AF Truck Center — Attraction in Leyden Township

I stop here on occasion. When it first opened, it really was a nice place run by good, friendly people.

Now? Terrible.

I would give 1 star, but, it's a truck stop in a much needed spot, so, it can get away with being terrible and truckers will still use it. I live nearby so, never showered there. It does offer a lot of conveniences, like showers, laundry, food, fuel, scale, so, I gave 2 stars.

Employee attitudes and customer service skills DESPERATELY need work, but, there is never a "manager" there, always seems to be out, so, it's no wonder the employees are so bad, whose gonna make them get with the program? Nobody. Hence, the inmates run the assylum. Just a bunch of young inexperienced kids running the place who dont care if you get what you need or just leave.

Strange how a business can operate profitably this way. Maybe its just a front for some illegal activities.

I just had the WORST experience there ever...I used the truck wash for the first time yesterday. Dont bother, worst wash I have ever gotten, didnt get wheels even close to clean, rear door of trailer was still dirty in spots and fuel tanks looked like they weren't even touched. Windshield still has an outline from road salt. The facility is too small and way too narrow, only 2 guys scrubbing, and tools they had SUCKED. I am sure the detergent they use is CHEAP quality too.

I asked the guys if they ever been to a Blue Beacon...they said "No". I told them they should take a field trip for a day and learn some tricks of the trade. I usually tip $10-$20 whenever I get a wash...I gave these guys NOTHING. They dont even direct you very well inside the tunnel, in order to wash the trailer rear, I needed to roll forward but, I couldn't SEE anything due to water and steam, nobody guiding me from the front and nobody in my mirrors. They were shouting at me but, my truck is RUNNING and windows are shut! Plus, there were yelling back and forth at each other too, so, hard to distinguish between the two.

It's an accident waiting to happen. I showed them the results, they apologized but, it seems to be the standard result.

It is the polar opposite spectrum experience to a typical Blue Beacon wash. There are much better washes in the area, Ultimate Spray & Wash in Elgin, a truck wash on Rt 83 in Elk Grove (no trailers though) and a hidden gem just north off Rt 20 east of Mannhiem Rd called J & M Truck Wash in Melrose Park...J & M does the BEST...just be sure to tell them not to use acid, which they will use by default. Ultimate in Elgin is good too...just sometimes a long line (gee, wonder why?) and, they are pricey, around $80-$100 for truck & trailer with engine cleaning. J & M are much more reasonable, just harder to find.

If this is as good as they can do washing trucks at AF, they should knock down the wash bay and use the space for more parking.

Overall, I think they need to install a couple of good quality managers and let them organize and train their employees, whip it into shape and get the ship going in the...

First off whether you get fuel or not you have to pay for parking but the first 3 hrs are free anything after that is $20. You have to get 100 gallons of fuel to receive a free shower that's bad. $10 dollars for a shower that's good but now mind you they don't have towels in shower so they sell them for $5, so you better have a towel and your own wash rag, and they also don't have soap to bath with, which they also sell. Everything else is good friendly staff, subway, and clean for now because it's still new. I will not be coming back to the Chicago area as long as I drive trucks. Hope this helps all truckers out there. Oh yeah, I believe the reason for these high prices are because the owner is Bulgarian. I'm back again while I was writing this review I was waiting for my clothes being washed then dried how about they didn't even wash probably and didn't smell good when finished drying so I will have to wash and dry again at a Pilot, Flying J, Loves, etc. And if your wondering if I used good laundry detergent yes I did. And I used dryer sheets too. Sorry for all the negative reviews but I have to be honest and not let you waste your money like...

Bare bones foreign owned truck stop close to Chicago parking is ridiculous $30 for anything past 3 hours regardless of whether you buy fuel or not. Only reason it gets 2 stars is convenience of location the fact that they charge so much means there's ALWAYS parking Regardless of the time of day and I never see any riffraff running around in there. Showers are available with 100 gal fuel or $15 and giving up your license to hold hostage for a 30 grit ''washcloth and towel" also ladies I don't recommend using these as there are no internal security locks on the shower doors and the illegal immigrants have a tendency to "mistakenly" open the doors to get a peak. Its happened to me and every woman driver I've talked to there has said the same thing and the cops do nothing about it as long as they don't touch you🤬 Restaurant is a subway with very...