Petro Travel Plaza or Truck Stop #323 in Reddick, FL: Truck Stop Review

There are a lot of drivers out there who tend to develop a kinship and preference for a certain name in truck stops. The Petro Travel Plaza and Truck Stop just might be yours. Petro truck stops are usually large, easy to access and gain a parking spot, and quite clean and well maintained. The Petro #323 is no exception. This truck stop is along I-75 in Reddick, Florida, off of exit 368.

While most of the parking at this truck stop is at a slant (so work out which way you prefer to sleep on such slants), there is plenty of it, and most of it is easy to get in and out of, even with very large trucks and equipment. This truck stop makes the driver walk off a few calories to get into the truck stop, with the lot being away from the building, though, so have a reason to go inside. Also, it appears that Petro found one of the few hills in Florida and then built a truck stop on it.

There are a few reasons to go inside. They have Petro’s typical Iron Skillet (for those of you who are not familiar with this traveler’s restaurant, think of something like a Denny’s or Perkin’s), which offers a nice choice of meals, and for those who don’t desire to spend so much, there is Wendy’s fast food location right next door (although you need to go through the Petro building to get to it, as the lot is fenced in for some reason) with their common fare.

There is a maintenance shop on site in the event you need repairs or a tire change. The shop at the maintenance location offers some decent accessories for those who like to shop through such things. Inside the main building, there is enough for one to check out, including a barber shop called Olde Tyme Barbershop, which is a traditional and old-fashioned hair cuttery compared to many salons available rather than barbershops today. There’s a decent TV room in the place, set aside and therefore away from the noise of passers-by. There’s even a small game room for those liking the video/arcade games.

The showers at this truck stop are quite decent compared to most and don’t seem to fill up and create long waits if this driving writer’s experience means anything. There’s even a small laundromat located here if your dirty laundry is taking up too much space under the bunk.

The little shop isn’t too bad, and it even has a small section separated just for electronics, such as small TV’s, radio equipment, and a decent choice of CB radios. Then, there are also some truck accessories in there, too, such as lights and so forth.

The shop offers some simple stuff, such as movies, books, audiobooks, and music. The refreshment area offers fresh-popped popcorn, decent coffee, and plenty to choose from in terms of drinks and bites on the go. There are numerous collectibles around to taunt your budget, from crystal collectibles to those fancy-looking but utterly useless knives some people find appealing.

For all those inside, you’ll be listening to the oldies throughout your time in the building. Perhaps they bought some sort of Time-Life collection.

For those drivers passing through this area, this truck stop is not at all a bad choice and is, in fact, a good one. If you get in here late in the evening, parking might be a challenge, but this driver has never seen the place filled to capacity. This is likely because there are a lot of other parking places in the area, from other truck stops to enormous rest stops on I-75. There is no place to just sit down inside other than an occasional bench, such as a booth or something that isn’t in the Iron Skillet. I had to take a seat from the phones and sit at the abandoned desk in the middle of the common area to place my computer to write this, so this is a shortcoming they might consider one day. After all, the laptop computer is becoming popular among some drivers, and it can be nice to go inside with it as opposed to idling the truck to write or browse the internet. Then, one can only hope this truck stops catching on that WiFi is generally free in most other places, so perhaps they’ll stop charging their ridiculous fees for the service some sunny day.

Overall, I would say this is a nice truck stop and a decent place to spend the time you need to take that DOT break.

You can park without charge, eat well for a reasonable price, wash your clothes and yourself, and pick up a gift for your loved ones. You can get a movie and a book, something to drink and snack on, and something all in chrome while you await repairs or get some fuel. Plus, the way in and out is simple, so you can easily get to your next stop without a struggle.