Hours Of Service

Do most truckers roll over their hours or use the 34 hour restart?

It depends on a lot of things. I usually rollover hours because I don't want to sit for 2 days and not make any money. But if I have no hours and I'm only getting back 3 hours the next day you can bet im going to take a day off and get a 34 hour restart in. But otherwise ill just keep trucking using the hours I got back that night.

You must learn how to use your hours effectively. For example, you want to aim to work roughly 9 hours each day. So that way you can keep on trucking everyday. You want to avoid this; 9h 20min, 2h10min, 13h20min, 5hour45min, 10h29min. The hours are too inconsistent, it will eventually screw you on a delivery. Who knows? In a week you might have to drive 8 hours but you'll only have 5 hours coming back and it could make you late for a delivery.

If you actually have 2 extra days on a load and you could squeeze in a 34 hour restart then I'd suggest you ask to deliver early or drop the trailer at a yard for a local driver to do. Remember, if those wheels aren't turning you aren't making money. You don't make money when taking a restart.

It depends on a lot of things. I usually rollover hours because I don't want to sit for 2 days and not make any money. But if I have no hours and I'm only getting back 3 hours the next day you can bet im going to take a day off and get a 34 hour restart in. But otherwise ill just keep trucking using the hours I got back that night.

You must learn how to use your hours effectively. For example, you want to aim to work roughly 9 hours each day. So that way you can keep on trucking everyday. You want to avoid this; 9h 20min, 2h10min, 13h20min, 5hour45min, 10h29min. The hours are too inconsistent, it will eventually screw you on a delivery. Who knows? In a week you might have to drive 8 hours but you'll only have 5 hours coming back and it could make you late for a delivery.

If you actually have 2 extra days on a load and you could squeeze in a 34 hour restart then I'd suggest you ask to deliver early or drop the trailer at a yard for a local driver to do. Remember, if those wheels aren't turning you aren't making money. You don't make money when taking a restart.

All this seems so complicated. I guess it will eventually make sense, but right now, I am more confused by the HOS business than any other facet of truck driving.

It depends on a lot of things. I usually rollover hours because I don't want to sit for 2 days and not make any money. But if I have no hours and I'm only getting back 3 hours the next day you can bet im going to take a day off and get a 34 hour restart in. But otherwise ill just keep trucking using the hours I got back that night.

You must learn how to use your hours effectively. For example, you want to aim to work roughly 9 hours each day. So that way you can keep on trucking everyday. You want to avoid this; 9h 20min, 2h10min, 13h20min, 5hour45min, 10h29min. The hours are too inconsistent, it will eventually screw you on a delivery. Who knows? In a week you might have to drive 8 hours but you'll only have 5 hours coming back and it could make you late for a delivery.

If you actually have 2 extra days on a load and you could squeeze in a 34 hour restart then I'd suggest you ask to deliver early or drop the trailer at a yard for a local driver to do. Remember, if those wheels aren't turning you aren't making money. You don't make money when taking a restart.

Because 9 hrs @ 8 days = 72 ? so then you don't have to do a 34 hr reset (dropping the 2 hours somewhere).... hmmmm I see (says the blind man). That makes sense

It depends on a lot of things. I usually rollover hours because I don't want to sit for 2 days and not make any money. But if I have no hours and I'm only getting back 3 hours the next day you can bet im going to take a day off and get a 34 hour restart in. But otherwise ill just keep trucking using the hours I got back that night.

You must learn how to use your hours effectively. For example, you want to aim to work roughly 9 hours each day. So that way you can keep on trucking everyday. You want to avoid this; 9h 20min, 2h10min, 13h20min, 5hour45min, 10h29min. The hours are too inconsistent, it will eventually screw you on a delivery. Who knows? In a week you might have to drive 8 hours but you'll only have 5 hours coming back and it could make you late for a delivery.

If you actually have 2 extra days on a load and you could squeeze in a 34 hour restart then I'd suggest you ask to deliver early or drop the trailer at a yard for a local driver to do. Remember, if those wheels aren't turning you aren't making money. You don't make money when taking a restart.

Because 9 hrs @ 8 days = 72 ? so then you don't have to do a 34 hr reset (dropping the 2 hours somewhere).... hmmmm I see (says the blind man). That makes sense

Exactly!

And Tim, what I'm saying will be very easy to understand once you get a few weeks in with a trainer. Don't let it strangle you just yet. You'll understand it easily soon enough.