Warren Buffett just placed a big bet on a $20 billion chain that truckers are obsessed with — here's what it's like to visit

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is betting big on a chain of truck stops. 

On Tuesday, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway announced it had agreed to acquire 38.6% of Pilot Travel Centers, the owner of the Pilot Flying J truck stop chain. By 2023, Berkshire will become the majority shareholder. 

Pilot Flying J is the largest operator of travel centers in North America, making more than $20 billion in annual revenue. 

Here's a closer look at what exactly sets the chain of truck stops apart from the competition, and has made it a trucker staple across the US. 

SEE ALSO: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway makes a big bet on truck stops

James A. "Jim" Haslam II opened first Pilot station opened in Gate City, Virginia

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By 1981, Pilot had reached 100 convenience stores and $175 million in annual sales.

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This was also the year that Pilot opened its first "travel center," or truck stop.

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