck stops chains such as Flying J and T/A also serve the recreational vehicle market. All the national chains have established customer loyalty programs to promote repeated patronage.

There are approximately 10,000 truck stops in the United States.^{[citation needed]}

Australia[link]

This section requires expansion.

In Australia, most truck stops - usually known as roadhouses, as they provide services to cars as well as trucks - are owned by, or are franchises of, oil companies such as Castrol and BP, but can include other franchises like McDonalds.

United Kingdom[link]

This section requires expansion.

In the UK the term "truck stop" is not in common use and the equivalent stops are either transport cafes^[2] signposted simply as "Services", including many similar features to truck stops but also frequented by the majority of motorway traffic. They often include Travelodge accommodation, places to eat and newsagent shops such as WHSmith.

Service stations, as they are colloquially known, are also known for their relatively high prices compared to equivalent or identical stores on the high street.

Corporatization[link]

The economics of truck stops have driven most of the small operations that dotted the country in post-war times out of business and replaced them with large corporate chains or franchises.^{[citation needed]} Truck drivers are a captive market, since the trucks' size, and local regulations vastly restrict where a truck driver can stop and park. The initial investment costs of land, permitting and equipment, and upkeep and maintenance requirements, are large and growing, requiring it be made up by chain-volume buying and an increasing quantity of customers. Some large truck stop chains have begun to cater to a wider range of the traveling public by combining trucks stops and traditional-type gas stations. Pilot Flying J is currently the largest such chain with over 550 locations (almost all of which are corporate-owned-and-operated), while Roady's Truck Stops are the largest franchised chain with over 350 locations.

Public image[link]

Truck stop restaurants are often recommended to non-truck drivers because of their reputation for large portions of good food. Most truck drivers have their choice of places to re-fuel, and a good restaurant is an attraction.

Truck stops are often depicted in films and novels as being somewhat seedy places, frequented by aggressive bikers, petty criminals, and prostitutes (e.g. the "lot lizards" in the JT LeRoy novel Sarah). This might be an outdated stereotype,^{[citation needed]} as most modern truck stops are generally clean and safe, becoming a "home away from home" for many truck drivers.^{[citation needed]} However, most truck stops reflect the social environment of their local area; consequently, one occasionally finds seedy truck stops in seedy areas.

According to John McPhee's book "Uncommon Carriers", truck stops in rural areas are typically very safe and wholesome. However, as the distance to major cities decrease the incidence of prostitution, drug peddling etc. increases dramatically. The trucker that McPhee spent a month with claims that the Vince Lombardi service area on the New Jersey Turnpike near NYC has the most rampant prostitution.^[3]

Photo gallery[link]

• 

  Iowa 80 truck stop

• 

  Eurostop truck stop in Örebro, Sweden

• 

  A Pilot Travel Center in Lost Hills, California

• 

  Diesel pumps at a Flying J truck stop

See also[link]

• Iowa 80 (World's largest truck stop)
• Rest area
• Road Ranger
• Greasy spoon
• Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores
• TravelCenters of America
• Pilot Flying J
• Dial-a-truck
• Dhaba
• Ace Cafe (Historic London transport cafe)

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Truck stops

1. ^ Truck Stop Load Board Locations--
2. ^ Transport Cafe. Joyce Nolan, David Brogan, 1976
3. ^ John McPhee (2007). Farrar Straus and Giroux. ed. Uncommon Carriers. ISBN 978-0-374-28039-0.  p.87

External links[link]

• www.transportcafe.co.uk

v t e Trucking industry in the United States Regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Regulations Commercial driver's license Hours of service Federal Bridge Gross Weight Formula Electronic on-board recorder Motor carrier safety rating Motor Carrier Act of 1980 International Registration Plan National Network Manufacturers Truck manufacturers Autocar Brockway Freightliner Ford Motor Company International Kenworth Mack Peterbilt Sterling Volvo Western Star White General Motors Truck & Coach Division Engine manufacturers Caterpillar Cummins Detroit Diesel Mack MaxxForce Mercedes-Benz PACCAR Volvo Trailer manufacturers Fruehauf Corporation Great Dane Limited Hyundai Translead Lufkin Trailers Trail King Industries Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company Wabash National Monon Trailers Motor carriers Truckload carriers Celadon Covenant England J.B. Hunt PAM Transport Schneider Swift USA Truck Werner Knight FFE Transportation Less than Truckload (LTL) ABF Con-way Pitt Ohio Express FedEx Freight UPS Freight YRCW Third Party Logistic Providers Access America Transport CaseStack C. H. Robinson Worldwide Freightquote.com TheFreightRateCo.com Parcel carriers DHL Express FedEx OnTrac UPS United States Postal Service Moving companies Allied Atlas Bekins Gentle Giant Moving Company Graebel Global Mayflower North American PODS United Shleppers Moving & Storage Truck stops Bosselman Dixie Travel Plaza Iowa 80 Love's Pilot Flying J Road Ranger Roady's T/A & Petro Town Pump People Reginald Denny Jimmy Hoffa Fred Smith John B. Hunt Kelly Reno Iyman Faris Larry Walters Keith Jesperson Organizations Teamsters Union Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Dial-a-truck American Trucking Associations FJ Managenent SmartWay Transport Partnership Glossary Glossary of trucking industry terms in the United States Popular culture Film Black Dog Convoy Duel F.I.S.T. The Gang's All Here Joy Ride Maximum Overdrive Over The Top Smokey and the Bandit (series) They Drive by Night White Line Fever Trucker Television B.J. and the Bear Ice Road Truckers Movin' On Trick My Truck American Loggers American Trucker Music "Convoy" "Papa Loved Mama" "Six Days on the Road" "Teddy Bear" "Phantom 309" "Giddyup Go" "Drive-By Truckers" "The White Knight" "East Bound and Down" "Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)" "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses" "Girl on the Billboard" Radio Road Dog Trucking (Dave Nemo) America's Trucking Network Red Eye (Bill Mack Dale Sommers) Other The Rolling Memorial Citizens' band radio

Rodney Allan Atkins (born March 28, 1969) is an American country music artist. Signed to Curb Records in 1996, he charted his first single on the Billboard country chart in 1997, but did not release an album until 2003's Honesty, which included the number 4 hit "Honesty (Write Me a List)".

If You're Going Through Hell, his second album, was released in 2006. Its first two singles, "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)" and "Watching You", each spent four weeks at the top of the country music chart, and were respectively ranked as the top country songs of 2006 and 2007 according to Billboard Year-End. The album, which has since been certified platinum in the United States, produced two more number 1 singles in "These Are My People" and "Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy)". It's America (2009) included the number 1 single "It's America" and the top 5 hit "Farmer's Daughter", which was added to a later reissue of the album. Take a Back Road (2011) produced his sixth number 1 in its title track.

Atkins has received six nominations from the Academy of Country Music and two from the Country Music Association, winning Top New Male Vocalist from the former in 2006.

Biography[link]

Rodney Atkins was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. His biological mother, who was 19 at the time, became pregnant with him after a "traumatic first date".^[2] She hid the pregnancy from her parents and put him up for adoption at the Holston United Methodist Home for Children in Greeneville, Tennessee.^[3] His first adoptive parents, Charles Hutchins and Linda Weems, returned him to the home after he developed a major respiratory infection. Allan and Margaret Atkins, who had lost a newborn about a year prior, inquired after the child, but decided not to proceed due to surgery that Margaret had just undergone. Meanwhile, another couple adopted him, but also returned him soon after when he developed colic. After Margaret Atkins recovered, she proceeded to adopt him.^[3][4] Atkins did not meet his biological mother until 2008,^[2] and has never revealed her identity.^[5]

During his youth, the Atkins family moved frequently, eventually settling in Claiborne County, Tennessee. He attended high school at Powell Valley High in Speedwell, Tennessee. During high school, Atkins played guitar in his spare time at events and festivals. He went to college at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, Tennessee, where he made friends with songwriters and soon began writing himself.^[6] In the mid-1990s, Atkins moved to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue a recording career. He signed with Curb Records in 1996, the same week that LeAnn Rimes did.^[7][8]

Musical career[link]

[edit] Rodney Atkins

Atkins's debut single, "In a Heartbeat", spent one week at number 74 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) chart dated for August 30, 1997.^[9] Its b-side, "God Only Knows", was also released as a single, but did not chart.^[8] He had also planned to release his debut album on September 17 of the same year, but it was never released due to Atkins' dissatisfaction with his material.^[10] He discussed his dissatisfaction while sitting next to Curb Records owner Mike Curb on an airplane; Curb allowed him to switch producers, and Atkins chose Ted Hewitt, with whom he had been working on demos. Hewitt also changed Atkins' style from a cowboy appearance and a vocal style similar to Roy Orbison to a more polished appearance.^[8] Atkins, Hewitt and Max T. Barnes wrote the track "Don't Think I Won't" on Mark Wills' 1998 album Wish You Were Here,^[11] but he was otherwise inactive until 2002.^[12]

[edit] Honesty

In mid-2002, Rodney Atkins released his third single, "Sing Along". Both it and its followup, "My Old Man", peaked in the lower regions of the Top 40 on the country chart.^[9] He entered the Top 10 for the first time in late 2003-early 2004 with "Honesty (Write Me a List)", which went on to peak at number 4 on the country charts and 57 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was the title track to his album Honesty, which was released by the end of 2003.^[1] "Someone to Share It With" and "Monkey in the Middle" were also issued as singles, with the former peaking at number 41 on the country charts.^[9] Atkins told the Associated Press that he chose to record "Honesty" because he and producer Ted Hewitt wanted a twelfth song for the album, and co-writer David Kent had recommended it to Hewitt.^[13]

Jeffrey B. Remz of Country Standard Time gave the album a mixed review. He thought that Atkins seemed too similar in sound to labelmate Tim McGraw, but praised some of the songs for having strong melodies.^[14] A more favorable review came from Matt Bjorke of About.com, who called it a "confident debut from a talented newcomer."^[15]

[edit] If You're Going Through Hell

Having been absent from the country music charts for most of 2004 and 2005, he returned in 2006 with a single entitled "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)", which served as the lead-off to his second released album, If You're Going Through Hell. With this album, Atkins once again changed his musical image. He started wearing baseball caps and performing "songs about his life."^[16] "If You're Going Through Hell" became his first number 1, spending four weeks at the top of the Hot Country Songs charts; it was also the top country hit of 2006 according to Billboard Year-End.^[17]

Following "If You're Going Through Hell" was "Watching You", which Atkins wrote with Steve Dean and Brian Gene White. This song was inspired by Atkins' son, Elijah,^[7] who also stars in its music video.^[18] "Watching You" was also a four-week number 1 hit, and the top country song of 2007 on the Billboard Year-End charts.^[19] "These Are My People" and "Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy)" also went to number 1, making If You're Going Through Hell the first country album to include four number 1 singles since Tim McGraw's 2001 album Set This Circus Down.^[20] The album's final single was "Invisibly Shaken", which Lee Greenwood previously recorded on his 2003 album Stronger Than Time.^[21] Atkins' version of the song peaked at number 41.^[9] If You're Going Through Hell received a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of one million copies, while "If You're Going Through Hell", "Watching You" and "Cleaning This Gun" all received gold certifications for 500,000 music downloads.^[9][22] These songs also made top 40 on the Hot 100 while they were climbing the country charts, while "These Are My People" reached number 42.^[9] Atkins also received the 2006 Academy of Country Music award for Top New Male Vocalist, and "If You're Going Through Hell" was nominated for Song of the Year.^[23] Atkins toured in late 2007-early 2008 as an opening act on Brad Paisley's Bonfires & Amplifiers Tour.^[24]

J. Poet of Allmusic gave the album a positive review, praising the "less produced sound" and Atkins' vocals on the singles.^[25] A mixed review came from Country Standard Time, whose Robert Loy criticized Atkins for singing "about what a good ol' boy he is" on several songs, but adding that "it's fairly obvious he's at least as country as anybody else on the charts these days".^[26]

[edit] It's America

Atkins' thirteenth single, "It's America", was released in November 2008. It was the first single from his third album, It's America, released in March 2009. Atkins promoted the album through appearances on Larry King Live and a pre-sale promotion on his website.^[16] On the chart dated May 2, 2009, "It's America" became his fifth number 1 hit. Its followup, "15 Minutes", was released in May 2009 and peaked at number 20 in September. Atkins re-wrote the album's third single, "Chasin' Girls", for his wife to make it more applicable to their life at the time. After executives at Curb saw the lyrics, the re-written version was released as the album's third single,^[27] but did not make top 40. "Farmer's Daughter" followed in early 2010, and after it reached top 5 late in the year, Curb added it to both a re-issue of It's America^[28] and a re-release of If You're Going Through Hell which was sold exclusively at Cracker Barrel restaurants. The latter also included the previously-unreleased song "More Like Your Memory (Always Takes Me Back)".^[29]

It's America received mixed reviews. Todd Sterling of Allmusic and Liz Jungers of Roughstock both criticized it for lacking musical variety.^[28][30] It was more favorably reviewed at Country Standard Time, with critic Jeff Lincoln criticizing the title track as "forced" but saying that otherwise, "Atkins has found his niche of singing about the southern tribe."^[31]

[edit] Take a Back Road

"Take a Back Road", the lead-off single and title track to his fourth album Take a Back Road, was released in April 2011 and became his sixth number 1 late in the year. It also accounted for his highest placement on the Hot 100, at number 23.^[32] The song was co-written by Luke Laird and Rhett Akins, the latter of whom co-wrote "Farmer's Daughter".^[33] "He's Mine" was the album's second single. The song was originally recorded by Billy Ray Cyrus, and Atkins chose to release it because it received positive reactions from fans in concert.^[34] It peaked at number 23 on the country chart in April 2012. "Just Wanna Rock 'n Roll" is the album's third single.^[35]

Country Standard Time called Atkins "the type of wholesome country musician that you would enjoy hanging out with on a Sunday afternoon with your wife and kids."^[36] It received a "B" from Entertainment Weekly, whose Mikael Wood wrote that Atkins "makes for a first-rate correspondent from Anytown, USA."^[37] A less favorable review came from Thom Jurek, who said that "There isn't an original melody, lyric, or production element".^[38]

Family and personal life[link]

He married Tammy Jo McDonald in 1998,^[39] and the two had a son named Elijah.^[40] He also had two stepdaughters, Lindsey and Morgan, from McDonald's previous marriage.^[41]

Atkins was arrested in November 2011 for allegedly trying to smother his wife with a pillow, while his ten year old son watched. He was released on $2,500 bail three hours after the arrest, and was ordered by Williamson County, Tennessee court to take an anger assessment which found no need for any further action.^[42] The altercation was disputed by Atkins' lawyer, who stated that it was purely verbal.^[39] Atkins filed for divorce within twenty-four hours of the alleged assault.^[43] In February 2012, Atkins was cleared of the domestic assault charge.^[42]

Awards and nominations[link]

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Honesty (2003)
• If You're Going Through Hell (2006)
• It's America (2009)
• Take a Back Road (2011)

Number-one singles

• "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)"
• "Watching You"
• "These Are My People"
• "Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy)"
• "It's America"
• "Take a Back Road"

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website